Kite For Sail: Something Old is New Again
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 07.31.07
Whenever we do a story about solar-powered water craft some pundit will pipe up and say “Yeh, but wot about wind powered yachts?” So if we can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! Kite For Sail employs what they term “advanced wind propulsion technology” to provide propulsion to boats. They suggest that he new era of sail-power “wont see the return of square rigged barques or clipper ships, but rather the introduction of high-tech kite sails that generate greater propulsion power than conventional sails.” Though not bold enough to say such kitesails with replace standard marine power they figure they’ll supplement them, while reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Currently their prototype systems is the primary power source for a F24 Corsair trimaran that plies the waters off Hawaii (no doubt looking for Losties!) Apparently their 18-metre kite system managed to achieve between 7 to 10 knots boat speed without the use of engine power. The next five years are being put into further R&D. ::Kite For Sail.
I think that it's a fab idea. I was originally skeptical about using kites for sails, but I think that was just traditionalism holding me back; kites really do have the advantages that Kite For Sail sketches out on its front page. Kiteboarders have known about this for some time.
The company SkySails (http://www.skysails.info/index.php?L=1) is testing this idea as power augmentation for large transport ships. I wonder if a certain eclectic paper The Case for Transport Sailcraft (http://www.dcss.org/speedsl/Trans_Sailcraft.html) influenced both of these groups.
How fast would a traditional sail take the boat along?
Kite for Sail is making great strides in the kite propulsion field.
I've had the pleasure of getting out on the prototype boat with Dan Tracy and I can tell you that it really zips along out on the water.
The Corsair F24 is said to have a top speed of 20 knots in standard configuration. The manufacturer warns against offshore journeys because of the complexity of the sail system. The stock Corsair sail is 37 sq. meters.
With the Kite For Sail system installed with a 20 sq. meter kite we were able to safely cross between Maui and Molokai achieving a fuel savings of 50%
With a larger kite the unassisted speed would easily reach 20 knots.
www.kiteforsail.com has some great information on the site and videos to watch it in action.