[landsailing] Re: Scale to measure forward thrust from the sail
- From: Robert Allyn <allyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: landsailing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:34:45 -0800
Nick,
Not sure I understand your logic. The wind is going to push the boat forward
right. The boat would be at an angle to the fan as if it was sailing. So we
would want the brick and scale at the back of the boat, tied onto the end of
the boat. Am I missing something?
- Tad
At 10:34 AM 1/23/2006, you wrote:
>A force scale mounted on the front of the boat (as the boat faces into the
>wind) should do just fine. Essentially, you'd be measuring how much the boat
>pulls on the force scale as a result of the wind pushing on the boat. You'd
>just want to make sure that whatever apparatus you use to hold the spring
>scale in place doesn't interfere with the wind too much. I'd say you could
>probably attach the upwind side of the scale to a red brick laid flat and the
>other end (via a string) to the front wheel of the boat.
>
>Nick Cabot
>Nathan Hale High School
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: landsailing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:landsailing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Robert Allyn
>Sent: Monday, January 23, 2006 10:15 AM
>To: landsailing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [landsailing] Scale to measure forward thrust from the sail
>
>
>Greetings List Members,
>
>Great to see everyone at the event. I have a problem without a solution at
>this point. Maybe you can help.
>
>I want to be able to put a boat in front of a fan and measure the forward
>force generated by the sail at different sail trim. I want the drivers to see
>how to get the most forward thrust from the sail at different points of sail.
>(i.e. move the boat into different angles to the fan)
>
>I am thinking we could just hook a fish scale type of device to the back of
>the boat and read the numbers as the sail trim is adjusted. Any ideas what
>device would be best for this task? I don't know what is available on the
>market, or what we could borrow.
>
>I think we need to do a test to get a feel for the maximum force we would
>expect so we know the range of values we need to work in. Ease of use is
>obviously important. As we have 5 fans and 5 teams right now, I thought each
>team could take a fan and measuring device and test their boats. As the sails
>would be different on each boat (if only slightly) it might give some insight
>to sail design as well. What if you use a mast with cardboard taped to it?
>Does it generate more force?
>
>Lots of ideas. Need to figure out how to measure the force first.
>Suggestions??
>
>- Tad Allyn
>(the "fan" guy)
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