talk about a futuristic design...

[spout]

"A 72 ft wing sail power assisted catamaran for commuter runs between Tahiti and the Tuamotus / 6 staterooms / 18 knot cruising / Designed by Jim Antrim."

Looks like it came straight out of a James Bond Movie - why don't the ferries around here look adventurous like this?! Hope I get a chance to ride on it in person someday...

[Fco.Lopez]

Spectacular...!!!

It took many years for the full-wing rigs on cats to become faster than a normal wingmast and soft sail combination; even then, the fill wing rigs could be beaten for years. Maybe it's not such a vast jump in performance; the 18 square class found the solid wing no faster AFAIK. As far as futuristic goes, they were in International Canoes in the '50s.

A very succesful catamaran ferry designer once told me it was appearance (ie making a boat look more modern) that counted as much as function when it came to attracting passengers, maybe that's Jim Antrim's point here.

[K4s]

Im not completely sure of my facts but this looks remakably like a boat that got into serious problems down off Stewart Island(south of NZ) ealier in the year.If so its a long way from Tahitian commuter trips.
K4s

[mistral]

I'm a Jim Antrim fan, i consider him as one of the most innovative and elegant multihull creator, but this one seems not to be one of his best design; of course she's just a sketch but, my god, have you considered the windage!!!!!!! such a huge lateral area will put you in deep trouble mooring that boat with a 25kn wind; i may look very conservative but i don't think we're gonna see that boat travelling around Pacific Ocean for the next years.

Mistral

[Andy P]

Walker Wingsails in Uk made a few similar looking trimarans with solid wings - at a huge cost and many legal battles ( getting a million pounds libel damages from Yachting World who expressed negative comments re performance ) and eventually going bankrupt more than once.

[edaydesign]

I am currently doing some research on my thesis and was wondering if anyone knows where I can go to get more information on rigid (wing)sails. Any good websites, manufacturers, research, ect... would be great. I am in the process of making the marine industry more sustainable and responsible in energy consumption.

What is the name and who is the builder of this futuristic catamaran?

[tspeer]

Originally Posted by mistral

I'm a Jim Antrim fan, i consider him as one of the most innovative and elegant multihull creator, but this one seems not to be one of his best design; of course she's just a sketch but, my god, have you considered the windage!!!!!!! such a huge lateral area will put you in deep trouble mooring that boat with a 25kn wind; i may look very conservative but i don't think we're gonna see that boat travelling around Pacific Ocean for the next years.

Mistral

I believe you are mistaken.
- The boat, "Te Marama", is not a sketch. It was designed by Jim Antrim built by Chantier Naval Gilles Triboulat and has been sailing since at least 2001.
- The boat is 72' (22m) long. The windage of the hull is far smaller than any other craft her size.
- The windage of the wing is less than a conventional mast, as long as the wing is kept feathered. The wing is cantilevered, and has no restrictions to its turning to face any direction. If the wing is aerodynamically stable and free to pivot, it will weathercock into the wind by itself. The issue then becomes the phase lag between gust onset and the response of the wing. The pivot appears to be forward of the wing quarter-chord, but from the descriptions given, I can't tell whether the wing is actively controlled all the time or if it weathercocks passively.

Bring on the Canting Mast.

[Skippy]

How well suited is this boat for rough water? The hulls look like they would tend to toe in. Actually, the tops of the hulls do look like they shed water well, but then how do they get enough reserve flotation for going through waves and running downwind?

[mistral]

thank you for your addtional infos Tom, now the picture became more clear and the cake get a sweteer taste the front view shows a wide use of glass surface, very wisely shaped to keep windage as low as possible (i personally hate lagoon type use of glasses); from the shypyard site seems a project more oriented toward a combined sail/engine use than a pure sailboat, do you know anything more about this issue??

Thanx
Mistral

[Andy P]

pic of the walker wingsail boat, currently being mod for disabled sail around the world trip

more at http://www.globalinventure.com

What happens when a bad storm presses the sail on 20 to 40 foot waves? Where is it stowed till the storm is over. Please don't tell me it is jettisoned.

[Andy P]

And another wing sail craft - though it's more like a m26 style version
Wing-Drive http://www.dahlberg-sa.com/kd/

[DaveB]

I came across this...

Looks pretty interesting n' think it might fit into this thread...

http://www.diogenemarine.com/pictures/testing_6_5_m.MPG

http://www.diogenemarine.com/testing65m.html

Cheers,

Dave