Author: Joe

Foil cassette panel

2/20/12

Today we added the upper section that connects the box to the rails.

Sunday update

2/19/12

Today we worked on:

1. The fillets and taping around the beam to the hull intersection at the outer skin.

2. The foam wedges between the bulkhead assembly and the ama decks.

3. The backfill Nomex edges on the bulkhead assemblies.

4. Additional operations on the lower foil cassette panel.

Saturday work party

2/18/12

Gabe and Joe showed up to get a few things done.

1. The foil cassette panel, which supports the point-loading of the lower rollers using a core, which is a combination of airex foam and 1.5mm thick webs of carbon spaced 12mm apart.

2. Sea anchor deploy tunnel, which connects to and also drains the dry well storage area.

3. Secondary filleting and taping of the inboard ama hull halves.

Superlight GoPro mount

8/5/11

This is intended to be used with the rok kites. Mount weighs 26g and articulates through about 90 degrees. Bare camera weight is around 100g.

Betsy note: our very lightest stock housing + mount weighs 111g. Often, the mounts we use are even heavier. This is not a big problem for the larger kiteboat kites, but it is a significant amount of weight for the lifting kites, as our current roks weigh less than 600g. Joe’s housing is not waterproof, but it should allow us to protect and position the camera on the kite without adversely affecting the kite’s balance.

Quadfoiler and Stiletto tow test – Jan 14

1/14/09

We towed Quadfoiler and Stiletto with a 35 foot protector RIB.

Quadfoiler and Stiletto, Speed vs. Load Comparison
We instrumented the Quadfoiler and Stiletto boats with a GPS receiver and towed them with a line attached to a load cell. Each boat was first towed directly behind the power boat, then towed while steering so the towed boat was 30-45 degrees away from the center of the wake. The length of the tow line was approximately 40 meters. The plots below show speed vs. load for each towed boat. The red points indicate periods during which the test boat was being pulled directly behind the power boat, while the green points show data recorded while the test boat was […more]

Quadfoiler Test – Oct 11

10/12/08

After removing unnecessary ballast water (drain plug error), the boat performed normally. Typical speeds were attained and the occasional ‘spin out’ was still noted. Today Joe took control of the kite and was able to achieve ‘foil borne’ status with Don at the helm.

At this stage of tide, seaweed is a problem. We had to stop and clear large quantities from the foil during the test. The boat displayed substantial tendency towards lee helm. Port side J-foil was riding low on port tack and its response seemed a bit erratic. Check helm foot controls. Check shock on port side.

Trifoiler Test – Oct 10

10/11/08

At this stage of tide, seaweed is a problem. We had to stop and clear large quantities from the foil during the test. The boat displayed substantial tendency towards lee helm. Port side J-foil was riding low on port tack and its response seemed a bit erratic. Check helm foot controls. Check shock on port side.