Picture This: A Splash of Color

A Splash of Color (by K. Walters)

The schooner pictured above is called America 2.0 and is owned by Classic Harbor Line out of New York City. Although she appears to be from a bygone era at first glance, America 2.0 launched in 2011. Her design was heavily influenced by a sailing icon, the schooner America, winner of the very first "America's Cup" in 1851.

 America 2.0 gets her "2.0" moniker from her new age construction techniques, materials and eco-friendly features. For example, her hull isn't fiberglass or steel as you might expect, but rather a 3-layer composite of cedar, balsa and epoxy resin on the upper 70%. The lower 30% (mostly near or below the waterline) is aluminum. Those spars that stand out so brilliantly in my picture above are actually carbon-fiber. All of this makes her much faster and more nimble than you might expect. When not under sail, she's powered by electric propulsion and a large battery bank fed by diesel generators.

I took the above photo (and this one) of America 2.0 in Key West during April, where she lives from November until May. You'll find her in New York City from May through October. If you're curious about her unique design and construction, the designer/builder (Scarano Boat Building) has some excellent construction photos posted on their website.

Comments

  1. sailer14 May

    Really nice peace of boat and those colors. Good photo.

    ReplyDelete

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