Sailmaker starts using “Flow-Vis”

We have learned from a reliable spy (who must of course remain anonymous) that an Italian sailmaker is now developing sails with state of the art Formula 1 technology: Flow-Vis.

by Pietro Fantoni 04/01/2024

APRIL FOOLS’ DAY – THIS IS A JOKE

We have learned from a reliable spy (who must of course remain anonymous) that an Italian sailmaker is now developing sails with state of the art Formula 1 technology: Flow-Vis. This year, they will be adding Snipes to the list of test classes.

What is “Flow-Vis”?

“Flow-vis” is short for “flow visualization” and requires the sailmaker to coat sails in an oily substance mixed with fluorescent powder. When sprayed onto boats and sails, this luminous “paint” makes it possible to improve aerodynamic understanding.

Any Snipe teams who want to be part of the future can volunteer to be sent out when the flow-vis is still wet. As they sail upwind or downwind, air flow moves the paint, leaving detailed patterns across the boat. When they return to the club, the patterns are photographed for analysis. These “real life” Flow-vis tests are used to corroborate data gathered in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

Our spy reports excellent results so far, so much so that apparently other sailmakers in Portugal and California are planning to follow this technology soon. Sign up today to be part of this exciting experiment!

Flow-vis and Formula 1

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/video.f1-explained-what-is-flow-vis.6060954374001.html