it's not a sailboat but...

[chucklesR]

Navy Seals got a new Mako designed and built for them because the current one puts up to 20g of force on the passengers as it slams along at 50+kts Despite shock absorbers on the seats).
To reduce the pounding transmitted through the now aluminum hull they went with kevlar and foam, and I'm sure more tax dollars went into that - making the boat stiffer and lighter I guess.

- don't they know that the hull design itself is the best place to reduce pounding? And to make it lighter they could go with gas vs diesel, or even turbine (since they aren't paying for fuel and this isn't a long range vessel).

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/13/s....ap/index.html

[tomaz_423]

I am not a naval architect, but I would guess that the stiffer the hull is the more G force will be put on the crew when it hits the wave and not less.
I would rather go to different shape of the hull: Sharp V or some sort of wave piercing design.
The other could be to have long (collapsable?) wings down in the water and glide above the water like some fast ferries.
Chuck, if they do build them please remind them to send me 1% for my idea. :-)

[2Gringos]

I can see several reasons they would prefer diesel to gasoline.

[Jeff_H]

The idea is if you can reduce weight you can reduce pounding forces. Carbon/Kevlar/ high density foam produces a substantially stronger-tougher hull with less weight than aluminum or steel. In the current marketplace, both carbon fiber and kevlar has gotten relatively cheaper especially as compared to years past, so the choice to use kevlar may have partially been cost savings driven.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[sailingdog]

Kevlar isn't all that good at producing a stiff hull...since it is weak in compression, but strong in tension—can't push on a rope after all.

The main benefit and reason kevlar is used in laminate hulls is for impact resistance. If it is used as part of the inner laminate, in the case of an impact, the outer hull and foam will often be damaged, but the inner laminate will flex, but not break, preventing the boat from taking on water.

A properly engineered fiberglass/carbon fiber/kevlar/foam composite laminate hull will be very, very tough and light. It also will have the added advantage of absorbing noise and vibration in many cases, especially compared to a steel or aluminum hull.