The Physics Of Sailing Explained

Bryon D Anderson is a writer and scientist with a special interest in sail.

Breaking down the complicated concepts of speed, acceleration, torque, fluid mechanics, and surface physics, Physics of Sailing provides a lively, easily accessible introduction to the basic science underlying the sport of sailing. It illustrates the many ways physics can be used to understand the principles of sailboat propulsion and how a scienti

Why must a boat make leeway in order to sail to windward? How can a helmsman prevent downwind rolling? Why is a sail able to produce a force at right angles to the wind direction? How do the motions of water particles in waves affect boat handling? These and many other important questions are addressed by the authors in this detailed study of the motive forces of a yacht.

Principles of Yacht Design has established itself as the standard book on the subject for practising designers, naval architecture students, discerning boat owners as well as the boatbuilding industry as a whole. The fifth edition is completely revised and expanded. It examines every aspect of the process of yacht and powerboat design. The new edition includes new findings from recent research in aero and hydrodynamics, as well as covering the most recent changes to building standards. The authors have used a newly built 41-foot performance cruiser to demonstrate the practical application of yacht design theory. This new edition includes photos of the building process and detailed explanations.

New analysis shows how Newton and Galileo provide a straightforward and useful explanation of sailing. According to Newton, the sail re-directs a mass of air of the apparent wind backwards to create a backward force (Force = ma). The reactive equal and opposite forward force pushes the sailboat ahead. According to Galileo a boat can sail downwind faster than the wind for the same reasons that it can sail upwind faster than the wind. Each tack is simply the mirror image of the other one. This is because in both situations the sailboat experiences a headwind, and the true wind is moving backwards relative to the boat. When sailing both upwind and downwind, the sail extracts momentum and energy from the true wind by slowing it down. That's it.

''The Science of Sailing'', met als ondertitel ''A Complete Guide to the Physics of Sailing and the Naval Architecture Governing the Performance of Sailing Yachts'' betreft een serie boeken over de wetenschap van het zeilen en het ontwerp en het gedrag van zeilende vaartuigen. Het eerste deel met als aparte titel '' The Attainable Speed Under Sail'' behandeld, naast veel basiskennis, de snelheid van diverse typen zeilende vaartuigen (voornamelijk kleine en grote zeiljachten). De basis daarvan is een wiskundig model dat de krachten op de zeilen en op de onderwater romp, kiel en roer in rekening brengt.

The first guide to design aimed at every sailor. The authors examine a range of boats, from a 14-foot dinghy to a 40-foot cruiser, a catamaran to an offshore singlehander, to show what makes hulls, keels, ballast, rudders, foils, masts, and sails work. Their explanations include state-of-the-art graphics, dynamic charts, and photographs.