Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Elias Blomstrand
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Daniel Johansson
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Niklas Karlsson
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Niklas Olofsson
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Petra Steen
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Martin Fagerström
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
Leif E. Asp
Department of Industrial and Materials Science, Division of Material and Computational Mechanics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
John McVeagh
SSPA Sweden AB Research, Box 24001, 40022 Göteborg, Sweden
Matz Brown
SSPA Sweden AB Research, Box 24001, 40022 Göteborg, Sweden
Christian Finnsgård
SSPA Sweden AB Research, Box 24001, 40022 Göteborg, Sweden
In April 2017, a foiling Optimist dingy designed entirely by students, was successfully tested under standard sailing conditions in the waters outside Gothenburg. In order to achieve take of wind speeds as low as 6 m/s, a stiff and lightweight design of the dinghy and its foiling components was necessary. There have been few successful attempts to make an Optimist foil in a stable manner, as such there were no standards or recommendations available for the design. Therefore, a simulation driven structural design methodology for hydrofoils, centreboards, centreboard-to-hull connections, and necessary hull reinforcements using sandwich structures was adopted. The proposed design was then manufactured, allowing for a significantly stiffer hull and a 20% decrease in weight over a conventional Optimist. Excluding the rig and sail, the final weight came to 27 kg.
