North Notes continued

Gator for a Gator report from Robin Morgan, North Sails Italy

One of the most impressive mega-yachts in recent years is the new Wallygator, a hightech 105 ft. ketch designed by Luca Brenta and built by Concordia Yachts in Dartmouth, Massachusetts for Wally Yachts owner Luca Bessani. The boat is big, light, fast, but also disarmingly simple and comfortable. Innovation is everywhere...

• Two diesel powered hydraulic systems drive practically every thing: winches, backstays and bow & stern thrusters that can turn the boat in its own length. The thrusters also serve as the boats auxiliary power and retract flush to the hull when not in use, increasing upwind-sailing speed by up to two knots. All hydraulic and electrical systems are controlled by waterproof touch-sensitive panels mounted throughout the boat.

• The carbon fiber/epoxy hull is a "very light" at 134,400 pounds. The boat also has two carbon-fiber masts, built by Omohundro, and a North inventory including GATORBACK Spectra/Dyneema working sails, which further reduce weight aloft. To liven things up, we outlined the clew patches with green. The Fast Stripes are also green with 3" reflecting tape similar to the kind used on foul weather gear for checking sail shape at night. North Sign, in Italy, also produced the 45 ft. x 45 ft. Wallygator cartoon character for the GENNAKER. (North Sails Graphics in San Diego, CA performs similar services in the U.S.—Eds)

• Self-tacking headsails sheet to a recessed semicircular track. The boat can be sailed by a crew of four and raced by a crew of 10. That's no more than a Mumm 36 requires!

• The one-ton anchor and chain are deployed from a watertightanchor well below the waterline, keeping weight low and aft to minimizing pitching. The yacht's tender is stored in the transom behind a hydraulically operated "Garage door."

On her first transatlantic crossing, Wallygator covered 320 miles in a day, becoming the fastest six-head sailboat in the world.

High tech 105 ft. ketch Wallygator(above) can be sailed by a crew of four and raced by a crew of 10.

IN THE WIND

• Alden Yachts of Portsmouth, RI and Goetz Boats of Bristol, RI. will collaborate on a custom Alden 68 designed for IMS racing with a comfortable cruising interior. The hull and deck are being built at Goetz, and all interior finishing will be done at Alden. Launching is scheduled for summer '95... The latest member of the J-Boat family of is the new 53 ft. J/160, a 'sprit' boat scheduled to debut in spring '95....

• Who says you have to go to sea? An urban beautification project is under development (location is still secret) that would use sails as the central theme. North Cloth is working with engineers from the project's architectural firm on fabrics with strong resistance to UV, wind shear and maximum aesthetic appeal.

• Readers may have noticed us using "Spectra/Dyneema" to describe sail fabrics previously called just "Spectra." The fiber was originally developed by Dutch State Mines in Europe under the name Dyneema. In the U.S., Allied Signal was licensed to manufacture Dyneema under the Spectra name. Due to recent shortages of Spectra, North is now using Dyneema as well as Spectra. The materials are essentially identical, and with permission of both producers, we are calling the material "Spectra/Dyneema" in the interest of accuracy.

• In the last issue of NORTH NEWS we inaccurately reported that the Swan 86 Wapiti won her class in Antigua Race Week. Bob Garvie's Swan 59 Odalisque was the winner, with Wapiti 4th. We apologize to Bob for the error.

North's renowned Gatorback Kevlar sailcloth is now even lighter and stretches even less. New Gatorback is woven with warp yarns incorporating Dupont K49 ultra high modulus Kevlar, the same fiber used in North's patented 3DL molded sails. All North Grand Prix and Regatta Kevlar sails are available in Gatorback II with K49 Kevlar.