I was interested to see that this is an actual boat of sorts, a boat that sits on top of the water, not one of those foiling contraptions. Apparently there is good reason for the non-use of foils..... at more than 50 knots foils create such a huge vacuum around the foil that the foiling effect is lost and the boat plummets back to sea level with the understandable catastrophic effects.
What did interest me was the tracking on the boat... it doesn't go straight when moving forward, it's kind of on an angle so that the helm is looking slightly to his left... I wonder if that is a consequence of the speed, or a design??
Yes, the tracking of the boat is very noticeable. It seems to me that the 'boat proper' is actually those small floats, not the big orange bit. It seems that the orange superstructure and the sail are able to rotate independently of the small floats - maybe the crablike trajectory along the water this rotation allows helps free up any friction / movement that might slow it down - all wind force is transferred immediately to the floats. 65 KNOTS! Fucking amazing! (Loosely quoting the boats skipper in the video LOL).
The other interesting thing is that the Leeward float is airborne at speed, which seems counter intuitive considering it is to Leeward - but the design is very clever - the sail is canted to windward which doesn't just provide a forward driving force but also lifts the Leeward float clear of the water, thus reducing friction. The whole outfit then becomes like a single hulled catamaran. My guess is that in double the wind speed the Leeward float would have a tendency to 'fall' to windward unless it was 'reefed' LOL! Bloody Nora! If they make it go any faster they will have to provide the skipper with an emergency ejector seat!
LOL - to call it a "single hulled catamaran" is a contradiction in terms - at speed its more like an 'Eights' Olympic rowing shell balanced on a small bow pad and an undefinable stern appendage.
I had another look at the stern of the orange rocket in the video and I see that it is also supported by a small float as per the bow - but at the stern there is also a centerboard of sorts that is angled to windward - this of course is not a foil but is to prevent leeway in the same as it prevents leeway in centerboard sailing dinghies.
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Mental!! :o))
Mental alright!
I was interested to see that this is an actual boat of sorts, a boat that sits on top of the water, not one of those foiling contraptions. Apparently there is good reason for the non-use of foils..... at more than 50 knots foils create such a huge vacuum around the foil that the foiling effect is lost and the boat plummets back to sea level with the understandable catastrophic effects.
What did interest me was the tracking on the boat... it doesn't go straight when moving forward, it's kind of on an angle so that the helm is looking slightly to his left... I wonder if that is a consequence of the speed, or a design??
Yes, the tracking of the boat is very noticeable. It seems to me that the 'boat proper' is actually those small floats, not the big orange bit. It seems that the orange superstructure and the sail are able to rotate independently of the small floats - maybe the crablike trajectory along the water this rotation allows helps free up any friction / movement that might slow it down - all wind force is transferred immediately to the floats. 65 KNOTS! Fucking amazing! (Loosely quoting the boats skipper in the video LOL).
The other interesting thing is that the Leeward float is airborne at speed, which seems counter intuitive considering it is to Leeward - but the design is very clever - the sail is canted to windward which doesn't just provide a forward driving force but also lifts the Leeward float clear of the water, thus reducing friction. The whole outfit then becomes like a single hulled catamaran. My guess is that in double the wind speed the Leeward float would have a tendency to 'fall' to windward unless it was 'reefed' LOL! Bloody Nora! If they make it go any faster they will have to provide the skipper with an emergency ejector seat!
LOL - to call it a "single hulled catamaran" is a contradiction in terms - at speed its more like an 'Eights' Olympic rowing shell balanced on a small bow pad and an undefinable stern appendage.
I had another look at the stern of the orange rocket in the video and I see that it is also supported by a small float as per the bow - but at the stern there is also a centerboard of sorts that is angled to windward - this of course is not a foil but is to prevent leeway in the same as it prevents leeway in centerboard sailing dinghies.
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