Maximus - world's fastest supermaxi

[Rob_Webb]

Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Has there been much coverage of Maximus in the UK?

She's an awesome machine, a brand new 100ft supermaxi with a design brief of maximising power to weight ratio.

She's 100% kiwi designed & built and was launched a few weeks ago in Auckland and I've been watching her being commissioned from my office window for the last month. We get our fair share of superyachts here but nothing has caused such a stir as Maximus for a long time. Standing beneath her hull she resembles a 100ft surf board.

And then earlier this week I got my dream opportunity to join the crew on a tune-up sail for a few hours around the Hauraki Gulf. Awesome. Here are some key highlights and facts that stick in mind from the experience.....

- Her keel cants over 45 deg. each side. As she powers up onto the wind with her carbon/kevlar/3DL sails she takes on a healthy angle of heel. Then as the keel is hydraulically canted she flattens back out again. Result = 12kts boat speed in 10 kts true wind on a beat (i.e. 20+kts over the deck) but boat is virtually flat.

- As well as canting, the keel lift/drops between 4-6m draught (for access to harbours and travel lifts). Sitting on weather rail with keel canted fully out it is clearly visible under our feet as we skim across the water - at time the long bulb looks as though it might break the surface of the water like a dolphin!

- The whole mast rotates to reduce drag and align itself with the angle of the main. Result = chord starts from the front of the mast rather than the mainsail track giving you an extra 3ft depth plus lower drag.

- Sails are raised on halyards and then locked at the masthead, before being tensioned via downward pulling hydraulic rams i.e. the cunningham is a hydraulic downhaul. Likewise the inner and outer forestays. Manual runners though.

- Maximus will never sail downwind and has no downwind sails i.e. she does not carry a spinnaker. Reason is that because of immense spead the wind is always forward of the beam. You never steer a dead run but turn 30-40 deg off and the resulting boat speed pulls the apparent wind around forward of the beam again. So she carries gennakers but not spinnies.

There is loads more and it was a privilege to be aboard for a few hours. I have absolutely no connection with the team nor any reason to promote the venture. I'm simply a huge fan of a project which set out to build the world's fastest and most high-tech supermaxi and to take on every major world regatta this year.

So you will be seeing Maximus later this year for Cowes week and the Fastnet. Plus other races in Europe.

For more info and pics visit:

http://www.supermaxi.co.nz/

Rob

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

That would have been an interesting sail Rob.

I wonder if she will be the first super maxi to last more than one or two ocean races without falling apart /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Personally, I think Konica Minolta is a much better boat, but, of course, I am very parochial. Whatever though, it is good to see some NZ boats getting back into the ocean racing circuit again.

Regards

John

 

[mirabriani]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Sounds exciting
How about some pics?

Regards Briani

 

[Rob_Webb]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Try these:

http://www.supermaxi.co.nz/gallery.shtml

Many of these were taken on the day I was aboard so I'm in some of them. The photographer was a kamikazee jap who even got the chase boat to drop him into the water and had us sail past him at death-defying distances so he could get the perfect shots. At one point we passed downwind of him and were so close that the 6m canted keel stretched out underneath him as we skimmed past at 15kts - those of us on the rail looking down were convinced that the keel was about to chop his legs off!

 

[CodStewart]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Wow!

 

[lockwood]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

It may have no spinnaker, but those pics show a big ass jennaker.

Very impressive

 

[aluijten]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

I think the bottom line of your story is that I envy your office window /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Arno

 

[Rob_Webb]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Hi John

Well, Maximus has had a good start hasn't she? Won the Auckland-Tauaranga race by over 2 hrs and only missed Zana's record by about 4 mins - and considering that conditions made the whole fleet about 4hrs slower than last year it bodes well that on a like-for-like basis Maximus would have comfortably beaten Zana head-to-head. But then I reckon we'll find out at the next Sydney-Hobart if not before - maybe Sardinia?

As an aside, are you surprised by the lack of interest in this post? Imagine if this was a petrolhead's forum and someone posted a new story to say they had just come back from a drive in the world's newest/fastest/most powerful/high-tech supercar - I bet the level of interest and response would have been frantic! Whereas here the reponse has been underwhelming! I'm supposed to be writing a full-blown article on Maximus and was considering approaching ipc media to see if they would be interested in publishing it - but judging from the level of interest here I don't think I'll bother! These poor buggers seem more interested in talking about the weather/rip-off Britain/politics/crime etc etc.

That's why I now spend more time on that NZ forum I told you about - it actually does what it says on the tin i.e. talks about sailing!

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Perhaps the lack of interest is an indication too, as to why the America's Cup seems to generate little interest in UK, at least from sponsors and seemingly so from forumites too.

Maybe this forum attracts a lot of the UK sailors with a parochial view, so is an unfair judgement of others on my part. That is parochial from the point of view of only being interested in their own boat or boat type, club, etc (although I do know that there are some notable exceptions). Not interested in things beyond that.

For example, alot of interest and heroess worshipping over Ellen's feat generating hundreds of posts, mainly driven by some who raised some questions but were seen by others as just running her down, but hardly a post at all about Orange II /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif.

John

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Perhaps the UK is just waking up and getting into work, have you considered that option.

Your comments are distracting from the post, people will take a while to view the site, look through the figures.

Give us chance, you have a 12hr headstart remember /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ships_Cat]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

But Woofy, Robb's original post was near a week ago, with little interest. I read his last (perhaps incorrectly but I have double checked) as asking me what I thought about that lack of interest.

Whoops that has put another 12 hour ahead post in now /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

John

 

[Aeolus_IV]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

Personally, while I find these mega-super-maxi-yachts interesting at an engineering level (though I'm no engineer), and impressive in terms of thier abilities, I'm not sure how much real relevance to sailing they have. I have very much the same opinion about Mirabella V, big expensive toys for people who can afford them. I have nothing against either the yachts or their owners, its simply that I don't see their relevance to me and my sailing, and hense my apathy.

Regards, Jeff.

 

[janie]

Re: Maximus - world\'s fastest supermaxi

[ QUOTE ]
its simply that I don't see their relevance to me and my sailing.

[/ QUOTE ]I agree with Jeff, but that doesn't mean that IPC won't be interested in an article - particularly when she starts beating all the records that she looks as if she will.

 

[jfm]

Re: Maximus - world\'s 2nd fastest supermaxi?

Rob, great post thanks. I too envy your office location, my window looks out on City of London, nice but grey and no boats. To answer your direct question, no there has not been huge coverage of Maximus in the UK, alas

But she may already be not the fastest in the world for long, as Maiden Hong Kong looks faster. Frank Pong's new boat. Has canting keel, tungsten bulb (1.7x denser than lead) and a canting mast. First ever mono with canting mast. Plus wings on either side of the hull with 10tons of pumpable water ballast. Maximum waterline beam is 3.8 metres on a 35m hull. Will be competing in Rolex Transat in May, as will Maximus and Mari Cha IV etc.

I can post a few pix but gotta run now

 

[Stingo]

Re: Maximus - world\'s 2nd fastest supermaxi?

Photos and technical article here

 

[Rob_Webb]

Re: Maximus - world\'s 2nd fastest supermaxi?

You are right, Maiden HK might well turn out to be faster but's its a shame she is that much bigger (115'). Because currently all the supermaxi developers have an agreement to limit the overall length to 100', within which they can do anything. Which kind of seems sensible. So even if MHK beats all the rest she will really be in a class of her own with nothing comparable. Whereas the remaining 100 footers have a kind of class race ahead of them in the next 12 months.

It's also worth noting that these monhulls seem to be pulling ahead of the multihulls which is a first. Maximus soundly beat some large, proven multis in her first race and it seems that the technology now looks to be favouring monos as the next class of record-breakers. That has probably been the biggest surprise for me, watching these monhulls achieve VPs only considered possible by multis until recently.