Hanley Multisurface?

[RHough]

I used Hanley Innovations software when I was evaluating wings for sailplanes. I just got an offer from them to upgrade to the Multisurface version that does more than one element and does 3D .

Hanley Innovations

I can upgrade for less than 50% of the list price ...

Anyone used Hanley stuff enough to know is it would be useful for sails and keel/rudder design?

[marshmat]

I haven't actually used Hanley's software, but from their documentation it would appear that it is a pretty good tool for sails, keels and rudders. At $2500 list price it's not exactly cheap; I'd consider it if you're designing for racing or if you really want to spend a lot of time and effort for a few % increase in efficiency.
Hanley MultiSurface appears to be a vortex-lattice package. There's nothing wrong with that; algorithms with their roots in potential-flow theory can be quite useful and are much faster to solve than something like the K-omega. I'd just advise a bit of caution when interpreting results as it will probably not handle separated flows very well (ie. foils at high angles of attack), although I would expect its output to be very good in normal operating regimes.

[Tim B]

You might want to consider OpenFOAM (which is basically free CFD software + lots more) and X-foil.

The problem we have for keels and rudders is that they like to cavitate, so any answers you get should be treated with caution anyway. Vortex Lattice is probably not very suitable for thick aerofoils, but it will be fine for sails.

The is a 2 surface Vortex lattice method available on the web written in Fortran. Extending it to an unlimited number of surfaces shouldn't be too hard.

Cheers,

Tim B.