The latest 'project'

I've been sketching all evening Jim, I need to make a model to check my facts here, I must be missing something, it all seems too simple at the moment.

The lakes not that big and it seemed very small on sunday

Edited by Neal_g - 04 Nov 13 at 11:23pm

You're right, there is nothing aerodynamically sensible about that sort of setup. Something like this OTOH...

A symmetric kite is fundamentally flawed on shape though, I don't. think its possible to cut one that isn't too hooked on the leech.

Jibs and forestays are the problem, lose them and it all gets easier. Steve (Cogito C Class) Clark once built a single hander with a self gybing asymmetric, done by having 4 shrouds in a square round the mast and no forestay. Have that setup with something like a 12 foot pole pivoted just in front of the mast and you could be in business, - and even set a jib off the pole if you are really keen. But the engineering challenges seem formidable to me.
The old V twin might be a good platform for that though: all that beam in front of the mast would be extremely handy for making it all work...

[Later]

Here you are. The headsail spar inner end is located on a substantial (probably taper roller bearing) anchor point immediately in front of the mast. Then there's a radial track from forward shroud to forward shroud, also a very substantial piece of kit, and that deals with the upward loads from the sails. The rest of the pole is just a cantilever. You could have both a jib and a kite of the spar, or just a kite. If you have just a kite then it can be self tacking. The kite chute is probably attached to the spar so there are no complications with the spar obstructing the kite takedown.

So you sail it just like any other sprit kite boat, except that you can take the pole to windward properly, not like the rather pointless setups seen to date...

That shows effectively a fixed pole, but doubtless you could build up a telescoping effort to reduce the length and maybe get it to retract to within the bow... Maybe something like this...


And here's how the kite might be set... Sheeting the self tacking aspect of the kite might be challenging when the pole is right back - probably need something analagous to backing lines to keep the traveller at the leeward end...



Edited by JimC - 05 Nov 13 at 9:40am

Graeme- check out the MRX - a simplified Merlin Rocket (chinless) designed for inland restricted waters, namely the Welsh Harp (AKA as Brent Cross Shopping Centre).

Edited by yellowwelly - 05 Nov 13 at 9:34am

If it's a question of quick deployment, then how about the mini system of a long pole articulating around the forestay fitting? One pull of a string to deploy, a single string hoist/tack line system. One luff, one leech.