<<So let's not waist too much time discussing details. Money is the key. We need people who are willing to invest in prototypes!>>

  Well then, let's just get that done.  ;-)


<<I'm commencing building a 16.8m high performance cruising proa.  The leeward hull has been engineered using finite element methods to enable foiling on two foils placed at the extreme ends of this hull.>>

  Good show!  I guess I have to take back my tongue-in-cheek comment above.

  If you're going to walk the talk, all I can really say is that I look forward to seeing what you come up with.  At the very least you'll have a platform for experimentation.  Sometimes you just can't figure out the details until you start testing designs.

---

  My one comment is that it would be great if those foils could kick up in a collision.  I know you're less likely to hit things on a passage than when doing coastal sailing, but it would still be nice if hitting something meant breaking a fuse instead of breaking the foil or the hull. 

  Putting foils on those rudders on the lee hull, particularly if you create stub beams to mount them further towards the ends, could enable the kick-up, and if you rotate them 180 degrees each shunt, would also enable the foils to work in both directions.  The rudders would have to take some big loads, but they already do, and that's something you can design for if needed.

  I know that daggerboard technology has been used comfortably for a long time now, but that doesn't mean it's optimal.  There's a Corsair near me that had its daggerboard trunk rebuilt three times in five years (Maine has almost no sand -- but lots of rocky shoals), and the boat was lucky to have gotten away with as little damage as it experienced. 

  Being able to sail home after something like that, without a damaged trunk or a board stuck in it, is a serious advantage.

  Though I will admit that I'm highly safety-focused, and not everyone will agree with me.

        - Mike

 

 

In response to Nol's comments:

There'll be a lot more info published fairly soon, but in response to Nol's comments I'll outline my plans briefly.  I'm commencing building a 16.8m high performance cruising proa.  The leeward hull has been engineered using finite element methods to enable foiling on two foils placed at the extreme ends of this hull.  It may well be that I'll have to consider hydraulic steering, but the principal goal is to get the craft foiling on three foils - one under the windward hull and the two leeward foils.

With a fractured bone in my left hand, boat building is on hold while I research foil configurations.

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