One AC team (DC maybe??) did a program where they did a
grooved
finish (like a record). The idea was that the size of the groves were such that the water
saw
less surface area b/c only so many molecules could pack themselves into the space available. From an engineering standpoint, I have a hard time seeing it, but there is money in winning and therefor money in research. I would bet it had to be a surface that water was more adhesive to and therefor produced a fixed boundry layer.
Cool as a shark skin finish would be, is that maybe mother nature doing her best to produce a surface that is both durable and fast? Shark skin has to be tough but flexible, maybe smooth just didn't make sense, so that's what evolved? Note: Dolphins are fairly smooth. Maybe since they don't have thumbs they can't hold sanding blocks like we can, otherwise they might like to have a 1200grit finish <img src=
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I like to wax regardless b/c it keeps the hulls clean. The only two rules: 1. the nut on the stick is more important than the finish of the hulls. 2. No wax where the crew stands <img src=
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I don't recall which boat it was, but one team in the last AC had a boat with a clear carbon fiber finish. As the regatta progressed (and their results weren't spectacular) you could see the finish quickly getting duller and duller as they would wet sand at night. Personally I'm still chalking this one up (pun intended) to
wives tale
and go for a fair and clean bottom.
young america. you know, the last one to break in half. it was a few cups ago.