KZ1 Team New Zealand America's Cup Yacht

The KZ1, also known as New Zealand, is a one-of-a-kind sailing yacht that was built to compete in the 1988 America's Cup.

Designed by Bruce Farr, the yacht is constructed from a carbon fiber and Kevlar/Nomex sandwich, making it both lightweight and durable. The yacht is owned by Sir Michael Fay and was skippered by David Barnes, with a crew of 40 from the Mercury Bay Boating Club in Whitianga, New Zealand. The KZ1 is a sloop-rigged yacht, with a displacement of 39 tons, a length of 36.57 meters (120 feet) and a beam of 8.07 meters (26.5 feet). It has a draft of 6.40 meters (21 feet) and a sail area of 627 square meters (6,750 square feet) upwind and 1,600 square meters (17,000 square feet) downwind.

The KZ1 was built in just 24 weeks, from concept to official launching on March 27th, 1988, and was nicknamed the "Big Boat" due to its size. It was purported to be the fastest monohull in the world at the time of its construction. The yacht's center of gravity had to be very low to stay stable, and the design of the sail spars and masts became a crucial design point. The Yacht Research Institute at the University of Auckland investigated a rotating wing mast while Bruce Farr investigated more conventional spars, both aluminum and carbon fiber. Ultimately, they chose a carbon fiber spar. So experimental was the constructed design that 48 strain gauges were attached to the rig and hull to assess stress exerted on the structure. To further lower the center of gravity, the winches, and thus the eight Grinders, were placed below deck.

The KZ1 was skippered by David Barnes and had a crew of 40, compared with 11 on the AC72s that competed in San Francisco in 2013. The yacht was the largest single-masted yacht the rules would allow and was nicknamed the "Aircraft Carrier" due to its size. The 90-foot (27 meters) monohull was constructed to challenge the San Diego Yacht Club's (SDYC) response to Michael Fay's unexpected challenge in 1987. The SDYC responded by building a much faster catamaran, Stars & Stripes (US 1). When the two raced in September 1988, New Zealand was predictably defeated by a huge margin. The KZ1 was donated by Fay Richwhite to the New Zealand National Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa in 1990. The yacht is now on display outside the Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum in Auckland, where visitors can marvel at its impressive size and design. The KZ1 is a testament to the ingenuity and innovation of New Zealand's boat builders and sailors, and a must-see for anyone interested in sailing or maritime history.