A Footy in 6 Inches of Water

to be precise dick, carbon web … :slight_smile:

tallastro, you and me will both be shocked when she flies, i’m guessing i’m going to have to invest in a video camera … who buys the beer if she does

and … given the world of micro-flight, cars, helis and everything else, and the technology being applied there, you are sitting ducks … you MUST know that there is no way you’re going to keep this to school kids and their grand-dads without way way way way way way more rules …

knowing the little i know about boats, i’m guessing this little foiler going to get blown across the pond like a leaf, but like all things she’ll lead to something else and something else again and someday, who knows, we just may end up with a footy that sails in 6 inches of water, which we all must agree would be a very cool thing …

Trevor

thanks for the input bill … that skiff hull is riffed from one of the most efficient planing hulls there is, there is no point in trying to bloat her tummy to make a displacement hull … much better instead to start with a new piece of paper …

as for moving the CE back … take a look at the 49er from which she’s taken, its exactly what braithwaites done

cheers, trevor

I’ll buy the beer but that gonna be some leaf to lift those 4 AAs.

Interestingly that was never the intention as far as I understand it. It is a helpful aspect of the class though in that encouraging a little science and technology let alone some crafts skills into youngsters is generally a good thing.

Hmmm - thought there might be an age limit - like maybe 12-16 ??? :stuck_out_tongue:

PROJECT BLUE SKY

If I’m not mistaken, no one is going to challange a hull that fits in the box, provided it’s rigged at the time … thus, the 12 1/2 inch beamed baby foiler will be judged legal … (speak up now because I will swear very very loudly if 8 weeks into this somebody changes their mind) …

I will design the rig first, foils second, then the platform and finally fit the electronics … given her tiny size, I’m a little daunted by the unique design and build demands … none-the-less, here’s how the now-named, Project Blue Sky breaks out …

RIG OBJECTIVES
Mast needs to travel from port to starboard (to fit in box)
Centre of effort should remain as centred as possible.
It is desirable for the sails to create enough vertical lift to balance heeling forces (a lower than normal aspect sail to keep ce down, canted to windward …?)
Provided enough power to overcome hull resistance and lift the wee thing …
Overall weight below 40 grams.

FOILS
Objective is to lift the boat at potential Footy speeds … thus
How do we answer the question whether it is even possible to generate enough lift?
What righting moments can be achieved?
Profiles?
Size?
Load distribution?
Construction … could be an easy carbon sandwich, or if profiles are thin enough, it could be damn hard.

PLATFORM
Will likely test two … a catamaran, and a canoe body mono as drawn in previous post … unless neutraility can be designed into the rig, leeward bouancy will need to be considered … (thus rig and foils first)

ELECTRONICS
Wow, that seems like a long way away … will require micro servers etc etc

CURRENT REQUIREMENTS

Access to resources
Ideas
The knowledge of those who know …

Should anyone be so inclined, first off, I’d love thoughts on the rig, and perhaps some pointers to appropriate primers …

Bill Green, you mentioned you’d be willing to throw in your two-cents worth … I will use google to try and track down the boats you were referring to … failing that, however have you got any addresses?

At the same time I’d like to start researching what’s possible to achieve with the foils … it will feed back into the rig’s design loop … any help or participation is eagerly anticipated (I WILL BUY BEER!!!)

Thanks to all for your interest and input to date …

Regards, Trevor Paetkau

(oh … and the still unanswered question … who are the damn fools who started this whole thing!?)

Rather than take the chance of that being seen by the appropriate people Trevor may I suggest you make contact through the usual channel…
http://footy.rcsailing.net/technical.php

This will be a fascinating project whatever the outcome…

Graham

As a member of the technical committee, I would very strongly endorse what Graham says (and I think that’s entirely official).

Unofficially, the trick is to convince the rule makers that the rig is ‘in sailing trim’ at the time of measurement. For obvious reasons, I cannot comment on this.

Also unofficially, I find this a fascinating project to which I will give any technical assistance I can.

It is likely either to fail miserably or produce a boat that is radically faster than any existing Footy and of a quite different nature in its place in the world. This will cause the class all sorts of problems - which hopefully can be overcome, one way or the other.

And :scared: I think I was the idiot who triggered this. Soryy people.

Trevor, please read the rules very carefully. You are purposedly pushing the envelope, which I encourage, and I wish you good luck. Please don’t blame the committee if you violate a rule, however. In any class, each skipper is responsible for understanding and complying with the rules, including, for example, the ERS definitions for terms used.

I would pay attention to Angus’s caution about the rig. Consider, for example, that a rig made to fold up into a tight little package so that a boat could fit the box at an unusual angle would likely cause that boat to be judged illegal. Since the rig would not be sailed in the folded position, it would not be considered in racing trim when folded to fit the box.

So a hull which fits entirely within the box could be legal regardless of the angle it sits in the box…as long as the boat also complies with all the rest of the rules.

Of course, if you make a specific request for clarification of some aspect of the rules, the committee will consider it. But to describe a concept in general terms as you have, and then expect the committee to bless it in advance is, I think, asking too much. After all, there is nothing at this point to put in the box.

Bill H

And by the way, blame the Aussies and their crazy Balmain Bugs!

You’re right Bill, it’s not fair … I will proceed and take my chances along the way …

For the record, I emailed Brett last night, and he was kind enough to respond with the same message … thanks Brett

A note about the rig … it will be designed to fit the rules, NOT subvert them … (I’d much rather put effort into doing it right, and NOT put effort into arguing about it) … it will need to cant to windward and slide to leeward on each tack, the latter attribute allowing it to fit out the box …

As for purposefully pushing the envelope … oh, geez, I dunno … you guys have given the world a box, and where there’s a box folks are going to try and fill it to suit their objectives one way or another … my objective is to design a fast tiny boat that will sail in the Rosehill Resevoir Ponds, to engage my brain while doing it, and perhaps solicit the involvement of like-minded folks

… now, let’s talk about form and function and leave the bloody rules to the end!!!

Sounds good to me, Trevor…I’m very interested in seeing how this goes!

Bill H

Books.

I think they’re both out of print but Theory & Practice of Sailing and Aerohydroynamics of Sailing by C.A. Marchaj are prbably the best general textbooks. They are mathematical but it’s top end of high school stuff, not anything wildly obscure.

Second hand prices can be rather fancy.