canards on a cat ?

[gramos]

I have often wondered , would small canards fitted ahead of fixed mini keels , on a cruising type catamaran help with pointing ability ? as fitted to many of the bigger racing multis ?: or would they just cause more drag than their worth ?

[yellowcat]

I have not yet studied deeply this matter but i am considering adding those to my design.
The faster you go, they act as foils, in the ORMA tris, i have looked at them but they are more like a curved daggerboard that becomes a foil at certain angle
. I don't remember exactly who said but it stayed in my head, one great advantage of canards or foils is stability on top of lifting ie reducing drag, stability keeps the boat horizontal and the shortest distance being a strait line and the least disturbances (less waves smashing the hull at high speeds (see the hydroptere) and less water to lift for the hulls) . Mr Tabarly was one of the early beleivers of foils. At mooring and anchor, it will reduce certainly rolling. It can be less desirable if the ocean state is rough. This is why they must be quickly lifted from the water if critical.
Another thing to anti-foul ... as for pointing ability this is a step in the right direction only for augmenting the daggerboard performance, or keel performance. This was introduced in an america's cup by australians a while ago if my memory is correct.
If they could point better with those at the AC, critical advantage for such a race, the physics are the same.
I hope this helps you reflect on the matter, where we are, algeas being abundant, it is not very popular .

[yellow cat]

I talked to my friends about it and a good daggerboard would do better. Generally, monohulls point better than multis, why ?