The "pure" racing version of an AEOLOS P45 is 3.6t with 2t keel weight. 56% ballast ratio!
Yachts have tended to have less ballast for years. The reason: most customers want comfort and don't really care about the build quality of the hull. Almost all yachts are still made from cheap polyester and fibreglass. Some from the better vinylester. The interior is heavy but has all the amenities you are used to from living in houses on land....
We take a different approach, building super light: the reason for the light weight of AEOLOS yachts is the use of pre-impregnated carbon fibres, which means that as little resin as necessary is used in the hull. To do this, the fibres are placed exactly along the forces that occur in the hull, allowing the amount of material to be further reduced. For optimal bonding of the foam, we have developed an glue film that is applied to the foam in a quantity tested in the laboratory. The hull becomes more monolithic, all bulkheads and furniture are laminated, deck and hull and floor assembly form one unit. Inside there is no inner shell, all surfaces are sanded and painted.
Since all prepreg parts are baked in an oven larger than the ship, everything is perfectly cured. During the curing process, the fibres are compressed with 10 tons of pressure per square meter, reliably preventing air pockets.
The result:
- no smell, because no emissions
- 100% no risk of osmosis
- extreme strength
- minimum weight
Clean: Prepreg layup
Building with prepregs and epoxy was very expensive for many years, but our prepregs have made production much easier and therefore cheaper. In addition, there are the large quantities of fibres that we use. Bundled purchasing continues to reduce build costs.
The result is a full carbon racer with excellent sailing characteristics and tremendous stability, as more than 50% of the total weight is in the deep T-keel. The low center of gravity makes the boat well behaved and ideal for fast cruising and shorthanded sailing. Options include tiller or wheels, single rudder, double rudder, lifting keel or fixed T-keel.
The curing oven.
An AEOLOS sails light-footed like a dinghy, only more comfortable, faster and safer!
AEOLOS P45: ballast/ ratio 2, t/ 50 %, weight 4.0 t
AEOLOS P30: ballast/ ratio 0.8, t/52 %, weight 1.55t
An AEOLOS P38 would probably have these key data:
AEOLOS P38: ballast/ratio 1.5, t/50 %, weight 3t
A few numbers from the latest Performance Cruiser Yacht Test:
Arcona 385: ballast/ratio 2.4 t/35 %, weight 6.8 t
Dehler 38 SQ: ballast/ratio 2.4 t/32 %, weight 7.5 t
Faurby 370: ballast/ratio 2.2 t/39 %, weight 5.6 t
First 36: ballast/ratio 1.5 t/32 %, weight 4.8 t
J 112 E: ballast/ratio 1.7 t/33 %, weight 5.1 t
X 4.0, ballast/weight ratio 3.1 t/38 %, weight 8.1 t
These values show that it has long been possible to do things differently, even with polyester:
X99: ballast/ratio 1.3, t/56 %, weight 2.85t
BB10: ballast/ratio 1.2, t/52 %, weight 2.3t
Rainbow 42: ballast/ratio 1.6, t/42 %, weight 3.8t
Not surprisingly, these 3 old "cucumbers" are still so fast.
But even much better built boats do not have our key data:
Shogun 43 (carbon/epoxy) Ballast/ratio 2,66, t/42 %, weight 6,425t
Neo 43 (carbon/epoxy) ballast/ratio 2.5t, t/44 %, weight 5.7t
The reason here lies mainly in the detail of how the interior and equipment is arranged and dimensioned.
580kg hull weight ... Offshore Cat A
