Quiz time! Guess what arrived in my inbox yesterday? It's a boat. What a surprise... but what boat is it? I am sitting in it on this photo... Yes it looks strange. There are two long and narrow carbon hulls and a "fishy" net between them...
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| A big hull |
Need more clues? Those two hulls share a single sail, but it really isn't a sail. It is more like a wing from a plane of sorts... And it is big too.
A big wing
Ok, ok, the boat-type is painted on the wingsail. What kind of quiz is this anyways? This is too easy.
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| A big boat |
Did I mention it's big? Check this out. That little boat all to the left is the Q-2m. It is around 7 meters. The bigger boat (but still tiny) at the top is the Bandit 50. Big isn't the word. Huge is much more appropriate, though I suppose the
J-Boat is even bigger.
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| Ready for launch |
So here it is... Wildwind was out of the game for a while, but I must say they're back. Amazing how much good a little break can do. Hmm... It is not an official release. Not yet. I sailed it a bit but not enough to comment upon it. At least not in an intelligent way, so that will have to wait...
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| Tiny me |
However, I will say that the build looks very good and detailed. I was never into catboats, but I gotta admit this is a littlebit exciting. If the sailing is as good as the looks I'd expect the Blake to be filled with these monsters. Only problem is - if they foil - they will cross that pond in less than two minutes. Honestly, I think the
45er is more suited to our virtual waters, but that won't stop me from trying out the 72.
Oh and that silly quiz question: Will a cat fly if it has only one wing?
For sure a well done replica, a good exercice of style.
ReplyDeleteBut that boat in RL is so exclusive, that it is not longer considered as a sailboat. A "wingboat"?
Mainly, it has a very limited range of sailing capabilities based of wind/wave conditions, it requires the wing to be removed when moored... Totally unable to sail in normal sea conditions, would not even be able to cross the Channel, and would nozedive in the first wave. A limited range of use, for lakes or flat sea in some bay. That won't avoid people in SL to rezz some in their marina, and to sail her in all conditions. SL.
What could be on some interest, is to know if this build comes with some improvements in sailing engine, to fit that sort of boat (foils, maneuverability,...).
If talking about "huge multihulls" for SL, I'd had preferred something like a MOD70, a true sailboat able of transoceanic races as well as in-port fun races.
Question of taste.
Yes, it is a very special boat made for very special conditions; Some people like to compare it to an F1. A F1 would probably not make it through Paris-Dakar, and you take it apart when you are done.
DeleteSailing of the ac72... I really do hope it takes skill and not just a built-in computer like the one the Americans had to use in order to make it run good. I haven't tested it yet, so I have no comments on the sailing engine so far.
All in all I agree: In RL I'd absolutely prefer a more seaworthy boat. The AC72 is deffo not a boat. It is a toy.
I found it very tricky to get going - but once going, it was faster than most motorboats. Imagine a bunch of these on the raceline! Blake is not big enough. Give me an old wooden yacht any day :)
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