MODERATE-COST APPROACHES FOR HYDRODYNAMIC TESTING OF HIGH PERFORMANCE SAILING VESSELS

International audienceThis study examines the relative merits of physical testing techniques which may be used in early stage design for assessment of the resistance of high-performance sailing vessels. The hull chosen as a benchmark form is a high-speed hard-chine sailing dinghy. The hull proportions and shape are typical of modern trends in skiff design, but may also be considered to be broadly similar to some high performance yacht hulls. The 4.55m hull was tested at full scale in a moderate size towing tank, at 1:2.5 scale in the same tank, and at full-scale by towing on open water. Results show the mean discrepancy in the measured resistance between the open water towing and the full-scale tank test is around 4%. The challenges of full-scale open-water testing are discussed and several improvements identified for future work. Comparison of the full-scale results suggests that blockage and depth correction for the full-scale hull in the tank do not present a substantial problem for subcritical speeds. Larger discrepancies were found between resistance from the model scale and the full scale tank tests at higher speeds; it was speculated that these discrepancies relate to the differences in the detailed geometry of the model and full-scale boat, particularly in the region of the chines