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PostPosted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:32 am 
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Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:24 pm
Posts: 780
Location: Houston, TX
I think what you are describing FE is is what I have heard refered to as shifting into 5th gear whole going upwind. A gear achievable but not normally maintained. Below is a link to a video that explains the concept better. Normally we have to work our way up to it, building momentum and being at the mercy of puffs of wind. The islands can essentially maintain thoses puffs during the lulls by peddling though them to stay in that "5th gear". I'll have to try your way of simply starting out in 5th gear. I admit, i do it the other way around and work up to 5th gear. Might just work your way in an island due to the drives..

https://youtu.be/AaURFw-txNs

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2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 29, 2017 9:41 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:17 pm
Posts: 18
Location: Gippsland Lakes, Australia
Power sailing is what I do with my Watersnake. Surprises a lot of bigger boats :o . What is happening in the motor is pushing the hull speed up to a point where the breeze is flowing more quickly over the foil shape, resulting in more lift. It gets me through the lulls in the wind quicker than just pedalling. I surmise what is happening is I am chasing the apparent wind angle in a way I can't do just with the sail.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 30, 2017 6:19 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Yea the main reason I like to power sail is our boats are very light, pretty much any wave I hit stops the boat, plus the sail has to provide enough propulsion to make up for drag, in low winds the drag exceeds the propulsive power of the sail, so basically all my propulsion is from my mirage drives 80% of the time, and the sail on a stock TI just sits their luffing and flapping in the wind, (not doin nothin).
In contrast with my hybrid twin motors running just above idle (very very quiet), the motors propel the boat up to 7-8mph before putting any sails up at all. I get 2-3 hrs runtime per tank of fuel, ( the Honda's have 1 liter tanks). Then when I put my sails up and start sailing to the best of my ability the sails provide additional propulsion and speed via apparent wind, of course the boat goes faster with more available natural wind, (up to a point of course). And small waves don't slow the boat down.
I get right around 60-80 mpg average pretty much everytime I go out so most times I go out the fuel cost is under a dollar for the day, (I can afford a buck). Of course if I want to push for way more speed the fuel economy goes out the window, but I seldom need to do that, (only when in danger). But I'm pretty satisfied with 8-10mph average speeds, above that the boat becomes quite a handful and is exhausting to operate.
I don't worry much about actual wind direction or wind speed, actually I don't even check tides anymore, none of those things matter much.
I have a bad back so I seldom go out if the winds are over 7mph, because the waves and chop rock the boat and that just kills my back, (yea I'm handicapped/disabled).
Utilizing tripower and apparent wind really works well in my humble opinion and gives me the ability to go out and enjoy sailing even though I'm handicapped. Without all my gadgetry my hobby would be basket weaving, (not sailing), lol.
Under doctors orders I had to sell my boat recently, but I'm hoping to be able to rest and heal my back a few months, and maybe get back into sailing, fingers crossed.
Fortunately all my mods are very simple and it will only take a few days to re-rig a new TI (our 4th), if I get one.
FE


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 01, 2017 9:32 am 
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Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:16 pm
Posts: 605
Location: Colorado
Quote:
I get right around 60-80 mpg average pretty much everytime I go out


Quote:
the motors propel the boat up to 7-8mph before putting any sails up at all


FE, your numbers are always way different than the reality I see. I have to add your mpg claim to the list of things from you that I for sure dont think have been embellished or exaggerated at all... Thanks for being accurate so we can use the data points.


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 11:34 am 
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Joined: Sat May 09, 2015 8:53 am
Posts: 717
Location: Paoli Pennsylvania - East Coast USA
TheChad wrote:
...what are the highest wind speeds that would be suggested to sail a TI in?

I sail an AI, and would think the wind speeds it tolerates are comparable to a TI.

My rule-of-thumb is that once the wind gets over 30 mph, it's time to think about going back to the beach.

This can be translated to the number of mast turns of reefing needed to minimize ama submarining - but that would be different by quite a bit between the 8-meter TI and the 6-meter AI sails pushing on the same amas.

IIRC, things get "Interesting" on my AI once I need two full mast turns of reefing.

And 30+ onshore winds make launching problematic without resorting to the Mirage Drive - so if you wind up beaching somewhere besides home and the winds are that strong, you had better have the Mirage Drive available or be prepared to wait it out.

Even in the mid-to-upper twenties, things get dicey when you capsize: the barn door effect from all that hull area, for one thing.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2018 3:47 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2017 1:14 am
Posts: 16
I just wanted thank everyone for contributing to this forum. I have a 2017 Ti on order and all this information is invaluable.

So much info to digest! I was thinking of starting a thread about what would everyones favourite "must do" mods for a new boat but its all in here somewhere.

I look forward to hearing about your new build FE. :wink:

Regards from a wet and windy Devon...


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