| Research at the Groupe Finot Improving sailboats by better design and better construction. The improvements articulate around the research. This research is based on:
For example, the Archimède's principle led to the pure scientific reasoning, but the organizational reasoning led us to the rigging of Aquitaine Innovations or to the rig CWING. But this reasoning reaches its limits. The progress is based on calculations and experiments:
At present, we are working on the improvement of the hulls and researching the best compromise between three elements: passage in chopped waves, charging and comfort. Thibaud Tincelin tested 2 hulls on models 2m length in the Delph towing tank. These tests required 300 shots (a shot corresponds to the displacement of the model in the tank). The purpose is to study the influence of the parts of the boats outside of the water in two configurations :
The current models take into account only immersed parts.
Paolo Manganelli, in Southampton, is settings up a measurement system to record the forces in the structure of a boat under sail. We want to have this "black box" which records and memorizes the important forces applied to the boat during a race such as the tour of Italy or the Vendée Globe. These measurements will be available to the sailor at any time. This information will help him to regulate the speed of the boat in the waves. In addition, it will be analyzed after the race to provide very useful data for future developments.
We are collaborating with Christophe Baley from the University of Lorient, France, to study the fatigue of the structures of the boats:
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