From the top om my head The guys of Miss Nylex C-class catamaran established that the whole boat incurred some 4% pure wind drag. And that includes major components like the hulls, the beams, trampoline etc. So there is your upper limit of gains.
Wouter,
I'm just trying to put this into context for all. You are stating that the aero drag of a C-class highly developed wingmast is just 4% of total drag of the boat(includes 2 x 25ft hulls with displacement of??? + boards in water @
800-1000 times more density than the air)? As opposed the aero drag of the applicable part of the craft having a drag coefficient of 0.04 (an incredible figure)
It would help everyone understand this more if you could quantify the aero drag in terms of lbs or kg.
Other than obsessive fairing and maintenance of the underwater surfaces and hull flying technique we can't do much about hull drag. With the rig we can - minimise size (and weight)of rigging, halyards not interfering with airflow over the sail, multiple purchase systems on the side of the mast etc. How much less drag (lbs/kg) can be expected by reducing the rigging interference?
Cheshirecatman
