fusioneng wrote:
Tpdavis473:
Think about it hobiecat already designed the getaway sail package based on the hull design so I'm guessing anything you design on your own will at best only be marginally better by following the same basic sail type and design. You might be able to get another few percent increase in performance but ultimate performance is dictated by the hull/mast layout. Why try to reinvent the wheel.
If your not trying to follow the stuffy one class rules and want to increase performance by a large factor while still using the same basic hull/mast combination and your willing and able to design and build your own sails (it sounds like this is your intent). Instead of designing all the same old stuff like everyone else on the planet over and over again I suggest you look into designing something that will give you at least 25% to 50% better sailing performance. By designing around a wing sail design you get much better performance from the same sail area, in addition wings only have 1/4 to 1/2 of the heeling moment of conventional sails (that's the force trying to tip you over). Now I'm not talking about the giant rigid jointed wings like on the AC72's. I'm talking about double walled soft sails with air inlets on the leading edge that fill the sail with air making them as rigid as a hard sail (like a para foil). Your material costs are only slightly higher (double the fabric, I would guess your material cost will be around $600 for the main and $200 for the wing jib). There are plenty of simple designs out there that you can follow (better yet design your own, they are not complex), since your making it for yourself and only for your own use you are free to design build and do anything you desire to do (you can't get sued for stuff for your own personal use). If at the same time you design a wing jib that feeds the main on upwind I see no reason you couldn't get 2.5 times wind speed almost directly upwind. I'm assuming here you have a sewing machine, layout tables, cad and some sail making experience. I have to admit I had the time of my life designing, building, then testing out all my stuff, but you have to think outside of your comfort zone as everything works on completely different theory from conventional sail design, but the reward is huge.
Even though wing sail designs are superior don't expect the sailing industry to accept them anytime in the near future, as they have to feed their one design cash cow as long as they can milk it (IMO).
I don't expect you to actually do this, but it's something to think about (if I had a getaway that's exactly what I would be doing).
Good luck on whatever you decide to do.
Bob
Thanks for the post, Bob. I'm not that interested in better performance. I'm interested in more fun which, for me, means something easily manageable single-handed in 20-25 kts of wind which is typical of my summers here. Most production boats and sail designs for one-design put too much camber placed too far aft for winds in the 20-25 kt range (which is why a lot of you end up with mainsheets two blocked, jibs board tight and travelers down when you see whitecaps on the water). The Getaway has only an 8 ft beam which will make it "tippy" pretty easily in the winds I see-especially sailing single handed with that 25 ft mast. I bought it anyway figuring I'd put in a reef point or get rid of the roach on the mainsail or both. I also know it won't point worth a darn since there aren't any boards...but again, I bought it anyway and will decide what to do (if anything) after I see just how horrible it is (maybe a leeboard?). Won't know how horrible it is until I get among some other boats going to weather with me which hasn't happened yet (it's winter here). I do want to improve downwind performance with a spinnaker, but it doesn't have to be very large for the winds I see and I prefer to go low since I sail in a strait with an average of 2 kt current (one way or the other) year round-so I can have a beer while driving back without gybing every 3 minutes. If all else fails, though, I figure this would be a great platform for a kite sail and leave the mast home. Granted, kite sailing platforms usually have to be purpose built for the guys who push them to the limits, but again, I'm interested in fun and no longer push myself or my machinery to do stupid stuff. Since going upwind is the most difficult thing to do with a kiteboat, I'd probably get a decent sized motor and kite sail downwind only. Again, Just Doing This for FUN.