MATHIS RUHL WIND MOTION TRIMARAN 70

After his early days with Gilles Vaton (with the refit of Charles Heidseik III), he moved over to motor launches, with the Italian Spadolini studio and the Apreamare. Still in Italy, he worked with Erik Lerouge on Obi One, at Vismara Yacht Design. He then moved to Southern Wind, where he carried out some studies on deck plans, before returning to La Rochelle to work with Philippe Briand. With a wealth of different experience behind him, he is now working on concepts aiming at better use of the natural elements, the wind and water which make up our marine environment, thanks to the new technology available. He starts from the simple principle that vessels propelled by the wind are the only possible future. After a project for a cargo ship with a bipod rig composed of twin rotating masts, optimizing the venturi effect, called MRTW, in 2015, he is now presenting a 70-metre trimaran propelled by wind energy. But this time, he has taken the biplane mast concept much further, devising the system called RTW² (Rotating Twin Wingmast). The bipod profile is self-supporting and rests on a central pivoting foot, offering much more favorable aerodynamics, and a lighter structure which requires little space on the deck. Thick articulated wings are unfurled and folded away in the spars, automatically. They are the main propulsion in moderate wind conditions. As the whole assembly pivots, the air molecules can follow a laminar flow both on downwind points of sailing and close to the wind. Its ease of handling and automation allow it to be free of the constraints linked to strong winds, to adapt to heaving-to, or to the windage during harbor or anchoring maneuvers. As the icing on the cake, 10-meter diameter wind generators can be incorporated into the wing masts’ profile, to recharge the domestic batteries. According to its designer and for identical efficiency, this arrangement requires half the rig height of a Bermudan rig and two thirds that of a square-headed sail, and remains more efficient that an America’s Cup-style rigid wing…

For more information: www.mathisruhl.com