Leopard is 30 metres long, 6.8 metres wide, has a 5.5 metre draft, a 4.5 metre fixed bowsprit, a towering 47 metre mast and a keel that cants 40 degrees either side of centreline.
The Hull
The sleek, powerful carbon fibre/nomex hull provides the platform for exceptional speed, the volume for remarkable accommodations and is a notable departure from the recent fleet of extremely narrow boats. The wide hull is especially suited for high-speed sailing offshore and is enhanced by the presence of a chine that improves water flow off the hull and reduces structural weight.
Canting Keel & Dagger Boards
The hull is matched to a set of efficient underwater foils including a canting keel, twin asymmetric lifting canards forward and a single rudder on centerline aft. The stability boost added by canting the keel is equivalent to 200 crew members sitting on the rail, without the added weight! Two hydraulic cylinders typically operating at a load of 61 tonnes cant the keel.
The Rig
The rig towers at 47 metres above the water and can carry up to 15,000 square feet of sail area. The rig design is focused on providing the power and flexibility for the many modes of operation.
High Performance Features
Rather than a single forward canard, Leopard has twin dagger boards, mounted on hydraulic rollers and a single rudder. The canards, carefully placed on either side of the mast to perfectly balance the sail forces, are lifted and lowered using hydraulically powered pinch rollers. A single, aft rudder was selected as the best arrangement for steering. The yacht has the ability to take aboard up to six tonnes of water in the transom area so as to lift the bow in fast, downwind conditions. All candidate appendage designs were evaluated using an advanced Velocity Prediction Program, validated by the tank testing of multiple appendage arrangements. The basic features of the design such as bulkheads, chain plates, keel cylinder supports and hull and deck skins have been integrated with unique features such as under-deck line tunnels, ballast tanks, canard cases and sail handling systems to minimize redundant structure and reduce weight.