Big French Tri Cookin' . . .shorthanded!

[Kim Whitmyre]

Orma 60 (http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/michel%20desjoyeaux/video/xsd1b_mich-a-bloc)

[Figment]

Sometimes I really miss my SuperCat.

[rbgarr]

Wow! That's sailing at a whole different order of magnitude, isn't it?! Those French have all the fun!

I can see why they have to wear goggles sometimes, and the strain on that curved leeward daggerboard through the ama must be ferocious.

Love the music.

[JimConlin]

An amazing boat. How light must it be? When the main hull's lifted, all the boat's weight is on the leeward float (and foil) and, despite being quite skinny, the float isn't close to being buried. Call me a wimp, but i get very uneasy when I see a tri lift its main hull and be well past the top of its stability curve, while the intrepid pilot is dancing about on the foredeck.

What was Geant's time across the Atlantic singlehanded to windward a couple of years ago? A bit under 9 days?

At some point along the way, Geant got some plexi bubbles to shelter the steering stations. Looked like a good idea. I can't tell from the video whether they're present.

[Bill R]

Damn.

[Kim Whitmyre]

Geant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8vd9p8fDU)

Moving thru some decent swells here!

[outofthenorm]

Freakin un-bloody-believable engineering. The stark starin' strength of that thing is staggering. Float like a butterfly, sting like a T-Rex in heat and never drop below what? 25? 30 Knots? What's the measured speed of this rocket ship?

[Wild Wassa]

"... want to be a better man," ... I wonder if Ellen MacArthur knows that song ... and reefing is for rookies.

Warren.

[Woxbox]

Dick Newick noted once that if you carved one of his boats out of a solid block of styrofoam, it would weigh more than the same boat made to plan. And boats like Geant are built even lighter still. It's occurred to me watching that and similar videos that a sailplane probably weighs no less than these boats in relation to its size. It's incredible how such big boats can pretty much skip across the surface.
Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZDS3miKQCc
Looks like a blast, but what does it take to keep that up for several days at a time???

[rbgarr]

Geant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8vd9p8fDU)

Moving thru some decent swells here!

Even in slow motion she's moving OUT!

[JimConlin]

Dick Newick noted once that if you carved one of his boats out of a solid block of styrofoam, it would weigh more than the same boat made to plan. ...
If just done that calculation for my Newick tri. If styrofoam weighs about 3 lbs/ft^3, He's right.

[Lucky Luke]

... while the intrepid pilot is dancing about on the foredeck.


you call that a froreDECK????
....hardly a plank on edge...and it s dancing:eek: !!!

When I think that, in the days I was racing (mind it: class 1 RORC, no baby!) we were screaming when we were doing.....twelve knots:rolleyes: !!!!!!!

[Lucky Luke]

Those French have all the fun!


YEP!:p ;) :) :p ;) :D :) :cool: :D

Check this also, mates!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4BCSKTbB98&mode=related&search=

Yuh said fun?

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Damn talk about giving a guy an inferiority complex :rolleyes:

Not only am I humbled by their sailing prowess WOW :eek:
But as a budding video auteur I'm severely lacking. Most notably a chase helicopter ;)

I'm not worthy
I'm not worthy
I'm not worthy

[Boatmik]

= but i get very uneasy when I see a tri lift its main hull and be well past the top of its stability curve, while the intrepid pilot is dancing about on the foredeck.=
I get the emotional statement Jim!

But just to bring the science in a little bit

Multihulls sail on the nature of their stability curve. It is a cosine relationship.

So if the boat is heeling at 0 degrees its stability is 100%

If it is heeling at 10 degrees it is 98%

20 degrees - 93% - at this point the crew would be well and truly considering throwing the main traveller and steering downwind to align the forces more with the direction of travel.

30 degrees - 86% of stability - all above actions done - crew in full panic mode - multihull sailors would never allow the boat to get close to this angle.

So in the film the max heel might be getting up to 20 degrees - and a lot of that is to show off for the camera. Generally maximum efficiency is when the main hull is just kissing the water. Note how the boat looks when it gets a gust and is really cooking - the second shot at the beginning of the clip - taken from the starboard side - flat and level, bows raised and just ...

Then they start playing with it to fly hulls for the camera - the boats have a huge public following - particularly in France and the sailors ham it up to impress the public. All the hull flying shennanigans is for the camera and the public - fastest is at lower angles of heel.

If you watch really carefully you can see the mainsail traveller and winches being worked almost continiously to keep the boat level and in the groove.

Shows the levels of concentration required for this sort of sailing - that's how these boats survive - they give plenty of warning - and the crew has to be there to respond.

Dick Newick noted once that if you carved one of his boats out of a solid block of styrofoam, it would weigh more than the same boat made to plan. .

Almost no-one can build Dick's boats down to the weights he specifies! But even a bit overweight they are still wonderfully light. This is generally true of other multi designers too - or at least the good ones - performance is always about pulling weight out at every stage - so they work right to the weight limits of the materials - with fabulous reserves of strength as can be seen in the clip - the loads are unbelievable.

Can you IMAGINE what the sound is like aboard or down below?

Michael Storer

MIK



Michael Storer

[Sea Frog]

At the lower order of magnitude Géant's the supermarket I buy toothpaste and eggs at...now I know what they do with my cash...could be worse...now they surely have all the fun...

[JimConlin]

<SNIP>
Almost no-one can build Dick's boats down to the weights he specifies! ...
Michael Storer
The first one was a great challenge indeed.
We'll see how i do with the second one.

[Sea Frog]

Not edited to add...Wasn't even aware my damned grocer raced sailboats...Should work better with toothpicks...Would bring all the pompous sponsoring back to human scale...Buy a thousand we'll build one...E-g an Atkin toothpick...Watch her race to victory...Then we'll mill her back into toothpicks...For you to buy back...Sit back and think a second before you use the little stick...Just think of what it once was...After you've had chowder clam on the menu...Oh well...

[brian.cunningham]

Truely F1 of the ocean racers. Great stuff. I'm glad I had the opportunity to check them out in Boston at the end of the Transat race. http://www.thetransat.com/
http://www.thetransat.com/dbimages/600x400/boston_finish_2680_bs.jpg
The amount of detail and enginneering in them is something else. Check out that mast cord! :eek:
I took a lot of notes for my own little trimaran.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid221/pe800333476e9955adf5c5b60652cf9af/eb7a74f2.jpg

[brian.cunningham]

Kim,
Thanks for the post. Looking at those boats again, I was able to figure out how to change my cockpit around.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid221/peb3f94813bd6215d4438048cfe3195be/eb637e3f.jpg