Incredible is just the word! The boat is nothing like it was expected to be. It is a truly new concept, one that leaves me wondering. They say it will be faster than the America’s cup multihulls!!!!
If it works it will be fantastic but I have some doubts regarding taming such a beast without electronic help. I really hope they have studied well this extreme design that changes all the concepts of a monohull. It seems a short period to develop such an extreme concept in terms of practicability and even more without having associated with it a complete team of experts. Or maybe they have and in that case they are already way ahead of all other teams.
There is no keel anymore, the foils work not only as foils but as canting keels and they will carry the ballast. The engineering problems seem huge since for controlling the boat the foil movements have to be fast. The boat will have the ability to re-right itself if capsized.
me think this is just a concept...foiling and ballasting are almost a contradiction in term...it would be incredibly difficult, expensive and inefficient to raise a ballasted foil out of the water. If they get away without ballasting the T foils then the whole thing will be very similar to a very light foiling cat and I doubt very much about static and dynamic displacement performances at docks and heavier seas...having said that...if even the ballast is variable...
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should call it just a foil. Maybe two canting keels that work also as foils is a better description.
ReplyDeleteAnyway a keel is a foil and the ballast bulb has a lifting effect working in some way as a foil.
There are already sailing boats with canting keels that can rise the ballast above water and also that configuration in what regards a double keel with a central bulb (when the foils are down).
What is new here is the shape of the ballast increasing the foiling and lifting potential and the ability to displace the ballast to where it would be more useful.
Such an amazing but interesting concept....wonder if it will be ever working! Thx Paulo for your competent description! Learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like shark pectoral fins
ReplyDelete