ExactScience wrote:
Littlewing, you seem to have missed the spirit of the original question. You are right that when the boat begins to recover the angles between wind, mast, sail, water, etc change, and so too do the forces involved. However, the principles responsible for creating these forces do not change, so we are still able to examine them.
The original question came up as a result of a single sailor struggling to right a capsize on their own. In the absence of a water bag, any additional force that would assist the recovery is useful.
hrtsailor, good work! I don't have the technical know-how to independently corroborate your calculations, but it all sounds impressive! Do you think those 72 pounds of force would help you flip the boat back over, or wold it just cause drift? I am inclined to think that some, but not all, of that force would help you flip the boat, as the bottom HULL experiences more fluid friction due to its position int he water, and could act as a sort of fulcrum of a lever (a pivot point).
Anton, I was thinking that the airflow would be turbulent as well, or at least would not cause the sail to assume an airfoil shape that would produce lift. I am just not sure though.
No I didn't, as someone else has stated, go flip your boat in a blow, then come back to the forum, the rest is psychobabble to me.