High-Speed Sailing

Vessel Name: Sailien
Vessel Make/Model: Experimental/custom
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28 September 2013

The America’s Cup

I watched, with interest, the videos of the 34th America’s Cup. At last we have fast sailboats engaged in a competition that is fun to watch. The virtual images (such as course boundaries, distance grid lines, separation between boats, etc.) overlaid on the real images really helps to keep the race [...]

31 August 2013

100 Knots for Hydroptere?

The latest news from Hydroptere is that they have plans for a 100 knot sailboat. This was posted on 26 Aug 2013, so look for that date at this address. http://hydroptere.com/en/the-news/last-news/

17 November 2012

Aptly named Sailrocket, blasts off!

While yet to be ratified, Sailrocket posted an average speed over 500 meters of 59 knots. I will not be surprised if they increase their record into the 60 knot range during this record attempt.

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02 January 2012

More drag for VSR2?

I want to start by pointing out that the whole VSR2 team has done a stellar job and has demonstrated conclusively that the forces that drive a sailboat can be aligned for roll stability without using ballast and without using any down-force. (Trifoiler achieved roll stability by using down-force, but [...]

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18 December 2011

My analysis of Sailrocket

I copied a diagram of VSR2 (wing doesn’t show well) and added in the major force arrows that apply. Be aware that these arrows are not correct in terms of scale (length) and some of their locations are guesses, however I believe I’m correct enough for us to learn something about what VSR2 has been [...]

23 October 2011

60 is within reach, what’s next?

I have been watching Sailrocket’s progress with great interest and there’s no question they have a winner. I fully expect to see them reach 60kt in the near future. Sailrocket has now demonstrated what I first learned with my models and again with my full-sized prototypes, that if you get the forces [...]

Sailrocket gets air (take two)

08 October 2009
I hope you have been following Sailrocket's current record attempt. The craft flipped once again, which is unfortunate, but Paul's safety gear provided the protection needed and he is ok.

The cause of the flip is said to be due to a wave boosting the lee pod up, combined with a failure of the main foil attachment. I know no more about this than what is on Paul's blog at this time. Even so, I am quite certain that the actual cause of the flip is due to the cross-arm wing; once it got a greater angle of attack (from the boost) it provided enough lift to flip the craft.

The main foil attachment failure would cause that foil to go more vertical and that would cause the foil (and front of the craft) to be forced up. However, without the cross-arm wing, the craft would not have flipped. It would have slid sideways (down wind) and rotated off the wind, slowing all the while. It may well have also been forced into a jibe (not pretty).

Good luck to Paul and crew in making rapid repairs and continuing their quest for the record.

Bob
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