Maltese Falcon ... hit or miss?

[Angélique]

Oh well, just can't get it done based on the info from Wiki . . . .

Please somebody provide a MF vs CS comparison based on the below info with adjustment for the Froude number . . .

"I'm happy to report that the Falcon has just broken the Cutty Sark's best 24-hour run. The Cutty did 362 nautical miles and we've done 380."

added:
Best ever 24h average: MF 15.83 knots*, CS 15.08 knots.

* dont't know if MF did better after May 1, 2007 - see 4th post here.

Maltese Falcon
Sail area 25791 ft2
Displacement t 1240 tons (2200lb ton)
Beam 42 ft
L Deck 278.5
LOA 289
LWL 258.4 ft
Cargo capacity 0 tons
Complement 18


Cutty Sark
Sail area 32292 ft2
Displacement t 2100 tons (2200lb ton) (laden)
Beam 36 ft
L Deck 212
LOA 280
LWL 213 ft
Cargo capacity 950 tons
Complement 30

Maltese Falcon

Displacement/length ratio = 70.6
Sail Area /Disp. ratio = 21.1

Cutty Sark

Displacement /length ratio = 213.4
Sail Area/Disp. ratio = 18.62

Thanks

Angel

 

[Angélique]

Btw, the MF vs CS comparison came from the MF folks . . . I think it's better to compare MF to the Champion of the Seas of more similar length . . . . .

The Boston Daily Atlas, Vol. XXII, No. 274, Saturday, May 20, 1854.

.... This splendid vessel registers 2447 tons .... She is 238 foot long on the keel, and 252 feet on deck, between perpendiculars, which, as the stempost is upright, gives her a fore rake of 14 feet; her extreme breadth of beam is 45½ feet, and depth 29 feet; dead rise at half-floor 18 inches, rounding or swell of sides, 10 inches, and sheer 4½. ....

^ PS - if that fore rake is half above the water then that gives her a LWL of 245 ft, don't know if this is a fair assumption.

SchoonerMan, Schooner and Tall Saling Ships: Champion of the Seas.

.... Builders’ measurement 2447 tons - Registered measurement 1947 tons ....

Post #239, best ever 24h average...

.... ‘‘ 1854 "Champion of the Sea" 225ft Clipper, USA, 467nm. 19.46kts ’’ ....

Don't think the Falcon will ever break that . . - - - (some more MF specs)

Cheers,
Angel

 

[Guillermo]

"I'm happy to report that the Falcon has just broken the Cutty Sark's best 24-hour run. The Cutty did 362 nautical miles and we've done 380."

"Best ever 24h average: MF 15.83 knots*, CS 15.08 knots."

Not big deal with such disparity in their DL and SAD ratios, as well as the longer WL of MF, I'm afraid. MF should theoretically be pretty faster than CS.

One explanation could be the MF's rig being less efficient than the CS's one when reaching/running, which would be somehow dissapointing.

 

[Angélique]

From Perini Navi, MF specs (wait for specs to load)

Length overall: 289 ft / 88 m
LWL full load: 257 ft / 78.3 m
Beam (max): 41 ft / 12.60 m
Draught (keel up): 20 ft / 6 m
Draught (keel down): 36 ft / 11 m
Engines: 2 Deutz TBD 620
Maximum power: 2 x 1,499 = 2,998 kW
Hull construction: Steel
Superstructure construction: Aluminium
Displacement full load: 1,240 t
Speed at maximum power: 19.5 kt
Speed at maximum continuous rating: 16 kt
Range: 4,000 NM
Fuel capacity: 100,000 lt
Fresh water: 30,000 lt
Main mast height above DWL: 190 ft / 58 m
Mizzen mast height above DWL: 190 ft / 58 m
Total sail area: 25,833 sq ft / 2.400 mq
Cockpit area: 3,649 sq ft / 339 mq
Lazarette area: 646 sq ft / 60 mq
Total crew area: 3,154 sq ft / 293 mq
Total owner and guest cabin area: 4,650 sq ft / 432 mq
Saloon and wheelhouse area: 3,111 sq ft / 289 mq
Class and LY2 compilance: ABS: Malta Cross A1 AMS Yachting Service+MCA
Interior Design: Ken Freivokh Studio Design
Naval Architecture: Gerard Dijkstra & Partners / Perini Navi
Builder: Perini Istanbul - YIldiz Gemi, Turkey

Why MF under max power (2,998 kW) can't outperform the shorter Champion of the Seas' best 24h average of 19.46 kts under sails alone while moving cargo . . ? ?

Cheers
Angel

 

[Angélique]

The fate of the Champion . . .

February 1874: After having found that she was badly affected by dry rot she was subsequently sold to A. Cassels of Liverpool for £ 7,500.

3 January 1877: Abandoned off Cape Horn in leaking condition with a cargo of guano. The crew was saved by the British barque Windsor.

Cheers,
Angel

 

[Angélique]

"I'm happy to report that the Falcon has just broken the Cutty Sark's best 24-hour run. The Cutty did 362 nautical miles and we've done 380."

"Best ever 24h average: MF 15.83 knots*, CS 15.08 knots."

Not big deal with such disparity in their DL and SAD ratios, as well as the longer WL of MF, I'm afraid. MF should theoretically be pretty faster than CS.

One explanation could be the MF's rig being less efficient than the CS's one when reaching/running, which would be somehow dissapointing.

An other explanation could be that those oldies (not old then ) were driven very hard by very hard men, don't think MF's push button guy's have the guts to push their luck that hard on such an easily heeled vessel.

But this allone can't be the only explaination for such a poor performence in these comparisons . . .

About the rig, see Lister's post #226.

Cheers,
Angel

 

[Tad]

I could be wrong but I don't think MF has yet been tested in the roaring 40's? Therefore the comparison doesn't really hold up....having a series of gales (for months on end) over the stern quarter are what creates record runs with square riggers......reaching across the Atlantic is not really it..........

 

[BATAAN]

Sailing HERZOGIN CECILIE, a four masted steel bark.
"The ship sailed 299 miles that first 24 hours. In eight of them she sailed 116 miles; 58 miles for each of two four-hour watches, an average of 14 1/2 miles an hour. Often she touched 15 knots; sometimes the patent log on the rail right aft recorded the fact that she was going a little over that speed. There are many cities where the speed limit for motor cars is not so fast as "Herzogin Cecilie" sailed upon that day, and many days succeeding. She was a flyer right enough; and we loved her for it while we desperately tried, three of us at that great wheel, to hold her to something like her course.....
.... and always we sailed on, 240, 260, 280, 290 miles a day.... four times it blew out the royals. But always we lay aloft and bent others and set them again, and drove her on."
(This was while carrying 3,432 tons of grain from Australia to England in 1928. I was taught to sew many years ago by Adolph Dobbertin, one of the sailmakers from those late square-rig days and he said all he did on a Cape Horn passage (30 of them) was sew new sails constantly.)
Alan Villiers, FALMOUTH FOR ORDERS, 1929

 

[sharpii2]

"I'm happy to report that the Falcon has just broken the Cutty Sark's best 24-hour run. The Cutty did 362 nautical miles and we've done 380."

"Best ever 24h average: MF 15.83 knots*, CS 15.08 knots."

Not big deal with such disparity in their DL and SAD ratios, as well as the longer WL of MF, I'm afraid. MF should theoretically be pretty faster than CS.

One explanation could be the MF's rig being less efficient than the CS's one when reaching/running, which would be somehow dissapointing.

Most likely the expensive yacht like MF wasn't driven nearly as hard as the for-profit, get-paid-more-if-you-get-there-first, Cutty Sark was.

A lot of sailing ships of that time reached high speeds, even ones that weren't necessarily designed for speed. It was part of the madness of the times, due in part to the encroaching competition of steam assisted ships.

Any kind of a rig failure on the Maltese Falcon would be a major embarrassment. In the Cutty Sark's day, such was taken as a matter of course.

 

[ancient kayaker]

Whether the comparison is valid or not, the enthusiastic support by everyone of their particular champion is most entertaining as well as informative. It takes me back * to the great days of the Atlantic liners, known as the greyhounds of the sea, when every hard-won (or rather expensively purchased) knot was hailed by the proud owners as each was launched, longer than before, with bigger engines than before. The differences seemed awfully minute to my schoolboy mind - I must have been a prosaic SOB as a kid.

BTW, Angelique, there is a link to a mine of information on the various boating design ratios by Eric Sponberg in the boat forum wiki -

http://www.boatdesign.net/wiki/Design_Ratios

* OK, OK, not many left who can be taken back that far, I know I know . . .

 

[Guillermo]

I could be wrong but I don't think MF has yet been tested in the roaring 40's? Therefore the comparison doesn't really hold up....having a series of gales (for months on end) over the stern quarter are what creates record runs with square riggers......reaching across the Atlantic is not really it..........

Yes, knowing the prevailing conditions during the record breaking days is of course basic to understand the differences. As you said, to properly compare things it would be necessary to know the velocity diagrams for each vessel.
Cheers.

 

[Guillermo]

I think a careful reading of this paper may clarify MF's design aspects and performance. There is an interesting VPP comparison among the different rigs.

http://www.hiswasymposium.com/assets/files/pdf/2004/Gerard Dijkstra.pdf

 

[Angélique]

Falcon 24h 405nm

* dont't know if MF did better after May 1, 2007 - see 4th post here.

Maltese Falcon Breaks Cutty Sark's Record

May 2, 2007 - Azores

We received the following email yesterday from our good friend Tom Perkins aboard his amazing 287-ft yacht Maltese Falcon:

"Just a quick note from East of the Azores. I'm happy to report that the Falcon has just broken the Cutty Sark's best 24-hour run. The Cutty did 362 nautical miles and we've done 380. I believe the Cutty's record has never been broken by a square rigger . . . until today. The wind's averaged about 27 knots and the forecast is for slightly stronger winds into Gibraltar, so we'll be shooting to break 400 miles tomorrow."

It's an interesting contrast that the Cutty required a crew of nearly 30 men while Falcon can be sailed at the push of a few buttons by just one man.

- latitude / ld​

(see notes about this in post #234 and beyond...)

Just digged for a new 24h Falcon PR . . . this one is fresh

MF 24h 405nm, somewhere between July 1 - 13, 2011.

August 20, 2011

Transatlantic Race 2011 and Beyond!

The Maltese Falcon has had an extremely busy month! On July 13th, we completed our latest ocean crossing with the 2011 Transatlantic Race. (www.transatlanticrace.org)

Although the wind was very light for much of the trip, we also had several great sailing days. In fact, the Falcon broke her own 24-hour mileage record with a 405nm day; that will be a tough one for us to beat again!

The crossing was made in complete luxury relative to most of our competitors: we spent the trip living in a completely dry, climate-controlled environment with TV, Internet access, and home-cooked fresh meals every day. In comparison, the other yacht crews were living in foul-weather gear while eating freeze-dried meals!

Here are some statistics from the crossing:

Distance from start to finish line: 2,975 nm

Distance actually sailed: 3,428.5 nm

Total time to complete race: 13 days, 6 hours, 41 minutes, and 52 seconds

Average distance sailed per day: 258 nm

Average speed: 10.8 kts

Average speed made good: 9.3 kts

Maximum speed logged: 20.6 kts at 1000 hrs, 7th July

Minimum speed logged: 0.6 kts at 0200 hrs, 11th July

Total coffees consumed: 950 (our best guesstimate)

After a brief 30-hour stop in Falmouth, UK we headed back out to sea for a few more days to sail to Gibraltar. During the trip and while off the coast of Gibraltar, the Maltese Falcon crossed a major milestone in her life: her log passed the 100,000nm mark. A log is, in nautical terms, the equivalent of a car’s odometer. 100,000nm is a major accomplishment, and is equivalent to sailing four times around the world! We celebrated by snapping some photos of the entire crew attempting to spell out 100,000 using an engineer in a fire suit as the “1” and five liferings as the “0’s. Unfortunately the log’s digital display only allows for five digits, so after 99,999nm it clicked back to 0.0 again. Shhh…don’t tell anybody, they’ll think she’s a new yacht!

After stopping in Gibraltar for about five hours, it was back out to sea again to head to our Summer home of France and Italy. By the time the month of July ends, the Maltese Falcon will have traveled some 5,000nm in less than 30 days.

The Falcon and her crew are gearing up for an action-packed summer around the Mediterranean.

Check back soon for more updates!

Jeremy Smith

Deckhand

Cheers,
Angel

 

[Angélique]

BTW, Angelique, there is a link to a mine of information on the various boating design ratios by Eric Sponberg in the boat forum wiki -

http://www.boatdesign.net/wiki/Design_Ratios

Thanks Terry , and even more thanks to Eric

Just hope it doesn't sail all over my head

Cheers,
Angel

 

[brian eiland]

I think a careful reading of this paper may clarify MF's design aspects and performance. There is an interesting VPP comparison among the different rigs.

http://www.hiswasymposium.com/assets/files/pdf/2004/Gerard Dijkstra.pdf

MANY THANKS Guillermo for that reference paper. I believe I have seen it before, but not that version with the color presentations, and all the other big sailing ship rigs, etc

BRAVO :!: