Sailing Directly Into the Wind - Is it Possible?

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[@HigginsIam]

Was really curious where this video was going when you showed the bottom view of the hull on the intro

[@johnjuiceshipper4963]

He’s getting better and better at grabbing the viewer’s attention.

[@RavenY2K3]

😂😂

[@Grzechu92]

I wonder how this specific hull shape and perspective would perform as a video thumbnail :D

[@JMMC1005]

That colour choice was no accident.

[@iteerrex8166]

Not a single guy missed that 😂

[@BonesyTucson]

LOL those first few frames of the video sure didn't look like a sailboat. Seriously though, your engineering and building skills are next level and something for folks to aspire to. Love it.

[@scroopynoopers2892]

lmao, he knows what hes doing

[@Ithirahad]

hullussy

[@BrucePotter]

But his physics are below par. Cursory mathematical modelling shows this concept simply isn't as efficient as a traditional sailboat.

[@bowfuz]

i was so afraid i was alone here XD

[@lordjeffery10]

@@BrucePotter Damn it's almost like the point was to sail DIRECTLY into the wind and not make a sailboat

[@philliprobinson7724]

Hi. This was first done in the 1950's, "Popular Mechanics" did a model rotary-sail boat. The big problem with these things is they sit in water which being fluid allows the boat to go awry. When the "drag" on the windmill exceeds the "thrust" of the underwater propeller the "radio control" becomes purely theoretical. I redesigned it as a little four-wheel cart. My thinking was that with positive contact with the concrete it couldn't go off on its own. The drive wheels were geared down using a rubber turn-table belt twisted through 90 degrees, so the windmill did a lot of spinning to produce a top speed that would only have a snail hanging on for dear life. It always worked well until the belt ran off the top pulley! Made today using model bevel gears it would be quite possible to make a steerable wind powered cart in which the windmill always faces directly into the wind by using a tail-vane. Slow motion races around a tennis court could become the next "geek" sport. Cheers, P.R.

[@Aengus42]

Yup! You got my attention at 00:02. Made me think "I bet it'll be eady to find the man in the boat this time, it's RCTestFlight!" 😆

[@o00nemesis00o]

It's a shame, because he lost my attention at 00:01

[@roboman2444]

One of those "vertical-axis wind turbines" would be interesting. Would simplify the gearing at least. Doesn't matter what direction the wind is going too, so no mechanisms for pivoting.

[@NGC1433]

Vertical axis wind turbines are as close to "free energy" as you can get without actually claiming free energy as ever possible. They have absolutely abysmal percentage of harvested wind energy from available wind energy. They have huge wind surface and only a fraction of that grabs wind. The rest is just a useless wall, which in case of a boat - would behave like a giant parachute.

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

Its been done check out rotor sail craft and wingsails also flesnor rotors.. for shipping . Also biplane wingsail catamarans 🇬🇧🧙‍♂️

[@exo068]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@NGC1433not really true, the Darrieus designed is only a little less efficient than the commonly used horizontal axis designs since it’s not a design reliant on resistance. You can also get higher output per area compared to a horizontal one since they need less space.

[@meldert]

Like the trimaran in water world. ;)

[@ET_AYY_LMAO]

@@NGC1433 Hybrid designs such as Darrieus can get 39% efficiency, but yeah compared to HAWTs 59% in ideal circumstances, its not "better" than HAWTs, however they are a lot less complex to operate. I build a few Vertical axis turbines in miniature scale (approximately 1m high and 20cm radius) and while it does not power a house or anything it was more than enough to drive night lighting in my garden and it was handy to have some 12v power at the other end of the estate for garden work. It charged batteries no problem. I have to add the disclaimer that I lived on top of a hill and it was extremely windy where I lived. I think it maxxed out at 50w power generated in a storm lol, not more than that for sure. I think it should be doable to do this with a VAWT too, the remaining 59% of the energy is not directly causing drag or otherwise countering forces neccesarily. A VAWT can also have collapsing blade design that theoretically "beats" the betz limit in the sense that the collapsed blades does not cause drag or reduce power generated, though these designs are very impractical at scale, they perform brilliantly at small scale.

[@vincentdesjardins1354]

If you want to push this experiment forward I think you need to explore both : - variable and remotely controlable pitch for the wind blades (so it can adapt to diferent wind velocity and/or point of sail) - axial rotation of the water propeller to make it act as a rudder (more authority at low speed than a regular rudder) - definitely add some keels on the hulls to ake it less "floppy"

[@vovanikotin]

also add some gears ratio, wind gear bigger than water propeller. The same as Veritasium shows in his video about moving faster than downwind

[@framegrace1]

@@vovanikotin Changing the pitch on the blades have the same effect, as changing gears. But actual gearing is maybe easier to change while experimenting.

[@gshaindrich]

gotta literally "push forward" or it won´t move "directly" against the wind...

[@jaumesinglavalls5486]

also the wind blades, cannot be a plane, since the center moves slower that outside, this provocate drag, since the tip of the blade wishes to move faster than the center, and this mades the eficiency to go down. Also, another thing that I would like to see is with a vertical wind turvine and/or a wind turbine like the archimedes Liam F1 (I think is the name) One last point, is that there was a new propeller dessign (I think was the toroidal or similar), that apparently was more efficient...

[@costasvrettakos]

Also a reverse gear would make it go faster than the wind going downwind!

[@largo6644]

Good work !!! In 2000 or 2001, when I sailed a lot, in a sailing magazine I read an article talking about sailing 0° upwind, with an "apparatus" like yours. I remember this performances: it sails 5 kts upwind with 13 kts of down wind. Greetings fron Argentina !!!

[@couttsylives]

Your "Project Curve" is brilliant...seriously!!! I might have to get it printed out and stuck on my wall. (with attribution of course!)...Thank You

[@grahamsnyder762]

Rather than increasing the propeller diameter, would it not make more sense to design the gearing so that it spins faster than the turbine instead of 1:1?

[@johnsmith-jq1uc]

surely

[@jayknight139]

that's what I was thinking

[@gavinausten1825]

Also my first thought. Was gonna add a comment if I didn't see this one.

[@monstamastarc]

I have a feeling a bigger prop is more efficient than the extra mechanical losses from a gearbox. I could be wrong though

[@bear8046]

Seems like the additional gearing and touch points required could make it not as efficient as increasing the prop size, maybe.

[@justinklenk]

5:59 - I do so love that completely accurate project curve graph... 😅 👍

[@KevinDC5]

I love watching your building processes, it gives me inspiration for techniques I can use in my own designs. Cheers! from Texas

[@arthurjennings5202]

So you remember Keven Costner's sail boat in the movie "Waterworld" released in 1995. The trimaran used a three bladed Darrius wind turbine and sails. Your project will work with a vertical turbine, but when you sail downwind, the craft will be slower than pure sail.

[@philipsmeeton]

Just turn the turbine blades in the opposite direction so that the behind wind drives the turbine.

[@not_a_therapist]

Darrius turbine is a vertical axis turbine. You don't have to @@philipsmeeton

[@retiredjan4714]

@@philipsmeeton what means you need a servo system to set the blades (think of helicopter) and it gives extra friction.

[@edgarjoffre8838]

I think you could use the bevel gear to increase the ratio between the turbine and the propeler, so that the propeler would turn faster. In my opinion (but I am not an expert in this), it would be more efficient to have a fast turning propeler with a slow turning wind turbine. Also, I think having the mast turn with the blade insted of the boat would reduce the drag of the boat

[@jamesscheidler476]

I agree. Couldn't one develop gear ratio that leverages the huge torque-- like the wind turbine farms. I am no engineer so I can't offer anything more than an idea.

[@waxt0n]

bevel gears are very inefficient in terms of energy transfer, but gears/belts/chains moving between two horizontal shafts could be interesting

[@michaeldunn8876]

The same effect can be achieved with less losses by adjusting the ratio of the size between the turbine and propeller - I suspect Daniel has already considered this and used it to size the water propeller.

[@dustinbrueggemann1875]

@@waxt0n It would significantly hamper the rotational freedom though. Bevel gears have a built in slip-ring capability, but belts would need some kind of intermediate transfer, which negates most of their advantages.

[@Nick1112able]

I also have the feeling that the slower the wind turbine turns, the more drag it will create

[@SapioiT]

The funny part is that, the way you made the boat, the way to go against the wind is to rotate the boat (and the wind turbine blades) backwards, because of the drag created by the blades of the wind turbine. Putting the drag in front of the center of mass and center of thrust only helps destabilize the system, which is why it seems to be so stable while it's "facing the wrong way", at 8:00 to 8:30.

[@alainblanchard5808]

Brilliant project, I like it very much. It reminds me of crazy drawings that I was doing in the 80's trying to find a way to move sailing boats upwind more efficiently

[@grantclark4139]

I love when you do projects like this, the goofy propulsion projects that aren't going to change the way people do things but are still amazing accomplishments. Well done!

[@reedreamer9518]

Literally tears squirting out (5:54) - "Trough of Despair" to "Scam ignorant investors"!

[@SoHaRdCrAzzY2]

I see what you did there at 0:02. The color matches perfectly. :D

[@EDCandLace]

100% he showed the toochie.. I mean keel lol

[@Nick1112able]

You’re my favourite KZbinr by far. Your quirky shots of turtle shells, floating bottles and such that you always have are totally irrelevant and therefore genius, they show your sense of discovery and curiosity for the anodyne. I also love your harbour shots and the graph showing scam innocent investors!

[@Dblackarialallstars]

Thank you so much for all your gerea content!My top 5 favorite channels!!!

[@timeonly1401]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing personal applied physics and engineering. This nakedly demonstrates human ingenuity & creativity applied to problem solving. More, please! ❤

[@TexMex421]

Awesome video. I had a beautiful 1 meter RC sailboat for a few years. The best thing I ever did was add a small electric motor shaft and prop. The ability to bring it back to me was great.

[@thomaspage334]

i design a boat with this propulsion method as a senior at UMaine in mechanical engineering. I met with a guy who built a working prototype and went for a sail. my calcs showed his independent design was close to optimum.

[@kirkknestis9918]

Love the videos and engineering conversations. Playing "Where is he on Lake Washington?" as a ex-Seattleite is a bonus.

[@tehZevo_]

Even though they're less efficient, what about using a vertical axis wind turbine (or turbines!) to drive the prop (or props), since it would require 1 less beveled gear set and the turbine assembly wouldn't have to "turn into" the wind?

[@reezlaw]

Good idea

[@TerraCAD]

The losses due to beveled gears can be lower than 2% when produced well the typical difference of efficiency between Vawt and Hawt is around 20 % though I would find it interesting as well it will probably work even worse

[@blubb7711]

3D printed plastic bevel gears are nowhere near 98% efficient, even metal once don´t get 95%. I would guess they are like 80% efficient.@@TerraCAD

[@exo068]

@@TerraCADthat doesn’t take into account that you can put more vertical ones on the same space a horizontal one needs.

[@renaissanceman5847]

less efficient ... but also alot more drag.

[@assetstacker]

00:02 bros got to be trolling hahahha

[@JakobusVdL]

Wow! that is different level DIY. An innovative idea, and amazing engineering and tools to trial it, and the explaination of the physics - very impressive in so many ways.

[@SteeveEfnet]

Pretty awesome that you share your build files. thank you

[@Leo99929]

An aerodynamic profile on your wind turbine blades should make a huge difference because the flat blades you have might only be achieving a L:D ratio of maybe 6:1 whilst a good aerofoil could have in the order of 20x that.

[@ToastyMozart]

At low Reynolds numbers the difference isn't usually that drastic, but yeah 10:1 seems a bit optimistic.

[@gary6449]

All the effort(s) with designing for "efficiency" and then using such an inefficient (non-airfoil) wind turbine design ???

[@nickchristie2221]

​@@gary6449 gary has got it right. Blackbird works better because of the aerofoil design of the blades. The flat blades just provide a deflective pushing force and a heap of drag , rather than the suction like force from an aerofoil

[@millobird999]

My idea on solving the screw being too slow is to connect the rotor sail and the screw with a remote controlled CVT and test the optimum gear range. After you get the data and find the gearing solid, magnetic gear couplings might help since both input and output shafts can be placed diagonally (to save weight and space), also theoretically less friction.

[@malloot9224]

Cvt might be essential in getting peak efficiency in all angles. Pretty hard to make tho

[@FraLin]

Running a generator and a motor would be cheaper and more efficient than these gears

[@kierancarter3693]

great idea

[@marat61]

I have great time watching this, very calming.

[@KraussEMUS1]

Great project and very well engineered!! I'll bet with enough engineering it could compete with standard sailboats when sailing into the wind, since it doesn't have to tack. If the streamlining were developed enough and perhaps if it were combined with hovercraft or hydrofoil technology to eliminate drag, it is likely possible. Incidentally, I have a series of ion thrusters on my channel, that are patented for lifting themselves and their power supplies against gravity!

[@thesoupin8or673]

For your wind vane, you might be able to maintain effectiveness and reduce drag by increasing the length of the lever arm. A smaller vane placed farther back along that shaft could provide similar leverage without so much drag. Great video though! Love anything boat-related

[@FPVenius]

The right edge of the project curve made me lol. Thanks for continuing to push on weird projects like this; I always enjoy them!

[@janspoelstra8309]

This has been done decades ago 1:1. Search for a project called Aeolian (or something in that direction), an ocean going yacht with a wind turbine on the top of a mast, generating the power do either directly drive the prop mechanically, or store electricity in batteries, to power an electic motor, As long as there was wind, you could go in any direction you wanted, even directly into the wind.

[@massmanute]

This answers one of the questions I have been wondering about.

[@Havakadoo]

I always look forward to your videos. Keep up the great work

[@victor-charlesscafati]

I believe that the 45° air propeller pitch is probably optimal for the same reason that a beam reach is the fastest point of sail on a sailboat (where the wind is at a 45° angle to the sail). Interesting project.

[@TerraCAD]

I don't know about sailboats but something about wind powered cars and the optimal pitch angle is dependent on blade profile and wind speed so this is not necessarily false but having adjustable pitch control is pretty necessary for good performance with different wind speeds

[@vinny142]

"(where the wind is at a 45° angle to the sail). " The most optimal is to have the wind blow directly into the sail from behind the boat, so zero degrees. If the wind comes from the side at 90 degrees to the ship, the optimal angle really depends on the type of sails that the ship has. Sails don't just deflect the wind, they provide thrust too so the deflection angle is not really the most important factor. It's fascinating stuff, worthy of a deep dive.

[@victor-charlesscafati]

@@vinny142 That is not correct. If the wind is behind a sailboat, the maximum speed it can achieve is the speed of the wind (unless you get into this fancy propeller stuff, which is a different topic.) Having the wind behind the sailboat (which is called a run, as you may know) is the *slowest* point of sail (aside from sailing directly into the wind in the no-sail zone). The fastest speeds a sailboat can achieve is at a beam reach, at which the sail is set at 45° degrees to the wind. My point stands-the reason he was seeing an optimal performance at 45° of propeller pitch is exactly the same reason a sailboat goes the fastest when the wind is coming 90° from the direction the boat is facing and the sail is set to 45° degrees to the wind. If you still disagree with me, let's go racing sometime. :D Welcome to the "people correcting people incorrectly club" @vinny142.

[@cactus445566]

@vinny142 Beam reach (wind 90 degrees to the boat) is much more efficient on modern craft than downwind. Going downwind you're using the sails to produce drag, and as you go faster the relative wind decreases. In a beam reach you're using the sails to produce lift, and the force generated is very close to the direction you're going, and as you go faster the relative wind doesn't decrease

[@adrianschmidt5564]

Yeah you should take a dive into the stuff :)@@vinny142

[@StubProductions]

Great design work!! A lot of fun to watch

[@jumpsneak]

"Scam ignorant investors" (5:57) I can't xD

[@pomeroy600287]

I've been designing one of these for a while now, my first attempt (I have a couple of videos) performed similar to yours. You should read the documentation given in Optimal Blade Design for Windmill Boats and Vehicles by B. L. Blackford (1982), that is chiefly about the design of turbine powered boats, and gives some numbers as well as known-functional blade design offsets. There is also (amongst others) the vessel Falcon, previously part of the National Maritime Museum in Irvine, Scotland, which was a full-size boat powered by this method. The comments on higher aspect ratio propeller and more efficient (non-planar) turbine blades are spot on, and also what I've been working on with my double-size V2 design. My version one design used a cam-pitch linkage to change the pitch of the blades depending on the direction of the hull relative to the wind, but I ditched this temporarily after realising that I had more elementary problems to overcome first. V2 is ready to go, and I'm currently awaiting a nice windy day to run some tests!

[@WindThrusters]

Don't rely too much on the Blackford report - some of it is wrong.

[@3DProjectsRC]

Amazing graph of a project. I can definitely relate to my own projects. Also a amazing video about this really cool design, I really enjoyed it!

[@GlenB1963]

I was thinking about this project. It seems to me that, provided the prop is producing ebough torque, increasing the diameter of the water prop and, upping the gearing to 5-1. I d love to see if possible, also twin screws perhaps. Great videos. I absolutely love them.

[@someotherdude]

I have always been fascinated by the wind turbine boat idea. I have some ideas and observations. First, an inherent issue may be the air friction(drag) of the wind turbine blades moving at high speed. That's the biggest difference from a stationary sail. So what if, instead, a many-blade low rpm 'high torque' design was tried? The blades would still need to be a very accurate airfoil, but they would be facing almost into the wind. Another issue is the tip vortices and the fact that air near the hub isn't doing much. So looking at the swept disk as 'sail area' you'd want a much bigger diameter rotor. I don't agree that a Darrius style turbine would be better, because this would drastically reduce the 'sail area'. The comments about your airfoils are right, you need a correct airfoil and yes you should be gearing the prop way up or going to a larger prop with a higher angle of attack on the blades. The most efficient water props actually look like airplane propellers, they are instead made stubby to protect them. Then of course there are these new 'loop design' props, which astonishes me that they (supposedly?) work better. Wind turbine boats work well enough to be acceptable in performance and they are Just so cool. Another interesting idea would be a turbine that compresses air instead of turning rotary shaft, and This air would be blasted out of an underwater eductor nozzle for thrust.one last idea: q combined wind turbine and solar electric boat ,Where The solar panel would block The noise and the hazard of the spinning blade and both would simply be connected to a conventional electric trolling motor. Awesome work, thanks for showing us!!!

[@DestructorEFX]

Why didn't you increase the gear ratio so that the propeller spins faster?

[@user-jm8sy5ox2j]

You introduce mechanical loss when using more gears so it is more efficient to just use bigger propellers

[@Prolly_tyler]

​@user-jm8sy5ox2j you wouldnt add more gears. Youd just make gears with more and less teeth in order and replace the existing gears with the new ones

[@topspeed250k5]

​@@user-jm8sy5ox2jyou got the wrong idea. Increasing gear ratio doesn't mean adding more gears

[@Somerandom1922]

Larger prop is functionally a higher gear ratio.

[@keithdubose2150]

I think a twin - counter rotating prop set up would help with directional stability. You could also run a shaft inside each hull.. reducing drag. I think you are on the right track with higher aspect ratio water props Great video !

[@larrybremer4930]

I used to do a lot of sailing and can say that the best point of sail is the beam reach where efficiency of converting the apparent wind direction and energy into forward motion over the Earth. keep in mind that as the sailboat gains speed the apparent wind direction changes forward more so beam reaches in reality end up being slight downwind in actual movement direction when the apparent wind is exactly 90 degrees off the beam. Sailing with the wind will seem slow but usually waves and surface water flow is in the same direction so even though its not as efficient (in most modern sailboat rigging schemes) you are still making good headway. When close hauled you will feel like your really moving with the wind in your face and waves crashing under the hull but in reality the drag of the sails and hull against the waves are now directly counteracting against your direction of motion making it a slower point to sail. Tacking further reduces your efficiency because your not traveling the desired course in a straight line (the actual distance your covering will be at least 33% greater than the straight line into the wind). Also a correction that the sails fully provide forward force. In fact its an interaction where the hull of the boat, either by keel or dagger board will prevent the boat from too much leeward slip. The best analogy is like squeezing a watermelon seed in your fingers and it shoots out blunt end first because the forces your exerting only have one direction of relief and that is out. Similarly the sailboat being pushed to the side does not want to go that direction so the direction it does go ends up being forward. Lastly the mechanical efficiency of the wind turbine/propeller is never going to be as practical as sticking with sails with many of the reasons illustrated in your experiments. Given an RC sailboat and the turbine powered boat the sailboat would have handily beat the turbine boat in a race. Also if you did this in full scale I would not want to be on the deck of a boat with those massive turbine blades spinning over my head. The thought of that and how bad an accident or failure would be is simply too horrifying to contemplate for long.

[@OnlyFoolsandTraders]

Not forgetting, tide is king and wind is queen.

[@peterworsley4699]

If the turbine blades were spinning well above your head why would that be a problem?

[@TimsDrones]

Thx. Enjoyed your work.

[@instantchow]

8:20 sailors call this heaving to/hove to, useful in blue water to keep the boat as stationary as possible by balancing the sail forces with the keel drag. Neat that you found it with a prop and wind turbine!

[@smartereveryday]

Beautiful video

[@DeLewrh]

Of course you're here, love your videos man

[@dragonfire2371]

How doesnt this comment have a thousand replys hahaha

[@Maungateitei]

Maybe because it was a scam that anybody sailed faster than the wind downwind.

[@reidgideon8337]

you make beautiful videos!

[@johncrock1489]

Excellent experiment. The older small racing catamarans used dagger boards just outside of each hull near midship. This gave a bite on the water without a full keel. The dagger boards were rounded on the leading edge so as not to foul on debris.

[@PeterRobertson79]

Glad you credited Rick Cavallaro. He made a post about this on the rcheli forums way back in the day which sparked much debate. That lead to him doing the treadmill demonstration and ultimately the Veritasium video. He went by the name Spork back then if I recall correctly.

[@PeterRobertson79]

I think he developed the TV overlay tracking for hockey-pucks. Not sure if he was the first. I do know that he built a boat out of wire and duct-tape just for fun.

[@kotori87gaming89]

I hope you continue with the traditional sailboat design. I'm especially interested in an autonomous sailboat that can automatically tack, wear, and perform all other normal sailing maneuvers to reach any desired destination.

[@rydenkaye9735]

damn we got an old timer over here. wearing is for square rigged boats gramps all the cool kids call it gybing now and have for decades

[@kotori87gaming89]

​@@rydenkaye9735​You kids get off my lawn! *shakes fist menacingly* Wow, I didn't think anybody would notice that. But yeah, I would love to at least partially automate my R/C USS Constitution.

[@LaurArdam]

In 1985, Commandant Cousteau created a boat called the Alcyone. This boat had the peculiarity of being powered by a tourbine housed in the mast. You can find all the information you need on the wikipedia page. It's an evolved version of what you're about to do. I don't know why the concept didn't catch on, as it was innovative for its time.

[@carpediemarts705]

I read the wiki and couldn't understand most of it

[@danieltroger1761]

Thank you for using metric units, makes it so much easier to understand than other US-based youtubers

[@III_IV]

I always wondered if this was possible. Great build!

[@paulmakesthings]

That's awesome. I really enjoyed this video. I wonder if trying a few different gear ratios between the sail and drive props would help? You could also utilise some components from a rc heli to have a nice efficient driveshaft and even variable pitch

[@whatsthematter8767]

Daniel, I think that's called a propellor 🤣, all in all though, cool video! I can't wait to get more updates on the Flik wing aswell!

[@matsisaksson7192]

Haha that disappointment curve🤣🤣 you are so skilled 👍👍👍❤

[@joefalcon870]

you have increadible skill and knowledge thanks for sharing and also for not adding some crap music to your great videos.

[@leotard2536]

I'd love to see you make a foiling monohull/catamaran, like the AC75/F50 racing yacht, respectively. You could make the ride height (foil control) automated using lidar, like the AC40's.

[@Avetho]

A great idea for making it work better is to use vertical axis turbines, there are already some cargo ships that have giant rotor sails on them

[@yakacm]

Yeah that's where I thought he was going.

[@arturama8581]

Like the catamaran of "The Mariner' (Kevin Costner) in 'Waterworld'.

[@boutrosboutrosboutrosboutros]

fantastic video. I love youtube how you guys work together. subbed

[@nickshortie]

got me laughing out loud after only three seconds in the video... lol! Well done!

[@lettuceguy8482]

Peter Worsley has done some really interesting stuff and not only with rotary sails. I have seen his videos multiple times and plan to try his idea of a self trimming wingsail on an old Sea Devil sail boat. I built a reverse flow double wing sail on my Sea Devil (I saw it on a video from tsstproa - who has also done some really interesting stuff) that got lots of attention from other people on the lake - that would sail in almost no wind, and go very close to the wind, but had some issues that I havent yet got worked out.

[@TariqKhan-77]

I have also seen his wingsail videos can only think I am missing something as cannot fathom why they have not been adopted in any capacity so far.

[@dfgaJK]

10:40 I wonder if the lack of left turn (vs right turn) authority is partially due to the rightward torque produced by the drag from the vertical drive shaft.

[@1212354a]

You’re right about the efficiency of wheels vs. a propeller; our Chevy truck had a 5.0 liter V8 and 5 gears. The 20’ Boat had the same engine, but stays in 1st gear the whole time!

[@Accatitippi]

This is very interesting! On the first design, I would try to invert the blades of the turbine and keep them downwind of the mast: this would eliminate the need of a weather vane and probably increase stability as well. The downside would be that the blades would be in the wind shade of the mast for part of their rotation, but I think it's a decent trade-off!

[@Emu0181]

I feel like a future boat project should be a RC rescue tugboat

[@smellycat249]

Wow. I guess I’m the only one with their head in the gutter with that opening shot.

[@cal8413]

Nope, I’m also a degenerate

[@ChoChan776]

I guess you could say it's a poontoon boat I'll see myself out

[@t1mmy13]

Nah I'm convinced that was on purpose LOL

[@fireandcopper]

Sailussy

[@CaveyMoth]

That is one sussy boat.

[@tuomassyrjaniemi]

Awesome! Love it! You maybe should increase efficiency by making some twist to wind propeller blades. Should have an optimal angle of attack from root to tip.

[@markdeschane4467]

Everything you are talking about has been done before. As a Sailor, sailing to weather is a part of the enjoyment of sailing. It looks as though, you are having fun, so carry on!

[@aarongunner1711]

This is an awesome idea. Also very related to the Veritasum video of sailing faster than the wind. But in reverse. Could you put a uni joint/cv on the wind turbine axle so you can change the direction of it vs the boat??

[@douglasthecorgi2568]

Had an interesting thought: What if, instead of a propeller, you used a parachute or kite that pulled a rope wound around a drive shaft? Kind of like an old-fashioned cuckoo clock uses weights, maybe it would be possible to use wind in the same way? You’d probably need to attach a balloon or something to keep the chute up, and gear the water prop to push more water for less rope unwound (or use a compound pulley system). If you found a way to close the chute, you might be able to set it up so it switches between two chutes - the high-drag open one reeling in the low-drag closed one, thereby making it almost perpetually running. On the other hand, this might be a better project to try out on a land vehicle with more efficient wheeled drive.

[@philtro99]

Wow that wrench at 4:10 really brought back some memories!

[@rockysmith43]

I live near Andrews Bay, saw this craft last year. Now I know what it was all about. Fun video.😊

[@eb8330]

Super weird thought: Is it possible to have a cutaway section of a tesla valve on the hull? That way it would in theory promote flow in a direction, and reduce the flow in opposite direction?

[@misamokuzelpizu]

0:02 Risky perspective

[@filip9192]

I thought about it too xD

[@olafschermann1592]

Awesome idea and execution

[@lauriveikkokahanpaa2747]

Bernhard Schmidt, the Estonian inventor of the Schmidt camera used in astronomy, also built a boat propelling itself straight in the wind. This was about 90 years ago.

[@integza]

This reminds me of the Blackbird car that uses the wind to go faster than the wind

[@Donuts_random_stuff]

Did you completely watch the video, that’s exactly what he said at the end 😂

[@jonmraptor3440]

Integza is gonna make this but the turbine turns a jet engine and somehow make it work, or use it as a pump for a liquid rocket. Of course with 3d printer parts and a pulse jet has got to be involved.

[@mastermalpass]

@@jonmraptor3440of course Integza would try and make a jet out of this concept! 😂

[@mastermalpass]

Ah, I just realised who OP is, I assumed someone knew you were planning something like that, now I’m wondering if it’s just a joke but also err… I mean, you’re considering it now, aren’t you? 😂

[@Suddsy11037]

Yup

[@Dr.Schlitz]

Same issue as covered by Veritasium video about land sail craft traveling faster than the wind.

[@VojkoPlevel]

For a sailboat, the center of rotation of the boat is the keel. Adding the keel would help the directional stability. If it could be controlled and moveable from the bow to the stern (and back), you could turn into the wind easily with the keel towards the bow, and away from the wind with the keel towards the stern. Of course, it is additional drag, though.

[@euanhaig4422]

In the 1980’s Glasgow University’s Naval Architecture Dept successfully built a small monohull capable of carrying at least one person, powered by a three-bladed air propeller driving a water propeller. It could head directly into wind.

[@mikefochtman7164]

Pitch of wind blades vs water propellor => gears! And yeah, single-screw boats often have a steering issue depending on the prop/ hull/ rudder interaction. Some old Chris Craft single prop boats could NOT back up to port. An old book on small-boat handling talks about being able to use this 'crabbing' to actually move the stern sideways in some docking maneuvers.

[@kentowakai1234]

I know on slower rotation speed like you get with human powered, a water prop that looks like an airplane prop is more efficient, with less drag. The boat props are in the 1000s of RPM. Larger vessels may be slower. Greg Willoughby is an engineer from Australia that specializes in fluid dynamics that helped me with mine. I now use a 14" with a 12 inch pitch for my boat. Hope this helps.

[@MidnightMaker]

I love this. I'm a professional sailor and Mechanical Engineer that lives just off of Green Lake in Seattle. You might want to experiment with your mast location as this is considered the Center of Effort (blades) vs Center of Lateral Resistance (hulls/keel). This affects how the boat can turn. Also, you might want to look into asymmetrical hulls. Hobie cats have used this to assist in tacking.

[@ardwych4881]

Mast, yes, but asymmetric [sic] hulls regarding tacking? They're more to do with reducing leeway, IME. Hydrodynamic lateral 'lift' - when one hull's more in the water than the other, as cats do. Tacking ease would be afforded by spring in the hulls - banana-bendiness - so that the bows and sterns would be more raised from the water, or less immersed, than the centres. ['..just off of Green lake'. Is this because those who speak American can't decide whether 'off' has two f's or one? ;-) )]

[@thomascharlton8545]

This was great. I'd sure like to see you optimize all the elements and peruse this further. Blade twist for one thing. Also wind prop to water prop size ratio. Bigger water rudder? Thanks! Good stuff.

[@undersky596]

Even if this is inefficient its really cool! Keep going!

[@CoteMoretz]

This video was really interesting, and Nice rainbow at 13:40

[@cheekarp2180]

Hello, I hope you read this, I remember about 20yrs ago it was proven that the paddling under water motion a ducks feet do is way more efficient that a propeller. But the rocking on boats made crews sick and a ridged structure break apart slowly so it was never used for shipping etc. But a slightly flexy boat with no crew would be fine

[@wiegraf9009]

That's so interesting!

[@Evanseys]

It's been done for years. I spotted one in NZ in the 80s, going into wind at a good pace. Yes, a catamaran too.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

I want to thank you for making this video.

[@martinlagrange8821]

I recall seeing film from the 1980's of a small, manned boat that had been equipped with a turbine sail, and power to the prop through a CV/Universal boat system. Variable pitch - on both air turbine and water prop - was the name of the game. The turbine could be pointed in any direction, allowing the boat to travel in any direction desired, as long as the wind was blowing....

[@MrAkifusion]

Excellent, congrats!

[@perequintana]

Great video. I suggest gaving two rudders, one at the end of each hull. They would be smaller and more efficient.

[@WhatsupwSully]

Fascinating, I LOVE SIENCE!

[@Yosser70]

Just a small point, that’ll probably make little difference but the grease is going to decrease efficiency, not increase it. It’s sticky and effectively, lightly glues parts together. A better option is a dry wax lubricant. It’s been widely tested in cycling circles and found to be much more efficient than grease.

[@Greenicegod]

Something you missed about sailboat dynamics: The sail is not the only force acting on the boat, unless you're going directly against or with the wind. The maximum speed a boat can get in a Run is the speed of the wind, and realistically the water drag reduces that speed. If the boat is going across the wind in some way, the normal force from the wind on the sail is counteracted by a normal froce from the keel pushing on the water. Adding up these two normal forces, you can see that the resultant force is forward unless the sail is directly in line with the keel. Basically, the boat gets squeezed between these two forces and shoots through the water like a bar of soap shooting out of your hand. The fastest speed a sailboat can go is somewhere between Beam-reach and Broad-reach, and not by a small margin (a super high efficiency sail-ice-skate can go 3 times the wind speed on the beam). That's why a sailboat can go upwind at all; if the wind simply pushed the sail normal to the sail's angle (like putting a sail on a barge), you would only be able to sail downwind at some angle. In some sense, the keel becomes a section of a propeller.

[@haydnwilde]

Love your thinking and effort. You are looking for a "rotary sail". How about profiling the wind prop as a "rotary sail". a deep cord of the blade next to hub to nothing at the tip. Blackbird is doing this with its prop design. I have no idea about the drag and ratios, just seat of the pants sailing. Try different sail blade camber profiles. Keep at it.