The boat ‘without mast and boom’ exists and is almost ready!

When the communiqué had arrived in the newsroom we thought the idea was rather … wacky. Just like the name of the start-up company that proposed it, Stramba, in fact. Instead, the boat with an inverted U-shaped mast and hi-tech sail that functions like an airplane wing is ready to show itself. A 47-footer (15 meters) that we will be able to touch on next April 15 at the historic Zuanelli shipyard on Lake Garda.

DESIGNER? NO, BACHELOR OF ARTS
The idea, which was awarded one million euros in funding, came not from a designer but from a graduate in classical literature and a “serial startupper,” as Daniele Mingucci, from Riccione, born in 1971, likes to call himself. “About boating, I didn’t understand anything about it. I just did a little windsurfing when I was young.” But as director Morten Tyldum has Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) say in ‘The Imitation Game,’ ‘sometimes it’s the people no one imagines who can do certain things that do things no one can imagine.’

“When I submitted my idea, in the form of a model, to Mario Zuanelli, a wonderful and competent person, he was amazed,” says Daniele. “It seems that your system works, yet it must have some flaws,” he told me. An even more thorough check came from ‘master tree farmer’ Ciccio Manzoli, who spotted a small problem with leeching in the system (and solved). Meanwhile, collaboration with Prof. Alfredo Liverani of the University of Bologna has also arrived.

HOW THE U-TREE WORKS
With the grant money, Mingucci paid for the aluminum boat, the 15-meter boat (4.60 m wide, 2.40 m draft with 1.60 m fin) conceived by Q-id, an industrial design studio from Forlì (which has also worked with Ducati and Ferrari) and under construction at Zuanelli, as well as the first inverted U-shaped mast profile, also made of aluminum: “Simplifying a lot, at the structural level we can say that we push where others pull. The shrouds are replaced by the ‘legs’ of the mast. Obviously inside the hull are two reinforcing ribs that house the recessed end portions of the mast. The first, obvious advantage is the disproportionate increase in livable space on deck. It can easily fit 12 people: in contrast to today’s design standards, we decided to fit only one rudder wheel, since space abounds. A large awning, which will start from the roll bar, will keep part of the deck in the shade. We designed the boat with comfort in mind.”

Back to the tree: “We at Stramba made the first profile; Manzoli’s Velscaf will take care of future ones. In our extrusion we have applied a Battcar carriage system from Harken, which makes it as easy as possible for the sail to glide. And trust me, from the first tests I can assure you that, when there is to tack or gybe, the mainsail glides, big time: we were afraid for that five feet of ‘bow’ in the ‘masthead’ , but everything went well.” To summarize: when tacking or gybing, the sail runs down the mast, passes high over the crew’s head and comes down on the opposite side of the “U.” . We are undoubtedly slower in maneuvering than with a traditional rig, changing tack takes 15 to 20 seconds compared to only a few seconds with a boom mainsail, but in addition to the advantage of deck space, there is also the fact that the mainsail with this system is exposed to the wind always from one side, and this allows us to shape it better. For now the mainsail, which has a special rectangular shape with double square tops, has a fixed thickness but soon we will be able to modulate it according to the stresses on the sail. There is no boom, or if you prefer there are five booms, battens!”

The hoisting and lowering of the mainsail, as well as its ‘passing’ is easily handled with an electric winch that can be ‘switched’ to manual mode. A jib attached to the reinforcing transom at the base of the mast bow and a gennaker complete the rig. We, like you, are very curious to see the system in action. We will reveal more details after April 15!

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