Welcome to the home of the most promising
sail design today !
A pretty bold statement, isn't it? Well, here is why:
Some of you might be familiar with solid wingsails used by speed
record challengers and C Class catamarans. Although aerodynamically
superb, they are absolutely inadequate for everyday sailing: impractical,
complex and expensive. On the other hand, traditional single membrane
sails have everything that rigid wingsails lack - except aerodynamic
efficiency. When was the last time a speed record attempt was
made with thin sails? Not to mention breaking a record...
So, how can we merge the advantages of those two very different
concepts? There is only one solution: a SOFT WINGSAIL that can
approximate the shape of an ideal wing on either tack, yet can
be lowered, reefed and twisted; moreover, it must be light, simple,
inexpensive to make and easy to handle. This particular sail has
it all. There have been several two-dimensional solutions of a
flexible wingsail around, based on battens or ribs - but none
of them have proved viable and the projects seem to have been
abandoned.
Battens are still fine for fixed wings, but for structures that
are supposed to flex and change their shape according to the tack
- you better forget it. A French expert wrote to me recently:
"Your pictures don't give any information on the construction
of your sail. If there are no battens and camber inducers, and
the shape is stable up to thirty knots of wind, then we might
give it a try".
Soft wingsails without battens? There is only one, and I'm pleased
to offer it for your consideration.
So, should I fire another, even bolder statement? Since I do not
have the power to prove that THIS IS the best sail, I'll just
repeat: this is the most promising sail design today!
Wingsails sufficiently large for propelling racing and cruising
yachts need development that would require the involvement of
experts on aerodynamics, designers and manufacturers. I'll be
very happy when this time comes, but that is not up to me. One
thing is certain - the market exists: many sailors, and paddlers
interested in sailing with their kayaks/canoes as well, either
wanted to order a sail, or have shown a keen interest in the possibilities
this sail offers.
Since the launching of this website in September 2001, I have
received hundreds of inquiries and comments. Many people have
read articles about this sail in "Professional Boatbuilder",
"Wavelength Magazine", "New South Wales Sea Kayaker
magazine" and Swiss "See Meile". Several enthusiasts
addressed a possibility of applying the wingsail on large monohulls,
catamarans and proas. There were a couple of far fetching queries,
like:
"I am interested in any information you have about the use
of wing sails in larger craft. My interest is in eco-friendly
boats. Without the challenge of conventional sails." and
"the design of a saling hydrofoil able to sail at a speed
over the current WR which is 46 knots. I consider that the use
of one of your soft sails may have many advantages for the hydrofoil
project, because of the easiness of handling, in particular rising
and lowering the rig every sailing day."
I have exchanged thoughts and ideas with some of the leading experts
and racers, and have offered this design to naval architects,
yacht designers and builders, sailmakers, iceboat-, landyacht-
and kayak manufacturers worldwide - still in vain.
The first obstacle is that wingsails require rotational masts.
Technically, the mast can be stayed, but freestanding masts are
absolutely favourable. Some people wondered if it was possible
to have a 30 or 50 feet mast unstayed. Well, there was the Team
Philips, the British challenge for the Race around the World in
2000 - it had two freestanding/rotational wingmasts nearly 130
feet high! Everything is possible with today's technological advances.
In spite of numerous advantages of unstayed rigs, and the works
of Garry Hoyt and Eric Sponberg in particular, stays are still
a standard and almost mandatory solution. Let me quote Eric Sponberg
("Project Amazon and the Unstayed Rig", Professional
Boatbuilder No. 55): "...Standing rigging was taken for granted.
While many evolutionary changes have occured in rig design over
the years - most notably in new materials, first with metals,
then with composites - standing rigging still remains bound inside
the rating rules with no relief in sight. Wires in the rig, and,
therefore, triangular-shaped sails, are by now so inbred into
our industry and our thinking, that we blindly accept them without
question. And so triangular sails prevail."
When in 1925 the regatta committee of the New York Yacht Club
heard of L. Francis Herreshoff's new patented rotating mast design,
it promptly passed the rule prohibiting "revolving masts,
double luffed sails, and similar contrivances". This
prohibition is still in place!
So, however strange it may seem, sailing rig design and development
is not only influenced, but recklessly limited by racing rules.
One explanation I received was that even purely cruising and recreation
oriented sailors might want to try their hand at a race some day.
Those who don't want to be tied up are gradually accepting novel
rigs (rotating wing masts, AeroRig...).
Should we blame racing rules for preventing sailors to enjoy faster
and safer boats?
Of course not - the rules are written by 'rulers'...
Clearly, there is room for sailing rig improvements, but who is
going to carry this progress on if the industry is reluctant to
enter this 'greyish area'? And on what basis, if not on this sail
(or a similar one, which is not very probable)?
I have two articles on sailboat stability and there are certainly
many more. One is titled "The Search for Stability",
by Barry Deakin of WUMTIA. The other is "In
Search of Vanishing Stability" by Bill Schanen
III, Editor and Publisher of Sailing Magazine. The titles
say enough: sailboat stability has become a problem. A combination
of wind and breaking waves has been found to be the main culprit
for the capsizing of sailing yachts. The design of hulls, keels
and ballasts is constantly being improved, but the "stability"
is not. Still, nobody wants to look above the deck to the real
culprit - single membrane sails taken for granted. Let me ask
a simple question: if two identical hulls sail in the same adverse
conditions, at the same speed, one heeled 30 degrees, another
45 degrees - which one has a better chance of capsizing? The answer
should be obvious.
How do we reduce the heeling angle? C.A. Marchaj wrote
in his "Sailing Theory and Practice":
"We can conclude immediately from either pair of these
equations that the drag not only lowers the driving force FR,
but also increases the harmful healing force FH."
Unfortunately, to reduce the drag of traditional, single ply,
low aspect ratio sails is - impossible!!!
And here we run in circles again. When serious sailing accidents
and disasters occur, 'sailing authorities' become concerned. This
concern, however, is only superficial; meaningful improvements
are rarely ever made.
Who are those 'sailing authorities' capable of improving the sail
sport? Boards of bureaucrats or specialists in the applied aerodynamics
and hydrodynamics?
I believe the latter, so I invited some of them to conduct theoretical
investigation and practical testing of this wingsail: WUMTIA
(Wolfson Unit for Marine Technology and Industrial Aerodynamics),
Yacht Research Unit of the University of Auckland, NZ, Yacht
Research Unit in Kiel, Germany, Chalmers Naval Architecture,
Stanford Yacht Research, MARIN (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands)
and Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The first
five 'Units' operate within universities, and to me their academic
curiosity should be natural and easy to provoke. As one of the
Professors kindly replied: "We are always on the lookout
for good research topics for project and thesis students".
The last two institutions do not deal with sailing yachts exclusively,
but have tackled
sail aerodynamics and sailboat stability in the past. To my surprise,
none of them were interested!. I certainly couldn't afford hiring
their services, but since my design is patented in these countries,
I was hoping that we could cooperate - they get research material
for free, I get scientific evaluation, and possible involvement
from the industry side shouldn't be excluded either. To the Professor
from above, and his students as well, I offered three 'research
topics', but apparently none of them were considered good enough.
Or, perhaps the students did not show any interest. So, professors
will keep teaching 'good old stuff' and students will keep learning
'amazing new things'- this is called Education!
In one of his great books, C.A. Marchaj took a provocative quote
from Bertrand Russell, a great British thinker of the last century: "Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are
made stupid by education".
Instead of giving the industry a good starting point for production,
and to sailors a modern craft as advanced as modern cars or computers
(anybody reading this on a 386SX?), those in charge refused to
advance and instead chose to stick to inferior vested solutions
- basically, to stagnate If there was similar research based
on
another soft wingsail, or any other effort in this direction,
I wouldn't bother. Having all of this in mind, I doubt there
will
be a significant improvement in sailing craft speed and stability
in the near future. Am I surprised by such an outcome? Yes, because
I'm still a bit idealistic, and no, because I'm equally realistic.
There are some other scientific branches and scientists that
behave
similarly. On the next page, I'll offer my opinion on some scientific
matters to open minded visitors. Those who firmly want to believe
that the world is perfect - better skip it (but read the Russel's
quote once more).
However, there is a 'development class' that I've
been working on, with the potential of becoming a new water sport.
Most people call it "sailing kayak", but I prefer "microsailboat"
or "personal sailing craft", since it is primarily a
sailboat. However, its narrow (mono)hull allows for easy and efficient
paddling in windless and adverse conditions - just like kayaks,
something no other sailing craft enables. Sailboats without motors
can hardly be alternatively powered. How far can sailing dinghies
and boards be paddled? A couple hundred meters? Kayaks, on the
other hand can be paddled for tens of miles daily. "Microsailboat"
can be much more than a day sailer!
Here is how I see it:
First, it will be very 'democratic' - not subject to any rules
and regulations, affordable, light, easy to handle. A 1.5 sqm
wingsail could drive the boat up to 10 knots on a reach - nearly
as fast as America's Cup boats. Close reaching is slower, especially
on choppy waters. In order to have decent directional stability,
regular ocean kayaks have to be long. On some pictures one can
see the other boat I am experimenting with - a "surf kayak".
Because sailboats have to be equipped with centreboards (daggerboards,
leeboards), they can achieve directional stability with shorter
hulls. My surf kayak is pretty short (less than 3m or 10ft) and
planes at 6-7 knots of wind, but because of its particular bow,
it is not very good at sailing into the wind and waves. I'm sure
boat designers could easily produce a light, stable and fast boat,
ergonomically optimized for sailing.
How stable is the "microsailboat"? Here is a counter-question:
how stable is a bicycle? The faster it goes, the more stable it
gets - the same can be applied to the "micro", and it
is called the dynamic stability. Of course, unlike bikes, you
can sit in a 'micro' safely at zero speed. Is it difficult to
learn? No more than biking. Interestingly, nobody has ever thought
about 'stabilizing' bicycles with additional wheels - except for
little kids. Can anybody imagine a 'mountain-trike' storming down
a steep, bumpy hill? Well, I can - and laugh. Yet, 'stabilizing'
light monohulls with outriggers in order to prevent the capsizing
that conventionally rigged boats are prone to, is the norm.
How close to the wind can it sail? On flat waters and moderate
waves, up to 40 degrees; on choppy water, 60 degrees.
This boat does not need 'a lot of research and development' to
be serially produced (as several manufacturers excused themselves
for not accepting it into their production lines). Two modest
stock boats rigged with my wingsails have been heavily sailed
and enjoyed over the last three summers, and have proved their
performance and seaworthiness. Professionally designed and made,
they can only be better. I already have some promising contacts,
and am pretty confident that the "micro" will be seen
on the markets soon. Perhaps its appearance and success will instigate
the sail use on larger craft - only time can tell. I'm using this
opportunity to invite potential manufacturers to consider the
many benefits of placing such a product on the market.
This is my humble contribution to the sail sport. It is free for
noncommercial and personal use, but if somebody from the countries
covered with my patent wishes to commercialize it, please keep
in mind the royalties, which I am entitled to.
See also:"My personal
thoughts on the state of some scientific affairs"
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