High-Speed Sailing

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 [...]

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/

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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Hydroptere relaunches

09 May 2010

It's great to see Hydroptere back in the water after a period of outfitting for ocean passage sailing. They will be testing and attempting some passage records to learn enough to advance to the next stage of their program which is ultimately to build a boat for an assault on the Jules Verne (around the world) trophy.

Their use of hydrofoils will reduce the incidence of wave impact since the hulls will be riding above the surface. Reduce but not eliminate that hazard; we'll have to see what happens once they start an extended run.

I'm sure most of you know that in open waters, bigger is better in terms of boat size since the craft can "bridge" smaller waves by the hull length and thus reduce pounding. The eventual craft will be considerably larger than the current one.

I want to wish the Hydroptere team all the best in their next adventure. We'll all be watching with high interest.

Bob

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