Creaform on Board to Help American Magic Win the 37th America’s Cup

At the end of August 2024, the New York Yacht Club’s American Magic set sail from Barcelona in its bid to win the Louis Vuitton 37^th America’s Cup. According to organizers, this year’s event promises to be “one of the most intense America’s Cups in its 174-year history.”

And with the support of Creaform’s metrology expertise, the American Magic team hopes to win the race that has no second place. Let’s explore why this race is so important and how 3D scanning technologies are helping the over 100 yacht designers, athletes, and boat builders get ready for the race of a lifetime.

What is the America’s Cup?

The America’s Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy, originating in 1800s, and remains one of the most challenging achievements in sports. The first race took place on August 22, 1851, in England.
The New York Yacht Club held the Cup for a staggering 132 years until Australia’s historic victory in 1983. Currently, the Cup is defended by Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, which won the 36^th America’s Cup in March 2021. Needless to say, the New York Yacht Club is striving to bring the Cup back home.

The Cup kicked off in August with the Challenger Selection Series, which will determine which team will face off against the Defender Emirates Team New Zealand. American Magic is competing against race teams from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy and France.

What is the story behind the American Magic team?

American Magic is a prominent yacht racing team in the sailing world. It represents the New York Yacht Club. Why is the team called American Magic? American Magic’s name is inspired by “America,” the schooner that won the first America’s Cup in 1851, and “Magic,” a yacht that defended the Cup in 1870. The team made its début during the 2021 America’s Cup.

American Magic quickly became a formidable competitor thanks to the illustrious and expert team members as well as the innovations the crew has propelled in designing the PATRIOT, a one-of-a-kind 75-foot monohull. Designed using advanced aerospace technology from Airbus, the PATRIOT soars on hydrofoils, gliding effortlessly above the water once it hits a certain speed. This groundbreaking design marks the first large-scale, fully foiling monohull in the history of sailing.

Despite a strong start during its debut at the 36^th America’s Cup, the team faced significant challenges and did not win the race. However, the team’s efforts were widely respected, and they have continued to develop their program with an eye toward this year’s competition. American Magic’s story is one of revival, ambition, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

American Magic: Gearing up to win this year’s race

This year, the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup will occur between August and October 2024. American Magic is pulling out all the stops to ensure they finish first.

In addition to pushing the crew’s limits out on the water day after day, American Magic’s design team worked hard to perfect the aerodynamics of the PATRIOT, a low-profile, full-on aero AC75. That is why the team chose Creaform’s 3D scanning technologies, HandySCAN 3D and MetraSCAN 3D, to break the boundaries of innovation as designers and engineers revamp the monohull.

The HandySCAN 3D was used to reverse engineer small parts and components with no original CAD files. In contrast, the MetraSCAN 3D scanner was reserved for earlier stages in the development process and for evaluating large parts, including the vessel’s foils, deck, and rudder.

Aaron Perry, Global Platform Design Lead at American Magic, credits Creaform’s technologies with shaving days and even weeks of their design timelines and generating ultra-accurate models of the monohull’s assemblies.

“The accuracy of the 3D scans is important,” he said. “The only components in the water while sailing are the main foil and rudder elevator—nothing else. It’s critical that these components accurately represent the original designs.” Aaron explained that the level of accuracy generated by both the HandySCAN 3D and MetraSCAN 3D gives his team the confidence that all components fit to a T and function in unison for the performance levels American Magic envisions.

Interested in learning more? Check out our latest interview with Aaron! And get ready for race day!