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Old 07-25-2011, 05:08 AM   #14
Tony B
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City: Joe Wheeler State Park, Al
Vessel Name: Serenity
Vessel Model: Mainship 36 Dual Cabin -1986
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,251
RE: Veteran Member ????

I am not a world cruiser but have sailed the Carribbean and crossed the Gulf several times and can tell you this....... This sounds like a coold idea but it will probably get most people in trouble.
If you wind assistance, figure out where you center of lateral resistance is - which is easy and then figure out how to put up a mast. Then get a boom and some sails and you have a motor sailer. You don't want a really tall mast like a sailboat because that will eventually roll your boat over on a good wind. You just want something to help with powering the boat. A mast and real sails will give you some maneuverability also. With a not so big mast and not so big sails the stress on your anchoring points for your mast and stays (cables supporting the mast) will still be great but not as great as a real sailboat. There is no reason that it shouldn't work.
But a parachute....only in open water with no one else around and only downwind it might be fun and it might be more work than you want. It's definitely not for me. If it had any practical value, it would have been invented before the sailboat configurations we now have today.
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