whisper foiling catamaran

Parallel 45 Marine

Dinghies and One Design

Whisper Foiling Cat

The White Formula Whisper is the new foiling catamaran that brings foiling technology to the mainstream.

Designer Ron Price had the idea to bring an affordable flying catamaran to the world sailing scene. After watching the incredible 2014 Americas Cup upset, Ron decided if he couldn’t get a ride on one he would build his own!

Ron designed the Whisper completely on computer and modeled it using very sophisticated marine development software. Six months later he was well on his way to launching his prototype. On day one of testing the Whisper prototype foiled flawlessly for over 4 minutes without dropping off the foils.

The production moulds were completed on a 3D 6 axis CNC milling machine, and the first boats have been built and are on the publicity circuit visiting many of the worlds boat shows. The new wing style mainsail shows all the flare of a wing sail with the easy storage of a regular sail. An active foiling system constantly self adjusts to maintain steady and stable flying.

The boat is made using a cutting edge epoxy / carbon fibre infusion method, fully built in the UK and fitted out in the White Formula production facility in Essex. The Whisper comes in at a platform weight of only 78Kg. The advancements in 3D printing and laser sintering has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, the recent application of printing Carbon Fibre has lowered the cost of manufacturing intricate moving parts. All of the internal parts of the boat are computer cut using an in-house 3 axis CNC machine. This means we can incorporate weight saving areas into the structure of the hull, lowering the overall weight.

The Whisper is a one design class, but when it comes to the styling, the sky is the limit. Our customers have had some pretty wacky ideas, so we are looking forward to a pretty interesting start line, coupled with the ability to foil in just 5 knots of wind we could see some “pretty fly styles”.

Parallel 45 Marine is proud to be the exclusive North American importer and distributor of the Whisper.

The Tech Specs

Length – 5.4m

Width – 2.3m

Weight – 78Kg (excl foils)

Sails – Main, Jib and Spinnaker

*Prices are in the currency of each country. Due to COVID all boat prices are EX/Works Brightlingsea, UK. Shipping surcharges will be calculated at the time of shipping. Please contact us us to order your boat!

Parallel 45 Marine is focused on distributing and retailing boats, clothing, sailing gear and accessories for the dinghy and one design sailor.

We are conveniently located half way between the Equator and the North Pole at 45°N 16' 32", 71°W 58' 20"

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Ottawa Boat Show

Toronto sporstman’s show.

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Formula Whisper, the exciting new boat that anyone can learn to foil

• Matthew Sheahan
• September 7, 2015

“If you can sail, you can foil this boat,” says the designer of the new Formula Whisper foiling catamaran. Matthew Sheahan tests out the claim

As I stepped off the Formula Whisper, our cameraman and photographer Richard Langdon was full of praise for my first attempt at flying.

“How polite,” I thought. I had been frustrated with my first attempts – it had looked so easy in the hands of her designer. But Richard was insistent: he was surprised at how readily I had been able to foil and how long I had been flying.

It wasn’t until we went through the raw video footage that I could see what he meant. Until then I hadn’t realised how much of the time we were doing exactly what her designer had claimed was possible – foiling from the off.

In just 20 minutes my perspective had changed. This was clearly not just an interesting new design, but one that could turn out to be the turning point for performance sailing. Unless you’ve mastered sailing an International Moth recently, the chances are that you have yet to try foiling. But this new production cat could change all that and bring foiling for the club sailor a step closer to reality.

A Whisper that turns heads

The Formula Whisper is an all-carbon production version of the 20ft hydrofoiling Solent Whisper prototype that did the rounds at several boat shows last winter. She turned plenty of heads at Southampton and London and attracted a great deal of interest at the Paris Boat Show – indeed, so much interest that just a few months later 27 boats had been sold to customers in six countries, from the USA to New Zealand. This, claims her builder, is only the start.

“If you can sail, you can foil this boat,” says Rob White of White Formula, a company that has a long list of internationally successful production catamarans to its name, including the Dart 18, Spitfire, Shadow, Shockwave F18, Sprint 15 and many more.

But perhaps you’d expect him to say that. A lifelong cat sailor and double world champion in the Tornado class, his sailing and industry achievements place him in a position of high authority when it comes to multihulls and production boatbuilding.

“Look at the amount of people who want to sail a Moth, but can’t. I count myself in that, too,” he declares. “The Moth is tricky to sail, while the current production foiling cats are too expensive for most people.

“We’ve been thinking about producing a foiling cat for years and there’s no question that the last America’s Cup spurred everyone on. But it was this design that impressed us and made us think that the time was right.”

White freely admits that it was not his company’s design that has led to the new production boat. The foiling cat started life as a personal project for Ron Price, who is a regular 49er sailor and a senior lecturer in naval architecture at Southampton Solent University.

“Like so many other people I was blown away by the America’s Cup foiling cats and wanted to have a go myself,” Price explains. “But it was clear that I wasn’t going to get a ride on one of those machines, so I set about designing a foiling cat of my own.”

T-foil concept

While the motivation to fly was the same, Price’s starting point was fundamentally different. Instead of using a set of L section daggerboards to provide the vertical lift, as is the case with the Cup boats and production foiling cats such as the Flying Phantom and Nacra F20, Price used the T-foil concept that is used in the International Moth.

With the Cup-style foils it is the L configuration that provides the self-levelling control for the ride height of the boat. More speed generates more lift and raises the L out of the water. As the foil breaks the surface the amount of lift is reduced and the boat finds its equilibrium. When the boat slows down, more foil is lowered into the water, increasing the lift.

On the T-foil system, a moving flap attached to the trailing edge of the horizontal foil alters the amount of vertical lift that is generated. This flap is mechanically connected to a wand that skims the water’s surface to monitor the ride height. Too low and the flap increases the angle and hence T-foil lift, too high and the flap’s angle is reduced, which in turn reduces the lift generated.

Being able to adjust the ride height makes it easier to sail the boat in a variety of conditions. In light weather the hulls can ride high above the surface; in breezier, choppier conditions the lower ride height helps to keep the foils submerged.

The dual foil system also helps with lateral stability. Because there are two independently controlled systems on the cat, each T-foil adjusts the ride height of each hull, which helps keep the cat flat automatically.

The T-foil in each of the hulls has a flap on the trailing edge to adjust ride height. The entire daggerboard is raked fore and aft to adjust the angle of attack

In addition, the daggerboards can be raked back and forward to change the angle of attack of the horizontal T-foil, which in turn alters the speed at which the boat starts to lift. A high angle of attack would generate lift at slow speeds, but this would also create higher amounts of drag from the foil itself. A lower angle of attack would have the reverse effect.

The adjustment is made using a control line to wind a simple worm drive. Altering the main daggerboards means that the T-rudders do not need to be adjusted and can remain fixed.

Another advantage of the T-foil system for the daggerboards over the L section foils is that, unlike Cup foils which need to be raised and lowered during sailing, the boards have only two positions: up for launching and beaching; and down for sailing.

A smart build

Apart from the foil system there is another particularly impressive feature of this boat: her build. At 78kg all up she is supremely light thanks to her carbon sandwich-infused construction. A Tornado is the same length, but double the weight.

The standard of build and fit-out is also impressive, but the key to this boat is that her clever construction makes her very stiff.

Unlike conventional cats with aluminium crossbeams bolted to the hulls, the Formula Whisper’s beams are an integral part of the hull and deck. In simple terms she uses a biscuit tin type construction arrangement where the lid (the deck) slips over the hull (the tin).

Not only is this an efficient way of building the boat, but it means that her beams can be integrated with the hulls over a greater length than normal, which in turn gives the entire structure far greater torsional strength. This is particularly important to keep the two sets of T-foils operating at the same angle of attack. However, unlike conventional cats, this type of build means that she cannot be dismantled for trailing, which limits her beam and so her overall length.

On the helm

I gripped the tiller and considered how I was going to support myself once out on the wire, given that Ron Price had taken the mainsheet (the jib is a self-tacking affair). I was also bracing myself for take-off. I imagined that our departure from the surface of the water would be marked by a surge of acceleration that could launch me off the back of the boat.

As the apparent wind built we accelerated, but there was no noise, no change of feel on the helm and certainly no bow wave, wake or spray. The sudden transition I envisaged never happened – at least that’s how it felt to me. The only disorientating aspect was windward heel as the rig came over our heads.

The transition to foiling is so smooth you hardly know you’re flying

For a monohull sailor well used to being dunked on my RS800 it was difficult not to respond by swinging inboard. But, as I was to witness when looking at the video later, my perception was way behind the boat’s behaviour. We had been flying well before my mind had caught up.

As Price explains, flying with the boat heeled to windward is the same technique used on Moths, which helps the T-foils to work their way to windward. It did feel odd, though, and didn’t help when I had to settle down on the wire.

By the nature of their typically slender hulls, multihulls do not create a great deal of drag, wash or bother when travelling at speed. As a result the transition to flight was always going to be smoother than a monohull sailor used to spray, noise and drama might expect.

Furthermore, whether you’re sitting in or trapezing, flying the windward hull of a conventional multihull lifts you high above the water anyway, and foiling feels no different. Little wonder, then, that to cat sailors the transition to foils is effortless and this helped to highlight how readily this design might be adopted by grassroots multihull sailors.

Having said that, smooth foiling from the off is not as easy as the experts might suggest. The light sheet loads and a neutral helm provide little feedback and when the bows pitched downwards from time to time, my mind struggled for the appropriate, instinctive response. For a second or two I was in new territory and stuck for ideas.

Getting the foil pitch settings right and making sure that both are matched will also be new areas for most sailors.

A simple line-driven worm drive adjusts the T-foil’s angle of attack

And with hulls that are just 4.2m (13ft 9in) long the fore and aft trim can be altered significantly by moving crew weight back or forwards. This affects the angle of attack of the foils significantly and I was surprised by just how much movement was required to keep the boat balanced. So while she might look like a point-and-shoot type of boat, there is plenty to learn to keep her flying straight and level. But then that’s part of the appeal. The big advantage is that you’re less likely to be dunked as you master the technique.

Simple, but it works

This is an impressive boat, not only because she can foil in a range of conditions from 5-20+ knots, but because she makes you feel so comfortable at speed. The International Moth fleet has a solid following and is attracting new sailors, but I bet few learn to fly from scratch in a weekend. With the Whisper you could.

And it is this that impresses me most. When you look back at some of the most significant steps in sailing design, it is the ease with which new technology and techniques were adopted that underwrote their success. Asymmetric spinnakers flown from retractable skiff-type bowsprits are a good example. They are simple, easy to handle and yet often provide stacks more performance, so it is hardly surprising that they have caught on.

Super-slender bows and narrow hull lines mean she’s quick in displacement mode too

By designer Ron Price’s own admission, the Whisper is unlikely to be the quickest foiling boat out there, but she is still capable of keeping pace with a Moth on a two-sail reach. For most of us that would easily be fast enough to scratch the itch. It is this speed and ease of handling, on a well built, high-tech, all carbon boat with a sensible price tag of £19,500 (including VAT) that looks so appealing.

But there’s something even more exciting about this boat: the hint that this could be the start of a new era of foiling. Rob White certainly thinks so, as his company is already planning a range of new foilers along similar lines.

“We are looking at both smaller and larger versions,” he says. “For the smaller boats we may well be looking at alloy foils that are less expensive to build and are more robust for beach holiday companies. These boats wouldn’t be as extreme and would fly just a foot off the water, but they would be easy for beginners to get the hang of.”

The suggestion that beach resorts could have such boats is surely a good indication that foiling has taken another big step towards mainstream sailing. The Whisper is a formula for flight that could well take off.

Specifications

LOA 6.20m/20ft 4in

LWL 4.20m/13ft 9in

Beam 2.40m/7ft 10in

Weight 78kg/172lb

Mainsail 12.6m 2 /1365ft 2

Jib 3m 2 /23ft 2

Spinnaker 14m 2 /150ft 2

Price inc VAT £19,500

Designed by Ron Price

Built by White Formula UK www.whiteformula.com

This is an extract from a feature in the August 2015 issue of Yachting World

See also Matthew Sheahan’s blog on the Formula Whisper

Projects: The Whisper: the hydrofoil everyone’s shouting about

Want to try hydrofoiling without the multi-million pound price tag? The cutting-edge Whisper catamaran is making America’s Cup-style foiling more accessible than ever – and its lightweight composite construction utilising PRO-SET® Infusion epoxy is helping to make it possible.

“The very first time we took the Whisper on the water, she foiled non-stop for four minutes,” says Henry White, Director of White Formula. “You won’t get that in your average foiling yacht. She’s the only dinghy designed from the ground up to hydrofoil.”

“We knew we had something special on our hands.”

The Whisper is the brainchild of Ron Price, a yacht and powercraft designer who also lectures in Naval Architecture at Solent University. Inspired by the 2014 America’s Cup, he was determined to design a flying catamaran with an affordable price tag. “After locking himself away with his team for about a year, he came to White Formula with a prototype of the Whisper,” says Henry. “We knew we had something special on our hands.”

White Formula was the ideal choice for manufacturing the boat. Directors Thom and Henry are the sons of Tornado Olympic sailor and world champion Rob White, and grandsons of 1976 Olympic gold medal-winning sailor Reg White. So it comes as little surprise that the third-generation White Formula business has produced some legendary catamarans. “We’ve built everything from the big Apache cruising cats to the Tornado, Spitfire, Hurricane and the Shadow,” says Henry. “We could see the Whisper was a fantastic design. The only change we made was to make it a monocoque structure, rather than having beams across, to enhance the stability.”

Balanced to a T

It’s her incredible stability that makes the Whisper truly stand out from her peers. The four T-shaped foils have been innovatively designed to control the foiling height and balance the ride, stopping it from pitchpoling. What’s more her hull is carbon fibre, resulting in a weight of just 78kg.

Altogether, this stable, self-settling and lightweight design means the Whisper spends more time on the foils than off. “The average America’s Cup boat will travel faster than the Whisper but they’re not as stable; you’ll only be foiling for 50-60% of the time,” explains Henry. “Because the Whisper is so easy to handle it lets you foil for 80-90% of the time, just at a slightly slower speed. All it takes is a little practice, and you’ll be foiling at speeds of up to 25 knots.”

The best products for construction

To build such a stable foiling machine is no straightforward task. There is zero tolerance for any discrepancies in the foils or the hull, which must share stresses and work together as one. To that end, Ron Price and the White Formula team always knew epoxy infusion would give the hull the strength, stiffness and stability it demanded.

“Princess Anne came and infused it with us!”

It was an informal meeting at the London Boat Show, however, that resulted in White Formula choosing PRO-SET INF Epoxy for the task. “We were infusing the first Whisper live at the show. Princess Anne came and infused it with us!” smiles Henry. “It attracted a lot of attention, including David from West System International, who came to talk to us about what we were doing. He wasn’t at all salesy and I liked that.” Henry talked to others who had used PRO-SET Epoxy for infusion. He liked what he heard. “I was confident that infusing with PRO-SET epoxy would give the Whisper the strength and robustness she demands and I’ve not been disappointed,” says Henry.

Precision infusion

The infusion process itself is deliberately painstaking. To start, Henry applies a gel coat to a mould of the catamaran hull, before laying carbon cloth on top. A foam core is added to provide stiffness and then a final layer of carbon cloth is applied. “We then cover the whole lot in a 12m by 6m bag and apply vacuum pressure down to -1 bar,” explains Henry. “The aim is to get as much air out as possible. Even the slightest pinhole will affect how the resin infuses, so we use a sonic tester and gently inspect the bag for any air leaks or hissing. When we’re finished we leave it for 10-12 hours.”

Once as much air as possible has been drawn out, the White Formula team prepares PRO-SET INF-114 Resin® and INF-211 Hardener® for infusion . Temperature is critical at this point. “We like to ensure our mould and our epoxy are within about one degree of each other and that’s at a temperature of 22-24 o C,” explains Henry. “This ensures the mixed epoxy flows easily into the structure of the boat.”

Once the resin and hardener are mixed, it is degassed (“you’ve just spent 12 hours drawing air out of the boat, so you don’t want to reintroduce it here,” says Henry) and then piped into the bag. The positive pressure in the atmosphere pushes the epoxy into the boat. “If you’ve applied your bag correctly and there are no leaks, the pressure forces the epoxy to distribute evenly throughout the whole structure,” says Henry. “We then lock off the inlet pipes and put the boat in the oven at 28 o C for a few hours to cure it.”

Designed for the love of foiling

Another benefit of the infusion process is that it offers excellent results, fast. One year into production White Formula has built 21 Whispers. The company has another 25 on back order and production has recently been upped to three a month.

This huge demand is undoubtedly in part due to her price tag; at £21,000, she’s an impressive £15,000 less than a comparable foiling cat. But her capabilities are what truly make her stand out. “She’s designed for the pure love of foiling – to help anyone to do it. There’s no need to be an acrobat; if you can sail, then you can go foiling on the Whisper,” smiles Henry. “And it’s so much fun. On your first day, you’ll be foiling at 9-10 knots straight away. Give it another hour and you’ll end up at 25 knots.

“That’s not an experience you can enjoy with any other foiling cat on the market.”

To find out more about the Whisper, visit the White Formula website and Facebook page .

Intrigued about the infusion process and the full range of PRO-SET products? Visit Wessex Resins .

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whisper-foiling-catamaran

Notes on my whisper foiling catamaran, whisper foiling catamaran in biscayne bay, miami, fl.

In November 2016 I got my hands on a Whisper Foiling Catamaran from WhiteFormula UK. A cool foiling catamaran. Although I had been sailing since a kid on all sorts of boats, including catamarans, I had no experience with a current high performance catamaran.

A state of the art performance catamaran has lots of tricks and details; a foiling boat has a few more. These notes cover the adventures of this Miami-based captain and crew in figuring out a powerful boat.

Things we learn about the boat

Standing and lowering a mast.

You can stand and lower the mast with just two people. The technique is seen in this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxctIJVOAd0 ; with the following notes:

• use the trapeze wires, extended with ropes that run through pulleys attached at the bridle wire hooking points, and made fast in the 2 cam cleats by the mast (jib sheet, spinnaker tack)
• put the boat on an incline, on the beach dolly just aft of the foils, stern on the ground.
• Captain pushes the mast up, similar to the video, all the way through. It’s better to stand on the crossbeam than on the trampoline, though final push happens on the trampoline.
• Crew starts holding the mast down so it doesn’t snap off the ball (careful!). Once the mast has some angle, crew moves from holding the mast down to pulling the lines; this stabilizes the mast and gives the capt a break between pushes.

It’s also possible to do it with the stern up, it’s harder to start, easier towards the end.

• Installed these to manage stay tension - https://shop.hamiltonmarine.com/products/adjuster-lever–25-qr-up-to-1-8–wire-wl-1800–20260.html – with them it’s reasonably easy to get the right pressure on the rig.
• Painted the ends of the two screws in the forestay adjuster, inside the thread, with a permanent marker. When easing, this gives you fair warning before your run out of screw… we also tie it up before easing.
• Set the forestay a bit longer than final position
• Open up the stay adjusters on the stays
• Pull and set the under trampoline bridle wire
• Close up the stay adjusters
• Measure tension
• Set forestay to desired position
• Good discussino on fitting stuff to a carbon mast / rig - http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=91747 - screws, rivets, epoxy…
• Running a ropes / lines through very tight holes/fittings http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2391516
• Put a stopper knot on the main halyard line.

This boat did not include a recovery line. However, the spinnaker line worked a charm, so we got an identical line. We tie it up in the middle, on the mast base. This provides two lines for recovery. When we need to use it, we tie a couple of knots on it. Doubles up as docking line.

Hull, beach wheels, carbon repairs

• Use the West Systems carbon fiber repair kit, plus some light sanding paper… works wonders

Safe handling of the beach wheels. We place the beach wheels aft of the main foils for better balance; this makes them hard to remove on the ramp. Our technique is:

• slide the beach wheels from right aft of the foils to aft
• get under the catamaran, under the trampoline
• lift the boat with your back pushing under the trampoline; simultaneously push the beach wheels down under water
• rotate the axle so that the cups are no longer under the hulls, ensure the cups have clearance from the hulls so they don’t collide
• White Formula ships the bungees in the foils untied so they don’t stretch. You must pull them a bit tight and make a knot.
• Folks at WhiteFormula say the “3mm” measurement should be made between the control surface and the foil, at the outermost point of the control surface, should be a 3mm gap with the control surface pointing up.
• The rudders are not identical. The hole for the pin only lines up when you’ve put them right. We found this (and fixed this) when we were deep in the water; much better to do this before launching!

Main / Boom

• Hoisting/lowering is similar to many hobies and nacras – there’s a ring on the halyard, and a hook on the mast. This may need some practice and/or adjustments. Technique here - http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=371
• The Harken ratchamatic block wears out. Harken has kindly replaced mine.

Things we learn about sailing it

• The ratchamatic block position doesn’t give enough grip (the sheet doesn’t wrap around it enough) when held by the crew standing a bit forward – crew can stand further back.
• Running aground is a PITA. The foils are very sturdy however, and our sandy/grassy bottom has not damaged them.
• Really needs a beach to handle all the foil setup. Ramps have not been practical so far; and the foils extending outwards make any dock approach dangeorous.
• Jib halyard setup is a PITA. We lose the halyard and have to lower the mast way too often. We have changed the sacrificial halyard for a thicker one, and added Ronstan ‘shock’ pulleys both to run ropes through and to add weight so the halyard doesn’t fly up at the slightest error.
• Trapeze bungee setup needs to zig and zag a but under the trampoline to avoid bungees snapping when stretched in a capsize.
• Mast rotator cleat on the boom needs better rivets
• Skipper only holding tiller needs an extra line to pull self back towards boat when trapezing through some swings, added a line…
• Jury-rigged spinnarker pole striker line, as temporary fix
• Fully rigged spinnaker, and sailed it… FUN :-)
• Added line for skipper to pull self from trapeze into tramp
• Fixed boom cleat (again!) with rivets that open like a flower; normal rivets don’t expand enough to hold
• Changed the sacrificial halyard for a thicker one, and added Ronstan ‘shock’ pulleys.
• Trapeze bungees now zigzag under the trampoline, for more stretch.
• Changed carbon striker – after a ton of drilling and hammering to make it fit. Mfg sent a replacement part, as it had arrived broken.
• Changed stay tensioners, new ones have levers for easier tensioning.
• Fixed boom cleat with SS rivets, using nuts to as spacer for riveter
• Fixed wand after breakage
• Changed worn out ratchamatic
• Replaced mast rotator – carbon part broke on accidental mast fall.

White Formula manufacture boats on behalf of many well-known companies in the UK and Europe.  We also sell complete packages, some of which have been designed and developed by our in-house marine team.  For more information please click on the relevant button below.

The Thinair V2 delivers continuous improvement on an already impressive design.Hull and foils are designed by Dave Hollam with technical input all the way from Mike Lennon. This is a craft designed to compete at the highest level.

The White Formula Whisper is the new foiling catamaran that brings technology to the mainstream.

It has an active foiling system that constantly self adjusts to maintain steady and stable flying.

NATIONAL 18

The National 18 is an RYA class boat. It is a high performance 3 man boat with a single trapeze.

A single-seater Trimaran. Suitable for disabled sailors and able-bodied sailors alike. Approved by Sailability UK.

The SB20 is a high-performance cruiser.

White Formula UK manufactures the composite parts of this boat including the hull.

For more information please visit Sports Boat World

Superslick foiling Tri made to foil. Simply sit on the windward hull, which will cant the boat to windward, then sheet in and take off. 

The Dart 18 is now being produced in the UK again. With a successful entry to the racing circuit. Winsport is the UK distributor.

The Sprint 15 is being made in the Uk for the first time in a long while.  Windsport is the UK distributor.

The Brightlingsea One Design is a classic sailing dinghy, suitable for a crew of 2 or 3. Mostly sailed in the Cruiser Class at Club level.

The SL 5.2 is the new boat by Sirena Voile.  Used predominantly as a training boat.

The Spitfire is a fast-paced high-performance catamaran.

Built by White Formula since its birth.

For a quote, parts, and repairs please contact us.

The SL 16 is a World Class Catamaran produced by White Formula on behalf of Sirena Voile in France.

The Shockwave is an F18 class legal race catamaran.

Built to win. In its first year, it took home a plethora of titles including the Ronde Om Texel, the biggest cat race in the world.

The Magnum is a Launch style motorboat. At just over 13 feet, it has seating for 8 adults and plenty of storage. Available with a range of engines. Can be built to your specification.

The Shadow is a fast-paced high performance single-handed catamaran.

For a quote, parts, and repairs  please contact us

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whisper foiling catamaran - stories, tips & tricks

flyinggorilla/whisper-foiling-catamaran

Folders and files, repository files navigation, whisper foiling catamaran sailing experiences.

YouTube Whisper Foiling Channel

YouTube videos

Repairing and tuning the Whisper with 3D printed parts

rigging and trimming tips

O-shackle should be placed in a way that the knot shows towards the mast. This is needed so that the main halyard unhooks easily when rotating the mast 90 degrees.

Flaps should show 2-3mm upwards when the wands are down.

Fastest sailing when sail is above one

Async setup of flight height through ride-height adjuster wheel and through foil rake, like 2.5 windwards and 3.5 leewards.

Foil rake: 4 is absolute max. 2.5 to 3.5 is good. (Update: I sail in freshwater, which has less density, so I use foil rake at low winds asymmetrical 4 windwards, 5 leewards. When foiling single-handed upwind I go extreme 5 leewards and 2 windwards)

Whiteformula hints: Straight line speed is best upright, but sailing for an upwind mark is best at 15degrees over to windward, this way you will generate lift towards the mark. There is no need to adjust the ride-heigth with every tack to achieve the 15 degree angle, just async foil rake and balancing the boat with main sheet should do it.

I found tacking actually quite tricky with the Whisper vs the Nacra F16. The Whisper barely turns through the wind. When sailing alone, I keep my weight as far back as possible to turn the bow through the wind. If that doesnt work, whats common, I push the main sail by hand into the wind so the boat gets additional turning momentum. When sailing with crew, the crew back-winds the jib. However, even this didnt allow for quick tacking.

The quickes tacking so far is a semi-foiling tack . So while on the foils the helm and crew move from trapeze onto the boat. It just needs a little losening the main-sheet and the whisper remains remarkable stable. So then its all about speed of unhooking the trapeze, and turning the boat into the wind while still on the foils. So far we managed twice to turn the boat through the wind. But by then we lost too much speed and went gently off the foils. However, we did the tack in the so far speediest form I know of.

boat tweaks

Pressure compensation piece.

I modified the hatch lid to have a pressure compensation piece. That is water tight, but also allows air to flow, so that the hull is pressure compensated. I used the Bopla 12mm DAE, one of many vendors. https://www.bopla.de/fileadmin/products/_Product_Information/52042000-spec_DAE_M12_Technische_Information-EN.pdf

foot straps

chicken line

Update: I no longer use the chicken line, as i mounted footstraps.

hull lid marks

4-wheel trolley

slipping line

sacrificial halyard - no longer

At the very first day with the Whisper we lost the jib halyard twice, requiring to pull down the mast. Also I wanted to minimize the amount of work to (de-)rig the Jib. My solution for this is to have:

• 1.8mm line, about 2m longer than the original sacrificial halyard.
• tied on one end to the halyard eye
• tied on the other end to my abovementioned slipping line So when hoisting the Jib, everything stays tied. I simply flake the new (non-)sacrificial halyard and stow it in the trampoline bag. Again, with all knots in place.

rigging tension

The Whisper manual says it should be 17 Loos gauge rigging tension. I justs bought a more modern spinlock from rig-sense. There is a conversion table to loos so my mast support rig with 120kg / 21loos should be fine.

Here are some measurements of status quo measurements. I am interested in the appropriate target settings...

mast safety line

ride-height adjuster

I got my stunning looking new black foils and opened the sailing season with them. During one of the first sails I discovered that the ride-height adjustment wheel got looser the more I turned it back and forth. I was worried the mechanics fall apart while on water. So I aborted the sail and took the ride-height system on land apart. The issue was the the nut on the threaded rod was loose (see picture below the not on top of the red T). I checked the position of the nut so that the 3D-printed wheel would fit nicely, marked the position, and put then threadlocker glue on it to make sure it wouldnt move again. So far it works well.

righting line

Yes, it costs a few grams, but its less stressful if you have a righting line that you can pull out of the pocket vs. making knots into the gennaker sheet for uprighting. The other benefit is that the crew can use it to hold on when the helm is working the main sheet.

main sheet pulley

1) two-handed.

There is quite some force on your hands when constantly operating the main sheet to balancing the boat on the foils. So I ordered 40mm Harken blocks that allow for a 6:1 translation vs. default 4:1. I also ordered a variable thickness main sheet and need to splice it on the block properly so to not destroy the original pulley. I will let you know how it goes.

2) single-handed

There are two issues making single-handed sailing more difficult.

• One is that the main-sheet location at the boom,pulls you forward, which makes it hard to balance when you are already hiking at the very end of the boat.
• Second, managing the gennaker sheet, main sheet and tiller all at once is one thing too much. At the Nacra i could cleat the main sheet while hiking and operating the gennaker.

Yet to be tested.

rudder holder (v1 sucks, better move on to v2 below)

Launching the boat in shallow water requires to hold the rudder in position by hand. When sailing single-handed its impossible to pull the boat at the bow through the water and hold the rudder at the far distant end of the boat at the same time. so something needed to keep the rudder a quarter-height down. I had this door wedge at home, and squeeze this at the side of the rudder to keep it at height. This works ok, when pulling the boat, but as soon as you are on the boat and pick up speed, it falls off as the rudder gets lift. Yes, if you manage to better adjust the angle of the rudder so the force goes down, maybe its possible to better keep it in place. However, I had to dive for the wedge already and since added a line to it.

However, it works only when there are no waves. Waves push the rudder up/down and the wedge falls immediately off. Has anyone a better solution?

As alternative I am thinking about a rope from the T of the foil to keep it up, and another rope from top of foil to keep it down. Maybe 3D print a little piece that makes that easy. So the work on a boat never ends...

rudder holder (v2 works great)

For coming in/out of shore in shallow waters, I needed a simple solution for keeping the rudder in middle position. One of the issues with my previous "door wedge" solution was that it failed when a wave or simply the foil-lift at speed pushed the rudder up. So the solution needed to keep the rudder in place - up and downwards. Also it should be easily adjustable on the water, without needing to change knots or using tools. So I came up with this simple solution that everyone can 3D print. You need a 3mm rope, a simple plastic carabiner, a 5mm bungee and one or two pieces of those "rope twisters" as I call those 3d printed parts - per rudder you want to equip with this.  Here is the link to the rudder holder 3D print piece https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2426782 .

repairing the wand

ordering a replacement wand from whiteformula is no problem and reasonable priced. however, as I like to be able to fix things right away and tinker around too, I printed my own wand parts. Ordering carbon rods is no problem too, they are about €10 per piece.

how to remove water from the mast

The mast should be water tight. But however, in my unfortunate case when I lost the lid of the hull and the boat almost sank, I did get water into it. The entire mast was in the water and it could have gottin in at the foot or somewhere else on the mast. Usually when capsizing the foot is above water, so less risky for untighteness.

However, in case you have water in the mast, I had gotten from whiteformula's Tom White great hints. To get it out you can remove the screw from the halyard turning block eye. Near the base of the mast. This should let out any water. Note, the smaller upper-one screw of the two is connected with the hollow area of the mast, so this one lets water come out.

If this does not solve the problem it is most likely that one of the rivet plugs is leaky. You can remove the white plastic plugs in the rivets on the mast hook. You can either pull them out with a pin or you can remove them with a 2.5mm Drill bit. I got some plugs from the nice guys from whiteformula.

water in the hull

some stories...

Swimming for screw-driver.

It is not the worst, but still this is what you don't want to happen. Especially when single-handed sailing you are toast.

So the boat and crew was rescued and we could slip the boat on land. Gladly I had ordered spare wands with the boat so I was on to fixing that broken one. It was trickier than I thought. The connecting metal axle had to be unscrewed at the top of the foil as well as at the wand. When I had finally the new wand in position, I figured the 3mm screw wouldnt go in. Why? There were no threads. So fortunately I had 3mm thread cutting bits. They come as a set of 3 and I used only the first two, so that the threads would be tight enough and keep the screw in place.

As to the larger screw that I almost lost during sailing, I used silicone glue, which should allow me to open the screw again in the unpleasent event i crack the wand again.

First refuelling for Russia’s Akademik Lomonosov floating NPP

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The FNPP includes two KLT-40S reactor units. In such reactors, nuclear fuel is not replaced in the same way as in standard NPPs – partial replacement of fuel once every 12-18 months. Instead, once every few years the entire reactor core is replaced with and a full load of fresh fuel.

The KLT-40S reactor cores have a number of advantages compared with standard NPPs. For the first time, a cassette core was used, which made it possible to increase the fuel cycle to 3-3.5 years before refuelling, and also reduce by one and a half times the fuel component in the cost of the electricity produced. The operating experience of the FNPP provided the basis for the design of the new series of nuclear icebreaker reactors (series 22220). Currently, three such icebreakers have been launched.

The Akademik Lomonosov was connected to the power grid in December 2019, and put into commercial operation in May 2020.

Electricity generation from the FNPP at the end of 2023 amounted to 194 GWh. The population of Pevek is just over 4,000 people. However, the plant can potentially provide electricity to a city with a population of up to 100,000. The FNPP solved two problems. Firstly, it replaced the retiring capacities of the Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant, which has been operating since 1974, as well as the Chaunskaya Thermal Power Plant, which is more than 70 years old. It also supplies power to the main mining enterprises located in western Chukotka. In September, a 490 km 110 kilovolt power transmission line was put into operation connecting Pevek and Bilibino.

Image courtesy of TVEL

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New modification of Russian VVER-440 fuel loaded at Paks NPP in Hungary

DECEMBER 14, 2020 — After the recent refueling at power unit 3 of the Hungarian Paks NPP, its VVER-440 reactor has been loaded with a batch of fresh fuel including 18 fuel bundles of the new modification. The new fuel will be introduced at all four operating power units of the Paks NPP, and the amount of new-modification bundles in each refueling will be increased gradually.

Development of the new VVER-440 fuel modification was completed in 2020 under the contract between TVEL JSC and MVM Paks NPP Ltd. Its introduction would optimize the hydro-uranium ratio in the reactor core, enabling to increase the efficiency of fuel usage and advance the economic performance of the power plant operation. All VVER-440 fuel modifications are manufactured at the Elemash Machine-Building Plant, a facility of TVEL Fuel Company in Elektrostal, Moscow Region.

“Introduction of a new fuel is an option to improve technical and economic performance of a nuclear power plant without substantial investment. We are actively engaged in development of new models and modifications of VVER-440 fuel for power plants in Europe. The projects of the new fuels for Loviisa NPP in Finland, Dukovany NPP in the Czech Republic, Mochovce and Bohunice NPPs in Slovakia, are currently at various stages of implementation. Despite the same reactor model, these projects are quite different technically and conceptually, since we take into account the individual needs and requirements of our customers,” commented Natalia Nikipelova, President of TVEL JSC.

For reference:

The project of development and validation of the new fuel has been accomplished with participation of a number of Russian nuclear industry enterprises, such as OKB Gidropress (a part of Rosatom machine-building division Atomenergomash), Bochvar Institute (material science research facility of TVEL Fuel Company), Elemash Machine-building plant and Kurchatov Institute national research center. At the site of OKB Gidropress research and experiment facility, the new fuel passed a range of hydraulic, longevity and vibration tests.

Paks NPP is the only functioning nuclear power plant in Hungary with total installed capacity 2000 MWe. It operates four similar units powered by VVER-440 reactors and commissioned one by one in 1982-1987. Currently, Paks NPP is the only VVER-440 plant in the world operating in extended 15-monthes fuel cycle. The power plant produces about 15 bln kWh annually, about a half of electric power generation in Hungary. In 2018, the project of increasing the duration of Paks NPP fuel cycle won the European competition Quality Innovation Award in the nomination “Innovations of large enterprises”. Russian engineers from TVEL JSC, Kurchatov Institute, OKB Gidropress, Bochvar Institute and Elemash Machine-building plant provided assistance to the Hungarian colleagues in accomplishment of the project.

  TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom incorporates enterprises for the fabrication of nuclear fuel, conversion and enrichment of uranium, production of gas centrifuges, as well as research and design organizations. It is the only supplier of nuclear fuel for Russian nuclear power plants. TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom provides nuclear fuel for 73 power reactors in 13 countries worldwide, research reactors in eight countries, as well as transport reactors of the Russian nuclear fleet. Every sixth power reactor in the world operates on fuel manufactured by TVEL.  www.tvel.ru  

Strange Glow Over Moscow Skies Triggers Panic as Explosions Reported

B right flashes lit up the night sky in southern Moscow in the early hours of Thursday morning, new footage appears to show, following reports of an explosion at an electrical substation on the outskirts of the city.

Video snippets circulating on Russian-language Telegram channels show a series of flashes on the horizon of a cloudy night sky, momentarily turning the sky a number of different colors. In a clip shared by Russian outlet MSK1.ru, smoke can be seen rising from a building during the flashes lighting up the scene.

Newsweek was unable to independently verify the details of the video clips, including when and where it was filmed. The Russian Ministry of Emergency situations has been contacted via email.

Several Russian Telegram accounts said early on Thursday that residents of southern Moscow reported an explosion and a fire breaking out at an electrical substation in the Leninsky district, southeast of central Moscow.

Local authorities in the Leninsky district told Russian outlet RBC that the explosion had happened in the village of Molokovo. "All vital facilities are operating as normal," Leninsky district officials told the outlet.

The incident at the substation in Molokovo took place just before 2 a.m. local time, MSK1.ru reported.

Messages published by the ASTRA Telegram account, run by independent Russian journalists, appear to show residents close to the substation panicking as they question the bright flashes in the sky. One local resident describes seeing the bright light before losing access to electricity, with another calling the incident a "nightmare."

More than 10 villages and towns in the southeast of Moscow lost access to electricity, the ASTRA Telegram account also reported. The town of Lytkarino to the southeast of Moscow, lost electricity, wrote the eastern European-based independent outlet, Meduza.

Outages were reported in the southern Domodedovo area of the city, according to another Russian outlet, as well as power failures in western Moscow. Electricity was then restored to the areas, the Strana.ua outlet reported.

The cause of the reported explosion is not known. A Telegram account aggregating news for the Lytkarino area described the incident as "an ordinary accident at a substation."

The MSK1.ru outlet quoted a local resident who speculated that a drone may have been responsible for the explosion, but no other Russian source reported this as a possible cause.

Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Moscow with long-range aerial drones in recent months, including a dramatic wave of strikes in late May.

On Sunday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the region's air defense systems had intercepted an aerial drone over the city of Elektrostal, to the east of Moscow. No damage or casualties were reported, he said.

The previous day, Russian air defenses detected and shot down another drone flying over the Bogorodsky district, northeast of central Moscow, Sobyanin said.

There is currently no evidence that an aerial drone was responsible for the reported overnight explosion at the electrical substation in southern Moscow.

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• Ukraine's Military Receives Good News From Multiple NATO Allies

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15 men brought to military enlistment office after mass brawl in Moscow Oblast

Local security forces brought 15 men to a military enlistment office after a mass brawl at a warehouse of the Russian Wildberries company in Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast on Feb. 8, Russian Telegram channel Shot reported .

29 people were also taken to police stations. Among the arrested were citizens of Kyrgyzstan.

A mass brawl involving over 100 employees and security personnel broke out at the Wildberries warehouse in Elektrostal on Dec. 8.

Read also: Moscow recruits ‘construction brigades’ from Russian students, Ukraine says

We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron !

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine

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