In early 2022 Kevin Dibley Yacht Design (DYD) was approached by SL Racing’s Director Simon Lack, who wanted help to re-design their range of rowing skiffs. SL Racing’s Hawkes Bay factory is run by brothers Simon and Hamish Lack.
SL Racing wanted to win Olympic medals with their boats and so were keen to push the boundaries with the designs. DYD started by looking at re-designing fins and appendages across the SL fleet, then at all the hulls, including the Singles, Pair/Doubles, Coxed & Coxless Four/Quads, and the Eights.
DYD had some good software to bring to bear and it became apparent early on that quite a few small ‘data-driven’ changes would add up to better speed efficiency and stability.
Emma Twigg was SL Racing’s Ambassador, so DYD spent a lot of time customising a hull
for her. While DYD concentrated on the hydrodynamics, Simon and his team worked on the deck layouts trying to improve aero-dynamics and ergonomics. The result was Emma’s SL 1.12, in which she recently claimed Silver in the Paris Olympics.
Emma’s was the only boat in the Kiwi team designed and built in New Zealand. The rest were designed and built overseas, and none were customised like Emma’s. Perhaps that will change for the next Olympic cycle?
www.slracing.co.nz
www.dibleymarine.com
