Parasail

The Assignment

“Horizontal extension of the range of sailing products” read the assignment of the ISTEC AG at the placing of the project. RGD™’s successfully established Parasailor² served as the basis. The Parasail was intended to close the gap between a standard spinnaker and the Parasailor², as well as to supplement the Parasailor²’s range of application.

The maximum performance capability of the Parasailor²’s sail is reached when the surrounding air speed around the paraglider-like wing measures at least 5 knots. The new Parasail was intended to reach its optimal performance capability at a middle to low wind level.

Through its complex construction with an inflated wing, the Parasailor²’s total weight and cost of production lay considerably higher than that of a standard downwind sail. The Parasail was intended to to provide customers with an improvement in this area as well.

The Challenge

The stipulations of the project consisted of maintaning the efficient and patented action principle of the Parasailor², while redesigning the wing system in such a way as to noticeably improve the performance in light winds, and also significantly sink the production costs.

The Execution

In order to be able to realize the minimum required surrounding air speed of 2 knots for the Parasail, the total weight of the sail had to be reduced, and the entire form of the wing had to be reworked. The solution lay in the development of a single-skin wing that had only one top sail membrane instead of an undersail and rib sails along its entire length. Through this simplification in the construction, the weight is reduced by one third. However, since all relevant parameters were altered, the new airfoil geometry required a reworking of the entire body of the sail. The placement and size of the air intake in the main sail were recoordinated to allow an optimal affixing of the wing. The first sailing tests showed clearly that the the Parasail was an optimal sail for light winds. Even the hoisting and lowering of the sail were considerably improved by the new construction.

Project Details

The Parasail succeeded in maintaining the positive characteristics of the Parasailor², such as the wind-realeasing function (gust padding), buoyancy and propulsion, and at the same time in extending the range of implementation to lower wind speeds.

The Parasail will not replace the Parasailor², as the layout is too different for that purpose. However, this sail represents an ideal supplement of the range of products: Sailors who value performance and safety at wind speeds of up to 25 knots will gladly welcome the Parasail.