Sail Directly Upwind (a reminder from the past)

Manfred, thanks for posting those pictures. It is an old concept for sure. Although I did not know that when I started out. I set out to find the optimum design by practical experiments with models. This way I could get further knowledge without the expense and difficulty of building a full-size prototype (that came later).
Unfortunately, windmill boat builders can be labelled as crackpots (if they are not careful) and admittedly, some of the creations look very "Heath Robinson" (British) or "Rube Goldberg" (American). But then, as Tom28571 says, people might have said that of the Wright Brothers plane at first. Having seen pictures of the others - here is a picture of mine:

 

Great photos and illustrations. Back in 1981ish there was a fellow doing experiments on the Halifax Arm in Nova Scotia. I find the sailing directly downwind faster than the wind business even more interesting than going upwind. Of course you would need a fast enough boat to begin with. I think if you had infinite control of the gear ratio, turbine pitch, and prop pitch, it could be just as much fun as sailing also. I mean once you get past development, which is where much of the fun is, it would still be lots of fun. A multihull seems to be the weapon of choice. My narrow-boat canal barge idea would definitely be built for comfort, not for speed. Love those things.

 

Peter, I do not think that an invention is a creatio ex nihilo. In almost all cases there have been predecessors with similar thoughts.

On the other hand hundreds of people have good ideas but only very few develop the power and perseverance to go the arduous research way to make them come true. Genius is 1% and 99% hard work (Albert Einstein) - sometimes a never ending story spilling sweat, heartbreak and money around.

I have watched your work since years with interest and I think this is true:

Please go on with your good work. http://www.sailwings.net/art.html and http://www.sailwings.net/rotaryhome.html -- http://www.sailwings.net/images/evestandhires.jpg --- https://vimeo.com/85944832

 

Dear Manfred - thanks for your kind words.
As you know the "Rotary Sailing" - as I call it, is on the back burner.
I'm presently concentrating on my automatic wingsail control system.
Which allows sailing controlled by a single lever - like the throttle
on a motor boat. This is a simple system which doesn't use electronics.
http://www.sailwings.net/whyselftrim.html and allows the possibility of a bolt
on sailing unit that can be fitted to any boat. http://www.sailwings.net/windthrusters.html