Development of Hydrofoil rowboat
On Wednesday 16 November 2016, Karsten Koelewijn, manager of RISE Delft, gave a lecture on the development of a hydrofoil rowing boat.
With the aim of boosting innovation in the sport of rowing, the Rowing Innovation and Sports Innovation (RISE) dream team was founded in late 2013 by rowing students from TU Delft.
RISE's mission is to design and build the fastest rowing boat in the world. The dream is to compete in a competition against other universities building equivalent boats.
Ultimately, the team hopes to encourage mainstream rowing to adopt new techniques and methods.
The first flying four-person rowing boat
RISE's first project was to develop a four-person rowing boat (double-four) on hydrofoils. By using hydrofoils (hydrofoils), water drag can be drastically reduced by lifting the hull out of the water. By reducing drag, higher speeds can be achieved with the same force.
To enable the rowing boat to actually "fly" above the water, the hull is reinforced so as not to break through when no longer supported by the water surface. This is because a normal rowing boat breaks when rowers sit in the boat when it is not on the water. To reduce the mass displacement through the boat and therefore enable it to travel at a constant speed, roller irons are used. In a conventional boat, the rower moves through the boat and the feet sit still at the rigger; in our boat, on the contrary, the rower sits still.
RISE has sailed with this boat on the Schie in Delft. A video shows the boat breaking free from the water and continuing on its hydrofoils.
New project
After sailing the four-person rowing boat, a new team was started to develop and build a new boat in a year's time. This year, it was decided to go for a one-person rowing boat, a skiff. The knowledge on hydrofoils, roller triggers and hull reinforcement were again applied in the design and developed a step further.
Hydrofoils
As can be seen somewhat in the picture of the double-four, quite a few waves are created. Those waves are created by the front wing and somewhat interfere with the rear wing. This is because the front wing's span is quite large. In the new design for the skiff, the front wing is small and the rear wing is large. Over 2.5 metres. So it needs to be boarded at a floating raft so that the wing can go underneath. For an eight, the wing would have to be 4 metres. That is not practical, hence the restriction to a skiff.
Hinges
An additional development is that the wings are also hinged. Like an aeroplane, when taking off you want more lift and therefore a higher angle. This is achieved by hinging the wings. Via a rod and a float on the water, it is controlled so that the angle becomes large when sailing (lots of lift) and small when "flying" (less lift needed and less drag). Another problem is that the hinge provides a lot of resistance.
The goal will be to sail the 2km in about 4½ minutes. The current record is still around 6½ minutes.
Description
RISE's mission is to design and build the most innovative and fastest rowing boat in the world. The dream is to race in a competition with other universities, which build similar boats. Right now the team has finished developing their first boat, the "Akzo Nobel". With this boat, RISE will show that it is possible to sail on hydrofoils with a four-person rowing boat and to decrease the resistance, so it can reach speeds that are not possible with conventional rowing boats. The boat will be outside the FISA regulations. The team is currently designing a single scull's rowing shell on hydrofoils.
The team hopes to stimulate the regular rowing sport to apply new techniques and methods. The design of a rowing shell, with a few minor differences, is unchanged for decades. Many other sports - think of sailing or skating - are constantly innovating. Also in rowing there are many areas to innovate. For example, the possibility of sliding riggers in multi-person boats, hydrofoils, hull construction, and special stir variants, innovative footboards, special blade shapes and new coatings. RISE believes that innovative changes will come improve our sport and inspires rowers, coaches, and other enthusiasts to sometimes think outside the traditional boundaries of rowing.
In 2013, RISE received the D:Dream-team status. The team exists currently of 13 enthusiastic students of the Delft University of Technology, the Haagse Hogeschool and Hogeschool Inholland. The students are from different study areas, including Marine Technology, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Design Engineering and Civil Engineering. The team consists of 4 departments: Management, Public Relations, Finance and Research & Development. This team will do this with a common goal: developing the fastest rowing boat in the world and eventually competing in a competition with similar boats!
Location
Organiser
Region North-Holland
Name and contact details for information
Guus van Ditzhuijzen