A few years ago I joined a kite sailboarding group to investigate the idea. Seems that the owner of the kite company came into port on a tri. After bringing up the idea I was lead to a video that I no longer have the link to. The response I got from the owner was controlling the kite would require quite a bit of effort and attention. Single handling may be something to avoid.
This is not a negative post, I still believe the idea has promise.
Consider this. The lift provided by the kite would help bring a small boat onto plain. This with electric drive could improve many of the power needs of the electric community. Limit the weight in the keel needed for conventional sailing vessels. Speeds could be increased and lead needs reduced. The major problem seems to be the number of locations that have laws drafted against them. Laws need to be drafted for passing vessels that are not needed with conventional craft. These passing rules could be shared with larger vessels that have been set up for kite boarding so new research would not need to be done.
What I like about the idea is gunk holing may be easer for larger distances than is now figured into that kind of cruising. Glad to see someone else is thinking of this.
Kevin Pemberton
On 03/30/2011 08:24 AM, Galstaf wrote:
In a similar vein:
These ones look perfect to handle a lot of wind situations... all computer controlled with launch and retrieval system.. emergency stall capability, etc.
Nothing for smaller boats as yet, but apparently they have them in the works. There are some interesting videos on their website.
Has anyone seen one in action or know of anyone that is using these in production? I am sure they are pretty pricey for the huge ships... I wonder how much they would be for the smaller boats.
http://www.skysails.info/index.php?id=472&L=2
http://www.skysails.info/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Dokumente/SKS_Broschueren/EN/EN_SkySails_Turn_wind_into_profit.pdf
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Dave Kellogg <inganear1@...> wrote:
>
> Eric,
> I saw the difference in the kites, I'll have to check out some of the videos on
> them in action. The Outleader kites look like they were more for the downwind
> as a spinnaker. Unless the sailboard kites can be controlled by a single
> person at the helm or while the boat is on auto pilot I'm not sure that they
> would be all that useful in the long run, got to have a rig that you can set and
> relax a little. Dave K
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Eric <ewdysar@...>
> To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tue, March 29, 2011 11:06:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Traction kites
>
> I just got a chance to look at the youtube clips posted earlier. In all of
> them, they seem to be types of kites used by kitesurfers and the likes. I think
> that for those kites, you're flying a kite and just happen to be on a boat.
>
> Alternatively the Outleader kites are spinnakers that are flown off the boat,
> the control lines are lead through the regular blocks and onto the spinnaker
> winches already on the boat. These are much more like sails than the other wing
> kites with inflatable frames. With an Outleader kite, the experience is much
> more like sailing with a regular spinnaker, you aren't constantly manning a
> control bar or rig like the ones in the videos. The Outleader also has a
> reasonable launch and retrieval process that is more like a conventional
> spinnaker. The Outleader kites we're designed specifically for powering
> sailboats all the way up to tankers. In 2004, they held the world record for
> flying a 420 sq meter kite from a 8.5 tonne keelboat near Sydney.
>
> Two different solutions, but similar in that they are only attached to the boat
> with lines.
>
> Fair winds,
> Eric
> Marina del Rey, CA
>
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, Dave Kellogg <inganear1@> wrote:
> >
> > Eric, that statement about the lost mast and a kite may becoming a life saver
> >is
> >
> > one of the reasons I just wanted to experiment with mine a little..... One
> > never knows how many arrows you need in your quiver... Dave K
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Eric <ewdysar@>
> > To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> > Sent: Tue, March 29, 2011 5:15:29 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] Traction kites
> >
> > For those of us that are youtube deprived (at least at work) I'm guessing that
>
> > the conversation is focused on the spinnaker replacements that were developed
> > about 10 years ago.
> >
> > Dave Culp, in the SF area, hasa been promoting rule-legal soft kites for
> > pleasure sailboats for a decade. His main website is KiteShip
> > http://www.kiteship.com/ and the one for our types of boats are Outleader
> > kites. There were about a half dozen people that were flying them on F-boat
> > trimarans, they all said that the performance and handling under kites were
> > pretty impressive. However, they are not for short-handed crews and they do
> > seem to be more of a novelty rather than a regular part of a boat's sail
> > inventory. What they seem to be exceptional for is as part of one's safety
> > inventory, there's probably nothing better to deal with losing your mast in the
> >
> > middle of an ocean crossing. Packs small and light, this type of kite could
> > save your life.
> >
> > Here's a link to Dave's speedsailing site: http://www.dcss.org/speedsl/ Older
>
> > info, but still a good read...
> >
> > Fair winds,
> > Eric
> > Marina del Rey, CA
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