Taming the Leeboard

 

A leeboard at monohull speeds doesn't make much spray, but at multihull speeds can throw up enough spray to get you wet if you're hiked out above and behind it.  While you want a blunt radiused leading edge below the waterline, this is not ideal at the water/air interface.  

So I've reshaped the leading edge at the waterline area to a sharp knife edge.

Sailing tests yesterday revealed a vast improvement with the board making no fuss at the leading edge.  You can still get splashed going into a steep chop where the water hits the upper part of the board, but the improvement in smoother conditions is well worth the modification. 

This will work with rudders too although the spray from it will normally stay aft of the crew.

The red line represents the basic NACA0010 foil shape commonly used on daggerboards and keels.  The black line shows the removal of material to produce a more "wave piercing" shape at the waterline.

Ghana Wa'apa

 

Christopher Collins has built and is sailing his Wa'apa in Ghana, West Africa.  The ama is inflatable and most of the spars are bamboo.

He is using a double lug shunting rig.  You can see more photos on his blog:  http://ghanawaapa.blogspot.com/

Another Amazing Episode of what it's all about

Chris Grill continues on down the Mexican coast:
http://grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/running/
If this doesn't give you sweaty palms, nothing will.

Rolling and Furling

I've refitted my Ulua trailer with rollers to take the Va'a Motu.  It passed the 65 mph test with no wobbles.

I had to build support brackets for each crossbeam to make it secure for rough roads.

With the weather still not that great for sailing, I was inspired by this article to build a roller furling setup for an old jib I had.  Cheap and works great. 
If I want still more power, I could always put on a bowsprit and a roller furling gennaker :-)