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SVN Solovelanet Global
of the already launched Oceanis Yacht 54, which is
going to be presentedat the next Cannes boat show,
as well as of the present First Yacht range.
SVN - Roberto, many of the boats that you design
come with double rudder blades. Do you find this
solution much better than single blade rudders?
R.B. - No, I think both systems are good, but each
of them is best employed on different boat types.
The boats that we are designing now, in my opinion,
benefit from a double rudder blade.
SVN - Generally speaking, in which cases do you
think it is more appropriate to use the double blade?
What is the key factor?
R.B. - I think there are different factors of different
nature. One of these is certainly the width/length
ratio of the boat.
For example: a mini 650 is a very short boat, just
6.50 metres, but in order to be stable she must be
wide, very wide in proportion to her length. The
bigger the boats, the less wide they are in relation
to their length. When the width becomes relevant
in this ratio, I think it is advisable to use the double
blade.
With a very wide hull, the single blade tends to get out
of the water when the boat is listing, thus making the
boat much harder to steer. To avoid this problem, you
need to design a very deep rudder, but this means
a lot of wet surface and weight and this will reduce
performance when sailing with less listing.
Here below in order, the Pogo 50, a
classic French boat for ocean sailing,
with a very wide and flat stern. She is
equipped with two rudder blades.Next,
a double blade mounted on a hull that
would actually not need it. Below the E5
by Elan, a performance boat equipped
with a double blade
