THE HYBRID: FIRST MOVE January 16, 2011

AND WE GOT REAL WET

Today we write 16th January 2011 and we are back in the south after a good month in the middle of the long winter night of Lofoten. Before the return Runhild and I visited Classic boat builder Kai Linde at Rognan which is one hour on the train south of Bodø. Kai is the man chosen to be responsible for putting together the wooden hull for the Hybrid – the first small scale prototype for the Sailpowered Fishing Project. Kai is a good old friend so it didnt take long before we got into discussing the real matters.

Short after our arrival we agreed to meet the next morning at the local swimming pool to do some underwater studies of the small scale boat models we had made before we met. Kai had made a special agreement so we would have the pool all to ourselves. We went to bed early and the stars were shining bright outside the giant window in the loft room over Kai´s workshop. A little childish excitement is always good.

As we had not prepared to go swimming that weekend we had some fun putting on some borrowed swimwear and I found my trunks twisted around my knees after the diving into the pool next morning.
I had brought my G11 camera with a waterproof box so we felt quite professional despite looking pretty funny running alongside the pool towing our models at planing speed.
It was surprisingly interesting to watch the boats from underneath, something I never have seen before and we got real inspired and what a nice way to do scientific research. What we saw and felt during these exercises gave us an excellent starting point and a good basis for all the discussions we had during the next two days.

In the afternoon an old apprentice (student) in Kai´s workshop Fredrik Gravem, who later became an engineer and boat designer came around – and we all three had an interesting day discussing quite openly about the whole idea of making a modern style racing hull design, in classic wood, clinker style.
Our main challenge is to make the hull strong and not too heavy to be able to perform according our expectations we wish to have from a hull-shape made for planing speeds. We understand this will be a challenge and of course also a compromise.

I have decided to have this prototype hull made the classic way,as a clinker in wood, and the reasons are not only to honor those people who through generations gave all their energy and skillpower and often their lives – to develop these boats into perfection.
But that could well be reason good enough alone.
One other good reason is that a clinker hull with a nice shape make me weak in my knees- just like my Nordlandsboat Misvær Marit does to me every time I see her.

She is like a woman, Ferdinand Porsche said to me 20 years ago when I asked him what was so special about the 911 which he designed, and later became a great legend. She is like a woman he said — she is unpredictable. She can be run with the feeling of perfection in hand – but at the same time you never feel sure about her. She will always challenge you – she will never let you rest. But you love her.
Kai and I agreed on many important matters that weekend and there are still many more to be discussed and that is the joy with it all.

.
.
.

PICTURES FROM OUR VISIT AT ROGNAN EARLY JANUARY 2011
.
Easy talking in Kai Linde´s workshop. From left: Boat design theorist Fredrik Gravem, Jan, Kai Linde and Dag Pettersen, a curious journalist from local newspaper Avisa Nordland, who wrote a good little story about the Hybrid and our vision for Sailpowered Fishing.

.

Kai and I discussing the shape of the hull and questions around how to adapt the clinker principle into a modern hull design, which is one of our major challenges.

.

Model testing in the pool. To observe the model from a cod perspective was a true revelation and extremely fascinating with lots of fun included.

.

Model testing. Mattis Linde follows fathers model in close up.

.

Model testing. The wave pattern shows nicely at planing speed

.

So this is where this project stands at the moment and more news will come as soon as new things will happen. Fredrick the boat designer has promised us some computer drawings and I will soon come up with more thoughts and details on the Hybrid progression.

take care
jan wanggaard

.
.
READ MORE ON THE HYBRID PROJECT
.
.