Kitefoiler Tow Test Three
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We took the Kitefoiler out again today to see how it performed after we had fixed the rubbing issue from yesterday. The boat consistently foiled on the starboard side, but required much more manual adjustment to foil on the port side. This suggested that the foils were asymmetrical, which we later verified through measurement. We also learned that the actual pivot point location was not where we expected it to be, which was preventing the sensors from controlling the J-foil angle of attack, as intended. We shaved some material off the J-foil extensions to address this issue and hope to see better results tomorrow.
The force required to pull the kitefoiler were a bit higher in these tests due to the extra drag from the port hull, which infrequently made it out of the water.
Time: 1pm – 3pm
Location: Alameda to city
Boat: Kitefoiler + Protector
Crew On Boat: Don, Joe, Dudu
Shore Crew: Damon, Jamie, Betsy on Protector; Richard on shore
Camera Count: 5 HD GoPros (people, portfoil, sensor, tfoil, portpole), 1 Pentax W60 (starboardpole), 7D on Protector
Kite: N/A
More: Kiteboat Tests