Having just had Bella Zee's hull recoated, I noticed that the finish was rough, gritty really. Dennis Connor in his Sail Like a Champion talks about sanding his hulls when he was young to increase boat speed. Before grabbing some sandpaper, I thought, “Hang on. Golf balls have dimples because they travel further than smooth ones; the theory being that dimples hold onto a cushion of stable air around the ball, reducing the friction between the ball and the (relatively speaking) moving air.”
Checking up on this, I found the following article:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140117153637.htm
It seems that roughness does increase speed, but maybe it has to be the right roughness. (?)
Checking up on this, I found the following article:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140117153637.htm
It seems that roughness does increase speed, but maybe it has to be the right roughness. (?)