Click for YF Listing Service Click for Westport Click for Cross Click for Furuno Click for JetForums

a ultimate MotorSailer idea, Dynarig motorsailer

Discussion in 'Yacht Designers Discussion' started by brian eiland, Mar 26, 2023.

  1. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    13,486
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Another kid not grown up yet. Still playing with boats.
    Happy Birthday,, Kid..
  2. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    Dear HTMO9,……..my curve ball pitch


    That is a REALLY BIG MAINSAIL. I have trouble imaging handling such a big sail, particularly short handed,...raising it, reefing it, storing it away, etc, etc


    It was for these reasons that I sought out an attempt to eliminate the tradition mainsail, and develop my aft-mast or mast-aft rig, which I eventually termed a ‘single-masted ketch’. A look thru this brief page of my old website is still very applicable,.. https://www.runningtideyachts.com/sail/


    For years I tried promoting this idea, and found many supporting documents and test touting its significant aerodynamic qualities. BUT I had one major item of resistance, the significant backstay loading. And I had suggested a faulty backstay item that I thought would solve the problem, but it turned out to be an error on my part. I believe I have now corrected that problem with a slight redesign which I will talk about later.


    There are thousands of attempts to explain the aerodynamic interactions of headsails with the mainsail. The fellow who really got it correct is Arvel Gentry. His many papers can be found here in a PDF form,… https://arvelgentry.jimdofree.com/articles/

    He also explains the correct interaction between multiple headsails. I followed his knowledge, particularly with respect to dumping velocities of overlapping headsails.


    An interesting wind tunnel test,...




    http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post1903468
    Wind tunnel and CFD investigation of unconventional aftmast rigs


    .....CONCLUSIONS
    In the present paper an unconventional rig has been investigated in comparison with a standard sloop rig by means of wind tunnel tests. The traditional sloop yacht rig used as a reference is a Comet 51’a Vallicelli Yacht Design & Co 51 feet IMS cruiser-racer. Several unconventional configurations have been tested, all characterised by an “A” shaped stern mast without mainsail in single-jib and double-jib configurations. Aerodynamic data available from experiments have been used to perform some performance prediction at full scale by means of a VPP code.

    Both experimental tests and VPP calculation show that the double jib
    configuration with overlap gives the best performance and also the same configuration without overlap gives better results in comparison with the standard sloop solution.

    Numerical investigation have been carried out using RANS simulation in order to better understand the aerodynamic differences resulting from the experimental tests. Simulation results put in evidence a slat effect in the overlapping jibs configuration leading to more attached flow on the aft jib allowing for an higher pressure drop on the sailplan.
    [​IMG]






    Here are several other postings I made to justify this rig. I think you will find them interesting,..


    https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/aftmast-rigs.623/page-80#post-953010


    https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/aftmast-rigs.623/page-80#post-953011
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2024
  3. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    Backstaying your new rig?

    How do you intend to add backstays to this rig of your new design?,...to counter that BIG genoa and avoid that BIG main? …..like Hemisphere ??


    Hemisphere is rigged like many other cruising cats with shrouds acting doubly as partial backstays, AND the sheeted-in-tight mainsail acting as a backstay. That’s a BIG main to keep sheeted in so tightly to try and keep a reasonably tight forestay in a good breeze, …..another item I was not so fond of on short-handed cruising cats.


    I once posted,...
    No wonder we see so much headstay sag. No wonder these boats can not carry a nice masthead genoa. Added to this equation, the shrouds are attached at a ‘shallow angle’ (half that of the forestay), so their aft-pulling capability is limited by both this shallow angle and the 3 point (tri-angled) configuration. Then at their point of attachment to hull sides (skins) there is likely no firm bulkhead backing, just skin. The shell of the hull is being asked to absorb the load, which it does in a ‘forgiving manner’ resulting in more forestay sag. It’s no wonder these vessels can’t carry a decent size headsail.


    So now back to my aft-mast concept. I am now suggesting the mast be canted forward by only 5-6 degrees rather than the original 10 degrees. It could even be stood up straight, but that begins to interfere with my beloved self-tacking inner staysail, and even spreader interference with upper portions of the genoa.


    I took that aft-jumper strut off the rig, and attached the mizzen sail to the mast itself. This attachment might be in a slot form, or maybe could be made a roller furling mizzen (remember I had been shooting for all 3 sails to be roller furling !). At any rate this style mizzen attachment defuses those folks that complained about the drag of the previous bare mast. I’ve retained the wishbone boom and loose -footed aspect of the mizzen,..better sail shape, lighter in weight, and easier on bashed heads?



    THE BACKSTAYS
    I’ve long been a fan of sailing any multihull boat right up to windward with the best monohulls. I use to get particular joy out of overtaking many of them to windward. Our little Firefly trimaran would surprise many a monohuller.


    Generally we quested for good headstay tension and good headsail shape. I think I have provided some proof of value of the twin headsail rig, and now we need good headstay tensions,..and that means good backstay tensions.


    My rig makes use of 4 backstays,...to divide up the loads in the stays themselves, and to divide up the loads to their attachment points on the hull. These 4 backstays might better be described as 2 continuous line stays,...they run from their attachments on the hull up thru a turning device on or near the mast, then back down to the hull on the opposite side,..a continuous line. The ‘turning devices’ might be some sort of stand-alone sheeve or a sheeve attached to mast. One primary point is that both legs of the backstay are in near equal load even while the masthead might be leaning to one side or the other. One set runs to the masthead to counter the genoa loads, while the other runs to the inner forestay point to counter the staysail loads.


    The beam of the boat might be a little extra to allow for mizzen sail to set properly between these backstays,.. even on a reaching point of sail.


    (pictures coming)
  4. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    I'm going to use my old model of the boat to show the rigging, but please remember I have not modified this model of the boat to reflect the new cant of the mast to 5--6 degrees. It still has the old 10 degree cant.

    DSCF9605.JPG

    DSCF9605.JPG DSCF0134.JPG
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2024
  5. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    DSCF0139.JPG

    Attached Files:

  6. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    I'm not sure what went wrong with my posting the images,...some were full size, others were NOT?

    I was trying to show how with a little bit of extra beam on the boat,... those backstays could be attached inboard of where I have them, while still providing plenty of room for the mizzen sail to swing out even on a broad reach. It is also possible that the mizzen sail could be hosted higher.

    The mizzen and the staysail can both be self-tacking, and both be made to roller furl. In fact all 3 sails can be roller furling, thus no hosting of BIG (and heavy sails).

    This rig adapted to Kajan's vessel design could be made to look real acceptable.
  7. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    I wrote this in jest back when I was 73,...I just turned 81, and not so sure I could do it now

    You know I can still imagine sailing a big 65-foot catamaran with this rig right off the mooring, and back to the mooring, without the engine, by myself, with so little effort that I might take it out having only a few spare hours to kill or just a daysail.

    And I would rig mine with tiller steering rather than a wheel and get a really good balanced helm. I wouldn’t have to uncover any sails, nor recover them when I returned to port. And I would be less concerned with reefing by myself if the wind were to really come up. If I were short-handed at sea, I would have many of the benefits of a ketch rig, without the necessity of slab reefing the main and mizzen sails of the traditional ketch rig.

    That about sums it up. I would like a 65 foot cat that I could take sailing by myself, and that might even be easier than a beach cat. Try hoisting a full batten mainsail on a 65 footer by yourself, or even a 40 footer. Most folks over 50 will have second thoughts, or will just unfurl the jib and forget about hoisting the MAINsail.

    I'm 73 now, and I could sail this 65 foot cat by myself with this aft mast rig. And with the balance and low power afforded by the smaller 'mainstaysail' I could sail this vessel right off the mooring or maybe right off a side-to-dock slip.


    Here's a challenge (whoever)..... Le Mans start. I'll be out sailing before you get the covers off your mainsail, and when we return for the day, I'll be at the bar sipping on a Margarita watching you put away your vessel for the day.

    HA,....Ha
  8. Kajan

    Kajan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2009
    Messages:
    331
    Location:
    Stockholm
    Mr Eiland,

    I find your sail rigging very fascinating. I should give it a try and change the sloop concept. If nothing else, it is a fun design exercise and food for thought.
    leeky likes this.
  9. BlueNomad

    BlueNomad Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2022
    Messages:
    104
    Location:
    At Sea
    Structurally, that rig actually has quite a bit going for it.
    Aerodynamically, a few compromises have been made for sail handling but likely not too shabby.
    Aesthetically, well that's anyone's guess :)
  10. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    Rather surprisingly I just recently happened to have received a private message from a gentleman asking about helping him understand a mast aft monohull he was (had) considered buying. He sent along 2 pictures (attached).

    I vaguely recall hearing of this vessel a few years ago, but seeing that it appeared to be Finnish owned, I could never establish a conversation with the owners.

    In looking at the design I would guess that they considered some of the results of that wind tunnel testing I mentioned above, (posting #22 above)

    2ea1fa6b130738ef-large, posting size.jpg
    Seilin matka 007, posting size.jpg
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2024
  11. BlueNomad

    BlueNomad Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2022
    Messages:
    104
    Location:
    At Sea
    Were there any questions in particular?
  12. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,687
    Location:
    Germany
    Dear Brian,

    Honestly, I am not a big friend of catamarans. As a true hearted sailor, I always loved sportive sailing but my present wife is very afraid of any inclined position on a boat. Therefore I started looking at a 165 ft Sailing Catamaran. The Dyna Rig was very appealing to us due to complete lack of line handling and no standing rigging and it gives true pushbutton sailing with rather small crew.

    But after a long and very expensive learning process, we found out, that a Cat and a multi mast Dyna Rigg of this size do not go along very good. The first problem we encountered, where the mast foundations. Due to the relatively small distance between upper and the lower bearings of the masts on the connecting deck between the two hulls, there are very high loads on the mast foundations.

    The second problem is the principle of a Catamaran versus a monohull. If the load on the masts of a monohull Dyna Rig gets to high, the boat starts to heel and therefore gives in. But a 50 meter long and more than 20 meter wide Cat will not heel at all. It stays upright until the masts break. I know, the masts can be turned and the sails can be reefed but on high gusts, any hydraulic system would not be fast enough to react with turning the mast or rolling in the sails. That's why we changed towards a sloop rigg with standing and running rigging. The problem here were the aft stay(s). The naval architect came up with running aft stays, which means, the downwind aft stay will be pulled down like on a Dutch Lemsteraak. On a 15 meter Lemsteraak that might be manageable but on that above shown 50 meter Sloop, it looked dangerous to me. There is a lot of Carbon fiber comming down during an accidently encountered patent jibe.

    For the time being, the project is on halt and we are looking for something new and I still do not like Catamarans. For its beam, for its relativly small living space below deck for the size of the boat and most of all for its corksrew type movements in the sea! As I am 70 years old now, I have not very much time and physical fitness left for sportive sailing. It must be something with easy handling and good behavior. For the next years I have my cruiser-racer sloop and my wife will not sail with me in the future anyhow.

    HTMO9
  13. Kajan

    Kajan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2009
    Messages:
    331
    Location:
    Stockholm
    I did some quick doodles of the rigging based on your scale model. Of course the measurements need to be adjusted, this is just to get an idea of the rigging concept on a large catamaran design.
    The rigging concept is growing on me.

    Attached Files:

    • Mr E.jpg
      Mr E.jpg
      File size:
      109.6 KB
      Views:
      280
    brian eiland likes this.
  14. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,687
    Location:
    Germany
    I have never sailed such a rigg but I estimate it would be very weather helm with high rudder pressure. Second, there will be a lot of weight aloft, if one translates the pictures of this Finnish sailboat to a 50 meter boat in length.

    As far as Aesthetics are concerned, well, beautiness is in the eye of the beholder :).

    With my very traditional taste, I could never own a boat with such a rigg.

    HTMO9
  15. BlueNomad

    BlueNomad Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2022
    Messages:
    104
    Location:
    At Sea
    Please note that catamarans of this type, i.e. non-racing, do not utilise running backstays. The mast is held up by a 3-stay system at approx 120° to each other: a forestay and swept back 'shrouds'. Each of the shrouds/backstays are led aft and outboard, obviating the need for spreaders. The mast is held in column by intermediates/diamond stays.

    This has obvious implications for running downwind but this is not a typical point of sail for multihulls as it is particularly slow with uncomfortable (squirrelly) motions. Even broad reaching often causes the main to chafe and coated or sheathed backstays are not uncommon. Setting a large spinnaker-type sail from the windward bow is a multihull's advantage here and can allow the main to be sheeted in further than would otherwise be ideal, or dropped altogether. As you pointed out, an all-standing gybe may well prove catastrophic so this is typical method to reduce this risk.
  16. HTMO9

    HTMO9 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2009
    Messages:
    1,687
    Location:
    Germany
    I am a true hearted sailor my whole life. I almost grew up on my fathers 21 meter wooden Abeking & Rasmussen Yawl on the North Sea and in the western Baltic. Additionally, I had my own small wooden H-boat, which I sailed on the Binnenalster (a Lake in downtown Hamburg). After some Hallberg-Rassy production boats and one larger Jongert Ketch (motorsailor), I presently own a top rigged Dutch built 165 ft Cruiser Racer Sloop with 3 forestays and a permanent Crew of 9/10. The very large carbon mast is supported by carbon standing rigging with additional running aft stays on the cutter stay. The two permanent furling forestays for the Genoa and the Code Zero are supported by the standing aft stay. The cutter stay can be taken towards the mast and a jib can be utilized as a self tacking foresail. During races, there are no guests but up to 12 additional crewmembers on board. This was and still is my dream boat. With its lifting keel and its twin rudders, we can enter pretty shallow harbours. With the technical facilities and its fuel capacity it can host 10 crew and 12 guest for autonomous operation of 3 weeks or more.

    My personal experience with catamarans are based only on several trips in the northwestern Med on a Lagoon 77 and on a larger Gunboat. On the Gunboat I got seasick for the first time in my life. As a former military Jetpilot (F-104 Starfighter and F-4 Phantom) and til today a pretty good acrobatic pilot, this was a very embarrassing experience for me. With my late wife, I would have never thought about purchasing a Cat but my present wife is afraid of heeling boats. That is the only reason, I started looking for a large catamaran.

    After the failure of my idea of a cat with a twin mast Dyna Rigg, the naval architect came up with this top rigged sloop design. Because of its aerodynamical optimized square top fully buttoned mainsail with a park avenue boom, he came up with running backstays. As I said before, that rigg looked dangerous to me. But I am not a catamaran specialist. As I am meanwhile 70 years old, I hope to have a few more years of being capable of blue water sailing, before my age will send me to the aft deck of my larger power boat.

    Blue Nomad, I would be more than happy to start a nice but knowledge based discussion here on YF with You about a perfect rigg for a larger Catamaran. I have wasted already a lot of money on the R&D of this subject.

    HTMO9
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2024
  17. BlueNomad

    BlueNomad Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2022
    Messages:
    104
    Location:
    At Sea
    This sounds delightful. I too am an aficionado of traditional vessels, albeit raised on the other side of the Channel. Dutch barges were a common sight when I was younger, moored along the quayside no matter the state of the tide, replete with crews of salty sailors, and my mother even owned and lived aboard a tjalk for a while. Interestingly, the term 'dutch-built' has morphed from rather unflattering a few centuries ago to quite an accolade today, at least imho.
  18. BlueNomad

    BlueNomad Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2022
    Messages:
    104
    Location:
    At Sea
    Nothing would please me more but I fear it would quickly degenerate into a hand-waving, yacht club bar type discussion where each party argues for their preferences based upon one's own experience and (mis)understanding of the physics.

    Having said that, we've done quite well to make it through two pages in a respectful and somewhat informative manner, again imho ;)
  19. brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2004
    Messages:
    2,981
    Location:
    St Augustine, Fl and Thailand
    Nice looking rendition Kajan!

    PS: It even looks fast, just sitting still :D
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2024
  20. Kajan

    Kajan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 2009
    Messages:
    331
    Location:
    Stockholm
    Thank you very much, Mr Eiland!

    I have since checked your links and there is of course a lot that needs to be adjusted in order to better illustrate the aft-mast concept.