New Age Trawler/Motorsailer; Kite assisted PowerYacht

Atlantic Kite-Powerboat Challenge

A pleasure powerboat crosses the Atlantic with 30 liters of fuel.

http://www.kitepowerboat.com/?lang=en

 

The site claimed he would be going in March 2010,

I didn't find anywhere if they went or were any faster than an empty coke can.

FF

 

35 days, 4 hours, 8 minutes, but that's not a complete Atlantic crossing, only from the Canaries to the West Indies (Guadaloupe). This is two to three times as long as a typical cruising sailboat makes the same crossing. In the 2010 ARC, nearly everyone did the crossing in 11 to 16 days, a few faster, almost none slower.

In other words, this kite powered boat is a pig.

 

bummer
I've been hoping someone would come up with a simple computer program to control these things

 

This kite powered vessel is a pleasure powerboat catamaran that could not have made the trip any other way, 35 days or nay. Comparing this vessel with a cruising sailboat is comparing chalk with cheese.

http://www.kitepowerboat.com/?lang=en

OTOH a £3 million Gunboat 66 would beat all the 2010 ARC competitors. C'mon lottery, make me rich.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdqXoIhg0dA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6fHd0UIFJk&NR=1

 

Granted it was slow...but these are the early days of experimentation...and some with very small budgets to experiment with.

 

"Granted it was slow...but these are the early days of experimentation."

the question remains,

Did it beat an empty bottle?

FF

 

Si hombre FF,

There were MT bottles of JD floating behind in the wake, bobbing along and slowly dropping behind. All contained the same message, "Send more (hic) JD".

P

 

New Shuttleworth Power Trimaran

Have you seen the new Shuttleworth power trimaran:

http://www.john-shuttleworth.com/adastra.html

I understand that John's son Orion is working on some kite-power vessel concepts....wonder if they involve this vessel somewhere down the road?

 

"Adastra" is the result of more than 5 years of design and discussion with the owners

Wow!

 

Trimaran Warships

"Catamaran and trimaran hull designs are faster, more stable in high sea states, have similar internal volumes as single-hull ships, and are more fuel-efficient than conventional hull designs. In addition, a trimaran's outriggers add stand-off range to the center hull, where vital equipment (computers, propulsion, living spaces) would be located. This stand-off range would make the ship more resistant to damage from attack."

http://www.g2mil.com/trimaran.htm

 

http://www.motorship.com/news101/triton-trials-trimaran-form

"The result is a main hull having a round bilge shape with underwater sections approaching semi-circular shape amidships. A gentle rise of the bottom lines aft leads to a counter-stern transom with minimal immersion. The side hulls are of multi-chine design on the outboard face with a flat plain inboard face for ease of manufacture.
The demonstrator was built at two thirds the size of a full-scale warship"


"The trimaran design is faster and more manoeuvrable than an equivalent sized mono-hulled craft, says QinetiQ. It adds that Triton has proved that the triple-hull design offers a reduction in drag of 20% compared to a conventional mono-hull vessel"


"The extensive sea trials have been undertaken in a wide range of weather conditions up to a sea state of 7 to 8 with the ship sailing at short notice to stormy sea areas around Ireland, south Iceland and off the Norwegian coast. Using a star trajectory pattern the trimaran was subjected to every conceivable wave pattern. QinetiQ says there were very few instances where it shipped green seas over the bow. Special attention was paid to the slamming effects under the decks linking the hulls. QinetiQ says the vessel?s handling capabilities have validated the designers? claims by confirming the naval architectural performance."


" Bob Short, QinetiQ?s RV Triton programme manager, says that Triton has already gone a long way to validating earlier research and has demonstrated the considerable benefits associated with triple-hulled vessels. He is also quietly confident that trimarans have a huge potential commercial application worldwide and the agreement with Vosper Thornycroft strengthens the UK?s position as a world leader in trimaran technology.
Ultimately, however, one has to recognise that a fundamentally conservative industry such as shipping will take some convincing before it will commit hard cash to a new hull type"

 

7 to 8 is not every sea state

 

Did it say that??

This is what I read, "wide range of weather conditions up to a sea state of 7 to 8 with the ship sailing at short notice to stormy sea areas around Ireland, south Iceland and off the Norwegian coast. Using a star trajectory pattern the trimaran was subjected to every conceivable wave pattern"

 

you cannot subject a vessel to every conceivable wave pattern under force 8