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Why don’t sailboats use these?
by bilsbie 3y ago
Why don’t sailboats use these?
- andrewflnr 3y agoSome really high end racing sailboats do use rigid "sails". But there's a lot to be said for a wind surface that can stow away. I assume regular sails are lighter. Also, of course, momentum and habit.
- rightbyte 3y agoThere are those who do. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsail Apart from being complex and expensive, you can't reduce their size for hard winds. Rigid sails seems very inconvenient to fold too.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- dghlsakjg 3y agoexpense, weight, and lack of flexibility. A fabric sail can easily be reduced in size by lowering it partially when the conditions call for it. Weight aloft must be counterbalanced in the keel in a monohull. A solid sail requires heavier supports than a fabric sail. Expense. A fabric sail can actually make a pretty good airfoil, rigidity adds an insane amount of expense to get you a level of performance that doesn't really matter to most.