Big sail on small board combination

[<f2>]

quote:Originally posted by <Chris>:
whas 'appenin!

I believe that we can hereby come to the conclusion that no one in any one set of equipment is fast... perhaps most of the time but not everyday. As every day winds, waves, state of minds, sailors weight, skill level, rigging skill, state of the equipment..... vary.Thats probably the reason why some people have MANY sets of equipment (ahem). Lets compare with an everyday occurence.... like women.....

Thats the reason why manufacturers come up with DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS to plug the hole for every conceivable scenario.

Thats the reason why competitors keep asking themselves what equipment to use and even how to rig for that particular heat.

Have you ever thought of learng how to tension your sail in the water?!

 

why? you don't know how to tension your sail in the water izit? want me to teach you?

[<AJ>]

quote:Originally posted f2
Reply: True, but I think beginners should learn the hard way. The way I look at it, if they start on those boards they’ll probably stay on them for the longest time before ever trying a real short board like a slalom or wave.

Isn't that why windsurfing went backwards for years.  People using gear that was to hard to use so gave up.  Lets not go down that road again.  

Hey Sukdev great site.  I notice your getting in a HS125 soon.  Are you going to have a review up shortly?  I was going to get the HS105 but think the 125 will suit my conditions better.

[<Aeroplane???>]

Hi Sukhdev, Sometime back in the Gaastra forum, I came across a posting by H2O on less wetted surface area.Do U mean that,if there is no wetted surface area/friction,or with the fin so far back,the board actually can fly off the water???. Man, if that happen, it will be a whole new dimension in windsurfing. It will be so much more exitement for the windsurfing blood in us.Hope I can live to and enjoy that day to cometh.

[<Dragged......>]

Hi Sukhdev,
          I can understand your 1st kind of drag,(induced drag).Eg,Large sail/board ratio,visi-versa,sail life span,fin sizes.But I dont
 understand your 2nd (friction)theory and worse your 3rd so called parasitic drag theory.Pls enlighten me and pardon me for my ignorance.It will be good info for those who need to know.  

[sukhdev]

first of all, disregarding the few facetious posts, this has got to be one of the better threads on the forum - thanks to Vincent's willingness to test and post.

Back to drag, what a drag it can be.

This link gives an excellent explanation of  induced drag. The rest of the chapters there give more details on the various other forms of drags..do a search on the net, there is alot of material available on these topics.

There is a telling phrase in that page  

quote:long wingspan with relatively short chord will have the least induced drag  

This explains why a glider wing type foil (eg formula fins) would have less induced drag than a low aspect ratio fin. Applying to boards, this means presenting a short flat section spread along a wider hull would make for a more efficent hull. The first person to really make me understand this was Lee Brittain of Rogue wave, he pointed out that for years shapers had been worrying about wetted surface (drag due to friction), not realizing that induced drag was just as critical, if not more, especially at lower speeds. so thats for hulls.

Vincent your point about larger sails having more power - as a big sail freak I can't argue with that. The point here is what Chris L mentioned, at some limit the lift from a bigger sail either becomes too much for the sailor or if he is strong/heavy enough, it would become too much for the hull/fin. This would be ok off the wind but the moment you head around beam angles etc the board will "crab" ie slip sideways a little. A broader hull at this point with the same sail will support a larger fin, allow the force to be translated into forward motion better.

Important point: I don't disagree that big sails can work on small boards. From experience though I find that the limitations on all points of sails are not worth the downwind only speed, unless you intend to only head downwind.  

By the way for those local readers who don't know Chris Lockwood, he has quite a reputation for speed in Western Oz.

[f2]

Thousand apologies Chris, didn’t know who you were at first.
Just read about you over the web, speed sailor yah? Hats off to anyone who can sail in over 40 knots of wind.
Checked out the Kinetic 67 over the web sounds like the perfect board any way of testing it here?

[<Chris Lockwood>]

Hey guys,

this is an interesting thread. BTW there are 2 Chris's posting- so dont get us confused  

f2- I'm not sure who is selling Kinetic over your way. Best is to borrow one from someone you know, or if there is a distributor/retailer, find out if they have some demo boards. Make sure you get the 2003 model. Jim has made some significant changes from the previous year- all good.

I dont have a 67 myself, but have tried it a few times in light and relatively strong breezes. Its very fast- even in 20 knots. Rob Radis, Ant Baker and I tested the 55, 58 and 67 one afternoon on flat water, 18 to 25 knots. The top end of these boards was very close.

As far as the drag argument goes- I think that at 30 knots or less, the wider configuration offers more advantages than disadvantages. I've been using a 58 in over 30 knots of wind quite comfortably- even with a 6.9m sail (not so comfortably!).

There is a limit to how much wind a wide slalom board is going to handle- there is a lot of surface area exposed when you hit a bit of chop, so the lift genertated is significantly higher than a narrow board.

I know the 67 can handle up to 20 knots comfortably, and the 58 goes well up to 30 knots.

As for speed- bring it on! The faster the better. I prefer my adrenaline on tap, rather than in short bursts.

cheers

Chris

[<Chris Chang>]

Boing!