Splash screen v1/v2/v3 (2019)

The Splashscreen is a heightened ridge around the cabin to prevent (spray)water coming from waves from entering the boat.

Splash screen/Wavebreaker

According to the technical regulations from raceyear 2019 boats are obligated to have a ridge on the deck to keep water from entering the cabin. This refers to the following rule:

5.5.1 The edge of the cabin must be designed such that it prohibits significant amounts of water entering the cabin in all racing conditions expected. Alternatively, the use of a spray skirt to prohibit water entering the cabin is allowed.

The default ridge around the cabin has been rejected during the technical inspection of 2019. Sailing with a transparent splash screen in front of the cabin was proposed as a solution.

During the design of such a Splash screen, the following regulation should be taken into account:

5.4 The pilot must have a clear field of view and have unobstructed hearing at all times.

In addition; the following regulation should also be respected:

5.6 All boats must be designed to ensure that the pilot will be able to evacuate the boat within 5 seconds without any form of outside assistance.

Version 1 (2019-2020)

The first version of the splash screen on the boat has been made from a transparent poly-carbonate sheet which is curved and attached to the deck using L-profiles secured to the deck with MMA glue. The sheet is then secured to the L-profiles in a right angle with bolts and wing nuts.

Requirements

1. Has to be transparent
2. Has to be high enough to stop waves
3. Has to be well secured to the deck
4. Has to be detachable for transport

Parts

1. 1x Transparent poly-carbonate sheet
2. x L-profiles with hole
3. x Bolts
4. x Wing nuts

Build description

Drill a hole in the poly-carbonate sheet for every mountingpoint with equal distance in between every hole with the diameter of the bolts at the height of the hole in the L-profile. Mount the profile with the bolt and wing nut to the poly-carbonate. Bend the poly-carbonate to the correct angle at its final mounting point on the deck. Mark the mounting locations of the L-profiles on the deck. Apply MMA glue on the marked locations. Mount the L-profiles (mind the hardening time). When the MMA glue is hardened, mount the splash screen in its final location.

Problems

The first version of the splash screen has a few problems:

1. During the race in Monaco, the splash screen stopped a few big waves and broke.
2. It seems like the heat made hair-cracks alongside the edge of the poly-carbonate sheet.

This screen and its mounting system has been improvised after obtaining the transparent sheet. This means the there could have been more thought into the final design.

Version 2 (Proposal 2020, never produced)

After version one broke, it was decided that more planning could go into version 2. Version 2 is supposed to have an aerodynamic shape and is to be attached to the deck more firmly. The final product should be shaped in between the windshield of a moped and the cockpit of a gliderplane.

Requirements

Same requirements as version 1:

1. Has to be transparent
2. Has to be high enough to stop waves
3. Has to be well secured to the deck
4. Has to be detachable for transport

With the addition of:

1. Has to be aerodynamic
2. (Should look at least slightly more proffesional)

Material study

Poly-carbonate (Lexan)

Extremely though stuff that bends instead of breaks

• 10 year uv guarantee (becomes brittle under uv exposure)
• Impact resistance: 200x stronger than glass
• Becomes soft at 115 degrees Celsius

Working with poly-carbonate can be done hot or cold, but for a compound curve (two different curves in the same material) the only real option is bending it while heated. To bend poly-carbonate heated it needs to be 'baked' first to drive out the moisture from the material. After baking one can bring it to the desired temperature before bending it. This means the oven must have dimensions larger than the shape you want to bend the sheet material into. It's also useful to take into account that most glues don't work well on poly-carbonate

Acryllic (Plexiglas)

Less strong than poly-carbonate but a lot easier to work with.

• 30 year uv garantee
• Impact resistance: 10x stronger than glass
• Becomes soft at 90.5 degrees Celsius

Working with acrylic is quite simple; heat and bend

Protoplast

Easy to form material. Can be molded after putting it in warm water and pressing it into a mold.

Details still need to be researched

• uv ?
• impact resistance ?
• becomes soft around 60 degrees Celsius

PetG

petG scratches easier than acryllic

Proposed method

Make a mold around the cabin with the shape the splash screen should get. Then, if possible shape the plastic sheet with a heatgun(hard) or heat it in a oven before putting it over the mold(easy process, but the right size oven is hard to find)

Looking at the material: poly-carbonate bends before it breaks, plexiglass breaks and PetG is unknown. Poly-carbonate seems to be the most suitable for this application judging by its properties. BUT: poly-carbonate likes to form bubbles when heated which could make it harder to see through. This is preventable by "baking/drying" the sheet before shaping it to drive out all humidity. Shaping plexiglass is a lot easier so this is still a feasable candidate.

Version 3 (June 2021 - present)

Version 2 has due to its complexity never been built. Because of the urgency it has been decided to come up with a new proposal for the splash screen. The requirements have been re-evaluated to accommodate for a wider variety of designs. With the re-evaluation of the rules it appears we were to literal on our interpretation which made us rule out a lot of easier designs.

Requirements

1. Should not obstruct the pilots view or as little as possible.
2. Should either redirect or stop waves.

With these requirements it was possible to utilize the height of the already present ridge around the cabin, but instead of the rounded edge (which doesn't stop waves too well) a horizontal "skirt" is added on top of the ridge so waves that hit the skirt can't go over it. This design is very minimalist and will not be in view of the pilot, as a bonus it's also very light and doesn't need any other adjustments to the boat.