Being out on the open water is a great feeling. You get to relax with none of the hustle and bustle of urban or rural life, and it is a great way to spend a day with your family, friends or just by yourself. However, there are some serious considerations when looking at a boat’s design, such as what you will be using the boat for, and where will you be using it?
Sails
The sails interact with the oncoming wind when a boat is moving. The sails are key because they help maintain stability by reducing drag and turbulence and, more importantly, they generate lift so that the boat can move through the water.
When the wind interacts with the front sail, the wind cuts around the sail, creating regions of high and low pressure. This pressure difference generates lift at the front of the boat, making it cut through the water. This principle is known as the Bernoulli Effect.
The Keel
The keel does the exact same thing as the sails, but in the water. The moving water interacts with the keel and creates lift at the bow of the boat, as well as speed. This is because the keel is able to convert sideways motion into forward motion.
Racing boats require the largest keels because they travel at very high speeds, so they require a large keel for stability. Offshore boats require a shallow keel, as they are not designed for high speeds and a shallow keel reduces the risk of running aground. For tight manoeuvres and steady voyages, a fin keel is the best to use.
Buoyancy
Buoyancy is definitely the most important thing when it comes to boats. However, you can’t make a boat entirely out of a very buoyant material, otherwise it will lack in speed and will struggle to move. This is because the lift would be much greater than the thrust, so more power will be required to move the boat. There needs to be a good exchange between the buoyancy of the boat and the thrust, i.e. the power driving the boat.
The sails, keel and material are incredibly important to the design of a boat and, because of this, it is essential that you maintain them to keep your boat fully functioning. This can be from replacing entire sections such as engine repair to performing easy fixes, getting some deck hardware or using marine cleaning products.If you would like to know more information, then please don’t hesitate to contact us today on 01524 862010 and we will be more than happy to help.