Case Study: Team Alinghi Spain achieves faster yacht development and America’s Cup victory with SolidWorks

Sailing to the Top of Competitive Yacht Racing With SolidWorks Software

Team Alinghi Spain, seeking to move beyond traditional 2D AutoCAD methods and compress development times for competitive yacht design, turned to SolidWorks to improve efficiency, visualization, and supplier collaboration. The team implemented SolidWorks Professional (10 seats) along with PhotoWorks, eDrawings and later SolidWorks Enterprise PDM to convert designs to 3D parametric models and better manage design data.

Using SolidWorks’ 3D surfacing, draft analysis, mold-development tools, rendering and PDM capabilities, Team Alinghi Spain reduced mold development times, fixed tolerance and alignment errors before production, tightened revision control, and improved communication with suppliers and sponsors. These gains shortened lead times, streamlined component development and contributed to designing the first European yacht to win the America’s Cup in 152 years.

Team Alinghi Spain

Aaron Perry

Designer