American Magic’s Team Gears Up for the 37th America’s Cup With Creaform

The New York City Yacht Club American Magic team once again chooses Creaform’s 3D measurement technologies to gear up for the next America’s Cup. Learn more.

Creaform has once again teamed up with American Magic, the high-performance sailing franchise, in preparation for the 37^th America’s Cup regatta, which will be held between August and October 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. Leveraging Creaform’s HandySCAN and MetraSCAN 3D, the American Magic team is pushing the boundaries of speed and innovation in the bid for the prestigious trophy.

What is the American Magic project?

American Magic is the US Challenger for the 37th America’s Cup—the pinnacle of competitive sailing and the oldest event in international sports. First contested in 1851, the America’s Cup predates the modern Olympic Games by 45 years.

American Magic is proudly representing the New York Yacht Club, which boasts a remarkable record of 25 victories in previous editions, making it the most decorated yacht club in America’s Cup history.

American Magic called upon Creaform to once again become the official 3D Measurement Technologies Supplier for the team’s brand-new and highly anticipated AC75, currently being designed to excel in a wide range of sailing conditions and strengthen the NYYC’s American Magic’s quest for triumph during the race.

The 37^th America’s Cup includes 5 Challengers from the UK, Switzerland, Italy, France and, of course, the US. There is also 1 Defender (Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron).

Creaform’s 3D scanners: Paramount to the Success of the America’s Cup

We sat down with members of the America’s Cup team to learn more about their appreciation of our 3D measurement technologies.

“They are paramount to the success of the 37^th America’s Cup,” explained Terry Hutchinson, Skipper and President of Sailing Operations. “They are FEA—fast, efficient and accurate.”

Brandon Linton, Build Manager, explained that the unwavering goal is to produce a yacht as reliable and accurate as possible to the design. The team uses the HandySCAN 3D for reverse engineering on small parts or for components that have no original CAD files.

On the other hand, they use the MetraSCAN 3D for assessing large parts, such as the vessel’s foils, deck and rudder. “We are able to quickly acquire full and complete surfaces for future references,” he said.

Global Platform Design Lead, Aaron Perry, added that the HandySCAN 3D will be used until completion of the new American Magic’s AC75, while the MetraSCAN 3D is being used early on in the development process to put huge parts together.

“We have such a short time frame; we can’t make any mistakes. Thanks to Creaform’s technologies, for example, we slashed the time it took to fit a bulkhead from several days to 1 hour,” Aaron mentioned. “The 3D scanners are invaluable tools to create something so complex and exacting as American Magic. We wouldn’t do it any other way.”

This is not the first time Creaform has assisted the NYYC’s American Magic. The team used our portable 3D scanners while designing and building the US Challenger’s 75-foot monohull for the 36^th America’s Cup, which took place in March 2021 in New Zealand. (Follow the story from the beginning)

Creaform is immensely proud to be contributing to the performance of American Magic’s race and will be cheering the team on as they hopefully sail to the win! After all, with the America’s Cup, there can only be one winner!