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Wing mast


Fogg

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So come on then, you peeps who know your stuff, what would it take to put a wing mast on a 'normal' kiwi racing yacht (or even a cruiser)?

 

How much more complex to operate it?

 

What kind of cost?

 

And what kind of gain?

 

Multis only or monos too?

 

And what about the problem of storing the thing safely when you pack up the boat and leave for the day?

 

In other words, is this a technology that will remain firmly rooted in high-end sailing or will it eventually trickle down to mainstream use?

 

I know that wings have been around for a longer time than this year's AC but the events of the last few days will have piqued a lot of interest from people who have previously never thought about it.....

 

So who's gonna be the first to take the plunge? G3? Timberwolf? Sundreamer?

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I think you'll find it a logistics issue.

 

Making and fitting the wing can be done but are you willing to pay people to sit on the boat all night to make sure it doesn't fly away? At any time there were always 2 people aboard BMWO when the wing was up, all 24/7 of it I believe. A minder bloke for 24/7 would up the cost somewhat I'd expect.

 

I think the complexity of the building at such a low weight would be bloody expensive as would the on going maintenance due to the delicate nature that comes with minimum weight builds.

 

Don't know if they would work on monos, I suspect the straighter you can keep them the better. It did appear BMWO took a pile of effort to ensure that happened so a mono may just knot cut the mustard.

 

You offering your boat as a trial horse? I could pop up to the NS Airfield and whip a wing of off a Cessna 207 or something if you like. Tack a wing off a C152 behind that and it could be all go :)

 

The Wolf would probably be the bloke to ask. He's a mad scientist rig type who has probably spend a moment or 2 considering the option for his fine 3 legged beast. Or at least he probably is now :) :)

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Well apparently BMWO had 50 kts on the mooring, fancy being the chap on watch then?

What i would be interested to know is did the wing actually provide substantially more power? Or was it just far quicker/easier to trim and keep the hulls flying?

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Yes it was quicker to trim, plus the advantage of been able to power it up or depower it as well. It was almost instantaneous the way they could open up a flap to depower while keeping all the power at the bottom of the rig.

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As instant as a pilot can control the lift/drag profile of an aircraft wing. And if you connected the drives for the control surfaces to inouts from true/apparent wind speed and angles, then as with an aircraft wing, you would know instantly how to change the adjustment in reponse to any given conditions - rather than trying an adjustment, looking, waiting to see impact on boat speed etc.

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My understanding is they have the ability to measure wind angles and speed and then trim accordingly with more precision over the entire length of the wing. That fine control over the entire wing means that its much more efficient than a soft sail.

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In the lets get real here people.

 

There is also copious amounts of super high tech available to every body out there, yet only a handful take every easy advantage available to them.

Nothing good is cheap and that's why you see a brand new 8.5 cat launched with an Alloy stick, even though a Rotating Carbon Wing would be better.

 

So why talk about Wing Masts then ?

 

If you are currently sailing around with everything low tech on your boat ?

 

My estimate is that the Wing mast cost in excess of 7 million dollars, and it weighs 3500 kg.

 

Do you still want one ?

 

The practicalities are obviously the big issue with a solid wing, especially when the boat is being moored.

And also what to do if you get stuck out there in 45 knots ?

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I have a PBO rope on my boat now and that's seriously Gucci by Akl standards, can I have a wing mast now :)

 

Yeah Ok so it is only 600mm long and is about 1000 times more than is needed but I still have more PBO than most :thumbup:

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Knot really Murky. The PBO will be rooted (it's longevity is crap) in a week or 2 and Wolf is right. I still have some or at least one very downspeed item aboard I should sort out before fitting a wing.

 

Just trying to work out how she'll do in races without me aboard :wink:

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In the lets get real here people.

If you are currently sailing around with everything low tech on your boat ?

 

why would you put a carbon stick on a low tech hard chine plywood boat then..... ;) .....just kidding....I love plywood :)

 

and I know, there is a high tech carbon toilet !

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