Complexity in simple terms
Sails perform by bending the power of the wind to push a sailing vessel forward. Even the most efficient of these sails are largely two-dimensional shapes and have to be supported by masts and rigging which serve no other purpose than to significantly reduce performance. A wing requires no supporting external structure because its skin is effectively an exoskeleton and is three dimensional, making it inherently superbly efficient. CFD analysis has shown that on many angles of sail a wing is twice as efficient as the most high-tech racing sails and many times more efficient than sails on most vessels. It also shows that the rig on a normal sail boat creates ten times more drag than a wing. Think in terms of the two forces generated on a vessel by sails; a side thrust force which tries to push the vessel over equals wasted energy, and a forward thrust force which is the power used to push a vessel forward. Aquaforce’s wing shape generates little and at some wind angles, no side force thus the result is maximum wind power efficiency.
The biggest paradigm
It has been instilled in sailors' DNA for thousands of years that in big winds sails must be reduced or removed entirely. And this is still the case. However, as over 300,000 airplanes and a similar number of wind turbines have shown, this does not apply to wings. So, what happens when there is too much wind for a wingsail? The wing simply feathers. The wing and flaps automatically respond to wind strength and direction to deliver just as much power as the vessel needs without any human involvement. If there is just too much wind the wing will stabilise the vessel by counteracting roll. In some circumstances the wing can even be lowered, again increasing stability.
Cottee 56
Aquaforce has purchased a Cottee 56 hull and deck from the world renowned solo sailor Kay Cottee. The Cottee 56 is destined to become the Aquaforce flagship.
Kayaking
As stated elsewhere in this website, there are two forces acting on sails. A side thrust force and a forward thrust force. Because wings remove almost all side force, kayaking with a wing will become not just more fun but also improve safety. A couple of kilos of wingsail weight and a kayak will be able to sail to windward, a feat not possible with current kayak sails. Gone are the days of pulling up a bit of cloth to blow you down wind. Now you will be able to actually sail a kayak on almost any wind angle without worrying about the vessel rolling over. Aquaforce is currently testing various wing shapes on kayaks with extremely positive results.