kiteboatproject

First K2 Tow Test – Oct 7

10/7/11

Today K2 met the water for the first time, and it performed remarkably well on its first tow test. We had no trouble getting the boat out of the water, and the sensor and foil systems worked very well without adjustment. We used a load cell to measure the force required to tow the boat. That data will be forthcoming. Everything worked so well that we took the boat out an hour later for a kite test.

Kitefoiler Test – Sep 16

9/16/11

We took the Kitefoiler out at dusk today to test Pete Lynn’s newest kite, the 25 sqm flat kite that we used on Sept 6, with Pete. We went out with the kite under-inflated in order to try and mimic the deformation we saw on the 6th, when the wind was much higher. The kite did indeed deform today, although less drastically than last week. The kite was folding into a C-shape instead of maintaining its flat silhouette. One solution to this problem would be to add more bridle lines, as on Armand’s flat kite, but that’s a solution we’d like to avoid if possible. Pete is pondering other options, including fatter struts.

Kitefoiler Test – Sep 1

9/1/11

Good Kitefoiler test today with brand new M-B-6-25-v10-9s kite with a wide-set bridle. We got some great video and stills. Thanks to Erika for photographing while I filmed.

Kai View Data:
20110901-kf-v10.kai.bz2

Beach test of kiteboat kites – Sep 1

9/1/11

Today, Don, Dudu, and Pete Lynn went to Crown Beach to test Pete’s new 25 sqm flat kite with the bridge bridle. We also compared it to the MB6-25-v10-9s kite, which is so C-shaped that it is almost U-shaped (last three photos).

We spent most of the test adjusting the brake lines on the flat kite and talking about the turning of that kite and also talking about the spread of the back lines–how wide they get by the time they attach to the kite.

Boat weights – K2 & Kitefoiler

8/2/11

Today we weighed K2 to check its actual weight against our estimates. With both floats, the center hull, both beams, all bulkheads and bonding, and both cassette boxes, K2 now weighs 228 kg (503 lbs). This is about 45 kg more than our calculated estimate, and 18 kg more than the highest individual estimate (everyone guessed before we weighed it). The higher weight is not ideal, but we’re still on track to deliver a completed boat that weighs less than 400kg. We also weighed K2 with the hatch covers in a box on top of the boat–that added 25 kg, for a total of 253 kg. We also weighed the trampoline net, which was 3 kg.

For comparison, we also […more]

Kitefoiler Test with Cuben Fiber Kite – Jul 20

7/20/11

Tested again with the 25 sqm Cuben Fiber kite. A short test, but good conditions behind Treasure Island (strong wind, relatively calm water). We got some of the best photos yet of the boat. Don and Joe tried to sail under the Bay Bridge, but lost too much wind and dropped the kite. We returned to dock after an hour and then they ventured out again without the Protector.

Kai View Data:
20110720-kf-cubenKite-day2.kai.bz2