"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
anews.com...
NORDHAVN Rewrites Physics Textbooks

Well-known and well-respected motorboat manufacturer, NORDHAVN has
produced a new addition to their lineup, a 56-foot motorsailer called the
56MS. On page 109 of SAIL magazine, October 2007 issue they have a
full-page advertisement touting how great it is.

Among other things, they claim to be able to create something from
nothing. The advert states, "Even in dead air the apparent wind when
motorsailing generates lift and reduces the amount of engine power needed
to maintain the same speed the engine would produce on its own." Huh? Tell
me I ain't dreaming . . .

Now let me see if I got this straight. In dead air one assumes there is no
wind from any direction. Right? Therefore, any motion of the boat produced
by the motor in forward gear would result in an apparent wind from dead
ahead. Agreed? So, unless they've hired Old Thom Stewart, who knows
nothing about apparent wind, to write the ad script there's no way they
actually believe this nonsense that sails can be powered up by a wind from
directly ahead, is there? Seems to me the sails would just luff and cause
drag thus reducing the speed through the water produced by the motor.

But, I guess when you're selling motorsailers you can count upon your
customers being quite stupid so perhaps some will fall for this ruse.

Wilbur Hubbard

Their claims are true. I've seen large Nordhaven motorsailers go dead into a
strong wind and rise up out of the water from displacement mode onto a full
plane.