Dinghy Design: Ideas for High Performance Disabled/Physically Limited Sailing

[wheels]

I have unfortunately never been sailing. only in the last year or so have i picked up the interest. Ive driven houseboats, jetboats, waverunners, ski boats, and an offshore racer.

dingy and sportboats have caught my imagination. Next month I'll be starting to build a PDRacer. (gotta start somewhere) and who know's what it will lead to.

Always been a bit of an adrenaline junky, grew up crashing dirtbikes, dune buggies, helped build a couple 8 second dragsters, and broke every traffic law on the books (young and stupid is well... young and stupid)

So I guess I'm just drawn to stuff that is light, nimble, and fast. Being a test monkey just sounds like fun

[Doug Lord]

Originally Posted by wheels

I have unfortunately never been sailing. only in the last year or so have i picked up the interest. Ive driven houseboats, jetboats, waverunners, ski boats, and an offshore racer.

dingy and sportboats have caught my imagination. Next month I'll be starting to build a PDRacer. (gotta start somewhere) and who know's what it will lead to.

Always been a bit of an adrenaline junky, grew up crashing dirtbikes, dune buggies, helped build a couple 8 second dragsters, and broke every traffic law on the books (young and stupid is well... young and stupid)

So I guess I'm just drawn to stuff that is light, nimble, and fast. Being a test monkey just sounds like fun

========
Man, that's fantastic! Welcome to sailing! Good luck with your project and I hope things work out down the line that you can try a boat like the Trapwing.
Speed under sail is one of the great pleasures of life and some of us just can't get enough.....
PS- you might start a thread under "boatbuilding" or in this forum as sort of a construction blog of your project. It would be fun following along and if you run into trouble there is a lot of talent around here that would willingly help.

[Doug Lord]

From Scuttlebutt tonight:

DISABLED ADVANCES, FUTURE ASPIRATIONS
By Brian Gleason, Charlotte Sun

In 1980, at the age of 21, Paul Callahan slipped on a wet floor. His neck
was broken and the prognosis was a lifetime in bed. More than 32 years
later, the 53-year-old husband and father has represented the United States
in the 2000 Paralympic Games, runs his own business and travels more than
200 days a year training and competing in elite-level sailing events.

In spring 2010, when the International Association for Disabled Sailing was
looking for a South Florida site to hold its 2012 world championships,
Callahan, who has a home in Cape Coral, Fla., told IFDS President Linda
Merkle about a group in Charlotte County that might be game. He had read
and heard about the Charlotte Harbor Regatta, held in February 2010. Before
the year was out, Callahan would become a member of Charlotte Harbor Yacht
Club, take an advisory role with the IFDS to help shepherd the event and
begin training for the Jan. 7-15, 2012 IFDS Worlds on Charlotte Harbor and
his second Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England.

Callahan, who skippers a Sonar as a Paralympic member of the US Sailing
Team AlphaGraphics 2011, shares his story, his motivations and some
reflections on life and what the Charlotte County community can expect as
the 2012 IFDS Worlds approach.

* You represented the U.S. in the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney. How does that
experience compare with other accomplishments in your sailing and
non-sailing career?

CALLAHAN: As the skipper of the USA team and representing our country, it
was one of the proudest moments in my life. I was overcome with euphoric
emotion and pride to enter this massive stadium with 110,000 people of all
nationalities chanting, ''USA!, USA!, USA!'' At that moment, I realized how
fortunate I was to be from America. Racing sailboats is about winning or
losing, representing your whole country is more of a massive responsibility
to do your best.

* You are chairman of US Sailing's Council for Sailors With Disabilities
and work with the International Association for Disabled Sailing as an
adviser for event organizers. How do sailing opportunities (racing and
cruising) for disabled people compare to when you first started sailing
after your injury?

CALLAHAN: There is no comparison. We were barely a blip on anyone's radar
screen 15 years ago. Now, after competing on three different continents and
13 countries, as well as numerous cities across America, disabled sailors
have become folk heroes in communities and in the media, because we
represent living proof that anyone can overcome their own adversities.

It is gratifying to know that you have not only changed the lives of
individuals, but also the soul and fabric of a community by having trained
and competed in a city, town or region. After watching 100 disabled sailors
conquer a sport originally intended for fully able-bodied people,
individuals, neighbors, communities and cities ultimately realize their
lives can be just what they always imagined.

Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/11/0430/

[Doug Lord]

This is from a thread long ago and should be included here.With some modifications, it is a potentially ideal solution to a faster keelboat for disabled sailor/physically restricted sailors if the Trapwing, SRT and other current solutions seems too radical or too tame. What's more, the prototype has been sailing for some time. Many thanks to Dennis Clark for the info and inspiration: ( also see the following post # 35)
-----------

This is one of the neatest 18 foot singlehanders I've seen yet. The canting keel makes this boat in my opinion-and its a powerful 50° system too. Very, very cool!
From an article here:
Sailnut.com - Sailing Related Sightings Round-the-Sound
Address:http://www.sailnut.com/sightings/ Changed:6:56 PM on Monday, May 14, 2007

Canting Keel 18- 2.17.07
With a lack of fanfare, Dennis Clark launched this 18 foot home built boat in January of 2007. Since then he has been testing it on the waters of Puget Sound near Gig Harbor. Of course this boat is hardly typical of a home built boat. With many molded fiberglass parts, a modern rig with asymmetrical spinnaker, and a canting keel, this isn't a slightly modified Thistle or C-Lark. Fortunately, Dennis was nice enough to chat about his boat after a day of testing on a brisk February day.
My first question was 'Why?'. Dennis wanted a boat that could be single or double handed in a wide wind range. To this end he needed a relatively light boat with substantial sail area. The canting keel allows the boat to carry lots of canvas without requiring lots of human weight on the rail. Dennis contacted Andy Vance to design the rig and hull. Dennis also talked about the concept and design to his friends, family, and neighbors. And he listed to what many of them had to say. By the time the boat was finished he had incorporated ideas from many different individuals.
Dennis built the hull by hand. It is a cedar strip core covered with fiberglass and epoxy. Carbon fiber was also added in high stress areas. A mold was created for the deck which is also fiberglass but with a balsa core. This hull is narrow compared to most modern boats. Just 36 inches of beam at the waterline. The boat is self bailing with bailers positioned on the sides of the hull to evacuate any water scooped into the cockpit.
The canting keel is the star of this show. With a maximum 50 degrees of cant, it is able to get the 98 kilogram bulb way out there. The keel currently uses a 10:1 block and tackle purchase system. A canard handles lateral forces. The canard is removed like a daggerboard for trailering. The rudder is not transom hung on this 18 footer but is 'cassette style'. This design was chosen to allow removal for trailering.
The rig is designed to be built from a shortened star mast. Both lower and upper stays are swept. Despite it's Star heritage, the mast does not utilize any backstays. The top of the mast is approximately 24 feet of the water. The boom is a modified Laser spar. Dennis did not know the exact area of the asymmetrical spinnaker but it is not insignificant.
With just a couple months of sailing under it's keel, Dennis seems happy with his toy. He reports that the boat is quite responsive to the canting keel. And it has a neutral helm even while heeling.
After discussing the boat I changed the subject. I was curious if Dennis planned to get back into the boat business. He wasn't sure. His first goal was to work out the bugs in this boat. He wants to sail it in various conditions, get more feedback, and see what needs improvement. He also offered to take me sailing. Sounds like this article might have a 'Part 2'. Stay tuned.

Canting Keel 18 Specifications:

Hull LOA 5496mm / 18'
--
Hull weight minus keel approximately 133 kg / 292lb.
--
Beam 1371 mm / 4.5'
--
Waterline beam 914 mm / 35.9"
--
Keel-keel bulb 98 kg / 215.6lb

Keel strut, bulb, and pivot approximately 133 kg/
292lb.
--
Draft-1676 mm/ 5.5'
--
Maximum keel cant 50 degrees
--
Rig:
a. mainsail area 10 square meters-107.6 sq.ft
b. jib area- 6 square meters-64.56 sq.ft.
c. sprit length 550 mm / 21.6"
============================

click on image:

[Doug Lord]

From Dennis Clark(in the original thread) :

I am pleased at the interest in this new boat.
As far as selling plans, I would not be interested. This boat was meant as a testing platform of ideas for a "Laser on steroids". I am keeping most of the molds and tools used to build the boat that could help with a next generation small canter.
To produce this boat would take more than some interest from some of us wing nuts (actual boats on order and $ or maybe someone tired of the AC game that needs a new cause.)
I would visualize as inexpensive a boat you could get away with similar to laser construction technology. No kits. We would probably make it a little bigger for perhaps 2 guys or 3 girls. It seems that this could be a great type of boat for women's sailing.
The keel mechanism is two parts inside the box. Sheaves in the keel head, becket cheek blocks on each side then up through through deck blocks turning forward to get enuf throw then a five part tackle, ratchet, and cleat. It is a continuous line. This part of the boat has worked very well and I feel really lucky that it worked out.
The keel is retractable for ramp launching (crane launching seemed problematic) the steel strut fits into a lead bulb which detaches and lives on the trailer. The rudder is in a cassette and the canard is just a dagger. So the boat is about like launching a Thistle, no big deal, but you probably want a totally awesome trolley dolly like I have (my wife) to help. Our launch and retrieval is pretty well greased but it still takes an hour and a half.
I haven't measured the actual area of the sails.
The keel is pretty easy to use once you get in your head that pulling on the leeward string tilts the boat toward you. The boat sails well with a lot of heel so you can precant the keel for the new tack but make sure it's cleated as the boat leans
over like it's capsized if you "get on the wrong side of the keel". It will scoop a pretty big load of water and take a couple minutes to drain after a tipover event. The boat is very stable downwind. I have sailed it alone in 22 knots upwind and it could use more crew weight than my #200 as well as a couple more hands. We were hoping to get a 0-30 knot boat and are pretty close to that, and a couple of reasonably good Laser sailors should have no problem. The keel is a lot like having a crew on the wire.

[Doug Lord]

From the first page-a call for ideas:
There have been a couple other threads discussing this concept to some degree. I'd like to hear any ideas people might have for a high performance dinghy that would be safe for disabled sailing or for people whose physical abilities aren't what they once were. I know what that is like and I still have the need for speed.
There are a lot of imaginative, intelligent people on this forum: rack your brains and see if you can come up with an idea to be much faster than current single handed boats used for disabled sailing-maybe we could make a real contribution to design by coming up with viable concepts.
--
pictures- Trapwing model, see more detail on the first page-click on image-

[Doug Lord]

Simply breathtaking video that speaks for itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaNOD...ayer_embedded#!

http://www.handikite.fr/2.html

Pictures---1-kite powered FOILER chair, 2- kite powered chair+ board(same as video):

click on image:

[Doug Lord]

As I've learned more about DSS-Hugh Welbourn's innovative horizontal sliding foil, the more I think that a DSS foil could be coupled to the Trapwing ballast wing so that they both move simultaneously. The reduction in required ballast in the wing could be substantial. And the buoyancy of the "wing" would remain as it is now adding to capsize resistance/recovery.
The lifting foils shown in the pictures below could be eliminated(at least as far as "foil assist" goes) allowing 100% retractable foils making beaching and trailering easier. Sure worth considering further....
Biggest negative is the narrowness of the proto but that can change.
More on DSS: Quant 28-foil assist keelboat / DSS
=========================

Originally Posted by Doug Lord

Here are the design specifications for the prototype that will be used to test the Trapwing concept. The hull for the Trapwing will also be used to test the SRT(self-righting trimaran) whose specs are in the next post. I have been delayed on starting this prototype by the intercession of real life. I hope to overcome those problems and proceed with the full size build sometime this year. No model will be tested of this boat because I have built and test numeous RC models of the Power Ballast System over the last ten years with many ,many hours of sailing in all kinds of conditions. The Trapwing concept has passed the model tests with flying colors with excellent results.

=================

A Summary of the Trapwing concept:

In the course of this thread and a couple of others various incarnations of this concept were considered. The final "incarnation" came down to the Trapwing 15 for which you can find sketches and numbers in an earlier thread. Due to some fortuitous events I was able to get my original 16' foiler hull back and then made the decision to go with it as the prototype for developing this project. The 15 remains the ideal version of the planing version of this concept(so far) and will likely be built after the Prototype is thoroughly tested and explored. The Prototype hull based on the 16 is a bit narrower than ideal but it is an all carbon hull and ideal for a relatively quick conversion to a sailing prototype. So, that's whats next- and here are more details that reflect the modifications to the topsides and bow that change the 16 into the Trapwing Prototype. The prototype is shown with weight and sail area ranges that reflect the potential capability of the modified hull as well as the tests that need to be made. The suitability of the concept to disabled sailing will be determined by sailors involved in disabled sailing. Engineering, as required, will be done by a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer with electronics expertise as required. Performance testing will be exhaustive with help from one of the top marine testing laboratories in the US.
===========
The following is a detailed look at the characteristics of the new Prototype, as well as the design elements it will encompass and test:
-----
Trapwing Prototype:
LOA 18'
Beam hull-3.25' overall 12'(subject to testing)
Weight- hull 138+38=176(corrected from original post mistake)
ballast-wing 80-180lb(variable and subject to testing)
keel 0-80(subject to testing)
SA-upwind 100-182 sq.ft. variable
downwind 200-360sq.ft. (variable and subject to testing)
crew-singlehanded-120lb-220lb (variable and equalized under class rules- subject to testing)
crew position for racing on the centerline inside boat, fixed
athwartships, variable fore and aft
--------------------
1) Sail area to be between 100 and 182 sq.ft
a-different rigs
b-different amounts of ballast
--
2) Ballast wing to be supported by trapeze wires and unique retention system that allows wing and ballast to slide simultaneously, allows athwartship pivoting and fore and aft movement.
a-version one will use two aluminum tubes with sliding external tray- the tubes and tray move simultaneously:
-attachment system allows wing- with weight centered-to be levered up and then pivoted from a position 90 degrees to the CL to a position parallel to the centerline for transport and stowage.
-weight can be added or removed in small increments.
-fore and aft pivot/sliding tube is mounted to the boat slightly offset from the CL to allow room to retract board/keel.
-aluminum tubes terminate at outboard ends in buoyancy pods-pods will be changeable as determined in testing.
-sliding ballast tray and structural design of wing to be capable of 180lb max ballast @9' from CL; ballast completely adjustable in the range of 80 to 180lb.
b-version two is a slightly curved(athwartship), molded and sealed(with seal-able access to ballast tray) wing with an internal sliding ballast tray. This version will be the final version and incorporates all the features of version one with significantly increased sealed buoyancy.
c-Wing movement by manual or electric means. Minimum electrical movement full out to full out:4.5 sec. Minimum electrical "stamina" on single battery-12 hours at a rate equivalent to a approximately 60 (full track)tacks per hour. Manual back-up.
--
3) Crew Position
a-version one-racing position-allows crew to sit in an extremely comfortable seat that is fixed athwartship and slides fore and aft adjustably while sailing.
-extremely wide crew weight range:for racing lower tray attached to seat may contain ballast used to equalize crew weight in the range of 120 to 220 lb.
-seat may be moved manually or electrically.
b-version two-center seat is removed and two fixed carbon seats with backrests are "plugged-in" to each side deck.
--
4) Rigs to be tested are main and jib, main alone, with and without an asymmetrical spinnaker.
a-asymmetrical will be tested as permanently mounted off a bowsprit(a la Weta tri) or retracted into a trough with roller(a la Viper) and a retractable pole.
b-mast to be sealed with masthead floatation in an endplate configuration. Some buoyancy possible in head of sail.
--
5)-Daggerboard/ keel/rudder
a -boat will be tested with and without a retractable "lifting keel"
which would essentially be a carbon daggerboard with the minimum ballast required(determined in testing) to right the boat from a pitchpole(where the wing buoyancy may not significantly help).
b-self-righting from a knockdown or pitchpole is a required design element for any version of the boat used for disabled sailing.

c-a turbo version of the boat will not use a ballasted keel and may not be suitable for disabled sailing but this will be determined in testing.
d- the daggerboard may include as standard a lifting hydrofoil designed to provide "foil-assist" to reduce wetted surface and in conjunction with the rudder hydrofoil improve the pitch and planing characteristics of the
boat.
e-a fully flying hydrofoil system will be tested as will a fully flying system that allows the boat to fly downwind only(requiring less upwind SA and less ballast).
f-rudder will be retractable with a t-foil.
--
6)-On the Beach
a-the boat will be able to be easily beach sailed with a dolly incorporated into the trailer design to make it very simple to go from trailer to water. A "power assist" dolly may be available. Disabled sailors/coach(s) will assist in the design of systems to allow launching and use of the boat with the minimum outside assistance possible.
--
7)-Performance
a- the goal is to develop a high performance planing sailboat that can be safely sailed from a center crew position by disabled or able-bodied sailors. I am hoping to be able to achieve an SCP/total weight of 30% or slightly better though that is just a target and a less powerful version with numbers and performance more like a Windmill or Tasar may be perfectly acceptable. The use of foil-assist technology will help to achieve the performance goals. Full flying foiling is possible in a self-righting boat-particularly one with the righting assist this boat has from version two of THE Wing.
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The concept has extraordinary potential and it will be a blast finding out just what she'll do.

-------------------------

DESIGN RATIOS(Trapwing prototype in its most powerful initial configuration)
LOA 18( not including retractable gantry)
LWL 17.7
Sailing weight 653lb w/keel, 573 w/o keel
----
Displ./ Length Ratio: 52.7
--
Sail Area to Displ. Ratio: 38.66
--
Sail Area/Wetted Surface: 4.23/1 w/o foil assist
5.87/1 with foil assist
--
S number: 9.61

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Pictures,L to R: 1) Trapwing proto, 2) Trapwing proto with ballast wing extended, 3) DSS drive system, 4) DSS foil

click on image-