Varifold Propeller expert Dr Roderick Sampson of King Propulsion to Attend Strictly Sail Miami 2015

Jan. 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Dr Roderick Sampson, Principal Naval Architect at King Propulsion, a Virginia based Naval Architecture Consultancy and agent for both Varifold Folding Sailboat Propellers and Bruntons SigmaDrive confirmed his attendance at Strictly Sail Miami, in February 2015.

The show begins Thursday (Trade Day) February 12th and ends Monday, February 16th. The five-day event features the best of the best that the sailing industry has to offer from the latest from boat builders across the globe to nearly 150 booths featuring sailing gear, accessories, and hardware from the industries top suppliers, along with the latest charter information.

Roderick will be at booth 321 at the Bayside Tent section with David Sheppard from Bruntons Propellers (UK) to answer any and all of your questions about folding sailboat propellers and the new sigma drive shaft coupling.  It should be an amazing show in an amazing location. Roderick will have on hand a selection of the Varifold propellers and a sample of the SigmaDrive drive coupling system.

Dr Roderick Sampson writes “I made the switch from teaching and consulting to representing Varifold folding sailboat propellers in the USA just over a year ago.  The journey has been amazing and I have helped some fantastic people to get and fit our propellers and parts to their boats.  Now we are taking our products out on the road and meet customers and friends face to face to share in their passion and talk propulsion! We are proud to be attending Strictly Sail Miami in 2015.”

To learn about the Varifold visit http://www.kingpropulsion.com/content/best-folding-sailbo...

To learn more about Dr Roderick Sampson or King Propulsion Visit http://kingpropulsion.com

About Dr. Roderick Sampson

A Professional Naval Architect and Lecturer, Dr Roderick Sampson is known as an expert and innovator in his field of Propeller research, experimental ship hydrodynamic and propeller cavitation. While Naval Architecture is his passion, it is his second career; his first career was as Professional Cruise Ship Photographer. This introduction to ships and the sea had a lasting effect with Roderick and he returned later in life to University as a mature student to study Naval Architecture and use his creative skill set in a different direction.

Roderick has over 15 years experience as a Qualified Naval Architect and has worked with a varied client list of both large and small commercial companies, the US Coast Guard, the National Science Foundation, numerous universities, experimental testing facilities and shipyards around the world.  Roderick was also popular lecturer at Newcastle University with a gift to engage students on the merits of Ship Resistance and Propulsion and managed the world famous Emerson Cavitation Tunnel experimental facility conducting research, funded consultancy and ambitious student projects.

In 2013 he co-founded his current venture King Propulsion, a Naval Architecture consultancy start-up specializing in ship resistance and propulsion, ship performance analysis and small craft design. King Propulsion has since become the US representative for the Stone Marine Group representing brands such as Varifold Folding Sailboat Propellers, Bruntons SigmaDrive and Stone Marine Propulsion. Despite these commitments Roderick still maintains a position at the University of Newcastle in the UK conducting research and training in the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel several times a year.

Recognized as a innovator in cavitation, propeller and ship model testing Roderick has authored 28 peer-reviewed papers on a diverse range of hydrodynamic topics from High speed catamarans, full scale cavitation and propeller ice interaction. One of his many accolades is being part of the University lead team who designed and built the groundbreaking R/V The Princess Royal an exceptionally innovative Deep-V catamaran research vessel built for the Students of Newcastle University.

Roderick is an active member in Royal Institute of Naval Architects (RINA) the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and the American Yacht and Boat Council. Rod has appeared on documentaries aired on the BBC, the UK’s Channel 4, and the Guardian Newspaper talking about Propeller design, cavitation and the history of propellers.

Roderick holds a PhD in propeller hydrodynamics, a Masters degree in Marine Technology and Bachelors Degree in Naval Architecture, earned during a fun and productive period at Newcastle University in the U.K.

Roderick lives in Leesburg with his partner Lisa, their 3 larger than life siamese cats.  He enjoys getting out to enjoy the Potomac, building plywood prototype boats and working on his old Audi TT.