wrote:
On Tue, 21 Jul 2015 17:47:37 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:29:21 -0700 (PDT), Tim
wrote:

Wayne, hasn't the "para-sail" convey been around for a while?

I thought I read where a big cat-hull was attempting to cross an ocean
totally under the latest para-sail technology.

===

There's quite a difference between a big catamaran and a full fledged
cargo freighter. It's hard to say if they'll be able to control the
thing. Kite board sailors are constantly maneuvering control strings
to keep the kite stable. Any kite sail on a freighter would have to
be massively large and powerful to be of any use. It would also need
some sort of dynamic control technology that was fast enough and
powerful enough to deal with wind fluctuations.

Trying to take the sail down in a storm could prove to be interesting
also. Racing sailors have a saying about that: "We put the sails up
and god takes them down."

That should get Harry going. :-)

This is basically just a spinnaker and would only work for a run with
the wind behind them. It might help a little on some trips but I think
the sailors may have just been smoking a little too much ganja when
they came up with this idea.
I know on my boat, flying a 12x15 poly tarp that we put a little shape
in, it is just a little better than a fast drift. Using the motor for
a rudder I can get about 35-40 degrees off the wind before I lose it
but the speed suffers and wind speed is the theoretical max speed.
Less than half is more realistic.
It is still fun on those real windy spring days.

I remember a similar proposal to put the sails like on the the last
America's cup boats on a freighter to get some extra push. More practical
idea. Computer controlled, no dangerous cables to the sail.