[Crewagency]

Hi all.
I search for the website with some info about the Aerorig Spar.
Found that producer is carbospars ?? but found no link to the companys
website. Need help to find this or direct contact details.
Thanks in advance

[Eric Sponberg]

As far as I am aware, Carbospars is out of business, and they were indeed the builders of Aerorigs. No one is building Aerorigs anymore. Forespar in California was once a licensed builder for the Aerorig, so they may know more about what happened to them.

Eric

[yotphix]

Originally Posted by Crewagency

Hi all.
I search for the website with some info about the Aerorig Spar.
Found that producer is carbospars ?? but found no link to the companys
website. Need help to find this or direct contact details.
Thanks in advance

Are you considering puchasing a Kanter sailboat by chance?

[MikeElliston]

as far as the original makers of the aerorig i do not know, i believe that seatek in Willington,CA is able to make a rig of a similar design though

[MaxResolution]

Eric Sponberg is certainly being modest with his feedback on this 'Aerorig'. At his site he thoroughly explains the state of the art in free-standing masts, and his writing is a must read on this topic. (Even for a "Baboon" like me!)

A long time ago I saw a shocking picture of a trawler with just such an appendage, but it did not even resemble a traditional sail. It was more like a giant set of Levelor blinds. And, on the web I only found one lonely image of a University -trial project, in which case they had built a very unusual, 3-passenger racing boat.

Still, we have some relatively compelling reasons to revisit this design formula, especially in a square-rigger, such as the Maltese Falcon deploys. However, I can't imagine it suddenly taking-off, unless the production methods and thus the scalability can be reproduced on the cheap. The rotation appears to cry out for an elaborate computer-controlled servo motor. The masts themselves could perhaps use a more heterogenious materials lay-up technique. For example all carbon, formed around a sculpted six-axis spine. Also, could they not benefit from a base like a turntable, enabling the use of a rear stay, or triangulated external spine?

It's a tough gig, and somebody's going to master it.

[MiddleAgesMan]

I saw a small boat with what must have been an early Aerorig at the beach on Tybee Island--maybe 20-25 years ago. It was probably about 10 feet long, 3 feet wide, and was being sailed by a lone sailor sitting low along the centerline. He appeared to be controlling the rudder with foot pedals.

The rig certainly seemed to make life easy for the sailor but I was not impressed with this early version--it appeared too small for the boat but also flimsy.

Could this have been the inventor that I saw? I've tried to learn the history of the rig but have not found anything going that far back.

By the way, Carbospars had some serious problems with at least one of their high-profile Aerorig equipped yachts. I stumbled across the story on a site called Sailing Anarchy or something like that. I suspect there was some serious bad publicity surrounding failure(s) of their rigs that probably put them under. The boat I read about was designed for the Aerorig but Carbospars made a highly-flawed rig that weighed twice what it should have. The owner said the boat would heel 15 degrees tied to the dock in 15 knots of wind.

[Innomare]

Aerorig-fans should be happy to see the concept is alive and well. If you go to the site of Gerard Dijkstra N.A. (http://www.gdnp.nl/) and click on "current projects", you'll see a 47 m Aerorig sailing yacht.
According to the site, it's under construction at Royal Huisman at the moment...

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by Innomare

Aerorig-fans should be happy to see the concept is alive and well. If you go to the site of Gerard Dijkstra N.A. (http://www.gdnp.nl/) and click on "current projects", you'll see a 47 m Aerorig sailing yacht.
According to the site, it's under construction at Royal Huisman at the moment...

Don't see her listed any longer??

BTW, a principle with the Aerorig company was a primary principle with the Maltese Falcon project as well

[Innomare]

You're right Brian.

It seems they remodelled the site and the aerorig project is not there anymore. Maybe the project stranded on the drawingboard...

[brian eiland]

Recently was sent this photo of a 'twin aerorig' or 'ketch aerorig' by a gentleman interested in the Dynarig.

..."a yacht built and sailed in Brazil"

[Antonio Torres]

Hi Brian,

The yachts name is Paratii 2.
It belongs to the famous brazilian sailor Amir Klink.
Its a 90 footer and was design with high latitudes in mind. She can be single sailed.
Although the picture angle does not show it well, she is a schooner, not a ketch (spars are the same size)

[brian eiland]

Thanks Antonio,
I discovered that the other day when I went looking for references to the AeroRig. Here's a posting I made on another forum:


They've stopped building it in full scale for a number of reasons both financial and some quality build problems. But there were a number of yachts built with this rig.

Another name for this rig type would be a 'balestron rig'.


http://pws.prserv.net/c-m/ML-fs/Mona-Lisa-for-sale.html

http://www.pedigreecats.com/js/js52home.htm

http://www.raeng.org.uk/prizes/macro...99/aerorig.htm

http://barbara-ann.net/ril_51.html

http://www.bcryachts.com/index.php?id=182561

http://www.boatquest.com/All/Manufac...D/1/boats.aspx

http://www.yachtlanovia.com/

http://www.yachtshare.com/cgi-bin/displayaboat?bid=257

http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/repri...m=ybw&id=11588

http://www.geocities.com/jp_br/Dreampage/List-AC.html

PROBLEMS
http://sailinganarchy.com/general/2003/aerorig.htm

GOOD PHOTO
http://www.yachtfractions.co.uk/os/detail.asp?ID=360

Just found the 'double AeroRig' application I sighted above:


....excerpt....
When Brazilian adventurer Amyr Klink attempts a 50,000 mile polar circumnavigation next year, he will catch the wind with two AeroRigs. His new boat Paratii 2, a 28 metre aluminium schooner, is currently being built in Brazil, and Carbospars will supply the rigs at the end of 1999. Klink is an AeroRig convert, after using one on his old 15 metre steel-hulled cruiser, Paratii, on the first ever single-handed circumnavigation around Antarctica. The trip took him just 88 days instead of the expected 100, because the AeroRig made the boat more stable and easier to handle, even in mountainous seas. After 9,700 miles, enduring winds up to 120 kilometres an hour, and waves up to 20 metres high, Klink wrote "I am really pleased with the AeroRig - it keeps the boat well balanced."
http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/release....htm?NewsID=83


LOTS OF GOOD DISCUSSIONS
http://www.geocities.com/jp_br/Dreampage/Catamaran.html
http://www.geocities.com/jp_br/Dreampage/Catamaran.html

http://www.sailingmagazine.net/perry_jutson56.html

http://www.harryproa.com/faqs.htm

[AMG]

This is a nice AeroRig yacht I have seen when she was new. On this page are links to other such yachts and info as well; http://www.yachtmonalisa.com/

[Loren Schweizer]

I know I'm late to the party with my comments, but here goes:

The brokerage company that I was with at the time did about half sail, half power.
They had a very nice sloop, 46 or 47 LOA, with an Aero Rig.

I, with some other brokers, were invited to go for a sail.
I thought it was the bee's knees when we did a jibe and the sails gently came around--as opposed to my usual experience (in racing) of all that laundry come hurtling across the decks.
Plus, you handled the sails with one string! Neat!

I learned a lot about sailors from this boat: they are very conservative, and virtually nobody wanted to buy that poor owner's boat for a very long time.
Just too 'different', I suppose.

[brian eiland]

Originally Posted by Loren Schweizer

....I learned a lot about sailors from this boat: they are very conservative, and virtually nobody wanted to buy that poor owner's boat for a very long time.
Just too 'different', I suppose.

Truer words were never spoken !! ....especially American sailors

My experience?? ...first I got involved with multihull sailboats, and secondly I've promoted a few 'unusual' sailing rigs:
RunningTideYachts.com