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 [...]

What century is this anyway?

04 July 2008

In Nov. 1920, "Yachting" magazine published an article by Malcolm and T. A. McIntyre titled "The Sailplane - A New Type of Sailboat". In it the authors state: "The ideal theoretical fast sailboat should be one that will stand upright and carry her sail in any breeze, have no ballast in any form and only enough displacement to comfortably float the crew, sails and rig." They went on to describe the prototype they built, its theory of operation and its performance; included were pictures of the craft sailing. The Sailplane was apparently largely ignored and then forgotten.

The Sailplane was the first successful attempt, I know of, to stabilize a sailboat dynamically without using ballast and was the design concept that sailors who wished to sail really fast should have started to explore. Bernard Smith continued with the same basic concept in his inventions, described in his book "The 40-Knot Sailboat".

Currently there are a few of us exploring the ideas that the McIntyres, and then, Smith first advocated. The ones I know of, I have been discussing; Sailrocket, Windjet, Paravane and Le Projet Dared (upcoming - Monofoil). There are others, but I know little about them.

I believe that the reason we are not already sailing faster than 50 knots is simply that most design efforts and money have been applied to maximizing what I'll call "the old school" of using ballast for stability. It is my view that using ballast in any form, to help stabilize a high-speed sailboat, has been obsolete for nearly a century. Yes, I am attempting to help widen our view of what can be done. Based on the success I've had with my own prototypes, and my observations of the craft I've been discussing in this blog, I am certain that we have the capability of building cruising sailboats capable of running at 50 knots. I mean 50 knots by wind power alone, not by surfing ocean swells.

I am challenging all of us to move out of the early 20th century and into the 21st century of sailboat design. What century is this anyway?

Bob

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