Inflated Wing Sails

Howlandwoodworks · Oct 24, 2022

L. F. Herreshoff patent 1927

gonzo · Nov 3, 2022

CT249 said: ↑

Interesting points; thanks for that.

I'm still very conscious of the fact that time and time again, the information from experts like Tom Speer and Mark Drela indicates that a wingsail is not faster per se. The only information we can see about their comparative trials shows the inflated wing sail Laser sailing against a Laser that is poorly trimmed and being sailed by someone who is not hiking hard and allowing the boat to heel. That indicates that they were trialling an elliptical outline sail against a Laser that would be at least 2-4 minutes slower around a typical race course than a properly sailed Laser, so it's not a valid trial.

It's odd that time and time again we see people coming out with various wingsail concepts who make big claims but never seem to make the simple step of providing objective evidence by putting their boats in races against comparable craft. You wouldn't buy a used car if the only evidence of its superiority was a pic showing one up against a poorly-driven and untuned competitor so why would we buy a rig on the same sort of evidence?
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They claim it can be used on cargo ships and has been tested "in all kinds of wind" and "can sail upwind". I would like to see how it survives winds of 100+ knots.

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Inflated Wing Sails

Howlandwoodworks Member

gonzo Senior Member

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