Chapter 4, Problem 58AP

The force exerted by the wind on a sailboat is approximately perpendicular 10 the sail and proportional to the component of the wind velocity perpendicular to the sail. For the 800-kg sailboat shown in Figure P4.58. the force exerted by the wind on the sailboat is

$F_{\text{soil}}=\left(550\frac{\text{N}}{\text{m/s}}\right)v_{\text{wind}}$

Water exerts a force along the keel (bottom) of the boat that prevents it from moving sideways, as shown in the figure Once the boat starts moving forward, water also exerts a drag force backwards on the boat, opposing the forward motion. If a 17-knot wind (1 knot = 0.514 m/s) is blowing to the east, what is the initial acceleration of the sailboat?

Figure P 4.58