Sailing on salt water, or fresh?
and.....
Would spraying the bottom of your board with silicon speed you up or slow you down???
Salt is by far faster... much more buoyancy for your board so there's less drag.
Jury is out on whether sprays such as silicone/teflon etc make you any faster. I've used some of the Holmenkol products and believe they work well on the boards (they're based on nano-technology :)); however I've never done any 2-boat testing to prove it... just mental.
i dare u to post this on the gps and speed sailing, youll never here the end of it haha, id say there is no diference, yes salt has more boyancy, but when a windsurfer is planing its skimming across the waters surface, so the fact that there are salt molecules in the water shouldent change its thinkness or whatever affects this phennonomen?? probs have to ask a fluid mechanics whizz... i doubt it... also...
saltwater = ocean= tides, sandy point has a huge tide going with the wind.. cant say that doesnt ad a couple knots to gps times!! (hahaha im guna get a spay for sayin that)
the current speed record is held on flat water
I wonder if soaping the water would help?? It would greatly decrease the skin tension of the water, which should make it easier to get through.
Of course, soapy water in your eyes isn't a good thing, and all those foamy suds blowing around the speed strip might cause some consternation.
How about gloss vs. matt paint finishes? Or that hydrophobic paint stuff they use on powerboats?
My guess - saltwater is denser - More drag on the fin.
Wouldn't tiny air bubles on the hull reduce friction - as in olympic swimmwers special suits. Maybe you need this sort of texture (capture the bubles) on the bottom third of the boards hull? - dunno about silicone though.
PM goodbrewster... He'll have a few opinions on this one
Does the density difference between fresh and salt water mean more drag on the fin
i think the trench at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer-la-la-we-de-vo-de-la is fresh water?? correct me if im wrong, from what i know it was man made, maybe they filed it from the ocean... i can go faster in canberra, even though my 95 has less bouyancy there, but mainly cause its so gusty that when a good gust comes thru, the water is still flat from 5 mins of no wind!! hahah its fantastic!!!., so the salt does ad density and the viscousity probs doesnt go up much so, your probs better of yea, but it would make sweet FA difference!! u would need a smaller fin to make use of it.. its all viscosity vs density, so honey is slower than water.. would have to look up the ratios on google i cant b stuffed!!
the big one that everybody ignores is shallow water vs deep water... those skim boards dont go 2 meters in deep water, but in 5cms they go much much further, ground affect is sick
