kiteboatproject

K2 Test – Oct 9

10/9/12

We got a bit of a late start getting out on the water, launching as the sun was setting, which made for some beautiful photos. It was a short test, but it went smoothly. We brought out the 50 sqm kite again. Before launching the big kite, we briefly launched a blue Dacron lifting kite from the Protector. We had hoped to film K2 and the big kite using the rokkaku, but it turned out to be a flawed model and we could not keep it in the air consistently. Allen Smith joined us on this test. He contributed a stabilized GoPro mount, which we mounted on the stern pole, but it proved to be less effective than the fixed […more]

K2 Test – Oct 8

10/8/12

We took the boat out for another evening test today. We got the boat foiling nicely with four guys and the 40 sqm kite in low but steady wind. We also used a new line camera mount, the first time we’ve used a line camera in a while. Allen Smith joined us on this test.

K2 Test – Oct 5

10/5/12

Great test today—the launching mast and all of the new foils worked well, and we were were able to consistently foil in low wind, the most we have ever foiled in so little wind. It was a beautiful evening as well, with very little chop and lots to see from Fleet Week and the AC World Series races.

K2 Motors and Motor Mounts

10/1/12

Greg and Joe built two articulating transom mounts out of carbon fiber, and today they began fitting them both on K2. They built the mounts to hold two Torqeedo motors that each have 378 lbs of static thrust, which should be enough to get K2 up on the foils. The mounts articulate in order to keep the motors high when the boat hulls are in the water and to lower them as the boat foils higher and higher. The motor shafts themselves are shorter than the foiling boat. Mount adjustment is by ropes on a pulley system located inside the mounts. We also purchased high speed props for the motors. If the motors turn out to be capable of high […more]

Don and Kiteboat Project on France3

9/24/12

Don and the Kiteboat Project were featured on France3’s Thalassa on Friday, September 21st. The full episode on San Francisco, “San Francisco La Rebelle,” is available online here. The portion featuring the Kiteboat Project, “La Cité des Pionniers,” has been disabled on the Thalassa site, but it’s available on Vimeo using the password “sf.”

K2 Test – Sep 14

9/14/12

We took the boat out again today to practice sailing with the new foils. Performance was great. We also saw the Artemis crew heading back to dock.

K2 Test – Sep 13

9/13/12

We took the new pre-preg J-foils out for the first time today. We towed around the protected area by the big ships to make sure everything was working correctly, and it was–with no adjustments! We then went outside the breakwater to sail with the 40 sqm kite. Great upwind performance and ability to pop back up after a jibe. Bruce Sutphen joined us on this test.