Wild Oats XI fitted with DSS!

Wild Oats XI

First assessment of the performance increase due to the DSS foil on Wild Oats XI : http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-...-pose-threat-to-wild-oats/4963954?section=nsw

The preparation includes some serious testing of a radical, retractable hydrofoil-type wing that will extend 2.75 metres out from the hull on the leeward side to improve the yacht's downwind performance.
"It assists us more in surfing downwind, off the breeze, sailing mode," Hildebrand said.
"It allows us to maintain higher speeds when we're surfing in a sea state, and it keeps the bow above the water and reduces drag.
"We're sort of saying 10 per cent more sustainable speeds, from 18 knots upwards boat speed. That may be 20 per cent more depending on wind speed."

Oats pix by Carlo Berlonghi:

 

Not bad, but this thread's in the wrong board. Should be moved to here: http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/motorsailers/

 

Why don't they just add some giant fans powered by the diesel? Still "sail powered".

 

Late reply, but here it is...

As has been pointed out numerous times, there are PLENTY of other big yachts being built and raced. There are new J classers at 130'; new Wallys at around 100' and more; new "mini maxis"; and new cruiser/racing maxis. About the only maxi mono class that isn't attracting new builds are the canting 100s.

The economy is NOT stopping big new boats. That's a plain and simple fact. There were a dozen boats bigger than the 100' canters at the last Maxi Worlds. People are building and racing new fixed keel monos of 100' long nad more. It's just that no one has bothered to build a new canting keel supermaxi for years.

Almost all of the boats doing the major ocean racers are fixed keel monos. Look at the Fastnet with its 300+ entries, the Hobart, the Bermuda, the Middle Sea Race, the Barcolona (sp), the Baltic races.... all the most popular offshore races in the world are dominated by fixed keel boats.

 

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There you go again. I don't have time to check every race but you said fixed keel boats dominated the..........Hobart?? Not if first to finish is considered "domination"! You said "all the most popular offshore races in the world are dominated by fixed keel boats". I guess then, the question is how you define "popular". Is the Volvo popular? Is the Vendee Globe popular?
You're so anti technology that it seems like you'll say anything to make your point glossing over omissions and exaggerations.
I've read several talking heads that have said the economy has had a big effect on the production of canting keel race boats-you haven't seen those articles?
From the new Seahorse: 20% of the new custom builds are canting keel boats. One is a 100' DSS boat!
And there are at least three production canting keel boats... And a 36' and a 30' DSS production boat.

 

No Doug.

I don't think he is anti technology.

I think, like me, he sees canting ballast keel yachts as a dangerous, expensive technology, which is all the more dangerous as the size of the boat increases. This is due to an engineering principle you are probably well aware of.

It is all the more hazardous because it is so effective that, against them, non cantors don't have a chance. Banning them or making them race in special classes, as what was done with multi's, is IMHO a sensible course of action.

Arguably these boats are not even pure sailboats.

They require an engine running constantly to shift the massive amount of low slung lead.

Ban the engine and you have effectively banned the technology.

This should have been done in the single handed races.

 

All those goofy boats hurt the sport of ocean racing by raising the costs and making any other non goofy boat uncompetitive.

They should not be able to sail in mixed fleet events.

And technology...what technology ?


Modern high output lightweight diesel engines and hydraulic oil systems ?

This is technology ??

Better keep that technology on the NAScar track and off the race course.

 

Your claim was that "the major ocean racers are all canters". That's plain and simple wrong.

Of course non-canting "major ocean racers" exist. Boats like the Mini Maxis do exist, and they do major ocean races. Are you actually trying to say that the Fastnet winning world Mini Maxi champ Ran - a fixed keel boat like the rest of the thriving mini-maxi class - does not exist? According to you she doesn't. Nor, apparently, do boats like the overall winner of the 2011 Sydney-Hobart, Loki. Or the Transpac 52s that do the Hobart and Transpac and similar races....

The Bermuda is a major ocean race - with a course that crosses an ocean for 600+ miles it's definitely an ocean race, and with 170+ entries it's definitely major. Rambler, the line-honours winner of the last Bermuda race wasn't a canter. I think there may have been one (beaten) canter in the whole fleet. There was about one canter in the Transpac.

How in the world can you say "the major ocean racers are all canters" when almost all of the boats doing major ocean races such as the Bermuda and Fastnet are fixed keelers?

Yes, canters have dominated ONE category in the Sydney-Hobart recently. That does not mean that such boats have dominated the entire race, nor does it mean that the list of boats that are "major ocean racers" with fixed keelers don't exist.

If 20% of the Seahorse custom build table are canters then the vast majority are fixed keelers - how does that tie in with your claim that "the major ocean racers are ALL canters"????? And three production boats constitutes what portion of the world production output?

 

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I was wrong to say that-I meant to try to say that the biggest ocean races-the Vendee Globe and the Volvo are sailed in canting keel boats. And canters have proven to be faster than fixed keel boats most of the time.
The fastest major ocean racers are almost all canting keel boats.

 

This.

I see nothing wrong with adding DSS to yachts. I see nothing particularly wrong with canting keels if manually operated (I'd call that something like running backstays) and if they're in a suitable class. However, relying on a constantly running diesel to "sail" a "sailboat" just seems like stupid rule bending to me.

It's nothing special in terms of technology. Diesel engines and hydraulic rams have been commonplace for a century now.

 

"Biggest" in what sense? Certainly not in terms of the number of participants.

 

Gee, nothing wrong with any foil or system......if you can operate them with real sailng crew manpower.

its the incredibly complex, diesel powered PTO, circuit board driven systems that allow MONSTER boats to set speed records.

This is goofy stuff.

a human powered sistership to a sailing MONSTER would not stand a chance on the race course.

 

The fastest ocean racing sailboats are multi hulls. We don't allow them to race against monohulls.

Once engines are allowed I can think of a lot of monohulls faster than Wild Oats or any of the Vendee and Volvo boats.

 

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You're right,but ,of course I was speaking about monohulls as you know.
Engines are allowed and a lot of monohulls have had a hell of a hard time beating Wild Oats XI. That may change this year in the S-H
with 5 100 footers competing, but I hope not. I want to see WOXI clean up once again........

 

Needing an engine to sail your boat is a bit of a shame.

Hope she goes well though.