For any of you following the lead up to the American’s Cup Deed of Gift (DoG) match race to be held in early February, you’re probably familiar with BMW Oracle’s entry into the match as the Challenger of Record, a boat some are calling DoGzilla. Below is a picture of the boat from yachtpals.com showing a recent modification. They have added streamlined fairings to the structural crossmembers connecting the three hulls. This goes along with what I wrote in an earlier post about reducing parasitic drag as a key to increasing speed.

Credit: Yachtpals

Some updates: here’s another image of BMW Oracle’s boat from a better angle for viewing the streamlined fairings. You can even see the hole in the fairing for the helmsman to stand.

Credit: BMW Oracle

Come to find out, Alinghi has similarly streamlined their structural crossmembers, as shown below.

Credit: America's Cup