Design of a cruising sailing yacht with an experimental fluid dynamics investigation into hydrofoils

Abstract

Despite the early discovery of hydrofoils, first conceived in 1906 [1], there has been renwened interest in recent years, particularly for racing yachts, most likely thanks to the progress in material properties. As a consequince, the concept is begining to filter through to the cruising yacht sector despite the limited technical literature. The main benefits of including hydrofoils on a sailing yacht are: performance, velocity along with stability, and seakeeping. There does however remain challenges to the designs and hydrodynamics when adopting foils. The aim of this master thesis is to implement three existing concepts of hydrofoil into a standard design of cruising yacht, and to establish and resolve the design integration problems and tackle the hydrodynamic advantages. Firstly, the design is going to be explored in order to find the best way to include the hydrofoils into the boat. Subsequently, the selected designs will be tested by experimental fluid dynamic approach in a towing tank testing and their hydrodynamic results outlined.