Sailing is 7,000 years old, but you've never seen a sail like this. It's designed to reduce our fuel usage and help save the earth. Subscribe: ru-vid.com_c...
While the ferry uses a lot more fuel per hour, you need to compare apples to apples: passenger miles per gallon. The ferry is more fuel efficient than a Cadillac Escalade if both are carrying a full load.
the issue with sailing is no wind = no movement. I am a sailor and even a sailing instructor, needless to say, I love sailing. It just doesn't seem like a real option with the repair and upkeep cost for a sailboat.
The proven sail assisted technology developed by Japanese, will most likely be used in conjunction with hybrid to power commercial ships. A great opportunity exists now to Do It.
love your story, i had to leave sailing, (back surgery) so i am a "dirty diesel " runner now, but wish i could use your wing back in the day very nice hope it works for you, good on ya
Sure, you can move a ferry with wind power, but... 1) How fast will it go, will people want to wait longer to get across? 2) What do you do when there's no wind? 3) Controlling power with wing-sails is tougher than they think, this is why traditional sails can be "dropped", big problem if you need to stop in high variable-direction winds. 4) The boat is going to need tremendous sail/wing structures to move the weight that ferries usually move. Lots of problems with using wing sails for commercial purposes, lots. More than these guys have thought through. That is not to say that they are not the future, but they're not the immediate future.
If this was a cost-effective solution, you wouldn't have to get government to force people to use it. Ferry operators are acutely aware of what fuel costs. If sticking a few thousand dollars worth of computer-controlled sail on the boat would really save fuel, owners would be fighting to buy them. Seriously though, one of the good things about cloth sails is that they can be taken down out of the wind altogether when the wind blows too hard. Rigid sail always present the problem of having to be lifted off the boat with a crane and stored in a very large building when they are too much area to present to the wind.
That sail is good for day and bay sailing Out there in high rough seas ... waves coming down on you ... You’re truly in trouble when you need the sails hauled in or reefing to the max/ min
This technology has been available for decades. Maybe not with all the electronics and automation as now but the basic principle of a fixed but moveable two sided wing has been experimented with since the 60's. The only problem for smaller sailboats or powercraft is that the wings can't be furled in a storm.
That's a problem for larger sailboats too. Arguably more so. Look at all the commercial sailing vessels from the end of the great age of sail and the trend is pretty clear: Lots of small sails which can be furled or unfurled depending on weather conditions. They didn't do that for shits and giggles, all that rigging was expensive, they did it because it was strictly necessary to get their vessel there in one piece.
a lot of it had to to with limited manpower and lower strength of materials as well as weather. They didn't use winches back then, only block and tackle and sailcloth was HEAVY then.
The wings don't need to be furled. When set at the neutral position, they naturally weather vane and create far less drag than a rolled up sail or even a bare mast.
Both sides of a 'soft' sail work exactly like an aircraft wing...the wind going into the belly of the sail pushes against the sail while at the same time (except when the wind is from 'behind' the boat), the air going around the opposite side of the sail produces lift in the vertical plane. Both of these forces combine and, with the keel and rudder, drive the boat forward. Additionally, the selection of the particular sails and their geometry, can be quickly altered to affect performance of the boat and comfort of the crew. Rigid sails are for auxillary power only. Ironically, the motor on a sailboat, whether a smoker or electric (ahem), is the aux power while the sails are the main power. If, however, you want to experience a ' rigid ' sail plan then join a qualified and stalwort crew and enjoy some storm sailing!
Both if these sails are "wings". The "soft" sails just function like cambered wings they used to have in the early days whereas rigid wings function like the modern glider wings.
Will need a pretty big sail in order to power the ferries to the current performance. What are you supposed to do with your sail if the weather gets too extreme? Dump it over the side? Don't you ever wonder why a sailing ship had many sails to choose from and a large crew to get the sails off if the weather turns bad? What if its calm, it will just cause windage and use more fuel. Why don't you build yourselves a ferry type vessel and demonstrate how your "sail" can power it in all conditions? You might notice that wing sails are fine on in shore racing yachts, but there are not too many upon which are expected to go out in any weather. Good luck.
Pipe dreams. All you do is turn the wing on and off. It has GPS, computer, satellite tracking, and knows where its going. Then... There's a power failure. So you start the diesel engine and go the "dirty diesel route". All that tech manufacturing from mining minerals to production, must use petroleum is some form along the way. Can't get away from it.
For this kind of fixed wing sails, how do you stop the boat when the wind is still blowing strongly especially during a hurricane or typhoon situation while the boat is anchored at a specific spot in the ocean?
300 gallons an hour... thats one gallon per person per hour.. escalade one person, thats 4 gallons per person per hour..yall are way beyond insaneeeeeeeeeee
Shouldn't be a problem. It would just weather vane into the wind. The aerodynamics are such that it would have less wind resistance than a regular "bare pole" mast. Think about it, airplane wings typically operate at wind-speeds greater than 70 mph (which is the takeoff speed for many light aircraft), so anything less than hurricane force winds would have little effect.
Dilandau88 Yep, you're right. I remember when Steinlager 1 was parked on a swing mooring in the Bay of Islands in NZ. She only had a very wide rotating wing mast not a wing sail, yet even when you let that mast self feather while moored, it sailed around its mooring like an agitated dog on a leash.
@William: Fixed wing aircraft only take wind pressure from one direction. Even if this thing feathers, it'd still be a lot of force and it could be coming beam on rather than head on. Think about an aircraft getting hit by storm winds from the side while on the ground rather than one flying through the storm airbourne. That'd be more accurate.
Yes I think you are right . An a ircraft wing is not a valid comparison . For a start it is going to have to be massively larger than any aircraft wing to have a worthwhile effect. Aircraft wings only have to provide lift in vast wind speeds provided by the engine. They have not been successful in the sailing world. Notice that none of the Americas cup boats use them. They are probably too heavy. In UK we won the Little Americas Cup in Emma Hamilton back in about '62 against the Yanks with a wing mast but I don't think they have been used since. In short not enough drive for the weight.
Clever invention! I would really like to see this one become a reality. Obviously the wing works on smaller boats, but i can't help wondering if it would work on a large ferry? A vessel of that size would either require one massive wing or lots of smaller ones. There are some things to consider. One has to regard the hight of the vessel. Will it be able to pass under bridges? What will happen if confronted with a storm if you can't take the wing down? The behaviour of a large ferry will be different with a wing, or rather, wings. The design of ferries may have to be changed for this invention to work, which takes time and cost a lot of money. As good an idea as I think this is, I think it will take a long time before we see wings on ferries.
Big problem, at the speed of most ferries (average 20MPH) the apparent wind will almost always be in the no go zone from ahead (unless the wind is very strong) nulling the usefulness of a sail. Wind would have to be 20MPH or more to even give assistance downwind.
A point about "twice the efficiency" of a regular sail: I call BS. A sail and a wing work in exactly the same way. They produce lift (thrust in this case). The efficiency can be be measured by the Lift/Drag ratio and the Maximum Lift Coefficient. Their wing has a symmetrical airfoil which is incapable of generating high Clmax - around 1.0-1.2 might be a reasonable expectation. A sail can produce around 1.7. Simple function of camber; their camber is zero. Drag for the wing would be lower, but at the low speeds these operate, a high CL max is more relevant. It's a nice idea, and one that has been around forever, but it has too many disadvantages. There is no way it is twice as efficient, not without elaborate camber changing devices.
PDZ1122 I think that is very optimistic, but I can see there being less turbulence with this due to no mast and so on and so forth. (It's 3AM I am tired....) there by giving the same power just losing less, aerodynamics are kinda touch and go with me, that's just my best guess....
Kinda sounds like you just pulled some basic formulas off the web and excluded all other factors. these two dudes have actually put this wing together and tested it on the ocean so I’m gonna trust them
A two-sided, symmetrical "wing" (airfoil) doesn't even make sense. An airfoil operates on the fact that the wing is not symmetrical, you need this asymmetry to produce a difference in pressure on opposing sides of the wing (according to Bernoulli's principle). Without this pressure differential you don't have lift (force). The only way that I can see a symmetrical wing working, is to operate it at such high angles of attack that the wing is constantly on the verge of stalling, effectively making the airflow around the wing asymmetric due to inertia. From my understanding this would also mean the wing is generating maximum drag (non-laminar flow) and would be very inefficient. Effectively, what I'm saying is you aren't "doubling" the power of the airfoil by making it symmetrical - that's ludicrous. Even if what you were saying were true, the force pushing on either side of the wing would be equal to the force pushing on the other side and you would have a net 0 force...
Aerobatic airplanes have symetrical wings. No lift is created while the wing has a zero angle of attack (the angle of the wing against the direction of wind). Like all wings, increasing the angle of attack increases lift.
Symmetrical airfoils generate lift when they have an angle of attack that is not zero. Cambered airfoils may generate lift at angle of attack of zero and have better L/D ratios. But symmetrical foils are still viable.
Wing sails have been around for a long time. There are too many flaws in their proposition to make a viable sailing ferry to list. I support investigating green technologies but making silly/stupid claims like these arrogant people have done is very annoying. Keep it real!
Cadillac vs. Ferry is the basis for your maths? I person @ 19 mpg vs 1,500 reluctant fishermen @ .3(?) mpg is no contest. Wrong comparison by a factor of 23 times more efficient.
i think the video should explain some more, wut i get now is that we can replace a tradition sail with one that looks like and airplanes' wing and it is efficient, but how efficient is it , how is it innovative , how does it works
The essence of green technology isn't a market based solution. Anything you can't use the coercive power of government to achieve isn't worth doing. The main thing is to compel people to accept your thinking.
There was only one true innovator with wingsails, John Walker from Walker Wingsails. The rest are cheap knockoffs. I plan to build a trimaran by his example in a few years, with current technology it will rock. (i build and repair ships for a living and have engineering degree and relevant experience in electrical, electronical and hydraulics so this will be my retirement project)
The boat seemed rather slow. If the intention is to move a ship through water with wind force, what's wrong with using a traditional sailship? Run a small diesel (or even electric / photovoltaic) to power the winches etc and you can sail a 100 ft sailship wit 2 persons....
Wing sails have been around for decades.. Nothing new about that at all. The C class Cats have been using them since the early days of the "little Americas Cup".. In the late 90s there were even Solar Wing sails on some ferries.
Wow, didn't know the earth needed saving. Will it blow up or something if we continue on our path? Will it melt? Will it vanish in a black hole or something?
It would be more persuasive if these guys knew their subject well enough to know that ferries have engines, not motors, or that the Vanderbilt fortune started with sail ferries but without government mandate.
Seeing as how it lifted the boat while Saling in very moderate conditions my concern is, what about a real storm crossing the Atlantic with squalls of 40n heating without warning, it will flip you I should think?
How come driving a car more efficient than a ferry? A boat transports over 100 poeple, water offers less friction, more durable, no traffic jam, and i go on and on..
Inflatable sails could be taken down when in a storm ☔️ vertical wind generators could be effective in making power to store temporarily in batteries in conjunction with direct drive through hydraulic systems. Submarine batteries hold lots of power 💥.
So what happens when the software glitches or an electrical component dies at sea? If you think about it, sailing hasn't really changed much since the beginning. There's a reason for that. It's like the wheel, it just works.
Lets go back to Galleon Trading or back to using big sails with high mast. Just armed them with hellfire missiles to defend themselves against pirates.
I think I'm going to experiment with this concept and use one of my old inflatable beds, modify it, and try to use it as a inflatable wing sail on my canoe. Lol....Seriously! Then when you are ready to dock overnight, just deflate or take it down and sleep on it.
Ferries on short routes like this are perfect for battery powered electric propulsion. Charge the battery on both ends while loading and unloading so that it doesn't need an enormously large battery. You immediately get the benefit of no local diesel emissions. Lack of engine noise and vibration makes it more pleasant for passengers. Once it's put into operation, the boat is as green as the grid. Make the grid greener, and the boat automatically gets greener. You could use it in conjunction with one of these sails, but I'm not sure why you'd bother.
I wonder whether it wouldn't be better to have a windmill on the ferry charging batteries for an electric drive. The advantage would be that the windmill can run 24 hours a day and works even when the ferry is docked.
think of it this way.... a sail, is essentially an airplane wing, standing vertically....the airfoil cross-section, results in airflow differential, just like the way a plane's wing provides lift.....but because it's vertically mounted, instead of "lifting" the wing, it tries to move it to the side. by varying the way the wing angles into the wind, it varies the amount of force....the interaction between the wing, and the dagger boards, results in forward motion for the ship......modern super-fast catamarans use very similar technology....fast enough, they're actually hydrofoils....
