Chris White at it Again

[deckofficer]

7.5 kt speed in 18 kt on a close reach, without the sails up.

"Close reaching in 18 kts true wind speed under MastFoils alone generated 7.5 kts boat speed. The helm was balanced well and the boat fully controllable."

MastFoil(tm) patent pending sailing rig by Chris White Designs High Performance Seaworthy Sailing Yachts

[Cotemar]

What a beautiful cat

[Panope]

Interesting that technology sometimes goes full circle and repeats itself.
Both boats are staysail schooners.
Both planes are canard pushers.

Steve

[deckofficer]

Lest we forget the Walker Wing Sail

[Bugsy]

New update now on his page.

MastFoil(tm) patent pending sailing rig by Chris White Designs High Performance Seaworthy Sailing Yachts

[Agility]

Very exciting news indeed!

[DA Winston]

I am enamored with the project. Can't wait to hear from the owners, and more from CW.

[Paul L]

I want one

[SaltyMonkey]

Seriously impressive!

[Kettlewell]

I still wouldn't want to be on that boat anchored out in a big wind storm. In the boatyard where I am hauled one of the cats has a small wing mast and they have to strap that thing down to the ground with numerous large straps attached to ground anchors, even though the mast is allowed to rotate.

[SVNeko]

I wonder why that is. Allowed to feather into the wind and with a symmetrical profile, theoretically (as Chris says) it shouldn't generate any lift. Maybe the mast on that boat has too much mass and won't rotate quickly enough on a shift. Chris's are just lightweight carbon foils wrapped around a stationary mast. They should spin easier than a traditional rotating mast.

One thing you notice is missing from Chris's descriptions is any talk of speed. If I were buying one, I'd wonder about how much power those wings actually make. He seems to already have tweaked it for more power by lengthening the chord and shortening the flap. Surprising that none of the owners of the 3 in build have a blog or anything.

[David M]

Nice kitty.

[cwyckham]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

I wonder why that is. Allowed to feather into the wind and with a symmetrical profile, theoretically (as Chris says) it shouldn't generate any lift. Maybe the mast on that boat has too much mass and won't rotate quickly enough on a shift. Chris's are just lightweight carbon foils wrapped around a stationary mast. They should spin easier than a traditional rotating mast.

One thing you notice is missing from Chris's descriptions is any talk of speed. If I were buying one, I'd wonder about how much power those wings actually make. He seems to already have tweaked it for more power by lengthening the chord and shortening the flap. Surprising that none of the owners of the 3 in build have a blog or anything.

I thought he talked a fair amount about speed in his blog post. Remember that there are soft sails too for wind speeds up to about 30 knots.

[Kettlewell]

I wonder why that is. Allowed to feather into the wind and with a symmetrical profile, theoretically (as Chris says) it shouldn't generate any lift.

I think a gusty wind can just shift direction too fast for the wing to react. Ever wonder why windvanes blow off of your mast or roof tops? You would think they would just feather into the wind, but ask around after a hurricane how many people have lost their Windex from the mast.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I think a gusty wind can just shift direction too fast for the wing to react. Ever wonder why windvanes blow off of your mast or roof tops? You would think they would just feather into the wind, but ask around after a hurricane how many people have lost their Windex from the mast.

Maybe, but then again a simple mast shows a lot of windage in a hurricane. This is not a wing mast and I am not aware of it having been done before. I don't think we can draw any conclusions yet, although I agree, I would not want to be the guinea pig.