Deck layout for AUSTRALIA II
Maker
Ben Lexcen
(1936 - 1988)
Date1982
Object number00008531
NamePlan
MediumPencil, ink, tracing film
DimensionsOverall: 860 x 2190 mm, 0.25 kg
Copyright© Ben Lexcen
ClassificationsMaps, charts and plans
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Yvonne Lexcen
DescriptionTechnical drawings of the deck layout for AUSTRALIA II with handwritten dimensions and notations.
The top drawing is an aerial view of the deck and the bottom drawing is a profile view of the deck, hull and keel. The title reads "America's Cup Challenge 1983 Deck Layout. Scale 1:10. Ben Lexcen, Sydney".
Drawing number AC-83-00 is handwritten in pencil and appearing at the lower right corner. 'AC-83-006' is repeated vertically along the right hand side.
HistoryAUSTRALIA II is the best example of Ben Lexcen as a free thinking self taught designer. He identified a means of making a significant improvement to the 12 metre design with an extraordinary keel shape no one had ever considered. In his younger days whilst doing an ocean race he had observed the problems of tip vortex and drag off the keel. The eddies were highlighted by phosphorescence, while at the same time the boat he was on was rapidly falling behind the others beating to windward. He later played around with fences and endplates on his 18-foot skiff appendages, and returned to the concept at other times.
With AUSTRALIA II Lexcen finally had a solution that paid dividends. The keel was shaped so that it had more mass toward its base, and fitted with wings which reduced tip vortex drag, improved its efficiency and also contributed to a lower centre of gravity. By then optimising the hull shape and sail plan to take advantage of the greater righting moment and manoeuvrability this keel offered, AUSTRALIA II was almost a generation ahead of its contemporaries and especially dominant in light to moderate conditions.
Lexcen also engineered many of the fittings always seeking the lightest option, and two gear failures possibly attributed to this put the yacht down 3 wins to 2 at one point. The crew however knew they had the faster boat and climbed back to win the cup in a thrilling final race, seizing the lead downwind under spinnaker on the second last leg and holding off LIBERTY's determined tacking duels on the final beat to the finish line.
With his new post 1983 office various projects for yachts and power craft were undertaken. For the 1987 defence he produced AUSTRALIA III and IV, but neither boat showed the dominance of AUSTRALIA II and the Iain Murray managed KOOKABURRA team won the right to defend the cup, but were then beaten by the USA challenger.
The new holders of the cup, the San Diego yacht Club were then caught by a surprise challenge from New Zealand based on an interpretation of the Deed of Gift which allowed them to use a 90 foot waterline monohull. Lexcen and Bond enjoyed the audacity of the move. Hoping that multiple challengers might be accepted they began sketching a concept for a challenger, but it was during this process that Lexcen died and no yacht eventuated from his preliminary ideas.
SignificanceThe most high profile sailing achievement in the imaginations of many Australians is when the AUSTRALIA II syndicate ‘stole’ the America’s cup from the New York Yacht Club in 1983 after 132 years. It was a moment that galvanised the non-sporting world and crystallised the optimism and excess of the 1980s. After AUSTRALIA II's historic win the appeal of the Cup broadened. The cup became winnable and changed hands a number of times over the course of the next thirty years with a broader field of challengers taking part.
