[SeaGypsy]

In the words of Matt Larsen: "We've smashed the arse off it!"

While this boat is extremely radical and only sails in one direction, it is set to revolutionize sail craft technology in coming years.

The Vestas Sailrocket:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ogWm0-dzQ

The key principle is the equalizing forces of the airfoil (sail) and the water foil (keel/ leeboard) cancelling each other out to produce almost pure conversion of power to speed. The idea of proas and leeboards has been around since the Polynesians first explored the Pacific. The addition of this equalizing principle (tilting the rig and lateral resistance) is clearly the missing link to creating a new breed of sailing craft, capable of average speeds way above the 10-20 MPH of today's high performance yachts.

[Tanada]

That video was a waste of time, do you have a link that actually talks about the dynamic forces and how they balance everything?

[SeaGypsy]

The video is actually explaining to someone who understands the alignment of the craft how it reacts to power. I was in a hurry when I posted. There is an elaborate array of information on:

http://www.sailrocket.com/

As someone fascinated with pure sailing craft, proas have become a bit of an obsession. The fact that a proa just lifted the bar 15+ nautical miles an hour is seriously profound to those with a grasp what it takes to get moving across water.

In conventional monohulls and multihulls the leverage of the sail force is countered only by a weight/buoyancy leverage. This results in a very definite limits to stability in both the roll and pitch directions. Many speed record attempt designs suffer from the 2 principal side effects of this limitation – limited drive force and unsteady response to gusts.





Vestas SailRocket employs a wholly different concept (first documented by Bernard Smith in the 1960s) in which the sail and keel elements are positioned so that there is virtually no overturning moment and no net vertical lift. When used correctly this concept results in a boat which no longer has obvious stability limits and in which the only significant response to gusts is a change in speed!

This is the only angle I have seen of the boat where you can kind of see all the parts and their relative positions. When at full speed (60+NMH) the wingtip at the foot of the mast flies the entire rig in ground effect, the rear hull is lifted completely by the foil, leaving only it and the front planing/ steering hull in the water. Bernard Smith, the American sailboat and rocket designer who first developed the concept, died in 2010 having seen VSR1 shatter his conceptual base capability published as "The 40 Knot Sailboat" in 1963:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Sm ... t_designer)

[Newfie]

Thanks, I'm gonna read up on it a bit.

BUT, I gotta tell you, from first glance it looks a play toy. Faster ain't always better. Those were pretty ideal conditions, good breeze, right off the land, no fetch, no swell.

Bet I could beak it pretty easy.

[Ibon]

That video was a waste of time, do you have a link that actually talks about the dynamic forces and how they balance everything?

Aren't pictures sometimes worth a thousand words? That is really amazing.

[careinke]

Even if it never turns out to be practical, it would certainly peg out the fun meter. Awesome! (Can you tell I like sailing?)

[Tanada]

That video was a waste of time, do you have a link that actually talks about the dynamic forces and how they balance everything?

Aren't pictures sometimes worth a thousand words? That is really amazing.

A distant jumpy viewpoint with loud music and no voice over or data screen indicating exactly what is impressive doesn't give me a thrill. YMMV and if you loved it hey, more power too you. I have always been a much more give me the data kind of person, I want to know what is being done in numbers so I can appreciate it. I have seen hydrofoils go fast in the water and back in the 1980's the USSR had a sea transport that had a partial wing, it basically flew on the ground effect air cushion created between the wing fragment and the sea surface. It was wicked fast sea transport but it used a lot of fuel to create and maintain the air cushion effect.

There have been attempts to use either of those techniques to make really fast sailing craft, I have seen some sailboats use hydrofoils to minimize drag but they had stability problems. To just look at the film clips of this craft it looks like an extreme outrigger that goes really fast.

Great, the diagram Gypsy put up was actually a lot more informative to me than the video but again, YMMV.

[SeaGypsy]

I don't think dual directional craft at this speed are just around the corner, in any kind of conditions, but the principles here were being argued intensely for nearly 50 years. VSR1 had some serious crashes. Matt Larsen (codeveloper & pilot) calls the foil "A truly ugly log creating enormous drag" and says this boat is now a testing platform for better foils, which will certainly get well over 70 knots in the near future.

The principles are certainly applicable besides hyper speed craft for one or 2 people. Cut the current speed in half or by 2/3rds and you still have one of the fastest yachts in the world. The 'Monofoil' is another experimental craft along similar design principles; but I think this will be blown away by the VSR2 as proof of ideal alignment.

[SeaGypsy]

A distant jumpy viewpoint with loud music and no voice over...

The video above is shot from a model aircraft doing 100+kmh; the boat leaves it for dead. The first sailing vessel in history to have any such capability. The aerial shot shows how the power of the wind pushes the hulls into predicted alignment. In practice runs the few days before the record was smashed, the boat did close to 50 knots repeatedly in 20 knots of wind. Paul said after a few runs, 50 was starting to feel mundane.

This entire project has spent less than an America's Cup contender will spend on sails and rigging alone. The lack of a helicopter to film the world record, the use of an RC plane, the application of sponsors for each component to keep costs down, all adds up to an amazing feat of ingenuity, engineering, networking and dedication.

....that had a partial wing, it basically flew on the ground effect air cushion created between the wing fragment and the sea surface. It was wicked fast sea transport but it used a lot of fuel to create and maintain the air cushion effect.

Here an American backyarder has build a WIG (Wing In Ground Effect) 'flying boat' which runs on 15 hp and cruises at 50 knots: (one of many clips of similar vessels by the same builder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb8D9z9E9fQ

The Ekranoplane is the Russian monster WIG craft you are recalling.



Inspires:



The 'cushion effect' isn't created and maintained by the power of the engines, it is a natural phenomena created by the density of air compressing at the surface; hence the expression "Wing IN Ground Effect". Felt by all aircraft as they land, the lift created is based on an equation of speed, wing area, weight and power. The Ekranoplane is a true monster, not an elegant exploitation of the effect, as we see in Vestas Sailrocket and the Hoverwing.

Here is an image of an Ekranoplane inspired WIG craft model being developed to run on Hydrogen:

[Tanada]

Ekranoplane, yup that's the one I was thinking of but I couldn't remember the name.

Not to distract from your topic which I think is interesting in its own right but do you remember a few years ago when several freighters were experimenting with kite sails to harness some wind energy to reduce their fuel costs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails

It was as recently as the 1960's that commercial bulk cargo sailing vessels still traveled the world oceans. Seems like with all our modern know how and materials a small scale wind powered cargo vessel should be able to ply the ways at a profit once again. Something like http://cruiseweb.com/WINDSTAR-WINDSURF.HTM but designed for cargo instead of vacation passengers.

[SeaGypsy]

Kites are starting to be used in freight:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -kite.html

Only 20% saving on this basis, but it's something... Another obvious source of savings without rebuilding the fleet is slowing down 10%, estimated savings of 25% there- adding up to 45% roughly. This would require rescheduling global shipping.

Several current commercial projects in development:

http://eco-freight.com/

http://www.b9energy.com/B9Shipping/tabi ... fault.aspx

http://www.gizmag.com/b9-shipping-cargo ... ips/23059/

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... icity.html (wave energy- shipping article)

Some of these technologies and adaptations could be built in to the current fleet without necessitating rebuild. Kites are an obvious and simple addition.

My personal interest is spread across high speed cruising sailboats and micro shipping for remote islands. My 'retirement' plan is around combining both seasonally in SE Asia. Tourists in the tourist seasons, light freight in the off times.

Relative directly to Sailrocket, the application of Bernard Smith's alignment principle is potentially revolutionary to commercial shipping. Kites, until now, were the only wind power available not producing a pitch and roll effect. This effect limits the above decks cargo capacity and restricts the amount of sail a vessel can carry. With computerized load balancing operating a fully pitch controlled airfoil-waterfoil (Aerohydrofoil), the capacity for massive sailpower increase without adding pitch-roll (in fact the system could be used to eliminate the effect).

The idea, despite being nearly 50 years old, is radical and new. The team who developed Sailrocket are one of only a handful of designer-builders in the world focused on Smith's ideas. Their focus is clearly about smashing world speed records, which they have done. This is however, not the extent of usefulness of the principle.

Sailing is an area of life dominated by tradition, mostly for good reason. New ideas do not easily get adopted. Very few people have the resources to spend years on experimental yacht designs. Ask any old salt about building a boat and the first thing they are likely to say is: "You need a set of plans" meaning a proven template for the purpose. There are designs and systems around for canting keels and canting rigs, they are not designed according to Smith's principle (requiring a 30 degree tilt of rig and keel towards each other in opposing directions), and they start in the million dollar range. To apply this principle to a relatively conventional design, a sliding mast foot capable of swathing out to the leeward (downwind) and either a twin canting keel system where the lee keel becomes a lifting foil, or lifts out of the water; or a sliding- rotating system along the lines of the overhead boom on Monofoil.

It is so early days for the success of Sailrocket, a totally radical break from ancient tradition, it will take some time for this to get through. As late as September 2012 there are piles of comments online critiquing Bernard Smith's concept and denouncing Sailrocket as inherently unstable and dangerous. Back to the laboratory in 2010, smashing the record in 2012, no crashes in dozens of high speed runs. The technology is essentially proven. Applying it is the next revolution in wind powered motion on water.

[SeaGypsy]

Apologies to Paul Larsen for getting your name wrong early on ('Matt')!
http://www.sailrocket.com/team

[SeaGypsy]

Hi (SG)... I just read the forum and will be more than happy to contribute... the only trouble right now is that I'm on a Polish Antarctic Research station on King George Island and am about to head off on a voyage to recreate Shackletons trip from Elephant Island to Sth Georgia. I will be gone until around Mid Feb. the whole trip is supposed to be done in fully original style gear with the same food, nav, clothing etc.
We are currently negotiating with Australia to do the documentary on Sailrocket. I believe that the ABC has shown a lot of interest. The Australian uptake was pretty disappointing to be honest. We will have to push it harder next time... all round;)
Cheers, Paul.

Response from Paul Larsen to contribute to this thread. Some people really have less than ordinary lives

[Newfie]

SeaGypsy,

Check this out.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f48 ... 96960.html

[SeaGypsy]

Yeah, it's about 5 miles from my house in Melbourne. 60 foot (18m) Harryproa just launched and still in experimental development. It broke it's mooring a few days ago and washed up on the beach. The owner/ builder isn't too bright. All he needs is shovels and manpower; there are thousands of backpackers staying around the area just near the beaching- peak tourist season in Melbourne now.
I found it on the beach and had a look, it's snapped- bent the mini keels at each end of the lee hull but no biggie. Could be he is hoping for a fat insurance payout. The cops tried to pull it off with no success the day it beached.

[SeaGypsy]

A very cool project in Vermont:

http://www.sailtransportnetwork.org/node/927

Whilst this scale of project is not about to end the JIT network domination, it is commendable.

Building the Vermont Sail Freight Project
by Erik Andrus -- April 14, 2013 Sail Transport

How a group of farmers, high school students, and community
volunteers are launching a little ship with a big message

Imagine boarding a flat-bottomed sailing barge for a 300-mile voyage from the shores of Lake Champlain to New York harbor. The hold is laden with twelve tons of locally produced wheat, flour, dry beans, maple syrup, apples, cabbages, and hard cider. This is not a historic re-enactment. This is the future!

The Vermont Sail Freight Project is a community initiative to raise the profile of small-scale farmers and demonstrate carbon neutral regional freight transport. The voyage just described is slated to take place in the fall of 2013. It's the product of a joint effort of farmers, educators, high school students, artists, artisans, and woodworkers, through all-volunteer labor at the community level.


The Vermont Sail Freight Project's trade route
In my town, cooperation among farmers and the involvement of the whole community in the life of farms used to be part of the culture. It was also an underpinning of economic security and community prosperity during good times, and survival in bad. A neighbor of mine described how his late uncle once told him the Great Depression left barely a mark on life on their Ferrisburgh farm, since nearly all important needs could still be met somehow within the community.