I have designed a sailing system which is the easiest to use.
A complete unit that can be bolted on to any
boat to provide thrust from the
wind automatically.
It is a sailing wing (similar to an aircraft wing), with a further surface a "tail" which controls it. (As in an aircraft).
Controlled by the
wind itself. There is no mainsheet.
Instead of fighting the wind, this system and the wind
work together.
The wind knows best! and can control the rig better than a human!
The system finds the wind autonomously, and adjusts the angle of the wing to provide the best thrust to the
boat whatever direction the wind comes from.
It can do this on either tack without human intervention. Change of tack is automatic.
Controlled by one lever "forward" "neutral" "reverse" Neutral is the parking position and the wing can be left up when moored as it weathervanes into the wind with less drag than a bare
mast.
Reverse provides the same
power and speed as forward.
Selecting reverse when going forward acts as a brake to stop the boat almost immediately. (You would not do this in a car, but you can do it here!). You can reverse out of difficult situations and carry out a 3-point turn in a narrow channel.
Provides forward thrust until almost
head to wind on either tack.
There is no gybe - the rig rotates a full 360 degrees.
Going through the wind upwind or downwind is just a question of
steering through it - nothing to adjust or change.
As there is no deckwork - control can be from inside a
cabin if the
weather is bad. No need to go outside. Thus taking away the need for special wet
weather clothing.
Except for
mooring there are no ropes to pull and no mess of ropes on the
cockpit floor.
No winches are required.
For motorsailing the rig can be left in forward
gear and it will help the boat along if there is any wind without adjusting anything.
For an
electric powered boat you have a speed switch which will switch off the
electric motor when the wind is providing a certain level of thrust and switch it on again if the wind dies.
There are no
electronics, no sensors, no servos, no
power supply needed.
Because of this it is
cheap and easy to build and understand. It is simplicity - there is no "high tech" no exotic materials.
The helmsman does not need to concern him/herself where the wind is coming from. The rig looks after all aspects of the sailing. He/she only has to switch the power on - off - or reverse as necessary!
More information
Simplicity Wingsail System
Linear Mode
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