Putting a link to this post in the sailing section when im done because i think this is relevant to the future of sailing as well as the future of kiting.
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I've been seeing a lot of development recently in the 'Kiteboat' aka 'Kitefoilers'. These boats look awesome but i was wondering what everyone else is thinking about them? Are they really all they are cracked up to be?
Are there any major flaws in using kites or foils that could be crucial in making these boats work extremely well?
I know that at high speeds foils tend to cavitate badly but look at something like the Hydroptere', it does 50+knts on foils no problems.
Im also curious as to what these boat's potential could be after having read a book (yes, some teenagers still read books ), that described 'clipper ships' that were huge, high speed carbon fibre vessels that used high altitude kites to make use of high altitude winds to go really fast around the world transporting cargo (the story isn't important, just the boat ).


Kitefoiler on San Francisco bay.


Kite scooter prototype.


'Kitetender' - Monohull kiteboat.

It's starting to happen - these guys put giant kites on commercial ships - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySails

It's still early days, and these aren't the only outfit doing it.

Note that container ships typically only go at up to 25 knots - speed isn't always the name of the game.

There are also people looking at using kites to generate power, as an alternative to wind turbines. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KiteGen

Check out this too - a land yacht that goes downwind faster than the wind! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbird_(land_yacht)

We live in interesting times!

I have a mosquito hull (cat) that I am wanting to do this with.

Need a crew to help me out...

Back in the days to teather the kite to the boat would have been a big no no... Today with depower and quick release. Might not be too bad?

Was thinking of a sling round the mast mount?

On a cat, what will the tipping force be? Will I need a windward mount for the kite? Do I run with dagger boards?

Would have happened already if I had not put my knee through the deck. Haha

Any other suggestions?

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Intheozone said...
I have a mosquito hull (cat) that I am wanting to do this with.

Need a crew to help me out...

Back in the days to teather the kite to the boat would have been a big no no... Today with depower and quick release. Might not be too bad?

Was thinking of a sling round the mast mount?

On a cat, what will the tipping force be? Will I need a windward mount for the kite? Do I run with dagger boards?

Would have happened already if I had not put my knee through the deck. Haha

Any other suggestions?

Jon from our Qld store has plenty of room to store a cat, and has actually rigged one of these Wingcommander kiteboat systems up to a hobie 16', looks like heaps of fun.
We sell the complete system, all it needs is a kite and a cat hull.
http://www.kitepower.com.au/kite-boat-systems-wingcommander-xf.html

That cat in san fran, looked like so much fun. Will be interesting to see kite sailing progres.

We are looking at selling the rig we have as we don't use it enough, awesome fun though.

The trailer has rego and the cat has been modified slightly for this purpose. We will be putting it up for $1200, all you need is a Kite and some mates!

For load carrying or multiple person transporting the innovation is understandable. But the Kite Scooter? Really? A waste of human endeavour surely! It's the kitesurfing equivalent of the Goatboat (wave ski). People want to sit on their arses in a mobility compromised way instead of actually kitesurfing becaaaaauuuuse....? Well, unless one is a paraplegic already in which case, again, perfectly understandable and indeed laudable if designed and marketed for that specific reason. But frankly, the mercifully mobile should not tempt fate by giving up the use of ones legs so readily.