NZL 82

NZL 82

NZL 82 (behind) and NZL 81 docked in harbor
Yacht club	Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
Nation	New Zealand
Class	International America's Cup Class
Sail no	NZL–82
Designer(s)	Tom Schnackenberg, Clay Oliver & Mike Drumond
Builder	Cookson Boatbuilders Auckland, New Zealand
Launched	2002
Owner(s)	Team New Zealand
Racing career
Skippers	Dean Barker
Notable victories	2004 Louis Vuitton Acts
America's Cup	2003
Specifications
Displacement	27.550 t (27.115 long tons; 30.369 short tons)
Length	24.07 m (79.0 ft) (LOA) 18.28 m (60.0 ft) (LWL)
Beam	4.11 m (13.5 ft)
Draft	3.96 m (13.0 ft)
Mast height	33.50 m (109.9 ft)
Sail area	306 m2 (3,290 sq ft)

NZL 82 was a 2003-generation International America's Cup Class racing yacht. Raced by defenders Team New Zealand in the 2003 America's Cup match, she was defeated 5–0 by challenger Alinghi (SUI 64).

After the successful 2000 defence in Auckland, many senior Team New Zealand members were lured to richer syndicates and their challenges for the 2003 America's Cup. Most notable among these departures were those of Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth to Swiss challengers Alinghi. These departures resulted in a lack of senior leadership at Team New Zealand, which along with a relative lack of funds, caused the team to resort to radical design innovations in an attempt to defend the cup with raw boat speed alone.

NZL 82 was notable for her design innovations. The most controversial of these was the so-called "HULA" (Hull Appendage) – a flat appendage attached to the afterbody of the hull designed to increase waterline length (and therefore speed) without increasing the overall length of the boat. Another radical innovation was the keel bulb, which at approximately 7 metres (23 ft) in length, was over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) longer than its competitors of the time.

NZL 82 was used in Team New Zealand's 2003 America's Cup defence. She was completely ineffective, losing 0–5 to challenger Alinghi. The defeat was largely due to NZL 82's lack of reliability.

The first race was sailed in a stiff breeze and choppy seas. NZL 82 retired due to multiple gear failures in the rigging and the low cockpit unexpectedly taking onboard large quantities of water. The end of the boom snapped off due to increased stress caused by the weight of water in the boat. In addition the headsail pulled out of the groove in the forestay foil, damaging it and preventing a new sail from being hoisted.