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 [...]

The real problem

07 September 2009
A friend introduced me (via phone) to an engineer (Bill Montagne) who is also a sailor, inventor, motorcycle and auto racer, and more. My kinda guy, first call went for 2 ½ hours. Before I get into my subject, however, I want to point out that Bill designed and built a superior STOL Bush Plane, the Mountain Goat. I'll post a link to his site under "Favourites".

When Bill asked me what I was doing, I said I was developing a sailboat in which I had eliminated the "roll moment" (translation for non-engineers: the wind can't flip it). Bill is an experienced sailor, having successfully raced small sailboats and a good engineer (based on what he's done) and he said "That's impossible!" and even told me why. Bill is in good company as earlier (at separate times and places) two other engineers who are also sailors said much the same thing, stating: "An inclined rig is inherently unstable."

Well, I consider it a compliment when someone tells me that what I'm doing is impossible, since that means I'm doing the impossible! I'm sure Bill won't mind my telling this story, because he's been doing the "impossible" himself! In any event, Bill had nothing to go on when I made that statement, no pictures, no sketches, and no knowledge of what's been happening in high-speed sailing (he's been flying). But Bill is sharp and it was easy to walk him through the basic concepts of my design, so he now knows it is possible and why. Bill is quite interested in my project, but he has his own to concentrate on; he's seeking to get his airplane FAA certificated and into production. I wish him all the luck with this.

The real problem, that I and others who are pursuing a similar line have, is twofold. First, it is considered by many experts in the field to be unworkable. Second, it is viewed by many sailors to be too "out there" to even be considered. Witness that many monohull sailors still think multi-hulls are weird. Furthermore, even of those who are technically "hip" enough to see the merits of a "balanced forces" design, few are willing to risk getting involved with an "unproven" design. When it becomes the norm, they'll suddenly jump on board.

Me, I love the challenge of new and untried ideas, sure I get laughed at, but so far I've consistently had the last laugh. My surfboard designs were often laughed at, but my book on surfboard design gives me the last laugh (I even dedicated it to "All the surfers who laughed"). My race car was laughed at and became the most popular car in its class. Yes, I know that using a term like "flogging a dead horse" is a bit over the top, but I'm trying to shake the wild ones, who love a tough challenge, out of the woodwork. And you gotta admit that Hydroptere's engineers did a superb job of "flogging" that boat. It is a stellar craft.

Bob
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