Anyone know where I c an find plans and more info on RC Trimaran Hydrofoil sailboats?
Thank you
Hi…
I am not a foiler fan…for many reasons[:-banghead] but thats another topic [;)]
maybe reading the interesting posts @ http://www.rcsailing.net/forum1/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=678&whichpage=1
could also help
Wis
_/ if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it! _
Wis,
A newbie reading “the interesting posts above”
will be made fully aware of WHY a certain person is no longer with us!.
John.
Kevin,
As far as I know, no one has “plans” for a homebuilt foiler.
A few boats have appeared over the past few years which have demonstrated that foiling is possible. But this is not beginner level stuff. Hydrofoils cannot be “thrown together”. They must be carefully thought out. There is a completely different set of control issues to be sorted out and a lot of trial and error goes into getting an altitude control system that works.
If all you are looking for is a toy to blast around the pond with when the wind is up a Foiler called the F3 is availalbe in both finished and kit form from MicroSail: http://www.microsail.com/multihull.html . The claimed X3 is not yet available. You will find these boats are rather pricey.
If you are looking for a boat to race within a specific class, then the story gets murky. The X3 mentioned on microsail’s page would fit withing the F48 class rules, but that boat has not materialized and Doug Lord - the proprietor of MircoSail - has turned his attention to other projects, so it may never materialize. It would probably be pricey as well. so you are pretty much on your own as far as coming up with a foiler design.
I would not recommend attempting a foiler project without a fairly solid understanding of aerodynamics and a really good set of modelling skills. The foils themselves need to be precisely made using an efficient airfoil shape. Techniques that work well for keels and rudders on homebuilt boats will not be sufficient for the airfoil shapes of these foils. To date, no one has put a mechanism together to “stow” the foils for light wind racing although many have talked about the need for it.
So, if you want to embark on this path, be prepared for a long journey with a few bumps along the way. The promise of a well designed, well built, well tuned foiler is that you will be able to sail with extreme speed AND stability in high winds. With rtetractable foils, you should be able to keep up in the lighter winds as well (although there is no advantage in lighter winds). But, to date, this promise has not been demonstrated on the water in real racing situations.
It certainly would be thrilling to put together a refined foiler design that could compete in an established class. But there is no set of plans to follow to get you there.
- Will
Will Gorgen