New Age Trawler/Motorsailer; Kite assisted PowerYacht

DynaRig Vessel(s)

Dear HTM09,
I believe if you visit this subject thread (extensive), you will find a LOT of discussions concerning the DynaRig,....and quite a bit of participation by myself:
http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/perini-navi-yacht/2487-perini-navi-maltese-falcon%3B-sailing-yacht.html

I was, and still am, fascinated by this development project that Tom Perkins undertook in a a very bold manner.

BTW since you seem to be quite interested in this rig technology, here is another discussion thread with lots of pics and subjects (some duplications, but some new)
Maltese Falcon

Cheers, Brian

K2 Kitefoiler

K2 hits a top speed of 36.3 knots off Alameda Point in San Francisco Bay. November 20, 2012
Category Archives: videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0UpChmLR20

Advantages of kite propulsion
Advantages

BIG Kite flying in Very Little Wind

50m kite
Huge 50 mt. Kite - YouTube

next 100m, 200m kites

I was looking for my quite extensive subject thread I made on this site, but could find no reference to it now. It did concern itself with kite propulsion, AND it did reference a big 200 foot trimaran motoryacht "White Rabbit" that a very bold yachtsman had built for himself in Asia.

Just the other day I was looking back thru issues of my BI magazine and discovered a VERY interesting article on a new 276 foot "White Rabbit" tri-hull motor yacht.
Has anyone seen the latest article on the 276 ft tri-hull motoryacht "White Rabbit" in Boats International mar 2019,....a real eye opener in terms of sea keeping and efficiency.

This is the same BOLD owner that had the first White Rabbit built. Perhaps I will have the extract a few passages to this article, as it also addresses the MYOPTIC view a great number of non-believers have adopted from early on.

When I posted my original subject thread I wasn particular drawn to another tri-hull motoryacht by Humpphreys,...

Design Humphreys: (note:MY FAVORITE)
This 40m Motoryacht represents a new development in yachting, merging the benefits of a low resistance, fuel-efficient hull form with an unusual propulsive device - a fully automated, self-tending kite.
PFD Concept

I see her launching was covered here,
https://www.yachtforums.com/threads/news-84m-white-rabbit-launched-by-echo-yachts.30518/#post-264275

I'll have to look for details about her efficiencies

I have written an email to the author of that BI article asking his permission to utilize some of his quotes from his article. The opening sentence in his article really caught my attention,...

I had a feeling this was going to be interesting

looks like someone has finally come forward to do such a project,.....

This is about serious money dreams. For a German entrepreneur, that means commissioning a futuristic yacht with a unique approach to efficiency – a gargantuan kite that helps pull it along. Ice Kite, which is still in the design phase, was conceived collaboratively by Red Yacht Design, Dijkstra Naval Architects in collaboration. Ice Kite is 210 x 35.5 foot monohull that displaces 450 tons is powered by two 1000 hp engines and carries a 1700 square foot kite rig. Ah what! A 1700 square foot kite rig that soars 600 feet in the air (think kitesurfing, but a lot bigger, fancier, and more expensive) to improve its fuel efficiency. Ice Kites maximum speed is approximately 17 knots.

Ice Kite hull is designed to be efficient over the entire speed range and not only in a restricted speed interval around the maximum speed. This is accomplished by waterline entries, a high slenderness ratio and low wetted surface area due to a round hull shape. Other significant features include increased comfort on-board with better sea keeping and wave reduction. A well proportioned daggerboard is applied to enable the yacht to make full use of the Kite propulsion system at closer wind angles. Ice Kite has an aluminium hull with a carbon fibre superstructure and light weight strong glass panels as windows etc.

The buyer is also commissioning an 86 foot support vessel that will sail with Ice Kite, called ICE Ghost which can carry an Icon A5 airplane, a U Boatworx Superyacht Sub 3, a 12 metre custom-made performance RIB with a top-end speed of 60 knots, also designed by Red Yacht Design, and a pair of Seadoo jet skis on her main deck. There is a further garage space for holding diving equipment, SeaBobs, and an on-site maintenance area. The main deck of ICE Ghost can alternatively be used as a party space and two twin cabins below deck can host guests or staff. With a steel hull and carbon fibre exterior, ICE Ghost can reach a top speed of 16 knots.

The jpegs are of the initial design(s) and gives a glimpse into future technology that may be applicable to multis.




more images HERE
Ice Kite | Red Yacht Design https://redyachtdesign.com/project/kite/

Austrian boat-maker Silent Yachts has rolled out its latest solar electric catamarans, showing off a slightly longer vessel with a newly designed hull that allows greater performance across the water. Helping things along are a dozen more solar panels than the previous model, and an innovative kite wing for extra propulsion.

https://newatlas.com/marine/silent-60-yachts-kite-wing-solar-electric-catamaran/

https://www.silent-yachts.com/

Speed Sailing Record under Kite power
( two new radical contenders)

https://newatlas.com/marine/sp80-syroco-speed-sailing-record/

Looks like this interest in kite powered ships is coming up again,..

kite powered ships - Google Search https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=kite+powered+ships

Giant kites could pull ships across the ocean – and slash their carbon emissions | CNN https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/travel/airseas-giant-kites-ships-slash-carbon-emissions-scn-climate-spc/index.html

I was reading back thru this subject thread, and this old posting popped out at me. makes me wonder what has happened to this kite-powered subject more recently??

brian eiland said: ↑
Get Home Power (emergency power)

In a recent discussion on Passagemaking Under Power, the subject of "Get Home Power" came up



The response was interesting:

We had looked at using a traction kite several years back on Swan Song. I had several emails, calls and proposals from a couple of companies interested in the project but when push came to shove nothing developed that could be purchased then.

There have been many kite advances in the past few years and I think that a kite is a very viable aux power system for a passagemaker. Both as a "get home" and fuel saver on long passages. Significant power can be developed with a traction ( as opposed to a sport kite) kite in the off wind passages that most of us favor. I for one really don't like slogging into head seas/winds for days on end even tho our recent Mexico-Hawaii passage had two full days of this. Beam and aft wind/seas are much preferable. Most passagemaking, as opposed to delivery passage planning, should focus on making major runs with the wind/sea aft of beam. This blends into the strength of the kite.

Kites can offer power from 110 degrees off the wind. This translates into a usable arc of ~140 degrees. All but 500 miles of our recent 2700 km passage, for example, would fit in this wind angle.

A kite with a nominal pull of 20-25 HP would have given us a ~ 4 kt speed under kite alone or decreased our fuel consumption by about half. So we'd have a "range extender" and Swan Song would have an 8000 km range vs. the 4000 miles we have based on the MX-HI trip. A significant advantage, IMHO.

How big a kite to do generate this pull? That is very dependant on the design. Spinnaker type kites are large but inexpensive and have several disadvantages mostly becoming a drogue :-( Rigid wing kites are much easier to fly, can be water launched and recovered from the water easily. They are controlled from a single control point with two or three lines. There are designs range from self inflating (not good for us). to ones with battens to those that are inflated with pressure for shape (best for us, I think). All of the rigid wings develop more power than the early spinnaker designs for a given size. Size and design is important in launching from a deck as we don't want to intentionally launch from the water nor have an unruly web of fabric/lines looking for a place to self destruct.

Launching from a foredeck pylon, aka a small mast, could be easy and once launched the kite flies from just above deck level to what ever altitude you desire. The higher it is the more wind there is thereby the more available power. Parked over head they develop no power. As you pull the control lines they move forward of the boat and generate incredible power. Easing the trim and they depower instantly. Using the trim to move them from side to side increase the average power even more.

Sitting a kite surfer of the foredeck in a chair strapped down to the deck with a seatbelt should be a good seat of the pants test as how one of these work and could be adapted to a passagemaker.

This certainly would be far cheaper than a wing engine, I couldn't see more than $15K for the whole system, and it would not have the issues of space and additional fuel consumption of twins.

I suspect we'll see someone doing this in the not to distant future...perhaps Patrick and his avid kite boarder friend can try it out and send us a picture with some data. Pulling around a Willard 40 in La Paz would be in the least a good tourist attraction and perhaps even a fun YouTube video ;-)