On an earlier thread, there was some discussion about building a foiling Sunfish that would be similar to a Moth. I thing it's a great idea, but I have a question: How big a foil would be required to lift a Sunfish (130lbs) and it's occupant (figure 200lbs... so 330lbs total) at speeds that a Sunfish could normally reach (maybe 8 knots?) ? Once on foil you'd go faster, but wouldn't you have to first GET up onto the foils? I'm just asking.....
That's an intersting video. thanks for posting it. do you have a guestimate of how fast he's going?
Yes I agree that the conditions aren't extreme, maybe 8-10 knt winds or so. I noticed in the vid that the boat has a moth-style trim control arm next to the daggerboard. Do you have (or know of) a picture of the linkage? Does it control the pitch of the main foil, or the rudder trim tab? In my mind, building it is not the problem. The trick is to design it and figure out how to control the pitch fore and aft...... once that's done, building it would be quite straightforward.
You can learn a lot from the underside pic. I notice that the rudder trim-tab is ~10-15% of the main foil's area... maybe a little less, which is in keeping with aircraft design. I'd guess that this would vary depending on where the CG is located relative to the main foil. I also noticed that the foil is straight with no dihedral, which would make it easier to construct.
I like where you are going here. I've pondered the idea of a moth'd -out Sunfish before..... maybe it's time to actually build one.
What about the rudder foil? See this picture of a Laser kit...
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/1097815_10151826975919636_1443782359_o.jpg
Earlier posts in this thread indicate that the Sunfish rig isn't suitable for foiling.I just found this forum and I have 2 Sunfishes. I would love to see what can be done to improve the proformance of a Sunfish. Love the idea of foiling a Sunfish. Any progress?