Marvelling at the Commonplace in Nature

Familiar elements of our environment often reveal, on close inspection, insights that can inform us when designing machines intended to perform in similar circumstances. Where designers have the ability to start from scratch, cumulatively selected natural structures show how an efficient arrangement can emerge from an arbitrary starting point, with a limited ‘kit of parts’. […]

Limiting

Ongoing testing with different foil configurations is confirming that ultimately righting moment will determine top speed. The diagram below nicely illustrates what happens as speed builds. The plot takes a constant true wind angle (heading relative to true wind direction). As boatspeed increases, the component of apparent wind from dead-ahead gets bigger, while the true […]

Critical Mass

Interest in our L foil kits has been overwhelming. We are at full capacity fulfilling orders and have additional tooling in the pipeline to shorten lead times. Will be sure to publish more images and detailed specs as soon as we get a chance.   Market demand speaks clearly and people are ‘voting with their […]

Insight

Some thoughts following some recent on-the-water testing with a focus on handling. Specifically, we worked to gain data on how different foil configurations affect dynamic behaviour during turns in strong wind. The results confirmed observations we hear regularly from experienced Moth sailors, as well as those who race foiling multihulls such as the NACRA F20 […]

Imagineering Part 2

In Part 1 we looked at straight line sailing.We concluded that foils will always be a hindrance at very low speeds, but will give an advantage at higher speeds. More aggressive setups (read more foil area) are even worse at low speed but, since they allow earlier take-off, become superior ‘sooner’ (at a lower windspeed […]

Imagineering Part 1

In response to questions about where catamaran foil design may go in the future, especially if rule constraints are relaxed, here are some thoughts on the incentives driving design choices. If our goal is fastest time around a windward/leeward course, then the considerations are: – VMG upwind. – VMG downwind. – Control at low speed, […]

Disrupting

You’ve probably noticed that suddenly ‘drones’ seem to be everywhere. Multi rotor filming platforms, potential parcel delivery systems, recreational FPV (First Person View) quad-copters… Unmanned Aircraft Systems have exploded into the public consciousness. Seemingly every day a new, creative application is dreamed up to either do at a much lower cost what only manned aircraft could do […]

Golden Rule

One final reflection about recent events in the A Class, before resuming normal programming. Future posts will focus on hopefully interesting technical commentary, and updates on our projects…“The golden rule is that the words of a statute must prima facie be given their ordinary meaning.” Viscount Simon, in Nokes v. Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries, [1940] A.C. […]

Declaration of Independence

North American A Class sailors recently voted to Remove Rule 8 as a constraint during their events. The title of this blog post, and the parallels drawn below, are of course hyperbolic. But the moral is real: We would do well to remember that a small group with specific interests trying to impose their will on […]

Integration

Intense times as we are gearing up to take on more challenges.We have completed another recruiting phase. Our extraordinary team has grown even stronger. If you have missed out on the latest openings, get in touch anyway and we will keep your details on file for future opportunities. The next step is integrating our various […]