<<Second question: how would I figure the panel shapes to make
the sails?>>
I wish I knew. The simplest option would be do simply copy what
Fercot as done. While it may not be optimal, it's proven, and it's
faster than the sister boat with a standard rig. He's got pictures of
his wishbones, so it wouldn't be too hard to scale the shapes up or
down.
My plan is to work with a sailmaker with software that can model the
sail shape in an air flow. After the shape of the battens is known,
they'll then be able to use a cnc machine to cut the sails to the exact
patterns required. Heck, they can also use the same cnc machine to cut
cloth patterns for the wishbones.
I don't know what this would cost. I'm guessing a few thousand
dollars on top of the sail itself. But since I'd be using cheap
sailcloth, the total cost may not be too different.
If you choose to go down this path, we could look into it together
and perhaps share the sail design cost. No pressure -- just an idea.
<< Is there any reason that I can't make them out of cored
panels?>>
I don't know enough to answer that question. My guess is that it
should work. And if you had the patterns cut from a cnc machine, the
cored panels would be really easy to get to the right shape.
- Mike
On 5/28/2010 11:38 AM, Gardner Pomper wrote:
Ok, I both of you guys think it is a good idea, I will take another look. You always seem to have very sound reasoning and good experience to back it up.I am going to try to get my plywood daysailing proa mostly finished this weekend, and try to get it in teh water in a couple weeks. I have windsurfer masts and sails for it, which is what I am going with first, but it would seem like a good test platform for a different rig.So, a couple questions: those internal frames look like alot of work. Is there any reason that I can't make them out of cored panels? I can pad the edges with soft foam to keep from chafing the sails. They would be really quick to just cut out of a larger cored sheet. If any flex is required, it would seem like it would only be at the leach, and I could use a short hinged stick there (just a foot or so), so the the internal frames are in 3 pieces instead of 2, and still save a ton of labor and weight.Second question: how would I figure the panel shapes to make the sails?Thanks,- Gardner