Skysails Yacht is joining forces with Race for Water to develop its towing kite.
Skysails Yacht in brief:
- Founded in 2017
- Technological leader of the market for automated towing kites for yachts
- Relies on 15 years’ experience from SkySails Group GmbH, its parent company renowned for its towing kite system for cargo ships
- Technology patented worldwide
How the towing kite works
The Skysails Yacht company is developing a latest generation towing kite with a surface area of 40m2, which is deployed at a height of 150m, the equivalent of 500m2 of sail area on the sea. It is an innovative and high-performance solution, controlled automatically, which enables significant gains in range and increases the vessel’s speed in certain conditions.
Instead of the traditional sail hoisted on a mast, a kite is used to tow the catamaran. Their shape is similar to that of a paraglider. This kite is made from high-strength, waterproof fabrics.
The towing kite can operate at altitudes of 150 to 200 metres where stronger, more stable winds prevail. The tractive forces are transmitted to the boat via a line made of very high-strength synthetic fibres.
The launch and recovery system is installed on the foredeck and it manages the lowering and deployment of the kite wing. For the launch, the wind is hoisted to the top of the mast. The wind inflates it and deploys the sail, which can then be released using the towing line. A winch unwinds the towing line until operating altitude has been reached. The recovery process is performed in reverse order.
The launch and recovery procedures take a total of 20 minutes each.
The system comprises 3 main elements:
-A kite wing with its towing rope
-A launch and recovery system
-A control system for automatic operation