Interesting Technical Question

Brendan
"Gludy, you never responded to my comment very early on in thread that research shows that props vary in whether they cause more or less drag when freewheeling or stopped, depending on many variables. A PhD student did this as research. So I still maintain, it depends, not absolute. "

I maintain it is absolute - the only experiment listed on this thread shows that a university measured the direct difference between free wheeling and fixed and in that case the freewheeling gave 30% more drag. It cannot depend on hull or anything else. Whether it is worthwile locking the shaft and running on a single engine - the subject I started this thread on does depend on engines, hull etc but not the question of if a freewheeling prop produces more drag than a fixed prop - that is the same regardless of prop or anything else.

It is also a simple scientific fact - a dragged prop is forced to have a much greater amount of water pass over its blades than a still prop - if this was not the case then props would not work as props when driven by an engine .... there is no way out of the absolute fact. Direct drag measurements done by the univerysity totally support this. To argue differently is to really be a flat earther.

"Haven't got the link to hand, but have posted it many times before on similar threads if you want to have a look at the research data first hand. "

I really would have to look at the experiment - I cannot comment on it without seeing it. All we have from you is a claim that an experiment was done without any details of what it was - how it was performed etc. To deal with this question it would have to examine just the one point - does a dragged freewheeling prop exert more drag than a dragged fixed prop - if it even introduces other factors then the basis of it is wrong. The answer is already known to science so there is little point in doing it - also its hardly the stuff of a PhD because it is a simple experiment.

So please provide the link to this thesis and I will comment further.
 
Re: Freewheeling

Talking now of big ships. You have say a 300,000dwt tanker - how quickly will it stop. There are lots of ways but if you exclude the use of any rudder from full ahead sea speed to stopped in the water the fastest and shortest distance used is to proceed with the engine at dead slow and then obviously stop at the appropiate time. Meanly stopping the prop takes longer as does going full astern as here the prop just trashes around in a 'cavity'. ok?
 
Arg! Boring Technical Question

If you drove over a mischievous floating cat - would it really damage the props? Suppose they were water jets - would it gum up the wqater intakes? Would having cat allow you to qualify as a fishing vessel and therefore get red diesel?
 
Not neccessarily extra propulsion, from the mizzen it is set so as to counteract prop wqalk, for that prop, I watch the rudder indicator and set the sail to allow the rudder to stay mostly amidships, this is not always, in fact rarely, the best position of the sail for drive. If motorsailing, that's is a totally different saucepan of cod! I set the sails for drive and trim to help prop walk. I have stopped the prop rotating, with the rope spanish windlass, I could see no improvement on my speed as logged, not sure about fuel consumption, but it would have to be a very long trip to make a big difference. I do know that a fixed prop offers less, drag, NO please dont argue with me, it does, as tank tested at the flume in Liverpool uni. So I will try locking it for 500-1000 mile journeys in future. My Bruv sails a lot and lets both his props rotate, but has an alternetor on one shaft and generates leccy!
 
Ccscott, just a thought. If you use the rudder to counteract prop walk, it causes drag thru the water, agreed. If you use the mizzen instead, isn't it creating a similar amount of drag thru the air, to produce the same sideways-force effect? Or are you saying that a mizzen sail produces less drag (for a given amount of sideways force) than a rudder?

Dunno, just wondering. I spose it depends on wind direction

(I haven't kept up with the rest of this thread, lost interest, in the circumstances)
 
"what about if one has water jet drives?
Several instances to consider which are common - 2 drives, 3 drives and 4 drives - for each instance what is the most economical combination fuel wise in terms of number of engines run? "

I apologise for not getting back to you earlier in response to your points above.

Having had time to investigate the whole matter further I have uncovered a remarkable fact ..... a spinning boat offers less drag than a static boat just ploughing through the water in a straight path!

This super efficient way of boating - I would like to call centrifugal boating, consists of a boat that spins like a top as it proceeds forwards through the water – a bit like a kids spinning top scooting across the floor.

This is where your question comes in – the only way of propelling such a boat (which in practice only uses 1% of the fuel of the same boat when in normal straight mode), is by jets – you need a jet offset at the from and back to get the spin – you need four jets if you plan to travel in the southern hemisphere as for reasons I could go into if you wish, you need to spin the other way around there and so need a jet at right angles both at bow and stern.

Twin 700 hp jets on a 60 foot boat will get it spinning at about 60 rpm. Forward propulsion is provided by a normal domestic fan placed on the bathing platform – its that efficient although I do suggest a large fan – Woollies sell a really big one for £29.99.

Using this spinning technique - or as its called by those who have seen it – saucer boat propulsion, you can travel from the UK to the Med and back on less than 10 gallons of fuel.

Vision is superb …. all round – you do not have to worry about overtaking boats hitting you as you see the complete horizon at least once a second.

Its also a very safe technique for passengers as they are stuck to the outside seats on the boat – on trails a few of them got flung out of the cockpit, so we advise only travelling in a seated saloon position.

Also we advise seating those likely to be sea sick opposite an open window,

I fully appreciate that you may claim that such a spinning boat may exert more drag than the static boat and indeed it would if it used props – but the clever use of jets and the fact that so little of the boat is in the water combine to make it a very low drag combination indeed.
 
Re: Arg! Boring Technical Question

Give a mischievous cat a thread to play with and one could end up with all sorts of freewheeling screw ups.

John
 
Why slowing the engine brakes the boat more than freewheeling

A point has been made earlier in the thread about there being more braking effect produced by slowing the prop down than by letting it freewheel ... that is the case.

The prop by rotating can be imagined to be handling many, many times the water area of a still prop - when you slow the prop down under power you are forcing it to go at a speed that in effect is using its surface area to brake with. If you let it freewheel it would start its rpm at the same as the rpm the mopment power was stopped - if you simply lower the rpm you force it to slow down slower and more rapidly than this - in effect you are using the prop as a brake.

I will still be coming back on a few remaining points but thought it worthwhile explaing this one.
 
No More Please!!!

[ QUOTE ]
I will still be coming back on a few reamianing points but thought it worthwhile explaing this one.

[/ QUOTE ]


<span style="color:blue">Gludy, No more pleeease...enuff already! </span>
 
Re: No More Please!!!

I am sorry but I do not like the censorship bit - there were a few outstanding points that I stated I would come back with and I shall ... for example my prop bloke has just found some maths mistakes in a table that was published and I intend to post those conclusions....you are not forced to read the subject.

I have just pointed out why a braking prop has more braking power than a free wheeling prop because that was a question posed to me. Now that may bore you silly and thats OK but it may interest others and that is OK too.

I am not the one who caused the long thread - it was caused by others challanging what is a basic scientific fact. By them doing this I have learnt more and I hope they have but this attitude that a member sort of does a censorship on a thread with requests for no more please, is just not acceptable.

So sorry but i do not accept your request and cannot see then reason why you made it other than as a maeans of control of others - just do not read the thread, you know what it is about and it obviously does not interest you.
 
Re: No More Please!!!

[ QUOTE ]
I am not the one who caused the long thread

[/ QUOTE ]

You've made 70+ posts on this thread alone!!!!


[ QUOTE ]
I am sorry but I do not like the censorship bit

[/ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
cannot see then reason why you made it other than as a maeans of control of others

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh for Gods sake Gludy, lighten up!

.
 
Re: No More Please!!!

I this is the sort of attitude that baffles me - I have posted very light fun messages on this thread as well as serious ones - my posts have been in defending what turned out to be a correct position but all that is of no importtance at all..... you deciding when I should stop posting is something that is totally unacceptable.

How dare you place yourself in such a position as to tell people to stop posting because you choose to - just ignore the thread it s as simple as that.

Its this sort of clique attitude that does a lot of damage to this forum and I have no intention of putting up with it.

So you lighten up ... go off and read threads that interest you but do not try to stop others doing what they want to do. Your arrogance is amazing.
 
Re: No More Please!!!

Gludy

Do make your remaining points - judging by the number of thread views , a fair few of people found it interesting enough to keep reading.


Re. the " Gludy, No more pleeease...enuff already! " ; you may have taken that a bit too seriously - it wouldn't strike me as attempted censorship, just a light-hearted comment.


As others said earlier - any info/pics on the new boat wd be most interesting
 
Warning! Automatic gyro-stabilisation of this thread has failed, unexpected movements in unexpected directions may be experienced at ANY time. You are advised to keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times and utilise all safety restraints until automatic gyro-stabilisation can be restored.

Should you experience particularly severe turbulence then please press the <span style="color:red">Index</span> button on your control panel, this will initiate the eject sequence.

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Top