Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Nutcracker Man -- Hookworm Target -- Nascent Oil Industry."

4 Comments

1. 1. Quinn the Eskimo 01:49 AM 11/12/09

   All this seems like old news, to me.

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2. 2. billwald 11:32 PM 11/15/09

   Windmill Boat - No mariners on board? The advantage, if it worked, would be that it could sail directly into the wind. Don't think it would have enough power as drawn. It needs vertical axis turbines

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3. 3. Uncle Don 04:49 PM 11/19/09

   WIND MILL BOAT - I do not believe that a wind mill boat could sail directly into the wind. Some people say that they have seen them do so. I have thought about it and do not see how it could happen although I have not made a model or had any experience of windmill boats. I am not a scientist nor a marine engineerm I am just sure that it is impossible. I will not be offended to be proven wrong.

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4. 4. deeman 10:13 AM 11/24/09

   I don't believe the wind mill boat could sail directly into the wind because the wind would be acting to push the large blades backwards while those same blades were powering the small prop in the water, with some loss of energy through friction and the tangential reduction in power by translation of work or force through the wind mill blades themselves. F=ma has direction taken into account in the a, acceleration, and so a wind mill can not capture all the power of the wind since the blades are not exactly perpendicular or they wouldn't spin. (in other words, only a flat surface exactly perpendicular to the acting force will absorb all the energy.) Actually a sail comes closer to capturing the power because of the billowing at the mast. (If you try to use soft sails like in Holland's giant wind mills for your boat's wind mills, I believe you will need a certain size to compensate for ...sorry, 'nuff said) Suffice to say, you will not get more force in any direction against that force unless you have a secondary source. Which leads me to my next thought.
   I am intrigued by the translation of the wind into use by the gears. With a simple transmission, I can see having set speeds such as slow and fast (sailboats can mimic this, too) with the all important REVERSE gear (something very hard for sailboats to do). Also, with a storage device for electricity, any extra energy from the wind could be saved by a generator for use to move directly into the wind with the wind mills folded down or even in use.
   The biggest problem I see with all this is the tangential force acting on the mast of the wind mill. It will invariably acting against the direction you might be going in, as opposed to in sailing in which you realize that the direction of the wind is fundamental to plotting your course. So the force on the mast in a sailboat at the end of it all is generally in keeping with your design in travel. The only practical way to solve this problem I see is to use computer fly-by-wire. And after all is said and done, the contradictory forces between the mast and propeller would render the advantage of directional control such as reverse and even the storage of electricity insignificant. So maybe that is why the idea never got off the ground (or was successfully floated).
   But I still think there is some constructive use I am overlooking for this idea. I just can't wrap my mind around it yet and I've got to go out and mow the yard.
   

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