Awesome thread

If I may add my 2c :-)

I'd recommend keeping the wing flat with no dihedral , firstly as it's a more stable platform and secondly it's much easier to keep your profile shape consistent along the span

Id also use a profile with a small amount of camber this is great for low speed
A profile with about 13% max thickness will be great

Ok, picking up here from my layup thread. Trying to make it easy for folks to read the good stuff separate from my ramblings lol.

Pono, I'm going to see if I can find some Sintra or order a test piece. I'm using closed cell polyurethane sculpture foam, easily had here in film studio world for my tests now. With the really strong layup I'm not sure that pink Home Depot foam wouldn't work since it'd be hard to delam that thick of a skin but better safe, for now.

Starting with set of naca guides to cut an 8" x 24" x 1.5" flat wing to learn to cut. I'll glass anything that looks passable. I'm working on a weird template idea to get a decent rough curved shape out of a hot wire cutter that could then be sanded a little. Trying to move the home builders forward a little where I can.

If that works, I'll post up and start a mast. Probably

 If not I'll keep an eye on the tests of the Clearwater and just make something to drag behind a boat and learn on.

Cowboy, the only thing you should cut with hot wire is polystyrene--EPS or XPS and it's variants. Pink foam is fine. I tried to cut some polyiso (Polyisocyanurate) with a hot wire and it wouldn't cut until I got it bright red and then the fumes drove me out of the shop.

Best way to cut a long blank like a wing is with two people, each holding a handle. nail a plywood template to each end and go smoothly. Pretty easy to do with two reasonably attentive people. I tried it once with my wife and it was horrid ("Don't yell, you're going too fast, my end isn't on the template, you keep pulling down"), but almost anyone else works fine. I have a four foot bow, but I prefer the two person method.

I've seen jigs by the RC guys where a weight is used to pull the bow across two templates.
There was also a posting on Sway's where the blank was stood on end so the shaper could cut the rocker solo with gravity assist.

Outside for sure. Melting polyurethane releases hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.

Foil profiles and size. I'm going big and thick (no comments there...)

8" chord and about 1.5" thick. Here are some options. The first is a straight by the book Clark-YM from airfoils site that is 1 1/4" (1.25") thick.

I'm favoring B which is that one blown up to 1.5 with the thickest part moved slightly forward. C is also 1.5" but with a little concave in the back (which I don't really want to shape into anything but a flat foil due to complexity.

Thoughts on B? as a starting point?

B is the winner. Voting has closed lol.

Made templates tonight and a sanding/shaping jig that, if it works, I'll post up pics of. Hot Wire seemed too much hassle to get right so I used the principle, a jig that guides the wire, to make a sanding jig that guides a 3' long flat sanding board with 1' of aggressive sandpaper (50 grit?) in the center. You can slide the sandpaper back and forth to cover the 24" span without either side coming off of the jig. The foil templates make up the sides and guide the sanding board.

If it doesn't work, it'll make a good Hotwire guide... or firewood.

Next up, design mast templates and layup. That should be interesting too.

Thx man, this rig looks almost like what I made. I still might cut it then. Gonna try this sanding thing once and see what it looks like but I do have the cutter built so maybe I should try. I have an old motorcycle battery charger that I don't mind blowing up that I bet would power a cut too.

Side question, did your wife also know, like mine, that she'd be called upon to help with random projects? Mine has sprad resin, pulled cloth and all sorts of surf-related stuff. Now looks like she'll be pulling a wire cutter too.