A flying boat built and designed entirely by students from the University of Brescia. The project, carried out by the Cus Brescia Sailing Team., took more than a year to complete, and resulted in the construction from scratch of a hull that was unveiled in Brescia, Italy, during Unibs day, a three-day event in which the University showed the city what the most innovative things it had to offer, and this project fits right in.
AN “ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY” HULL
The skiff is 4.6 m long, weighs 96 kg and has a sail area of 33 m2, equipped with mainsail, jib and gennaker at the masthead. The heart of the whole project, however, is the composition of the hull, a multi-layered sandwich of flax fiber and cork, a core that is extremely flexible and durable, but above all environmentally friendly: in fact, 70 percent of the weight of the hull is composed of natural fibers.
THE CONSTRUCTION.
“The construction of the hull was the most complex and intricate part: we built a polystyrene mold on which to laminate the actual mold, and on this we then worked the layers of linen and cork to form the final sandwich. We then baked the sandwich to achieve curing and glued the deck to the hull. The next step was then the assembly of all the equipment.” explains Massimo Collotta, manager and coordinator of the work team.
SEPTEMBER THE TEST
The entire work was carried out under the supervision of faculty members and qualified technical staff, who assisted the students in the various stages of work. “A boat made to fly, under the sign of research, innovation and student participation, the central point of the University,” said Rector Pecorelli. And fly it really will have to, as two students from the Cus Brescia Sailing Team will race there in September in the “One Thousand and One Sails” competition against other students aboard as many boats built within the relevant universities. Thus, a summer of training awaits them to understand the technical characteristics from the boat in the field; bottoms up guys!
For more information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cus-Brescia-Sailing-Team/145235525502002
