What kind of sail will make a boat go fastest?

Question

this is for school science project

Answer 1

A rigid wing sail is the fastest at this moment in time.

Answer 2

A large sail more surface area = SPEED

Answer 3

one without a hole in it.

Answer 4

its a school project..is my guess right that this would be a *model boat*..?..vertical sail on a skewer..try plastic from a milk jug

Answer 5

That depends as much on the type of hull as the type of sail.

The most efficient sailplan is a Sloop Rig... with a jib and main sail... and you can easily look that up because most small sailboats have that rig set up.

Answer 6

Have you seen these sailing speed record videos?

check them out here

http://OneDesignTalk.com

Answer 7

James answered it very well but there is one limitation to add and that is the max hull speed your hull design will allow you to achieve.  Regardless of sail size theoretical hull speed is all you can attain.

Answer 8

The answer that mentioned different _classes_ of sails, rigid vs soft, sloop rig versus other rigs, would seem to be the best answer to persue for a school project.

One point to correct here if you are a non-sailor.  Several people mentioned the size of the sail as being THE answer.  This is entirely misleading.  All other things being equal, the fastest sail in any class of sail is the sail that best matches the wind direction, speed, and variability with the design of the boat and the prevailing sea conditions.

Anyone who races has seen boats lose ground by being "overpowered", i.e., to much sail area for the wind.

Further, many modern sail powered designs routinely exceed their hull speed.  Hull speed only refers to a hull that is operating in full displacement mode.  Even there, research shows that the rule of thumb, hull speed equals square root of length at water line times 1.3, is just that, a rule of thumb.  Real boats show considerable variation from that figure.

A final additional comment: the kind of sail that makes a boat go fastest is a well trimmed sail!  This is what makes racing, or any sailing, so much fun.  A great sailor with indifferent sails will beat an indifferent sailor with great sails every time.

Answer 9

Read the question guys.

>>>>FASTEST>>>>

That has been proven to be  a Rigid Vertical Sail like a wing.

cHECK OUT "Yellow Pages Endeavor" and "Sail Rocket"

Here are some links.

www.speedsailing.com

Speed sailing resource...

http://www.dcss.org/Savineau/

For non rigid sails...upwind, Mylar.......downwind, code 0

To say that a sloop is the most efficient is now about 35 years behind the times technologically.

It is also false to say a boat cannot exceed it's theoretical hull speed....it's simply very dangerous as the boat will eventually Sail Under or Submarine. That is a fair weather sailor or someone completely unknowledgeable speaking. I am not the only one who has exceeded theoretical hull speed...you have to be out there on a windy day with some waves. The kind of conditions that leave all the ones with "book learnin" on the docks sippin Pina Coladas while we pump adrenalin.

Look it up.

Answer 10

it actually depends on the boats direction compared to the wind.if the wind and the boat are going the same direction(downwind) a spinaker is used. it looks like a large triangle at the front of the boat.if you are going across the wind a genoa is probably your best bet.it looks like a normal front sail only wider at the base. this is of course for a standard kind of sail rig. of a boat has two or more masts or can carry multiple sails per point.. all bets are off

Answer 11

A Very Very Very Big One

Answer 12

If you are racing, the fleet you are racing in (Laser, Flying Scot, Thistle) has a one design rule for your sails so all of them are identical.  If you are in a PHRF fleet then a carbon fiber, a laminate, or a tape drive type sail would be more in line.  Hood makes a racing sail from a proprietary material called Vectran which they make themselves and offer through their lofts only.   The only way to actually squeeze more speed out of a given sail is to give it more roach, which means more surface area at the top aft end of the sail.  You would also have to fully batten the sail with fiberglass battens to help stiffen the sail and hold its shape.  I hope this answers your question.