The lastest Tech unveiled in Australia

A quick check around the boat park at the Australian Nationals revealed that, decksweeper sails aside, design has as ever, been going into improving foils and particularly rudders.  

Several new designs were on show from DNA and Exploder.  These are striving to reduce drag and now sport smooth down turned winglets on their tips in common with kiteboarding hydrofoils.  They impart stability and vastly improve performance as they control and allow the fluid to flow much more smoothly from the turned and swept back tips rather than forming a drag inducing vortex when the tip just ends in a flat shape.

These are also regularly seen and are particularly popular on molded model gliders where their commercially produced designs date back to at least the 1990s.

Much work is going into this field, together with drag reducing twin skin trampolines as it is realised that the 'aggregation on small gains' made by these advances can make the difference to the top level racers.  In the words of British multiple Olympic gold medal cyclist, Sir Chris Hoy, when asked by a disgruntled French competitor about how he went so fast, simply replied - '...Our wheels are just very, very round!'

Photos- Bob Griffits