windrider sailboats

Boat Review: WindRider 17

By Thom Burns Every now and then I get to review a boat in which I’ve had very close involvement. The development of the WindRider 17 has really been fun to watch. The dealers around the country basically demanded the boat based on their feedback from customers who owned the original WindRider 16 and would be buyers of the WindRider 16 who declined to buy either because they wanted a little more carrying capacity, a second cockpit or both.

Jim Brown who designed the WindRider 16 and the 31’ and 37’ Searunner Trimarans designed this one with the WindRider factory team. He took copious notes and accepted a massive amount of input. I was wondering just what he would come up with initially. Then I saw the first prototype. I was impressed.

I’ve been sailing the prototypes now for two years every chance I get. Last summer Mike McGarry, the product manager, and I toured the final prototype through the Midwest. It was enthusiastically received everywhere. Design and Construction The WindRider 17 is rotomolded polyethelene which keeps the price down. All structural reinforcements are anodized aircraft aluminum. This allows the boat to be light and reasonably stiff. The amas telescope in and out with no disassembly. The nets are large, bolt roped to the hull and support optional stiff-backed seats. The center hull has an aft cockpit, the primary driving position, and a larger forward cockpit. The forward cockpit seats two and the hard seat reverses itself to face the driver.

The mast is light weight and rotates which dramatically improves the performance of the full-battened mainsail. The main jiffy reefs on the boom with one line. The optional jib is on a Harken roller furler. The sheets lead to two Harken cam cleats.

Part of the innovation is how this boat is trailered. It slides on rails on and off the trailer. This perfectly centers the boat and all 320 lbs. is supported by four aluminum pads. The shrouds and nets stay permanently connected. This keeps the launch and retrieval time to a very manageable ten minutes for a solo sailor, less for a couple. This approaches runabout launch and retrieval times. Simplified Concept WindRider has strived to make their boats totally easy to sail. In order to do this, WindRider has eliminated the tiller unless you want one. You sit in a comfortable seat and steer intuitively by pushing your left foot to turn left and your right to turn right. Your facing forward without twisting around. There’s a single mainsheet or a mainsheet and jib both of which are running through cam cleats for ease of handling. All controls are within two feet of the driver.

The wide beam of the WindRider 17 gives it great stability. It is not impossible to tip this boat over under main and jib, but it’s close. You will not capsize this boat unless you work hard at it and refuse to release the main and/or jib sheet.

The carrying capacity on this boat is so great for a 17 footer that it will easily carry four adults and a couple of kids. The optional net seats are ergonomically well designed and comfortable. They feel like soft seats, not benchs. Performance Wow does this boat tack. It doesn’t get much easier than pushing your foot and stopping when the main fills on the opposite tack. For even faster tacks, back the jib for a moment as the boat sails through the wind. Jibes are a cinch compared to most small boats because the boom is way high over everyone’s head. Even if it’s not real smoothe, there are no headaches and no swim. The boat is quick, on the edge of fast. In ten knots we were going upwind at 7 to 8 knots. On a beam reach the speed picked up to 9 to 10 according to my GPS. In gusts to about 12 we were hitting 10.5 no problem. Later in about 15 knots of wind we were cruising at 12.5 in 2 plus foot chop and the boat was dry. No water in the boat, an occasional drop or two in the face, but no heavy duty spray. Conclusion

This is an exhilarating boat which is even more than what the builder and designer wanted. It is quick, it is fun to sail, it is easy to launch and retrieve. It will make a great day sailor. It will be a good camper sailor for the adventurous. It will be an excellent one design racer/cruiser for those who want to go quickly with ease. Where strength and agility will not determine the outcome of a little friendly race.

The thing that turns me on the most is how it empowers the young and the non-sailors who seem to intuitively pick up the nack of sailing. Try this boat, you won’t believe you’re only sailing a seventeen foot boat.

Thom Burns publishes Northern Breezes and Sailing Breezes Internet Magazines. Northern Breezes: 763-542-9707

WindRider: 612-338-2170 www.windrider.com

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Windrider rave - the future in the past.

FLYING ON WATER

Over twelve years have passed since WindRider had the original concept of bringing foiling to the average sailor.  But it took the exceptional media coverage of America’s Cup races in 2013 for people to fully appreciate the excitement of sailing on hydrofoils.

Our hope is to bring the WR Rave back into production.  Leveraging WindRider’s image of “Sailing Simplified” our goal is consistent with the original one of bringing a foiling sailboat to the average sailor.  There couldn’t be a better time.

Current foiling craft are expensive, complicated and require exceptional agility and skill.  The WindRider RAVE is meant to be affordable, comfortable and relatively easy to handle.  Hence, the trimaran design, cockpit face-forward below the boom seating and foot pedal steering all contribute to stability, comfort and ease of us compared to other foiling sailboats on the market.

We are currently seeking a partner(s) who can financially support bringing the WR RAVE back as WR RAVE II with some modernization in collaboration with experienced boat designers.

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2013 Windrider 17 Pinckney, Michigan, United States

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• Sailboat Guide

Windrider 16

Windrider 16 is a 16 ′ 0 ″ / 4.9 m monohull sailboat designed by Jim Brown/Windrider and built by Windrider Sailing Trimarans starting in 1995.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Trimaran w/fixed keel. Carbon spar.

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Wind Rider General Information

These exciting roto-molded performance multihulls require sails that perform at speed and offer good value. The Windrider continues today at the website listed below and the sails we build for these boats are stocked and sold by Windrider direct. Contact them for your sail needs.

Visit their website here:

Neil Pryde Agents

Wind rider class sails.

• General Information
• Wind Rider Home Site

Translation

The next Trimaran Sailing Clinic hosted by Windcraft will be at the Fort Walton Yacht Club in the Florida Panhandle May 5-7, 2017. However we are completely fully booked up for that clinic. The next one with spaces available will be the weekend of October 14-15. In our clinics 16 students will see their sailing skills improve dramatically over the two days of the course which is taught by world class multihull sailor and coach Randy Smyth. Students of all levels are introduced to Randy’s highly effective techniques for optimizing sail trim, and learn how best to hoist, jibe and douse a spinnaker, as well as how to tack a screacher upwind. Call or email us  for more information.

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Copyright© 2007 by Donald Wigston. All rights reserved.

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