Re: OT: FOAK Windmill Boat/Cart

On 25 May 2007 08:17:50 GMT, "Krusty" <dontwantany@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Sad I know, but I got up extra early to do some serious Googling. It
seems that not only can a 'windmill boat' sail directly into the wind
in theory, but it's been done in practice many times. Some of these
links include the maths to keep toad happy.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14182

Nothing conclusive in there. One guy claims he's built one, but the
only (static) pictures seem to show his feet resting on a pedal
mechanism.

http://forum.darwinawards.com/lofiversion/index.php/t7858.html

Lots of discussions, both pro and con, but nothing conclusive. The
only maths I can see is very hazy indeed. There's a link that seems to
be of a design that sails directly into the wind at
http://www.windjet.co.uk, but if you read that site it makes no such
claim:
"Can the vehicles sail in any direction?
Thursday, 01 January 2004
Yes - the Windjet vehicles are symmetrical, meaning they can travel
equally fast on both tacks, unlike the current water record holder,
'Yellow Pages Endeavour', and the current land record holder, 'Iron
Duck', which are biased to sail on one 'tack'. "

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1289

Again, lots of pro and con discussion, with a few claimants failing to
show absolute proof. One bit of video that claims to be of a boat
sailing directly into the wind, but it's on a long lens, low
resolution, from some distance, with no external reference points to
verify wind direction.

Finally, and possibly the most conclusive, a talk given by the Yacht
Research Society

http://uk.geocities.com/fnsnclr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx/yachts/auto/index.htm

Not conclusive at all - it's talking about wind-turbine powered boats
in general - no-one's arguing that they're not possible - but I can
find nothing on that site that supports any claim to be able to sail
directly into the wind.

Oh, hang ob, there's this bit: "One frequently quoted advantage, which
might not be as advantageous as all that so far as speed goes, is that
the boat can be driven directly upwind. Unfortunately, they do not
seem to go upstream as fast as the velocity made good to windward on a
tacking sailboat, so maybe all the emphasis which other people have
put on this particular point is a pity. They could have spent their
effort on some of the other advantages of wind turbine boats instead."

Which isn't definitive, but clearly doesn't lend much support to the
ideas under discussion.

So, in short, I'm disappointed in you - I really thought I was going
to have to eat my words - good job I'm at home today so had the time
to read your quoted links properly.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3 (slightly broken, currently missing)
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`
.

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