High-Speed Sailing

Vessel Name: Sailien
Vessel Make/Model: Experimental/custom
Recent Blog Posts
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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

Finesse vs Brute Force

30 April 2008
I'll begin this post by defining what I mean by the terms "finesse" and "brute force". By "finesse" I mean a technically superior design that optimizes fluid dynamics and overall design to achieve its purpose. By "brute force" I mean the use of greater force (wind strength) to overcome shortcomings in design. Now these are only relative terms for the purpose of this discussion. At some point any design will "max-out" and will need to resort to brute force to go faster. So if a windsurfer is sailing at greater than the true wind-speed I'd call it finesse, but at less than the true wind-speed I'd call it brute force. (Fair enough? It's perfectly arbitrary.)

I am reminded of the first sailor whose attempts at sailing were crude, but I would call them finesse since he was venturing into the unknown attempting to harness the wind. Now as we all know this sailor's equipment was a log and a bed sheet. Pity the poor inventor, he undoubtedly caught hell from his wife and got ostracized from the village. Of course I would never use a bed sheet..., well, uh..., it was an old bed sheet, and besides I asked permission (I'm sure I did, as my wife never said anything...) OK, I'll confess, I did use a bed sheet to skin the wing on the model.

So how do the contenders rate on Bob's finesse/brute force scale? The windsurfers and kite sailors appear to be into the brute force range. Trifoiler/Longshot was finesse until its "wall" at 40knots (previously discussed). However Trifoiler has no chance with brute force since forcing it past that point with more power will destabilize the craft. Yellow Pages and its new incarnation, Macquarie Innovation is finesse. See it at:

http://www.macquarie.com.au/speedsailing.htm

Sailrocket is finesse. See it at:

http://sailrocket.com/

Windjet land and ice boats are finesse. I'll discuss the water craft later. See them at:

http://www.windjet.co.uk/

Hydroptere is finesse. See it at:

http://www.hydroptere.com/_en/

We're going to have some fun with "finesse/force" as I continue. Let me know about any other serious contenders.

Bob
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