Hi Luc,
Wantoo is not influenced by the mission of Blind Date.
For sure my experience with the Blind Date influenced my choices. I probably would have designed a cat or a tri if Rob's Harryproa concept had not reached the Netherlands.
I saw the concept I would like to design for myself reflected in the five main parameters of Design Challenge III: speed, simple, seaworthy, Spartanic accommodation for 2 or 3 sailors, trailerable.
The difference with Rob's Expeditionarry is probably based on the relationship I have with my girlfriend. I could not imagine a ship without an (almost) full size double bed.
With that in mind I designed Wantoo to minimum length, minimum weight, minimum everything.
The position of the masts is a result of many hours I spend windsurfing on a tandem windsurfingboard in the seventies. This was the best opportunity you can think of to find out how two sails influence each other in a practical situation. We began with the old Windsurfer sails with long wooden wishbones. Later we tried rigs with short booms. We even sailed it with three sails. My impression was that the rear sail is usually a little less efficient. The best configuration was the smallest sail on the front, the biggest on the rear.
Putting the sails close together did not work very well for the sails. It would make the rear sail less efficient. Very important for the performance was that the leech of the front rig was parallel to the mast of the rear rig.
In the schooner rig of Wantoo I used these tandem windsurfing experiences.
I expect that the first Wantoo will sail with a couple of different leeward hulls, to find out what the best length is.
I am also still working on other rig options that bring the COE to the front.
This will allow Wantoo to sail with only one rudder that is located on the bow of the leeward hull. Since we noticed that steering with the front rudder works as well as steering with the rear rudder, I find this an interesting option. It makes the concept and the handling a lot simpler.
It is fun to see how one design decision influences all others.
There is still a lot of work to do in the proa concept.
The concept of the future.....
So here is the real reason why I need a big double bed. I need plenty of space for me and my dreams :)
Nol
--- In harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au, "LucD" <lucjdekeyser@...> wrote:
>
> The Wooden boat design competition
> <http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/Woodenboatdesigncompetition/files/>
> has two HP designs, Nols' Wantoo and Rob's Expeditionarry. To learn
> more about HP's I tried to read the plans and understand in what way
> they are comparable and in what way they are different and in what way
> that could be tied in to the difference in their mission. Expeditionarry
> is a speed machine and thus more true to the mission intended by this
> competition; I suspect Wantoo has been more influenced by the mission of
> BD, namely, a safe cruiser. Both have quite a number of fun
> "inventions". I first was quite surprised about how few of these could
> be transplanted to the other design. In hindsight I should not have
> been. There are probably quite a number of features which I do not even
> know that I do not understand yet. Let me start with with those that I
> do know:
> The position of the masts are more at the extremities of the lee hull on
> the Wantoo and that does not appear to be due to the length of the
> boom/wishbone. This would make the boat more sensitive to the difference
> in lift. Both designs choose to fix the position of the rudders to those
> of the masts. As the Wantoo is about twice as heavy and has a lee hull
> about 20% shorter would the position of the masts be a response to its
> slower speed?
>
> Luc
>