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 [...]

Wotrocket? Sailrocket! Surfing??

18 March 2009

Do any of you have any info on Wotrocket? I have been unable to pull up their website the last couple of days and am wondering what might be going on.

Currently, I'm awaiting the report from Sailrocket, to learn what actually happened. However, by looking over Paul's brief description of the crash, I can see that when the crossbeam separated from the hull, there was no longer anything controlling the force generated by the main foil. The hull would have rolled instantly to port; Paul must have been smacked a good one. Not only would the left side of his head hit the water hard, but the craft may have still been moving at near 40 knots. Good thing Paul is a tough cookie!

It occurred to me that perhaps Paul should take the cone off his helmet and attach it to the boat. In other words build a "roll bar" fairing for his head; done right, any impact loads would get transferred from the helmet to the fairing. His head wouldn't be getting bounced around and his neck would be protected as well. Rapid exit should, of course, be allowed for.

And now for a totally different view, I just started writing a surfing blog. I'll be discussing surfboard design -- expanding on my book and I'll comment on making surfspots (artificial reefs). I will also be answering any questions. So all surfers and wanna be surfers, jump right in, the water's fine: http://surfingbobsmyth.wordpress.com/

Bob

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