Abstract:
The framework for a real-time yacht simulator is developed which predicts the dynamic motion of an arbitrary yacht while it sails. The simulator model is based on the equations of motion for a rigid body, and constrains the yacht's motion to exclude any pitching and heaving. The modelling of the external forces and moments on the yacht is described, with the added-mass effects being discussed in detaiL A method is presented for calculating the significant added-mass coefficients for a yacht using a two-dimensional strip theory.
A real-time implementation of the simulation model developed on a Macintosh II personal
computer is also briefly described. Results obtained from this program when simulating a
typical 12m-class racing yacht are presented and used to eliminate negligible terms in the
equations of motion. Substantial simplifications are found to be attainable without loss of accuracy in the solutions. Furthermore, the remaining dynamic terms are also found to have dramatic effects on the solution.
