AC-1 Racing 2010

Project #1

Testing was carried out in the rough waters of the Canaries. With winds giving our test team no change to relax offering everything from lighter morning breezes to a howling 50knots. The new AC-1 is now ready to enter the battle fields.

Team Captain Andrea Cucchi’ It’s almost 20 years that I’m racing and it would have been a thought to just stop racing. After having developed the new AC-1 2010 with my team, the motivation to get on racing fields with this black beast, it’s just too high. The new project has brought to a final sail which is not possible to compare to others. A powerful engine with super light body weight and great F1 tuning. The choice to move to the Canary Islands has been a winning choice as it’s also shown from the results of the PWA local riders.

Combined to the c100+ the winning result is assured at 100%

2010 Objective: •enhanced low-end power •accelerated drive on downwind courses •increased control •increased stability •lighter •compact outline •true black feeling The 2010 version of the AC-1 is a complete new development from the earlier models. A redefined new compact design. Resulting in easily measurable improvements in both high wind control and power in light wind conditions. The wide top of the sail body is maintaining a consistent load on the mast which gives more constant low-end force and improved downwind performance. Benefitting from the UV stabile materials its been possible to reduce the overall weight of the sail and still uphold the Point-7 longevity...

1. New Cams for no compromise rotation when attackling the next mark.

2. New Inner reinforcement pattern for lighter weight and better view.

3. Lower ‘wider & deeper’ mast sleeve profile for more stability and downwind drive.

4. New bigger brass roller pulley.

5. Minimal design for lighter weight.

6. Wider lower leach for more drive and power in light wind. (Shorter boom length).

7. More open middle leach for higher speeds and comfort on downwind slalom & speed courses.

8. New lighter black anti uv monofilm for better handling in gybes.

9. New batten tensioner held by spectra ropes.

10. New head outline. Wider to achieve better downwind and light wind performance.

11. Shorter mast: Possibility to use 2 size masts thanks to the new outline.

12. Less luff curve for easier light wind pumping, light wind performance, comfort in hard chop. Less downhaul tension needed.

13. New sizes. New Outline.

Perfect tuning of the AC-1 Very soon you will be receiving your brand new racing black beast. When you will be unrolling the sail, the power of the look, will start pumping adrenalin into your veins.

Insert the C100+ in the given size, into the luff pocket. Make sure the mast goes on top of the cams. On the 7.1 and 9.6 you can decide to either use the 430 or 460 and the 490 or 520 respectively. We testers, no matter what our personal weight is, prefer the shorter mast option as for racing performance. For more sportive performance the longer mast option can be well appreciated.

If you have another brand mast, you can still use the sail, but we cannot be sure on how the overall performance of the sail will be. This is though a general notice to any racing sail available on the market.

Insert the extention, pull some downhaul. Place the boom on the mast and tight slightly the outhaul. Place the cambers on the mast. Start with the bottom one, then the top one, later the central cams. In case the cams are jumping out, pull more downhaul tension and try again. If they are too hard to place on, release the downhaul tension and place them on.

To make it easier, open the zipper, and while pushing up the cam, press with the other hand the batten down, just in the area behind the cam.

Once the cams are on, pull maximum downhaul as given, set outhaul and close the zippers.

Fine tuning.

Downhaul: There is only 1 setting for maximum performance. Does not matter if the wind is light or strong.

To be sure of the right luff length, don’t trust the measurement which is stamped on your extention. Take a measuring tape, and measure from the pulley rollers of the extention, to the top of the ring of same. If the sail luff length is for example 503 and the ideal mast is a 490, the extention should be place at 14cm, so 1cm longer then the given size.

If it would say 504 luff length, then place the extention at 16, leaving 2cm at the bottom.

For a second check on correct trimming, take a look at the sail panel between batten 2 and 3. That sails part gains a horizontal ‘v’ of loose monofilm. The narrower part of the ‘v’ of loose monofilm, should be around 25 cm from the luff sleeve.

What happens if the sail has to little downhaul? It would feel heavier and give less acceleration and speed. What happens if the sail has too much downhaul? It could loose the lock in position in stronger winds. To have these negative results, you need to exceed in the wrong settings by pulling or not pulling the downhaul by a big difference.

Outhaul: Se the boom to maximum length given. Select the pressure of the outhaul using the adjustable outhaul system. Keep the sail as negative as possible at all times. If you feel you start having too much power, just pull the outhaul 1 cm more each time, till you find the comfort needed. If you feel you need more power, don’t limit the sail to have even more negative outhaul.

Battens: give good pressure to batten (from the bottom): 1 ,2,4,8. On the other battens just give pressure to eliminate wrinkles, but nothing more.

Tack strap. At the tack of the sail you will find the tack strap . Lace it around the extension, and pull a lot of pressure on it! This is extremely important.

No other special tuning is needed. Just follow these above setting and the sail will set you to average speed you have never experienced!

Size Size 5.0 5.0 5.6 5.6 6.3 6.3 7.1 7.1 7.9 7.9 8.7 8.7 9.6 9.6 9,9 9,9 11 11 12 11,8 11,8 12.5 12.5

Idea Ideall Mast Ma st 370rd 370rdm m 400rd 400rdm m 430 430 430/ 430/460 460 460 460 490 490 490/ 490/520 520 520 520 550 550 550/ 550/580 580 580 580

Len Len

m m

0

0

0

Mast Ma st Lenght Lenght (+.1cm) (+.1cm) 404 404 412 412 438 438 474 474 494 494 514 514 528 528 TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC

Boom Boom +-3cm +-3cm 170 170 184 184 196 196 204 204 216 216 226 226 250 250 TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC

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