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A wind transducer is a device used by sailors to receive a real-time measurement of wind speed and direction. [1] [2] A wind transducer is usually mounted on the masthead of a sailing boat and is occasionally used by power boats too. The wind speed and direction measurements are more critical to sailing boats than to power boats.
An apparent wind indicator, as found on sailboat, is a small weather vane or arrow that gives an indication of the current apparent wind direction. This indication allows the skipper to set their sails or their course for best performance, according to the points of sail .
A velocity prediction program (VPP) is a computer program which solves for the performance of a sailing yacht in various wind conditions by balancing hull and sail forces. VPPs are used by yacht designers, boat builders, model testers, sailors, sailmakers, also America's Cup teams, to predict the performance of a sailboat before it has been built or prior to major modifications.
Sailing hydrofoils achieve boat speeds up to twice the speed of the wind, as did the AC72 catamarans used for the 2013 America's Cup. [20] Ice boats can sail up to five times the speed of the wind. [21] [22] Lateral force is a reaction supplied by the underwater shape of a sailboat, the blades of an ice boat and the wheels of a land sailing craft.
A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may be made from a combination of woven materials—including canvas or polyester cloth, laminated membranes or ...
More specifically, since they operate using the Doppler effect with a multi-beam configuration to determine wind speed, they are the exact in-air equivalent to a subclass of sonar systems known as acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP). Other names used for sodar systems include sounder, echosounder and acoustic radar.
Wind speed increases with height above the surface; at the same time, wind speed may vary over short periods of time as gusts. Wind shear affects sailing craft in motion by presenting a different wind speed and direction at different heights along the mast. Wind shear occurs because of friction above a water surface slowing the flow of air. [80]
Wind speed on the Beaufort scale is based on the empirical relationship: [6] v = 0.836 B 3/2 m/s; v = 1.625 B 3/2 knots (=) where v is the equivalent wind speed at 10 metres above the sea surface and B is Beaufort scale number.