Composite Design for a Foiling Optimist Dinghy

Composite Design for a Foiling Optimist Dinghy

Blog Article

In April 2017, a foiling Optimist dingy designed entirely by students, was successfully tested under FIDDLE TREE standard sailing conditions in the waters outside Gothenburg.In order to achieve take of wind speeds as low as 6 m/s, a stiff and lightweight design of the dinghy and its foiling components was necessary.There have been few successful attempts to make an Optimist foil in a stable manner, as such there were Foot Rests no standards or recommendations available for the design.Therefore, a simulation driven structural design methodology for hydrofoils, centreboards, centreboard-to-hull connections, and necessary hull reinforcements using sandwich structures was adopted.The proposed design was then manufactured, allowing for a significantly stiffer hull and a 20% decrease in weight over a conventional Optimist.

Excluding the rig and sail, the final weight came to 27 kg.