Winged Trimaran-Kotaro Horiuchi

Cool, a Moth with training wheels.
Just what the world needs.

 

Book/ Moth

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Thank you, Gururaj!! I'm ordering the book now.

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Lesburn 1, you're sorta right but how did you know?

 

Kotaro Horiuchi

Gururaj, I've just received the book from Dr. Mike and it is extraordinary. Thank you very much for letting me know about it! I'm a little disapointed that there does not appear to be any info on the bi-foil trimaran so if you run into anything on that please let me know.
Congratulations on your superb editing of this book-quite an accomplishment-and thanks!

 

Doug,
Glad that you liked the book. The trimaran was designed after Mr. Horiuchi wrote the book in Japanese - so it is not included in the book. I will pass on your comments to him and try to ask him for more information related to the trimaran.

His first book published in Japanese many years ago, is also very good. I'll try to talk to him to publish it in English and share it with the rest of the English-speaking world.


Regards,
Gururaj Rao

Japanese/English translator, ex-Naval architect
Blog: Translator's tools: honyakusha.blogspot.com

 

This may be a little late, but better than never. Recently I reviewed Mr Horiuchi's book in cooperation with the International Hydrofoil Society. Here is my review:

Review, by Ray Vellinga of the book, Locus of a boat designer by Kotaro Horiuchi,

What is the “American Dream”? To some it is having a good job, buying a house, starting a family and voting. Others believe the American Dream follow the examples of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Their compulsion to invent things was as strong as their need for money, shelter, family and freedom, however this form of the American Dream may be more appropriately called the International Dream. The inventive spirit is everywhere, not just in America.

There is no finer example of an innovator and inventor than Kotaro Horiuchi, chief of the Yamaha Research and Development Center during the 1980s, head of Horuichi Laboratory and former director of Yamaha Motor Co. Mr. Horiuchi, like his company, is Japanese, but the R & D centers are in Los Angeles and Minnesota. Little wonder that many of the designs he created have strong appeal to Americans. Yamaha’s market successes are well known: motorcycles, personal watercraft, etc. But the real excitement in this book is about the vehicles he created for special purposes and, for one reason or another, where never mass-marketed and therefore not widely known.

The versatile Mr. Horiuchi, in a period spanning over 50 years, designed conventional motorboats, sailboats, planes, helicopters, motorcycles, cars, SCUBA propulsion unit and even a river-powered generator. But his greatest efforts were focused on hydrofoil boats, and this book reveals their secrets. His best known hydrofoil is the OU32 that was feature on the Discovery Channel in 1999. This water-jet powered boat carries two persons in tandem and flies at 40mph. The pilot and passenger are belted in and protected by a locking clear transparent canopy. The submerged foils allow the craft to make balanced turns while banking 45 degrees. The result is a 1.4G thrill ride. There are detailed drawings, descriptions, specifications and measurements to help the reader understand how this boat works.

During the 1990s there was a lot of interest in Japan about setting records with human powered hydrofoils. There were many boats but two stand out: the Cogito and the Super Phoenix. The fastest was the two rider Super Phoenix. It was designed and built by Yamaha engineer, Fumitaka Yokoyama, in Yamaha's facility under the direction of Mr. Horiuchi. In 1998 it flew at 19.51 knots. That is unofficially faster than the 18.5 knots of the MIT speed record holder, Decavitator, a one man hydrofoil. Officially, Super Phoenix was awarded the two man record by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association for the fastest flying start run through a 100 meter course at 18.67 Knots. This speed fell slightly short of their 20 knot goal. Not to worry, Mr. Horiuchi generously details the final 5 modifications that were made on the Super Phoenix to permit it to fly faster, but even after these modifications its old record could not be beaten. Still optimistic, Mr. Horiuchi calculates that by increasing the rider power by 15% and decreasing the drag by 35% an otherwise similar boat would smash all records by reaching 24 knots. Sounds easy enough.

There are so many valuable projects in this book that one gets the feeling that Mr. Horiuchi, retired as of 1996, would like more than anything to see the abandoned ideas come back to life in the form of viable, profit making products. Many of his best ideas apparently were shelved because of unrelated circumstances, like the Japanese recession or the surge in product liability problems in the 1990s. Of course the biggest market for these ideas is here in the USA and surely it’s no coincidence that this second edition is in English and available to Americans.

Included in the book is a 36 minute DVD. It is in NTSC format, region free; so it will play on your TV. There are 50 boats, planes and cars -- many of which the reader probably never has seen. Excerpts from the DVD can be seen on Youtube. Search for OU32 or Kotaro Horiuchi.

The book is important because of the large number of significant projects and the detail in which they are reported. There are very few other good books about hydrofoils and hydrofoil design principles. This one should be in the library of every serious hydrofoil enthusiast and designer. The book is especially valuable to anyone thinking of building a hydrofoil or anyone dreaming of breaking records.

Locus is a large book, 308 pages of 8” X 11.5” print. It is filled with over 360 fine line drawings and photos. The line drawings in particular are works of art. About 40% of the book is devoted to hydrofoils, 20% for power boats, 10% for rowing shells, 10% two wheel powered vehicles, and 10% for airplanes and helicopters. The book is filled with great designer and engineering ideas with numbers, dimensions and details. This edition is priced at $99.00 plus $7.00 US shipping. Order it through Dr. Mike Timmons, 126 Sunset Drive, Ithaca, NY 14850. Email mbt3@cornell.edu. Phone 607-227-5638.

P.S. to see this and other relevant hydrofoil videos go to Youtube.com and search for IHSIHS or enter my name, Ray Vellinga

 

Book

Thanks for the review,Ray. There is a small bit about the catamaran sailing foiler Mr. Horiuchi worked on in Chapter 18 with quite a bit of detail. I'm still hoping to see more about the winged tri that is the subject of this thread. If you run into any more about it please let me know.

 

Video of the development of a foiling cat by Kotaro Horiuchi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7RSZX1GA5A