Kite For Sail

Watch our new videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/powersail1?feature=mhum2007 Hawaii news report, This video discloses testing of The Improved Self Stabilizing Traction Kite Device in waters around the island of Maui, Hawaii.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Hawaii
• kite ship
• tug
• and
• barge

[kiteforsail]

Kite For Sail is history. View our new videos at highwindhawaii

[andrewgrazier]

i doubt it would go thaat great to windward hahahaha oh wells!

im supprised how well it gets the boat going thoguh, sailed on them a fair bit and sure sits a lot better with the kite.

[kiteforsail]

If you launch a large kite the hull will easily out perform the conventional setup on all courses off the wind and to windward.

[djangobelgo]

Yea, SkySails just made a trip from Europe to Venezuela, with its computer steered kite attached to a cargo-ship.

[Caleb6543]

I think Kevin Kostner used one in the movie "Waterworld."

[conrman]

Don't anyone else try this, they do not want competition in the development.....they are working hard to cash in....HAHA

Its an interesting idea....I already do this with my kayak. Steer with feet to operate rudder.....small kites work better

[leandroter7]

no upwind, only downwind! sucks! Doenst work

[thirteenfingers]

@ter450 That said - the idea of using a kite as an auxiliary sail mounted to a suitable hard point on a standard sailplan boat is a very appealing idea and one I've thought about for a long time.

Downwind, rig it from the bow, forward of the spinnaker/asymmetric and catch even more breeze.

In light airs it could be flown from different points to increase boat speed.

It's got a lot of potential (I even like the idea of huge kites on commercial ships) but it's no replacement.

[thirteenfingers]

@ter450 There are more issues than traditional and forward looking though.

In heavy weather windage can be a big issue. The kite turret's windage would be massive.

Junk, fore and aft and square rigs all allow relatively simple reduction of sail. Short of pulling the kite in and rigging a smaller one I see no easy way to reef or reduce sail in this plan.

The K/M/49 video wasn't a test of sail plan but of craft. Put a kite-49er and a sail-49er in a H2H and things would look different.

[ter450]

As a moderately experienced sailor, I see a promising future to kite sails on sailboats. The traditional, mired in the past, sailors will be 'nay' sayers, but they are wrong. Watch the "Kite vs Moth vs 49er" video, and you will see the kite sail smoke the mono, on all points of weather.

[dogassedugly]

Okay, now turn around and head against the wind...