Muscle power becomes electricity
Instead of traditional winches with cable pulls and hydraulics, Hypersail relies on ‘Winch by Wire’. The force that the grinders apply to the pedals on deck is immediately converted into electrical energy and channelled precisely to where it is needed. In this way, a single crew member can move loads of up to nine tonnes.
Incidentally, the technology is not entirely new: the underlying principle is already used in the active suspension systems of the Ferrari Purosangue and the Ferrari F80. The winch solution is also based on the ‘by-wire’ approach that Ferrari most recently introduced with the Manuale By-Wire system in the new 12Cilindri Manuale.
Below deck, the electronics take over
Whilst muscle power is required above deck, the software does the work below deck. A flight controller manages the foils and control surfaces via two separate systems: The Ferrari Luce’s 800-volt architecture is used for slow, fundamental movements, whilst compact 48-volt motors handle fast and precise corrections. Both systems run exclusively on electricity from renewable sources.
Sun and wind as crew members
On deck, around 100 square metres
of walk-on solar panels generate electricity. Their position was selected using simulations
to ensure they capture as much solar energy as possible. The
system is supplemented by detachable wind turbines at the stern. Their angle of attack is
designed so that they generate energy without slowing the yacht down at high
speeds.
Surplus electricity is not wasted: it
is stored in two 800-volt batteries and is available precisely when
sun, wind or muscle power are insufficient.
