hybrid ’s performance and to be. Carbo-Link’s recent work reliability has been further proven on with Rondal on the rigs of high- the Wallycento Galateia and the Maxi performance superyachts such as 72 Proteus. ‘The hybrid backstays Ngoni, Gin and Aquarius has Keep came along as an optimisation of our led to another invention: the carbon Carbo-Link profiled lateral rigging toggle, which has been entered for package,’ says Cannonball’s project the DAME Awards 2018. manager, Lorenzo Mazza. ‘It has been The technology derives from crane a sensible step, reducing the frontal cables, where it’s already proven and area of our cables’ sections by quite widely used. Each toggle is moving 4.5mm and changing the section laminated as a basket loop from pre- drag; it’s chafe-resistant, light and Above: the shape from circular to elliptical. preg carbon and cured under tension durable; and unlike flexible cables, hybrid carbon There was no doubt of the good to ensure the fibres are perfectly it can live on the mast for years rigging value of this project. aligned. ‘There might be some torque without needing to be sent back to cables on this ‘It has been great to be able to in the forestay due to friction in a Maxi72 rig the manufacturer. But what about reduces the confirm the design objectives: swivel or a wrapped halyard, so our rigging that needs to bend, like total frontal diminish the cable drag and reduce toggles are also designed to take runners and topmast backstays? area of the the weight, whilst at the same time torsional loads,’ Wilkinson says. Solid rigging doesn’t like being flexed yachtʼs making sure of no feathering, no ‘To avoid load mixtures within the around sharp corners, so it’s not standing vibrations and good alignment of the toggles, the different loads are ideal for these applications. ‘Some rigging by section all way up the cable. All well absorbed by different parts of the almost a of our clients were having to fall back square metre achieved!’ Mazza continues. toggle. Tension is taken by the on flexible cables, which are heavier, and its What’s the difference in drag carbon basket loop and torsion by have a larger-diameter and a braided elliptically between a Maxi 72 mast with a full the outer tube of the toggle.’ cover that needs to be replaced every profiled set of aerodynamically profiled solid What’s the advantage? They can four years at least,’ Wilkinson says. shape further carbon rigging and the same mast be up to half the weight of regular Now here’s a solution. Carbo-Link reduces drag. with regular bundled carbon, circular- steel toggles. A weight saving of 60kg Below: the has reintroduced another of its two-time section rigging? Wilkinson says the (20kg per toggle) at the top of a 60- ’s Cup innovations, first Americaʼs frontal area is reduced by 0.8m2, metre mast will substantially increase introduced in 2007: hybrid carbon Cup winning which equates to at least as much the ’s righting moment. In rigging, designed to offer all the Swiss drag as a highway stop sign held practical terms, if the yacht has an advantages of solid rigging, but with team perpendicular to the wind – and the eight-metre keel with the balance flexible sections in places where the is a longterm reduction in drag coefficient will be point in the middle, eliminating 60kg Swiss-based Carbo-Link has long been one of the quiet giants of high customer of cable needs to flex: where the Carbo-Link, substantially more than that. For at the masthead could save 900kg performance sailing… It is only now, many years after they rigged their deflectors sit; and where the boom having used a Wallycento rig, the difference is a of weight in the keel. can bend the cable. its cables reduction in frontal area of 1.5m2, The other advantage over steel first America’s Cup winner for Alinghi that word is getting out at last Hybrid rigging is a continuous since 2007. or two stop signs, and for superyacht toggles, of course, is that carbon fibre carbon cable, with no links or joins. The teamʼs rigs it’s even more. Carbo-Link is now doesn’t suffer from fatigue. The Deed of Gift What do Ariane’s space rockets, marine, aerospace, construction, Above: the CL Ellipse For most of their length, these are working with a number of projects to toggles are designed based on the cat dramatic Porsche’s racing cars, Liebherr’s industrial and motorsport divisions, One of Carbo-Link’s innovations – solid carbon cables without any Alinghi 5 put both profiled rigging and hybrid established load ranges and increases in largest industrial cranes and some creating an economy of scale. elliptically profiled solid carbon cover, and they can be elliptically went one step carbon rigging on several high- dimensions, allowing for a like-for-like boatspeed of the world’s most technically ‘We’re an innovation company rigging, developed for the Deed of profiled to further reduce drag. In the further with performance and superyachts change. This allows substantial that weʼve the enormous advanced suspension bridges have first,’ says James Wilkinson, Carbo- seen in the Gift America’s Cup back flexible sections, the cable is cured in the near future, including the weight reductions aloft, with limited but very light in common with Ultime , Link’s business development last few in 2010 – was so far ahead of the into a bundle of carbon rods, Baltic 142. impact on sailing schedules. It is also platform Maxi 72s and most of the recent manager. ‘Our research and years, in both curve that most of the high- allowing them to move relative to possible to produce custom toggles locked in monohull and contenders in the America’s Cup? development spans various performance sailing market (with each other and flex as required. place using Carbon toggles for bespoke projects. They all rely on cutting-edge industries over more than 15 years. a few notable exceptions) has only a complex What are the heaviest rigging Carbo-Link will be launching and racing, have composite solutions from Carbo-link The yacht racing industry is a major recently begun to embrace it, long Tested at sea array of components on the mast of a large showcasing two of its new products, amplified the Carbo-Linkʼs to solve extremely complex structural beneficiary of this research and inherent after it was used in the America’s These new hybrid cables are already racing yacht? It’s usually the toggles carbon toggles and hybrid carbon both round engineering challenges and gain a development investment.’ benefits of Cup. So what’s changed? Fleets proven on the water following a – hefty chunks of stainless steel rigging, at METS (the Marine FRANCESCO NAGLIA/DRONEPROJECT SRL and ellipse competitive advantage. We tend to assume that high- elliptically have become more competitive and season of sailing aboard the Maxi attached to the upper end of the Equipment Trade Show) in solid rigging Carbo-Link’s roots are in hi-tech performance sailing is at the profiled, solid the increases in boatspeed of both 72s MOMO and Cannonball, building mast. For a 50-metre boat, they can Amsterdam, on 13-15 November, civil and industrial engineering – the forefront of technological innovation, carbon fibre multihulls and monohulls in the last on the experience of the V5 Cup weigh 50kg or more, and that weight Hall 07, Stand 121. company is a spin-off from the highly but that’s not always the case. The rigging. The few years, particularly with the boats in 2007. At the time of writing, is precisely where you don’t want it www.carbo-link.com K higher the regarded Swiss Federal Laboratories durability of Carbo-Link’s cables, apparent adoption of hydrofoils, have for Materials Science and Technology for instance, is well proven in wind speed, amplified the inherent benefits (EMPA) – but while it remains a world applications that reach far beyond the greater of profiled rigging. The higher the leader in these fields, working on the demands of sailing. The marine the drag apparent wind speed, the bigger the large-scale infrastructure projects, classification society DNV GL differential advantage. With Maxi 72s such as its technology has migrated into (formerly Germanischer Lloyd) and the MOMO and Cannonball leading the greater the other industries including aerospace, expects yacht rigging to withstand advantage. way, profiled solid carbon rigging has motor sport and high-performance at least 100,000 load cycles, but The Maxi 72 finally started to gain some real sailing. Since the turn of the Carbo-Link has developed cables fleet has been traction. Race-focused superyachts millennium, a major focus for that can operate safely at more than leading the are set to follow suit, starting with a Carbo-Link’s innovation has been 18 million load cycles to meet the way, with Baltic 142 due to launch in March the development and refinement of far more rigorous requirements of Carbo-Linkʼs next year and with more to follow. new CL new, often groundbreaking, rigging large-scale civil engineering projects. Ellipse and solutions for high-performance racing On a slightly smaller scale, its CL Hybrid CL Hybrid and superyachts. pendants for Liebherr cranes rigging Solid carbon rigging offers clear routinely handle three million load already fitted advantages for shrouds, forestays Economy of scale cycles. In theory at least, one set to Momo and fixed backstays. It gives you the Carbo-link actively searches for of solid carbon rigging cables can (above) and smallest possible cable diameter and Cannonball technology transfer between its literally last a lifetime. can be profiled to further reduce

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