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"The development program has resulted in better boat speed. But even though it's the fastest monohull keelboat in the world, the chances of New Zealand beating the cat are close to zero."
"Computer studies show that it will not be a match, but at least it will be a contest on the water," said a slightly disenchanted Bruce Farr, the designer of the Big Boat (27.43 m LWL). Farr was summarising the situation just before the most controversial challenge in the long history of the America's Cup.
The Americans, defending the Cup again after winning it back from the Australians in 1987, were forced by the Courts to respond to a 'rogue' New Zealand challenge. Pleading a lack of time to build a "like or similar" monohull, Dennis Conner's team responded aggressively: they decided to build a multihull of 18.28m LWL, Stars and Stripes, which would all but guarantee them victory. "Our preference would have been for a match between monohulls of similar type," said Russell Bowler, Farr's partner.
The challenge initially came about through Michael Fay, a merchant banker, who saw an opportunity in the Deed of Gift to initiate a direct challenge that would exclude other teams, and avoid the need for a challenger selection series. But Fay never imagined the Defender, the San Diego Yacht Club, would respond as it did - and in a sense he was trapped. The race took place according to the conditions set out in the Deed of Gift, and the Stars and Stripes catamaran easily defeated the Big Boat, New Zealand.
This 27th America's Cup challenge remains a missed opportunity in the mind of many Cup observers. Although at the time many criticised the perceived arrogance of the Kiwi challenge, it was also an opportunity to bring the America's Cup back to the grandeur of the J-Class era. Michael Fay took his idea to Bruce Farr, the uncontested design specialist of light displacement boats. The boat would have to fit the limits imposed by the Deed of Gift; Farr had to draw a 90-foot LWL monohull (27.43 m). He conceived a narrow hull, with a planing shape, and a minimum of wetted surface. He fitted a 46.78m mast in order to carry a sail area of more than 600 square metres, and to balance against this massive amount of canvas, his design called for a deep keel and a wide deck allowing for the 30 to 40 person crew to act as ballast as well.
Before they arrived in San Diego, Fay's team knew that they would be racing against a catamaran. Despite the odds against their success, they decided to improve the potential of the Big Boat by working to reduce weight and drag. The bowsprit was extended in order to increase sail area downwind, and the boom was lengthened by 1.5m. A second mast in carbon and nomex was built, and it was 10% lighter. A smaller rudder was designed and a systematic reduction in weight throughout the entire boat was undertaken.
The crew learned to sail this massive beast of a boat, using video cameras to observe sail shape, and tracking the stress on the spars through computer technology. But their efforts were in vain - the team couldn't do enough to overcome the speed of a catamaran - and the KZ-1 campaign ended in defeat.
When it was launched on March 27th, 1988, Michael Fay's big boat was compared with boats from the J-Class era of the Cup, such as Ranger (1935) and with the enormous beasts that prowled at the turn of the century, Reliance (1903). The comparison is certainly valid in terms of size, but the techniques and materials used had evolved so much over the century, that Fay's boat was clearly a very different animal. Peter Walker, a member of Farr's design team confirms that the J-Class boats "were really very heavy beasts. Our boat is a panther!" A panther it may have been, but KZ-1 was beaten by the 'Cat'.
The launch ceremony for KZ-1 took place in Auckland, New Zealand, in front of a crowd of more than 100 000. The brass band at the ceremony played "When the cat's away", an eerily prescient and ironic song selection.
Shipped back to New Zealand after the America's Cup, Sir Michael Fay offered the 'Big Boat' to the New Zealand National Maritime Museum in 1990. KZ-1 was placed on the quay and now dominates the Viaduct Basin, at the foot of downtown Auckland. Today, its mast points towards the sky and serves as a valuable mark to the pedestrian. KZ-1 remains today as one of the biggest racing sloops ever built to contest the America's Cup, and is a tribute to the boldness and know-how of New Zealand designers and boat-builders.
J.T. / pr
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Year of building
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19/5/1988 |
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Launched
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27/3/1988 |
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Edition 27(1988)
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Crew
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40 |
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Hull
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Carbon Fiber |
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Mast
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Carbon Fiber |
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L.O.A
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36.57 |
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L.W.L
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27.43 |
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Mast
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46.78 |
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Beam
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8.07 |
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Boom
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Sail Area
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Displacament
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39 |
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Draft
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Rating
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90-foot LOA |
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Ballast
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)
