fivepointfive - April 2023

Opposite: Louise Morton, Annie Lush and Hannah Diamond racing GBR 41 in Hankø in 2022 • Above left: GBR 41 on her way to winning the 2021
Alpen Cup at Torbole • Middle top: Various computer models of GBR 41 • Top right: GBR 41 in build at David Heritage in Cowes • Middle: Peter Morton
and Andrew Palfrey after winning in 2021 • Lower right: Testing in Cowes • Below: First regatta at the German Open on Wannsee, Germany, in 2021
Additional photos One2three and Andrew Palfrey
calculated to ensure good helm balance. A final faired Rhino 3D
model of the hull was produced for construction purposes.
GBR 41’s hull is a sandwich structured composite with a
cedar core and glass skins. The hull was manufactured using a
wooden construction jig, built upside down and from inner skin
out. Plywood jig frames were spaced every 500 mm. Cedar core
strip planks were interlocked and faired to the jig. The core was
then sheathed in glass and epoxy resin and cured.
LAUNCH
GBR 41 was launched in Cowes in June 2021. It floated within 1
mm of its design draft measurement marks with minimal 25 kg
of trimming ballast located above the keel. It performed well in
initial trials on the Solent against GBR 40 (formerly NED 31 – a
2006 Wilke / Schmidt boat).
We were thrilled when GBR 41 won the first event she
competed in, which was the Alpen Cup in Torbole, Lake Garda in
October 2021 with a crew of Peter Morton, Andrew Palfrey and
Ben Cornish, sailed in a variety of conditions against a quality fleet.
Once the new Hollom GBR 42 was completed, GBR 41
was helmed by Louise Morton who with an all-female crew
distinguished themselves with tenth place in the 2022 Worlds
in Hankø, Norway which was won by the very fast GBR 42,
excelling in the uprange conditions.
Andrew Palfrey commented, “The opportunity to work
GBR 41 and 42 up against each other was invaluable and
formed the foundation of Morty’s overall vision. GBR 41’s win
at her first outing on Lake Garda validated the design tools
and the direction of the designs. It also gave us confidence in
knowing that if 42 could match 41 during initial trials in Cowes,
we were on very solid ground from a performance perspective.
Apart from the basic two boat tuning and observations from
the great sailors who volunteered to be involved (notably
Graham Bailey, Lawrie Smith, Andy Beadsworth, Jules Salter
and Jochem Visser), we also used sensors and instrumentation
put together and installed by Diverse Performance Systems.
Analysing the data through the user-friendly Njord Analytics
platform and conducting our own sail and rig analysis with Sail
Cloud helped us a lot in getting the right conclusions efficiently.”
In 2023 a new keel was designed for GBR 41, with the aim to
increase righting moment in windier conditions. 300 kg of internal
ballast was moved down into the new keel lead shoe, which resulted
in 13 per cent more righting moment compared to the original SUI
222 keel. The keel was designed to minimize the drag increase due
to the larger volume, while maximising the righting moment within
the draft limit of 1.35 m. A new weight estimate was completed to
longitudinally position the keel, and a trim check was performed.
The new keel and was installed in February 2023, along with
a new Heol runnerless mast, and GBR 41 was remeasured. She
has performed well in initial trials, confirming an improvement in
sailing performance.
Louise and her crew will hopefully continue to enjoy the allround
performance of GBR 41 at the upcoming 2023 regattas as
they take on the might of Morty, Dog and Co in the new GBR 43
which is the same hull shape but with an upgraded Hollom keel
design and Heol rig for 2023.
APRIL 2023 • fivepointfive • 57