In the 158-year history of the America’s Cup, no boat ever had an engine — until last week, when the Swiss launched Alinghi, a 100-foot catamaran that is to defend the cup against a 100-foot American trimaran somewhere in the world on Feb. 8.
A snowmobile engine on the catamaran, which has two hulls like a Hobie Cat, will be used to trim Alinghi’s sails in a three-race series with BMW-Oracle’s trimaran, which has three hulls.
Even though it doesn’t supply propulsion, the engine appears to be a blatant violation of international racing rules that ban sail-trimming devices not cranked by human power.
Unless the engine is some kind of gag …Â Details