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[SAILING] Extreme load cases: cruising expertise

GSea Design is developing its expertise in the cruising sector. A logical transfer of skills from racing boats to pleasure craft? Not really. Though the two categories share similarities in images, the comparison ends once it comes down to structural calculations. Maeg, an engineer, spent eight years working for a pleasure craft certification body, before bringing her expertise into play at the service of GSea Design.

On the water, two parallel worlds combine but the links between offshore race boats and cruisers tend to be in short supply. The former, largely prototypes, make wide use of carbon and are starting to fly, whilst constantly striving for improved performance, even if it means totally sacrificing comfort. The latter, production boats, are built of glass sandwich and now favour all that offshore racing delivers on: extreme stability, ‘better than home’ equipment and increasingly wide openings in all the bulkheads to offer a greater sense of space and visibility.
“We’re working on all types of cruising platforms, monohulls and most notably catamarans. The specifications favour ergonomics and the structure is designed to be adapted. They’re evolving towards more openings with portholes everywhere and glazed windows. These boats are kitted out with fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms and the load cases studied are extreme. We’re essentially working on the “distortion”, which is significant on multihulls. When the hulls work, the glazed windows should continue to close properly! The stiffness of the structure is vital.

GSea Design complies with all the regulations published by certification bodies like ICNN or Bureau Véritas, with which the engineers from Lorient regularly collaborate to refine these texts.

At the same time as the ‘classic’ monohulls and multihulls, a new category of so-called ‘cruising’ boats has been created. GSea Design has notably got involved in the studies into fast foiling boats like the “Foiler” built by the ENATA yard, as well as the famous Seabubbles!