Snipe Builders: Tsujido

After Zeltic, Jibe Tech, DB Marine, and Okumura, now it is time for an interview with Tsujido, another Snipe builder in Japan.

ST: Can you tell us the history of the company?

The company has started dinghy building in 1960.

ST: When did you start to produce Snipes?

The first Snipe was constructed in 1975.

ST: Can you describe the project?

The new Snipe was designed in 2010 by Akihiro Kanai who were involved in the America’s Cup projects three times and has been designing race boats. The Tsujido built the boat using its long experience in the Snipe since 1975. Then the first boat was tested with the sail developments by Makoto Kikuchi and Masanobu Katori from the North Sails Japan using its original 2-boat testing system which was originally developed for the America’s Cup projects and also used for the Olympic campaigns. Junichiro was the test skipper and continued the boat tunning since then.

ST: Which methods do you use to build the boat?

The molds were built by using the CNC machine to make the shape very accurate. The hull and deck were laminated by normal hand layup and vacuum-bagged. The Tsujido cares about the construction and finishes the boat beautifully.

ST: What do you can tell us about the hull design?

The hull shape was carefully designed by using the CFD technology. The shape of the Snipe is strictly controlled by the rule but there was more free space than expected. The volume distribution was, for example, changed a lot enough to change the boat performance in the limitations. The CFD simulations were carried out at various conditions from light winds to heavy winds to make the new Snipe faster at every condition, which included the upright, heeled and surfing conditions. The results showed the new Snipe had less drag from the original by 1% to 4% at each condition.

ST: For the Snipe sailors the deck design is very important for comfortable hiking and trimming. Could you describe the deck’s design?

The deck layout was designed to meet the sailors requirements. Junichiro’s suggestions were also important contribution. The shape of the hiking area on the deck, especially the slope angle was also carefully determined. The deck gear like cam cleats on the deck was positioned as low as possible under the deck surface. The weight distribution and the hull rigidity were also carefully considered.

ST: Did you also design and build the foils?

The centerboard and rudder were also carefully designed to maximize the hydrodynamic performance. The section shape was optimized.

ST: Can you list the main achievements of your Snipes in the recent years?

The Snipe has been tunned by Junichiro since April 2011 and at last good results has been achieved recently. We hope there will be more and better results. Also the Tsujido continues to build better boats which could win the world championships.

The Japan national Snipe championship 2012:  1^st, 2^nd and 4^th

The Snipe Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship 2012: 3^rd and 5^th