andylc wrote: ↑Tue May 28, 2019 9:22 pm
Seems strange that since you can go faster in lower winds on a foil board and obviously there’s massively lower drag - the logical conclusion would be that you should be able to reach a greater maximum speed.
No, not really, it makes sense.
The thing is, with a "speed" board, you can decrease the wetted area when more wind and speed, only riding on the very tail of the board, and using a micro fin.
Also, going on a broad reach, it is more about control than "performance", thus you can almost just wait for sufficient wind and go far downwind in this (not quite true, requires a lot of skill, but you get my point...)
With a hydrofoil when you go faster, you dont reduce the area exposed, thus you will have a limited top end.
So you need to go WAY smaller in wing size, apart from the mentioned fact that the mast is a huge drag you hardly can avoid
The paradox is, that the most relevant world speed record would be how many times faster than the wind speed one can ride, THAT is a challenge and real efficiency
On/in the water, nothing can beat a hydrofoil in this respect
Then, the opposite, namely PURE speed no matter the conditions, is what most, particularly non sailors, can relate to.
The speed in mph or km/h.
Maybe the efficiency of a hydrofoil, when possible to avoid cavitation, will break the world sailing speed record.
Or maybe not, as control and the way a normal board can reduce drag by reducing wetted surface, might be determining
Peter