When will leisure craft adopt the new sailing systems?

In the world of shipping many different systems are starting to be adopted to give wind assistance. These include Wingsails, Suction towers, and Flettner Rotors.
These would appear to give handling benefits over traditional sails. These systems would be much simpler to operate and still give thrust from the wind. They are simple push button solutions that require no sail handling. Given that the purpose of sailing is to travel from one place to another powered by the wind they seem to be good solutions. Or, will sailors hang on to their traditional methods and resist any change?

 

Cost and system complexity...

 

A suction tower is just a cylinder with a slot in it. A Flettner rotor is simply a rotating cylinder and a wingsail is just that
a wing. - hardly complex.

 

Can that be said of systems that, like the Flettner rotor, are over 100 years old?. It does not seem right to say that it is starting to...

 

If you can't fix it at sea, it is by definition complex. Besides cost and complexity there are the usual factors; size, weight, stability, energy requirements, etc. This is not to say that the systems you espouse don't have some niche relevance; they are just not overall superior to existing systems.

 

Well then, slap one on one of these darn near free sailboats sitting in almost every yard all around the world. Proof of concept of cheap and simple should be able to win a lot of folks over.

 

Someone needs to give it a try. I don't expect the average sailor even knows what a "suction tower" is. The large companies which are installing these things on ships for example Norsepower for Flettners, and Econowind for Ventifoil (which is a suction tower) would never consider having traditional sails and rigging because they need crew to operate. The push button feature of those systems are attractive and everything can be controlled from the Bridge. So it could be for Mr and Mrs Average yachtsperson. Is sailing around without drama too easy? Or is it better to struggle with traditional sails and rigging?

 

The automated Wing system I've watched videos on was incredibly expensive and very very complex. Outside of billionaire novelties and subsidized retrofits for shipping companies to attempt these things there aren't very many dollars chasing these Solutions. I don't sail much myself but it's clearly been figured out how to do it short-handed. There's got to be at least a dozen guys on YouTube making decent livings tracking their sailing around the world single-handedly.

There's this weird notion that sailors or even Waterman in general are completely attached to old fashioned ways despite better evidence. This is just not true. The issue is the solution has to be better than the previous solution, loran C was dropped like a dirty diaper when GPS came out. But it was more accurate and more reliable. Same could be true for aluminum rigging and FRP hulls, as well as a myriad of other items.

Argument stands if it's such a great idea prototype one see if there's a market....

 

Do you have a clue?
In reality, when the s**t hits the fan all that idealistic junk you propose isn't worth the paper to describe it.

 

This is the real issue. Wingsails, Suction towers, and Flettner Rotors cannot be reefed or struck without significant compromises that make them significantly less efficient, more so than soft sails. You have to deal with all that weighty non-lifting top hamper dragging you to leeward and trying to overturn you in survival conditions. All sailing vessels also have this problem, and in most niche sailing vessels this is worse or they have other issues. Soft sail ballasted mono-hulls where the first vessels to circumnavigate and are a ubiquitous for a reason.

Edit 4th & 5th sentence for clarity. I know what I typed but it didn't make it to the page...

 

Wingsail systems don't have to be complex or expensive Peter Worsley has developed a simple wingsail control system which he has patented and requires no electronics.
You can see it here: Simplicity Wingsail System https://windthrusters.net/simplicity.html To see how it was developed follow the story here Wingsail Rig Manager, Autonomous Windthruster Units https://www.windthrusters.com/story.html

 

How would you know that? You obviously have never seen it or sailed it or tested it.

 

Well, I'm qualified for "giving it a try", as I am building one now.
Flettner Rotor for small craft - Design and Build Prototype https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/flettner-rotor-for-small-craft-design-and-build-prototype.67600/

I can also tell you why they are not common. Appearance and Bulk.
Sails can be elegant to look at, not so much a white toilet roll.
As for economy, most sailing vessels are just an excuse to waste time on the water, and rope and "canvas" are almost instinctual. And pulling rope and running around the decks is the "fun" that the crews want.
And, because you leave them up, they are visually disturbing. I bet if I leave my Rotor on a mooring in front of the nearest seaside town, I am going to get a letter from my local council. I'll try the experiment if you like

As for commercial craft, say under say 70ft, there is just a lack of room. Most Trawlers push the upper limits already, without having to add a Rotor.

And, to be honest, I think that a lot of it is also lack of Math ability.
In the Flettner Thread, some serious brains gave me the formulae for performance, but without a serious Math basis, you cant just spin up an arbitrary Cylinder and hope for results any more than you can select any old Prop for your boat.

But, as you say, I am hoping to prove the ease of use and effectiveness in real world scenario, not just gliding gently over a calm lake, like most Youtube videos do.

I'll keep you posted, as soon as the local Aluminium Merchant decides to provide me with the right sized tubing. 3 - 4 weeks.

 

Yes, that true about the towers and Flettners - definately a lot of top hamper, however, wingsails can be aligned so that their drag is less than a bare pole. But does everything have to go out in survival conditions? what about lakes and rivers and other more gentle situations? Circumnavigation is not the only kind of sailing.

 

You are talking from a very, very limited experience there.
Flettner ships have encountered Gale Force conditions since the very first voyage.

This log entry from the modern Rotor ship pictured below.
"The rotor sail can be controlled manually or automatically in response to sensor readings. The crew can choose to utilize the extra thrust generated by the sail to reduce engine power and fuel consumption, or to increase the ship’s speed.
For example, at Beaufort force 7, the crew found that the rotor sail boosted the cruising speed by 2 knots. The unit also passed its first storm test with flying colours: an inspection following exposure to wind speeds around Beaufort 9 revealed no damage. "

No need to Reef for these devices.

Some interesting details here
https://www.dnv.com/expert-story/maritime-impact/ECO-FLETTNER-rotor-sail-stands-the-test.html