 Conner enlisted the help of designers Morrelli, Chance & Hubbart & MacLane, and aircraft manufacturer Scaled Composites.Two "Stars & Stripes" cats were built, one with a conventional soft sail ("Stars & Stripes S1"), and the second with a wing mast ("Stars & Stripes H3") built by Scaled Composites.The wing masted boat proved to have superior performance, and so was used in the defense.