Cruising downwind with parachute

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adftas

Newbie
Joined
Jan 6, 2016
Messages
2
Location
australia
Vessel Name
Roma
Vessel Make
Honeymoon 26
Morning All,
First post to the forum - be gentle on me !
Wondered if anyone can enlighten me re downwind cruising chutes.
Owner of 8m motorcruiser liveaboard & planning a long remote tradewind downwind cruise. Autonomy at present 1000km @ 4litres/hour.

Many thanks
Andrew
 
4litres/hour. dont even worry about it just think how much fuel you can buy for the price of a chute and also think about running over 100 meters of rope and the chute
 
I had thought about this too. Chute or spinnaker isn't practical. In extremis would you be able to stow/furl it with 'normal' crew? It's either 'up and drawing' or it's down in the water waiting to foul your wheel.

A Kite would seem to be more practical or useful. Research kite surfing, how the foil works, how it can be made 'thrust neutral' and still be in the air when you want to ease up, or pulling on the sheets to gain thrust.
 
We saw this power cat four years ago in the Caribbean. He was pretty far away but it looked like he was getting pulled along pretty well.
 

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I've thought about this a lot.
Could have used it recently.
Better minds made me see the error of my ways however.

Winds are not as steady as they seem. Thus any savings will be rapidly spent when you run the thing over or just have to stop to retrieve and redeploy.
 
There are a couple of manufacturers of those kites. They're serious.

I don't think it's about savings; I think it's about range.
 
Seems like a large kite sail would make a good emergency propulsion system. Why don't you go to Craigslist or eBay and buy a used one and experiment. Let us know how it goes maybe you'll start something new here
 
makobuilders said:
Seems like a large kite sail would make a good emergency propulsion system. Why don't you go to Craigslist or eBay and buy a used one and experiment. Let us know how it goes maybe you'll start something new here
Click to expand...



They only work 1/2 the time :rofl:
 
Maybe fore and aft sails is a first step.



A spinnaker can be a bit tricky.

 
Larry M said:
We saw this power cat four years ago in the Caribbean. He was pretty far away but it looked like he was getting pulled along pretty well.
Click to expand...

Hate to think of the mess when the wind suddenly fails.
 
Having done a few long passages under spinnaker figure on carrying at least two more people in Crew. If you can't accommodate that then carry more fuel instead.
 
We used to use a parafoil kite while sea kayaking. Ours didn't have an inflatable arch like the one in post #5. Me-thinks the arch would maintain its shape and stay up in lighter winds. Our parafoil kite needed about 20 knots of steady wind to stay up...the inflatable one would be better. Winds are much more consistent aloft.

Always had a knife unsheathed and ready to cut the line in a heartbeat. Would do the same on a trawler...better to go back and pick up the mess than risk getting it around the prop.
 
I suggest reading up on some of this stuff....even spinnakers evolved into cruising chutes that can be set and handled by 1 or 2 crew.

I agree Parachutes and kites are tricky if not careful...but we aren't talking using them for an hour or two in the ditch....I would think those considering them would think they are useful for surfing along the trades for days until a significant change is forecast.
 
psneeld said:
I suggest reading up on some of this stuff....even spinnakers evolved into cruising chutes that can be set and handled by 1 or 2 crew.

I agree Parachutes and kites are tricky if not careful...but we aren't talking using them for an hour or two in the ditch....I would think those considering them would think they are useful for surfing along the trades for days until a significant change is forecast.
Click to expand...

:thumb:
 
Kites and chutes aren't set and forget. Your going to have to steer the boat under them. The prototypes for ships use expensive tech to try to get around this. Your going to need extra helmsmen to do this 24/7 as in No autopilot.
 
Even autopilots steered by wind input and not a magnetic course?
 
I had a few friends who had the Aires units but none carried spinnakers. They were robust enough but I'm not sure they wouldn't collapse a chute or worse surfing the waves.
 
No doubt it would be a high energy operation at first...not sure if experience and tweaking would make it viable long term versus just a sailboat or motors aileron.

Someone will keep trying till it becomes popular or a dead issue.
 
Many thanks for all your comments and ideas.
It is good to feel a hearty debate w.r.t this theme.
Carrying more fuel is an option but cruising SE trades to remote archipeligos without fuel makes planning for fuel much more critical for months at a time.
A little "miffed" that with all the experience on this forum that there is not more first hand experience to speak of (not just opinions) with respect to cruising a motorcruiser downwind.
For me it is not all about saving fuel, yes conserving fuel and having more options without visiting "civilised" ports where fuel is readily available.
In Australia, cruising in remote SE Asian waters, still offer a "non commercial" experience.
 
adftas, I don't see it being practical for saving fuel but for emergency backup propulsion that would be great. Better than sitting in the middle of the ocean waiting for BoatUS to show up in Palau New Guinea
 
adftas said:
Many thanks for all your comments and ideas.
It is good to feel a hearty debate w.r.t this theme.
Carrying more fuel is an option but cruising SE trades to remote archipeligos without fuel makes planning for fuel much more critical for months at a time.
A little "miffed" that with all the experience on this forum that there is not more first hand experience to speak of (not just opinions) with respect to cruising a motorcruiser downwind.
For me it is not all about saving fuel, yes conserving fuel and having more options without visiting "civilised" ports where fuel is readily available.
In Australia, cruising in remote SE Asian waters, still offer a "non commercial" experience.
Click to expand...



Very interested in your plans to cruise in remote SE Asian waters .
 
For grins I googled honeymoon 26 to see what you are contemplating. I think you should talk to some of our down under members with motorsailors and perhaps take them to lunch and pick their brains.
 
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