DSS – Dynamic Stability Systems – has been added to SpeedDream. They are leeward lifting foils there to add stability and reduce displacement. This video shows the first day of testing in Newport, RI.
The SpeedDream project is a quest to design the fastest monohull on the planet. The expectation is that SpeedDream will rival and possibly even exceed speeds achieved by comparably sized multihulls. Some of the features that make SpeedDream unique include a slender, wave-piercing hull, ultimate canting keel and stabilizing hydrofoil that creates additional righting momentum and offsets displacement. We are excited to take part in such a cutting-edge project and look forward to seeing where these technological innovations lead!
Something more about the DSS
The concept drawings also show SpeedDream as having a DSS, Dynamic Stability Systems-style retractable foil to leeward to create righting moment. However the SpeedDream lateral foil has a giant hook on the end of it which doesn’t feature in Hugh Welbourn’s design. However the DSS foil has been left off the 27ft prototype. Murnikov is keen on the idea, but remains to be 100% convinced of the benefits of the Dynamic Stability Systems foil arrangement.
He explains: “I come from Russia and Russia was one of the pioneers of hydrofoils and there were tonnes of commercial ferries and military craft, patrol boats that were on hydrofoils. Then they found that when you go faster, efficiency drops and you would be better… if you look at today’s military patrol boats they are not hydrofoils, they are just planing hulls.
“The problem with the foil as I see it, and it might be solved in the future, is that there is always the big risk that you will fly, you will leave the water. And if the boat jumps into the air, she will inevitably crash. I really praise what the L’Hydroptere guys are doing – that is a beautiful feat, a huge achievement – but they have had a lot of trouble and at some point the boat does jump into the air and crash down. So I am not truly a believer in hydrofoils.”
However the lateral foil it is something they are still contemplating. As the SpeedDream prototype is roughly the same size as the Quant 28 DSS boat that has been racing with great success on the Swiss lakes and is currently going into production in the UK (an update on this follows next week), Murnikov hopes that the two boats will get to line up so that they can see the differences.