Dario's Lab

Bel Paese

Some great images of Andrea Ferrari racing his Paradox V2 in Italy

Think with a Twist

In response to an avalanche of questions about how our experimental foils with the lifting surface mounted at the forward end of a ‘fuselage’ tube can be extracted from above… Here are some illustrations: First the foil is raked top-forward so the tube sits vertically through-hull slot. Then the foil is rotated about the long axis of […]

Paving the Way

Lots to report as we continue to test over the winter… We are working on the next-generation Paradox A Class Cat design for the 2015 season, resolving the details for all new tooling to be created in-house at a new facility. Now that our new expanded production facility is operational we can tackle such jobs […]

Another Result

Using Paradox rudder blades retrofitted to his customised DNA platform, Mischa Heemskerk dominated the first Dutch event of the 2014 season at Muiderzand with 5 bullets out of six races. Skilfully balancing in good foiling trim, the instant expertly captured in a nice still image. Remaining in this trim requires very active control. Image copyright Jasper […]

Honing In

We are continuing our tests of L/V foils. The constraints imposed for this series are:– Foils made of straight segments with minimum (hydrodynamically clean) transition radius.– Total foil horizontal projection not more than 400mm to respect the inboard exclusion zone (tip-to-tip measurement) in the A Class Rule.   The two main variables to explore are:-Foil […]

Mythbusting

Some thoughts on our recent testing with heave-stable ‘acute L’ foils (L/V for short). This experiment had one aim: To prove that a simple cheap upgrade is possible to convert existing A Class catamarans to stable foiling without major structural modifications. The story so far We knew from previous testing that L/V foils give stable […]

A World(s) of Learning – Part 2

One more post on appendages. Then we can look at other areas of development such as aerodynamic tailoring and control systems/ergonomics. Glenn Ashby balancing nicely on J foils and Paradox rudders. Photo by Rhenny Fermor of www.sailingshots.com.au Steering system The new kinetic techniques used to promote early flight, combined with much higher top speeds, really […]

A World(s) of Learning – Part 1

One of the things I love about yacht racing is the ability to get objective feedback in testing and competition. As with any experimental science, the feedback comes mixed with noise, and bundled with data that is correlated to, but may not be caused by, the variables being tested. Part of the challenge is to […]

What It Is

Answer to the SA quiz about this pic: Rapid proof-of-concept prototype of a system to adjust rudder winglet/elevator Angle of Attack in real time. Actuated by twisting the tiller extension, it uses worm drives to rake the entire cassette on both hulls, maintaining rudder balance but adjusting the lift produced by the rudder foils. It is […]

Stability Principles

Time to answer some questions about stability in pitch.  Over the past few months of testing we have found some very interesting things worth sharing.   Stability as an Alternative to Active Management   Without going into the maths, stability in pitch has a strict definition in aircraft theory and is a requirement for what […]