Tank Testing Hull Model, International 12 Meter class yacht, numbered 7102

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Tank Testing Hull Model, International 12 Meter class yacht, numbered 7102

Maker Ben Lexcen (1936 - 1988)

Date1971

Object number00054982

NameModel

MediumTimber, metal, ink

DimensionsOverall: 340 × 1450 × 275 mm

ClassificationsModels

Credit LineANMM Collection

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DescriptionA tank testing hull model for an International 12 meter class yacht numbered 7102. It is planked in layers of wood and is clear finished. HistoryTank testing yacht designs has been an important tool for a yacht designer to assess changes in a yacht's proportions and their effects on its potential importance. For many years only smaller scale models could be tested because of the small size tanks available. Lexcen and his design team which included draughtsman and model builder Dennis Philips built and tested a small number of 1:13.3 scale models for the design of the yacht SOUTHERN CROSS in 1974 with the series number 71xx and 72xx. They were run in the small tank at the University of Sydney Engineering Department. This model appears to be a copy of the design of the 1970s challenger GRETEL II, which was designed by naval architect Alan Payne. Dennis Phillips worked on that design project with Alan Payne, and would have been able to reproduce a plan and model that closely resmbeled the final design of GRETEL II, and this would have been useful as a comparison to their new design. It is built in thin timber planks of the thickness used for the models built by Phillips during the Lexcen design project. SignificanceTank Testing Builder's Model, numbered 7102 was one the early models developed for the SOUTHERN CROSS design. It was built in cedar planking nad appears to be very clsoely based on the design of the 1970s challenger GRETEL II, desiged by Alan Payne. Dennis Phillips worked on that design programme, so it is possible he developed this design as a benchmark to test the new designs against.