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Image Not Available for COLORBOND leading CHESTY BOND during a race on Sydney Harbour
COLORBOND leading CHESTY BOND during a race on Sydney Harbour
Image Not Available for COLORBOND leading CHESTY BOND during a race on Sydney Harbour

COLORBOND leading CHESTY BOND during a race on Sydney Harbour

Date1983
Object numberANMS0158[364]
NamePhotograph
MediumBlack and white photographic print on paper.
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Louis D'Alpuget
DescriptionCOLORBOND leads CHESTY BOND during a race on Sydney Harbour.HistoryCOLORBOND was developed by two aeronautical engineers and a naval architect on behalf of BHP. Some research and development was undertaken in the United States with hydrodynamic computer simulation and stress analysis being completed in Australia. The high-tech hull has a composite sandwich construction outer skin of Nomex paper honeycomb core material.The hull was then baked and cured with a carbon fibre cloth. A carbon fibre frame gives the hull rigidity and strength. The skiff has carbon fibre wings, alloy mast and boom, a selection of Kevlar/Mylar sails, and a lightweight Dacron spinnaker. The retractable spinnaker pole is made of Nomex and carbon fibre. This construction technique further reduced hull weight without sacrificing overall strength. This method of construction, like the boat's design, relies on technology that has evolved in the aeronautical industry. The thing that has become obvious about 18-footers is that their development is only Iimited by the imaginations of the men who design, saiI and buiId what became the fastest mono huIled class in the world.SignificanceCOLORBOND came to represent a time in design and construction that favoured hi-tech and grandiose elements. It remains a symbol of a decade that thrived on large budgets through corporate sponsorship and exhibited elaborate designs such as huge rigs and asymmetrical spinnakers.