hydrofoil sailboat invention

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Foiling: the history of the hydrofoiler

• Matthew Sheahan
• December 9, 2021

Foiling has taken the watersports world by storm in recent years, but the history of the hydrofoiler goes back further than you might think

The biggest revolution to hit watersports in general has been foiling , and it’s easy to view the use of hydrofoils as a relatively recent phenomenon.

In truth, although foiling has really taken off (if you’ll forgive the pun) in recent years in everything from surfing to sailing, paddleboarding , and beyond, the history of the hydrofoil goes back far further than many might assume.

The world of powered foilers kicked things off early but even sail-powered foiling craft are much older than you may realise.

The history of foiling

The early development of hydrofoils started over 100 years ago when Italian Enrico Forlanini achieved 36.9 knots with his 60hp airscrew-driven boat in 1906. Several engineers took notice, among them the Wright Brothers and Alexander Graham Bell, both of whom experimented with foilborne craft.

Within a few years speeds moved briskly into the 50-knot range for power boats, but it wasn’t until 1938 that a sailing boat got up onto foils with Americans Gilruth and Carl who managed to foil at five knots. Here are some key moments:

1869 – First patent for hydrofoil was for a rowing boat, French application made by Emmanuel Denis Fargot.

First hydrofoil boat built by Enrico Forlanini

1906 – First hydrofoil boat designed and built by Enrico Forlanini. It had a ladder-type construction with multiple struts supporting multiple wings. It achieved 36.9 knots.

Alexander Graham Bell’s HD-4

1918 – Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin launched their HD-4, a five-tonne vessel powered by two liberty aircraft engines of 350hp each and reached 52 knots. The HD-4 Hydrodrome later set a new world record of 61.58 knots.

1938 – First known sailing hydrofoil was produced by Americans R. Gilruth and Bill Carl.

Gordon Baker’s Monitor

1955 – Monitor clocked at 25 knots. She was designed by Gordon Baker and built by the Baker Manufacturing Company of Evansville, Wisconsin. The US Navy shared part of the cost of construction.

In October 1956 she was recorded at 30.4 knots and was later said to have sailed close to 40 knots.

David Kelper’s Williwaw

1970 – The first hydrofoil cruiser. David Keiper’s Williwaw cruised throughout the South Pacific clocking up 20,000 miles.

1974 – Mayfly foiling cat established world record for A Class in Weymouth at 19.38 knots. In 1977 she set the bar higher at 23 knots.

Icarus, a modified foiling Tornado Photo: Claude Breton

1976 – Icarus , a modified foiling Tornado (above), set a new world record in B class at 20.70 knots. By 1985 Grogono and Fowler had raised their speed to 28.14 knots.

Offshore foiler Paul Ricard

1980 – Eric Tabarly beat the schooner Atlantic ’s transatlantic record by more than two days in offshore foiler Paul-Ricard .

1990 – Hobie Trifoiler, a twin-sail trimaran with a mainsail on each outrigger, capable of 30 knots, making it the fastest production sailboat in the world. The prototype, Longshot , was developed by Dan and Greg Ketterman with Russell Long.

1992 – Russell Long broke his own world records for the fourth time in the Trifoiler clocking 43.55 knots.

1994 – Alain Thébault’s L’Hydroptère foiling tri launched.

Techniques Avancées, a foilborne proa

1997 – Techniques Avancées , a French foilborne proa, set a new world speed record in the D class, at 42.12 knots

2005 – Rohan Veal wins the International Moth World Championship sailing a Moth class dinghy with hydrofoils fitted.

L’Hydroptère, former speed record holder. Photo: Christophe Launay

2009 – L’Hydroptère set new outright world speed record over 500m 51.36knots.

SailRocket2 clocked an unprecedented 64.45 knots

2012 – Sailrocket II broke L’Hydroptère ’s record to set new outright world record over 500m of 65.45knots.

2013 – The America’s Cup goes foiling as Oracle Team USA beat Emirates Team New Zealand both sailing foiling 72ft catamarans, the AC72s.

The G4 foiling catamaran

2015 – Gunboat launch the Gunboat G4, a foiling high performance cruising catamaran

IMOCA 60 Banque Populaire VIII, sailed by Armel Le Cléac’h wins the 2016/2017 Vendee Globe on a semi-foiling design

2016 – The Vendée Globe sees semi-foiling IMOCA 60 keelboats on the startline for the first time.

2017 – Emirates Team New Zealand win the America’s Cup in a foiling AC50 catamaran

Emirates Team New Zealand racing in the 2021 America’s Cup in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo: ACE / Studio Borlenghi

2021 – Emirates Team New Zealand defend the 2021 America’s Cup in a brand new foiling monohull, the AC75

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The History of Hydrofoils

Since their introduction into the America’s Cup boats in 2013, hydrofoils have become familiar to even the most casual of sailing fans. It’s hard not to be captivated by the wide-angle shots of these boats flying along above the water surface, propped up on seemingly comically thin struts. Whilst the latest America’s Cup boats are undeniably the vanguard of hydrofoils for racing yachts, their history goes much further back than this.  

In this blog we take a look back at over 150 years of hydrofoiling and look towards the future for this technology.

The Early Pioneers

The origins of hydrofoils on vessels can be traced back to 1869, when Parisian Emmanuel Denis Fargot obtained a patent for his rowing boat incorporating hydrofoils on its sides and under-surface, which he declared ‘will have the effect of lifting it in the water and reducing the draught’.

Illustrations from Fargot’s patent application for his hydrofoil-equipped rowing boat.

It’s unclear if Fargot ever reduced his patented rowing boat to practice, because it is not until 1898 that the next major progress is recorded, with revered Italian engineer and prolific patentee Enrico Forlanini (perhaps most famous for his airships) starting to develop an airscrew driven boat with a pair of ladder foils at the stern and bow. Forlanini knew that the lift generated by a foil was proportional to the square of the speed, and thus the foiling area required reduced as the vessel’s speed increased. The ladder foils – with a series of foils being the ‘rungs’ of the ladder – allowed Forlanini to achieve a decrease in foil area as the boat lifted further out of the water and its speed increased.

Schematics of Forlanini’s ladder-hydrofoil boat from his GB patent application GB190507603A.

By 1906 Forlanini was testing his craft on the waters of Lake Maggiore and had already filed a patent application for his invention. His craft reached a speed of 68 km/h, and by this point it’s fair to saythat hydrofoils were now attracting a fair amount of attention, in particular from aviation pioneers - after all, the same principles underlie both hydrofoils and aeroplane wings.

The Need for Speed

Although the potential benefits of hydrofoils extend much beyond the greater speeds obtainable, it was this speed that captured the imagination of the engineers working on them. Alexander Graeme Bell (of telephone fame) even turned his attention to hydrofoils, developing his HD-4 craft following a ride in Forlanini’s boat. The HD-4 initially reached a top speed of 87 km/h, following which the US Navy decided it was worth dipping their toes into – providing two 350 hp engines that allowed Bell’s creation to reach an eye-watering 114 km/h – a world marine speed record at the time!

However, as those that tried to better Bell’s record would find, there was actually a limit to how fast a hydrofoiling vessel of the time could go. Much like with rapidly spinning propeller blades, as the speed of a foil moving through the water increases, the reduction in static pressure of the water above and behind the foil body is reduced below the vapour pressure of the water. This results in the formation of a vapour-filled cavity, which subsequently becomes re-pressurised as the foil moves further downstream. The re-pressurisation causes the cavity to collapse and generate a shock wave that is transmitted to the foil, causing it to deform and the lift generated to fall. Such cavitation begins to occur readily at speeds in excess of 110 km/h. 

It wasn’t until supercavitating foils were developed that this speed limit could be overcome. These are designed to be able to create a cavity at or near the leading edge of the foil that then encapsulates the remainder of the foil downstream within the vapour and is substantially more stable than smaller cavities.

Illustrations from US patent application US2890672A illustrating the influence of their shape on cavitation effects at high speeds.

Branching out

Whilst ladder-style hydrofoils were popular in the early years of hydrofoiling, advances in both the understanding of hydrodynamics and materials have allowed substantial refinements and evolution in hydrofoil shape – gone are the ladder arrangements, and modern hydrofoils such as those used in the America’s Cup boats are capable of supporting the weight of five cars on a single foil about the size of your coffee table.

Using hydrofoils on sailing boats is not new – the earliest record of a hydrofoiling sailing boat was back in 1938, but it is here that the ability of hydrofoils to do more than just generate lift is perhaps clearest. 

Surface-piercing hydrofoils, where two hydrofoils extend into the water in a ‘V’ shaped configuration allow heel in sailing to be counteracted, improving boat stability and controllability as well as speed. Meanwhile, ‘C’- and ‘S’-shaped foils can allow the balance of the horizontal and vertical components of the force generated by foil to be controlled by varying the amount of the foil submerged in the water, which in turn can allow the boat to sail closer to the wind when heading upwind and still generate significant lift and reduce drag when heading downwind at higher speeds.

A pair of surface-piercing hydrofoils on a catamaran. As the boat heels, the leeward foil is submerged further and its upper surface cants over and generates a greater righting force.

Flying into the future

Whilst hydrofoils have seen a boom in sailing boats, and indeed other wind-powered craft such as kitesurfs and windsurfs in recent years, their use in passenger and work boats has not made so much headway.

This is now changing. The increasing focus on emissions arising from the marine sector has prompted boatbuilders to start shifting towards electric propulsion, which is becoming increasingly feasible as battery and motor technology improves (see our previous blog on how the tide is turning for electric propulsion in the shipping industry ). Just as with cars, range anxiety is real with electric boats and in order to make the most of the energy stored in the batteries of these electric boats, hydrofoils are being employed to reduce drag. Artemis already have a fully-electric workboat that is using their eFoiler® system (the subject of a handful of patent applications ) featuring twin ‘T’-foils, which they claim can reduce energy costs by 70%. Candela, a Swedish electric boat outfit partnering with Polestar for their battery systems, claim to go one better, stating an 80% reduction in drag for their P-8 water taxi .

A pair of ‘C’-shaped hydrofoils on a catamaran. Each foil can be moved within its hull to alter the proportion of it exposed to the water, and thus the magnitude and direction of the force it generates.

Although it might be some time yet before hydrofoiling boats are in the majority, the trend of advancement of hydrofoils over the past 150 years does not show any sign of heaving to. Technological innovations in hydrofoiling arising in the high-tech world of yacht racing will hopefully continue to trickle down to the masses, and as the pressure to decarbonise our transport intensifies, we should be grabbing them with both hands.

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Alexander Graham Bell and the Hydrofoils [1906-1921]

Casey Baldwin's [manager of Alexander Graham Bell's estate and laboratory] bent for boating may have encouraged the sea change in Bell's experimental interests during his last years. Casey had already been on the scene for some months when Bell asked himself in October 1906, "Why should we not have heavier than water machines as well as lighter than water? I consider the invention of the hydroplane as the most significant of recent years." A few weeks later he sketched what is now called a hydrofoil boat.

Bell's phrase "heavier than water machine" referred to the fact that such a boat, while in motion, is sustained not by its displacement, like a balloon, but by the lift of its hydrofoils-plates or blades acting in water as airplane wings do in air. As early as 1861 the idea had been successfully tested by towing on an English canal. Bell had probably read the March 1906 Scientific American article by an American hydrofoil pioneer named William E. Meacham, explaining the basic principle. As the speed of a hydrofoil boat increases, the submerged hydrofoils raise the hull until it leaves the water entirely, supported by the vertical stanchions to which the hydrofoils are attached. 'If speed is increased further, the hydrofoils themselves emerge from the water to a point at which their lift is cut back again to the weight of the boat. This automatic reduction of the acting surface area was called "reefing" by Bell and Baldwin, by analogy with sails. Since the ratio between horizontal and vertical forces is fixed by the angle at which the hydrofoils are set, the horizontal force-the resistance to forward motion-likewise tends to be kept constant by hydrofoil "reefing" as speed increases; whereas the resistance of a conventional boat increases as the square of the speed.

Bell and Baldwin did not begin hydrofoil experimentation until the summer of 1908 and even then merely as a possible aid to airplane takeoff from water. But as Baldwin studied the work of the Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini and began testing models, he and Bell turned to hydrofoil watercraft as well. Bell's interest was active and his suggestions astute. Towing trials continued that fall, though plagued with troubles, including the failure of parts under stress. There was a strange, persistent blind spot in Baldwin's thinking, like Bell's disregard of aerial drag; though he as a trained engineer Baldwin was forever overestimating the strength of structural parts or underestimating the stress on them. Nevertheless, the hull of 2 towed hydrofoil-equipped boat lifted clear of the water with Baldwin aboard. And Baldwin designed a ladder-like set of hydrofoil blades slanted so that the lower end of one was on a level with the upper end of another, thus making the reefing action continuous rather than jumpy.

Tests of another hydrofoil-adapted boat ran through the late summer and fall of 1909. The world tour of 1910-1911 interrupted the new line of experiment, but during the journey Bell and Baldwin talked with Forlanini in Italy. "Both Father and Casey had rides in the [Forlanini hydrofoil] boat over Lake Maggiore at express train speed," wrote [Bell's wife] Mabel to her daughter Elsie in the spring of 1911. "They described the sensation as most wonderful and delightful. Casey said it was as smooth as flying through the air. The boat . . . at about 45 miles an hour glides above the water . . . being supported on slender hydro-planes which leave hardly any ripple."

When Bell and Baldwin returned to Beinn Bhreagh late in the summer of 1911, Baldwin designed and built a hydrofoil boat, which he and Bell referred to as a "hydrodrome" and designated the HD-1. Its aerial propeller and short biplane wings for extra lift made it look like a stunted seaplane skittering across the lake that fall in a series of unconsummated takeoffs. After being redesigned and rebuilt during the winter, it was tested again from July to October 1912; and before it cracked up from unknown causes, it had made fifty miles per hour. Rebuilt as the HD-2 and given the unpropitious name of Jonah , it failed to match that speed record before being disabled by a structural failure in December.

Meanwhile, in September 1912, Bell had an alluring vision of hydrofoil sailboats. Baldwin, the experienced sailor, pointed out that the swiftest sailing craft fell far short of the speed required to lift its hull above water by hydrofoils. Bell merely suggested that aerodynamic lift be added through horizontal sails, and he went on to dream of large passenger vessels skating smokeless across the Atlantic on the wings of the wind. So in the summer Of 1913, Casey dutifully worked with Bell on test models.

Early in 1913, at Bell's urging, Baldwin had designed and built the HD-3, Another chunky little quasi-airplane. Its most spectacular moment came when a structural failure led to its turning turtle during a demonstration for the prince of Monaco, whose yacht had put into Badieck Bay. The HD-3 trials that fall were disappointing; and Casey felt that to put the boat into commission in 1914 would divert too much time and money from further testing of Bell's hydrofoil sailboat ideas.

Though the hydrofoil sailboat dream died in 1914 after a second summer of fruitless trials, the outbreak of the European war that August lengthened the hydrodrome moratorium by two years. Baldwin felt that a private purse .could not finance so expensive a project as the hydrodromes were getting be, and that a government in wartime would not. Bell himself decided as a citizen of a neutral power he should not pursue experiments in Canada that might have naval uses. So in order to save the jobs of the workers, he got Casey to use the laboratory facilities in building small boats for local people and summer residents.

In 1915 Bell had failed to interest the United States Navy Department in Baldwin's HD-3. His hopes revived after American entry into the war, when the department called for proposals to build submarine-chasers. After offering to build two hydrofoil craft for that purpose, Bell and Baldwin happily pored over old records of towing trials and debated new designs, Then came the government's rejection of the offer. It "fell like a bomb into the camp and shattered all our plans," Bell recorded. But Mabel offered to put up the money anyway, and Bell got the navy to promise the loan of two 400-horsepower Liberty engines. Design work resumed on what was to be the HD-4.

The HD-4 incorporated all that had been learned from the successes and mishaps of its predecessors. It was a sleek gray giant with a cigar-shaped hull sixty feet long, riding on two sets of reefing hydrofoils forward and one aft. On each side was a small hull attached to a solid, streamlined outrigger, for balance while floating at rest. Each outrigger also carried a motor and aerial propeller. Later, a spray shield on each side was tapered from the outrigger hulls to the nose, giving a winged look to the craft and in fact contributing some additional aerodynamic lift. The navy could not or would not furnish the promised Liberty engines, and even the two 2 5o-horsepower Renault engines it sent did not arrive until July 1918. (By then someone had suggested that "HD" stood for "Hope Deferred.") So the first trials did not begin until October 1918.

With the Renault engines, the top speed was only 54 miles per hour. Nevertheless, the HD-4 performed well, rising easily, accelerating rapidly, taking wave without difficulty, steering well, showing good stability. Bell's proud report to the navy early in 1919, along with the postwar availability of Liberty engines, moved the navy at last to send two 350-horsepower Liberties in July 1919. With these powering its two aerial propellers, the HD-4 on September 9, 1919, set a world's marine speed record of 70.86 miles per hour, a record that stood for ten years. '

The sight alone was exhilarating, and the actual ride even more so. "At fifteen knots you feel the machine rising bodily out of the water," wrote one visitor, "and once up and clear of the drag she drives ahead with an acceleration that makes you grip your seat to keep from being left behind The wind on your face is like the pressure of a giant hand .and an occasional dash of fine spray stings like birdshot. . . . She doesn't seem to heel a degree as she makes the turn. It's unbelievable-it defies the law of physics, but it's true." Bell himself would never ride in her. A newsreel photographer (one of several who showed up at Baddeck in that Jubilant season) got Bell to sit in the cockpit of the moored craft, but Bell insisted on having Baldwin's small son beside him to negate any false imputation of daring. Mabel was furious with herself later for not having gone down to make her husband go for a spin while he was in the boat.

A year later Bell managed to get observers from both the British Admiralty and the United States Navy to watch demonstrations. Both delegations made enthusiastic reports. But after long deferred hope, neither navy saw fit to place an order. The United States Navy Department thought such craft too fragile for naval action at sea and preferred a combination of seaplanes and motorboats to any such hybrid of the two. The Naval Disarmament Conference of 1921 dampened British interest. In the fall of 1921 [a year before Bell's death at the age of 75], the HD-4 was dismantled. Its big gray hull lay unregarded for decades on the shore at Beinn Bhreah.

(Reprinted from Bell : Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude by Robert V. Bruce, published by Little, Brown & Company, 1973)

Hydroplane History Home Page This page was last revised Thursday, April 01, 2010 . Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. Email us at [email protected] � Leslie Field, 2000

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Hydrofoil Sailing: From Invention to Evolution

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Seafaring has changed a lot thanks to the advancement of technology. However, Hydrofoil Sailing is considered to be the latest innovation in this field. So, let’s see where this valuable additional boat component comes from. And, seriously, who invented the foiling sailing? Was it the guy who created the telephone?

Did the Telephone Guy Invent Hydrofoil Sailing?

The scientific explanation of foiling, the appearance of hydrosails in america’s cup, modern foils and hydrofoil boats.

This time at Sailingyes , we’re going to review the short-but-amusing history of  Hydrofoil Sailing . We’ll let you know who is the real creator of the foiling sailing and will try to explain the science behind it. Moreover, we’ll inspect the folk believes to see if these objects are like vertical airplane wings—or it’s just a falsehood!

37 years before Bell (the creator of the telephone), a French guy named “Farcot” introduced the basics of foils in Britain. But “Graham Bell.” in 1906, read a paper on the fundamentals of this phenomenon and became interested in the topic.

He and his assistant, “Casey Baldwin.” started to inspect the designs of a scientist called “Forlanini” who had created an elementary model in 1898.

The combination of Forlanini’s work with the ideas of Bell and Baldwin led to the first functioning foil structure, HD-4. They achieved a maximum speed of 47 knots—which equals 54 mph.

So, “Graham Bell” is not the inventor of hydrofoil sailing but his contributions made it easy for other scientists to give us the modern models.

When a foil travels in the water with an angle, it hastens it downward. According to Newton’s second and third low (i.e. Force = Mass * Acceleration), this force should create the same amount of energy in the opposite path, upward.

So, the reason why such a tool pulls the watercraft out of the sea surface is that it’s pushing it down. This is different from what pop science has told about this modern keel.

Unlike what some believe, H2O particles that split by the frontend of this component are not supposed to reach the backend at the same time. So, the widely held idea of having low- and high-pressure molecules on each side is not a good one.

Moreover, applying Bernoulli’s principle (i.e. a rise in the speed of a liquid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid’s potential energy), doesn’t make any sense when it comes to foiling. That’s because this principle doesn’t seem applicable to the fluids across the stream.

It Produces More Power than an Airplane Wing

The science of aerodynamics has shown us the importance of gas density when it comes to moving objects. We build airplanes with huge wings to overcome the resistance force of the air—because it’s too light. However, H2O is almost 1000 times thicker than the atmosphere, and this means the generated force by an aircraft wing under the sea would be 1000 times more than the air.

For this reason, you can have a very tiny piece attached to a large vessel, yet be able to hold it above the surface. So, underwater keels can produce more force/power than the airplane wings due to the higher density of H2O. This also allows them to travel as twice as fast as the wind!

Evolution of a New Class – The Moth

A moth was a very inexpensive watercraft usually made by an amateur builder for recreational usage. But this has changed a lot since the evolution of Hydrosails. After a couple of attempts, Andy Paterson developed the first foil-contained moth. His model had a tripod-like part that would help the vessel fly over the water—if you will.

Paterson’s moth was not a reliable one and needed lots of modifications as it was almost the first of its kind. So, lots of people tried to adjust changes to his design, making it perform better. And some of them were pretty much successful.

Several years after the development and evolution of hydrofoil moths, however, Brett Burvill managed to win the Moth World Championship in 2001 with a foil-attached boat. He used his customized vessel, and it was the first time such a craft won the World Championship. But the fun fact is that all the winners in this competition have been hydrofoil vessels ever since.

The modified moths, eventually, formed a whole new class called the Moth Class. And nowadays, this once-a-cheap vessel is a luxurious craft!

In 2012, the Emirate Team New Zealand brought the first foil-contained boat to America’s Cup. It was AC72, a catamaran that has never been pulled out of the water before!

Ever since, all the competitors in America’s Cup customized their vessels, changing to foiling systems. And now, all you can see at this competition is a couple of above-water flying objects racing.

America’s Cup is the oldest international competition that has existed since 1851—even before the Olympic Games. But the New Zealand team changed it for the better. They carried a modern way of seafaring through introducing the Hydrosail crafts in 2012.

Hull Vane – AKA the Fuel Saving Foil

This component is a foil that engineers join to the stern of a vessel and reduce its fuel consumption. Such a tool would decrease the needed power by enhancing the flow around the aft-body of the watercraft.

When utilized professionally, this simple element can reduce fuel consumption by up to 15%. Although it works best for the moderate-speeded ships, they can enhance the performance of fast ones as well.

The versatility of this component has made it a very popular tool. (engineers can join it to a vessel without a dry-dock).

Today, we have a variety of modern keels. You can see the foils attached to keelboats, waterskiing boards, surfboards, sailboats, and even large yachts. Technology advancements, however, have made the modern pieces much lighter, much stronger, and much faster.

The material used to make these hydrofoil sailing components is now carbon fiber— a very resilient and light material. This has led to a new generation of watercraft sometimes even requiring no current or wind to move!

eFoil, for instance, is an electric surfboard that uses the electricity power to generate the movement. Plus, it keeps the surfer above the sea in the absence of current and wind.

Reference (s):

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History of hydrofoiling and how it all began.

Do you love the feeling of flying atop the water? If so, you’ll want to learn about hydrofoiling! This is a water sport that has a fascinating history. Keep reading to find out how it all began and some of the amazing things people can do with hydrofoils. You might just be inspired to give hydrofoiling a try!

Who invented hydrofoils?

The history of hydrofoils is a bit unclear, but it’s believed that an Italian inventor named Enrico Forlanini was the first person to successfully ride on a hydrofoil. He did this in 1906 by strapping a set of wings to his back and then jumping into a lake in Milan, Italy.

While Forlanini’s invention was a step in the right direction, it wasn’t until much later that hydrofoils started to take off, so to speak. In the 1920s and 1930s, different inventors and engineers began experimenting with hydrofoils. They were trying to find ways to make these watercraft faster and more efficient.

One of the most important early figures in the history of hydrofoils was an Italian engineer named Alexander Graham Bell. He was interested in using watercraft for transportation purposes. He believed that hydrofoils could one day be used to cross large bodies of water, such as the Atlantic Ocean.

Bell teamed up with an American engineer named Casey Baldwin and together they developed the first practical hydrofoil boat. This boat, which they named ‘HMS Hydrofoil’, was able to reach speeds of over 70 kilometers per hour!

While the hydrofoil was a breakthrough, it wasn’t perfect. One of the biggest problems was that it was very difficult to control. As a result, the hydrofoil was only used for short distances and in calm waters.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that hydrofoils started to become popular. This is when many companies began mass-producing hydrofoils. These companies were able to make them that were much easier to control and that could be used in different settings.

Since then, hydrofoils have become increasingly popular. They’re now used for many purposes, including transportation, recreation, and even military operations. Who knows what the future holds for hydrofoils? It’s sure to be an exciting ride!

How to get started with this activity?

If you’re interested in trying hydrofoiling, there are a few things you’ll need to do first:

• Find a good spot. Hydrofoiling can be done in both salt water and fresh water. However, it’s crucial to find a spot that is free of obstacles and has enough space for you to move around.
• Get a hydrofoil. You can purchase a hydrofoil or rent one from a local watersports shop. If you’re just starting, it’s probably a good idea to rent one so you can get a feel for the sport.
• Get a board. You’ll also need a wakeboard, kiteboard, surfboard, or SUP to attach your hydrofoil to.
• Get some lessons. Once you have all the necessary equipment, it’s time to start learning! There are a lot of ways to do this, including taking lessons from a certified instructor, watching tutorial videos, or reading books or articles about hydrofoiling.

With a little bit of practice, you’ll be hydrofoiling like a pro in no time!

We hope that this article has helped you understand hydrofoiling better! If there’s anything else about what it is or how to get started with one, please leave a comment below. We’ll be happy help answer all of your questions and provide more information as soon as possible.

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Hydrofoil designed by Alexander Graham Bell, circa 1919

Object summary.

Description

A hydrofoil watercraft underway.

Original Caption: "Hydrofoil An invention of Bell and F.W. Baldwin, it was the first boat to employ hydrofoil principles and it captured the world speed record in 1919 at a record of 70.86 mph. The craft was powered by airplane propellers and held the world speed record for many years."

Related people

Bell, Alexander Graham

Related vessels.

HD-4 [Hydrodome number 4]

Related objects, alexander graham bell and frederick walker baldwin with hydrofoil model, circa 1921.

GCP-00001783

GCP-00001784

GCP-00001790

Related exhibitions

Liquid Archive

• Jun 23, 2021

The Forgotten History of the Hydrofoil

By: Richard Crowder

Canada was the preeminent developer of the hydrofoil design before its latest revival by the boating industry

What is the first word that pops into your mind when I mention the name, Sir Alexander Graham Bell ? The telephone of course. And yes, he was the first to patent what we would know as the telephone and eventually cofound the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and make the first “long distance” call between Brantford and Paris in Ontario.

He was born and university educated in Scotland then moved with his family to what is now the Bell Homestead, a farm near Brantford, Ontario as a British Subject. There he began teaching and experimentation with the deaf in Boston where he became a US Citizen. His favourite place to think and invent “out of the box” was at his summer home near Baddeck on Bras d’Or Lake in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Bell was a genius inventor with patents ranging from the photophone, phonograph, the metal detector, the audiometer to detect hearing problems, a metal jacket to assist in breathing, a device to locate icebergs, a device to separate salt from sea water, a method that became the forerunner to magnetic tape recording and later hard and floppy discs, a primitive form of air conditioning, composting toilets, alternative fuels, solar panels for heating, as well as five patents related to airplanes and four related to “hydro airplanes.”

After reading an article in Scientific American, Bell started his own research into hydrofoils in the early 1900’s as a way to assist airplanes to take off from water. The biggest impediment to boat speed is the friction water has on the hull surface. If that boat could be “lifted” above the water by using foil technology, then boat speed could theoretically increase dramatically. Bell had already been experimenting with tetrahedral box kites as part of his obsession with heavier-than-air flying. That obsession had helped him form the Aerial Experiment Association with his assistant Frederick “Casey” Baldwin and a few others.

In 1909, shortly after the Wright Brothers’ historic flight, this group would be responsible for Canada’s first heavier-than-air powered flight of their "Silver Dart" design piloted by AEA member J.A.D. McCurdy. It took place on frozen Bras d’Or Lake in Nova Scotia. Baldwin and McCurdy would then set-up Canada’s first and most successful aircraft company, the Canadian Aerodrome Company. Bell’s knowledge of wing design and the principles of lift in airfoil design would prove to be invaluable to his interest in hydrofoils.

During World War I, Bell, utilizing research from others around the world while refining his own designs, built several experimental hydrofoil boats culminating in the HD-4. The boat was powered by Renault engines and attained an astounding top speed of 54 mph (87 kph). With more prototype development and with a pair of 350 hp engines secured through the US Navy, the updated HD-4 hydrofoil set an on-water speed record of 71 mph (114 kph) in 1919. This record held for 10 years.

Skip ahead to the end of WWII and the escalating Cold War between the East and the West. Canada had created the Defense Research Board (DRB) in 1947 and designed for military research to protect Canada both from the air but also along its massive coastal shoreline from the burgeoning Soviet submarine fleet. The DRB was instrumental in the development of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) radar line extending across Canada’s north, but they also needed a fast boat to locate and hunt enemy submarines.

In the early 1950’s, the DRB combined research with the British Admiralty and the British company Saunders-Roe to produce a small experimental hydrofoil dubbed the R-101 for the Royal Navy. DRB ordered one from Saunders-Roe, and after testing it off the coast of Wales, it arrived in Canada as the R-103 in 1957 for testing and evaluation by the Royal Canadian Navy. In recognition of Bell’s earlier work on hydrofoils, It was named the Bras d’Or .

An interesting note here to Canadian historians is that the R-103 was transported to Canada strapped to the flight deck of Canada’s only ever aircraft carrier, the HMCS Bonaventure , on its maiden trans-Atlantic crossing. Following the unification of Canada’s armed forces, Bonaventure was decommissioned in Halifax in 1970 and sold for scrap to Taiwan in 1971.

The R-103 was constructed of aluminum with a unique tapered-transom design. It was sixty feet long and powered by a pair of 1,500 horsepower Rolls-Royce Griffon gasoline engines mounted inline due to the tapered transom, and had a top speed of 35 mph (56 kph). It was eventually retired from the Navy when the hydrofoil program was cancelled in the early 1970’s and later acquired by the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa where it sits in storage with the foils removed.

A fascinating side-note to this is that A.V. Roe, who owned the Avro Aircraft Company , had taken over the Saunders company in 1929 and renamed it Saunders-Roe. Avro of course became famous as builders of the Lancaster bomber both in Britain and Canada during the war years and later the Avro delta-wing Vulcan bomber. When Roe first got involved, Saunders were primarily a boatbuilder but gradually morphed into flying boat aircraft during and following World War II.

As money for R&D for military purposes accelerated during the Cold War, the Avro Aircraft Company designed and built the Avro Arrow, recognized as the most advanced jet fighter plane in the world at the time. The Canadian government cancelled the Arrow project in early 1959 and Canada lost many top aeronautical minds to the newly formed NASA space program in the USA. Some also jumped to de Havilland Aircraft and contributed to the Bras d’Or hydrofoil design. At the same time, the Saunders-Roe Company in England became a world leader in hovercraft design.

Now back to hydrofoils. As part of a tri-lateral agreement on anti-submarine detection, instead of overlapping their efforts, Britain focused on hovercraft research, the United States on nuclear submarines, and, given its previous successes, Canada took on the role of surface-piercing hydrofoil research. As a result of this agreement and the success of R-103, in 1960 the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) contracted with de Havilland Aircraft of Canada in Downsview, Ontario to design a full-size sub-chaser.

Marine Industries Limited of Sorel, Quebec subcontracted to De Havilland and in 1963, and the keel of the aluminum hulled hydrofoil was laid. Work was completed for the Royal Canadian Navy, and when it launched in 1968 it was commissioned the HMCS Bras d’Or by the newly unified Canadian Armed Forces after the reorganizing of the Royal Canadian Navy. The name given to this new vessel required that the original hydrofoil R-103 be renamed Baddeck , again in honour of Bell and his summer home town in Nova Scotia.

The FHE (Fast Hydrofoil Escort) 400 Bras d’Or , as its official name became under the new unified Forces, was 164 feet (50 m) long and powered in foil configuration by a Pratt & Whitney turbine developing 25,500 hp at 21,500 RPM. This delivered power through gearboxes to super cavitating propellers mounted at the bottom of the main load-supporting foils. When operating below foil speeds, a 2,400 hp, 16-cylinder high speed diesel engine powered a separate pair of variable pitch propellers mounted part way down the main foils.

There were no rudders per se for steering, but instead the entire diamond-shaped bow foil turned through both manual and automatic hydraulic actuators to steer the ship. Fine tuning was assisted by aileron-type actuators on the leading and trailing edges of some of the dihedral (upward sloping) and anhedral (downward sloping) foils on the bow and on the main load-bearing foils. There were both manual and automatic roll control actuators in the tips of the main foils. These two main load-bearing foils looked almost identical to a pair of aircraft wings.

Two additional but much smaller turbines provided electrical and emergency power for smaller applications like fire pumps. The crew consisted of 25 persons including 7 officers and what had to be a most experienced Captain with both a naval and aircraft background der to take a 240 ton ship 'airborne' above any normal hull speed for the type of vessel. Provisions were made in the original design for armaments on board, but the Bras d’Or was not armed during sea trials due to cost overruns during the building process.

In late 1968, Bras d’Or was delivered on a barge to the Halifax naval base where displacement-only sea trials were first performed. In the summer of 1969, full foil tests under full load conditions produced a top speed of just over 70 mph (120 kph) in 3-4 foot sea conditions. This was an unofficial speed record for a warship. The following year, it was tested successfully in 12 foot seas and proved the viability of hydrofoil design. Range was found to be close to 3000 km at hull speed and 1000 km at foil speeds.

During the development period submarine warfare had been proven to be best handled by nuclear submarines, and so Canada’s military priorities changed to sovereignty protection. For whatever reason, a fast ship didn’t seem to fit the criteria and the expensive hydrofoil testing program was cancelled in late 1971. The Bras d’Or was put on shore at the Halifax Naval Base.

It sat there for 5 years until the program was officially scrapped and the ship and its components were put up for sale by Crown Assets Disposal Corporation. The ship itself was saved and donated to the Musée Maritime du Quebec at L’Islet-sur-Mer, Quebec. You can still get a full tour of this amazing piece of Canadian ingenuity.

So, next time you spot the newest and flashiest hydrofoil pleasure boat in the media, think back to the Bras d’Or and how Canada led the way in advancing this technology. We may have lost all the finished examples of the Avro Arrow, but fortunately we saved the only example of Canada’s leadership in hydrofoil design, the HMCS Bras d’Or , named in honour of Sir Alexander Graham Bell’s extraordinarily inventive spirit.

#culture #news

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A Complete History and Guide to Hydrofoil Surfing| News | Lift Foils

If you’re looking to hydrofoil, read about the history and different types of foiling experiences out there and choose the best adventure for you.

If you Google hydrofoil surfing, most top hits show super HD pictures of talented athletes riding in unbelievable locations. It looks like a new sport that’s just gaining traction now, but the truth of the matter is that the technology that supports it has been evolving since the late 19th century. Initially invented for boats in order to make them go faster without having to use more fuel, the basic components of the design and the automatic upgrade that it provides for traditional water-craft experiences are tried and true.

That’s right: people have been trying to get to the next level of hydrofoiling for over a hundred years.

Because the feeling’s that good, and it gets better the closer you get to it.

So in case you’re looking to foil, we’ve created a brief intro into the different types of experiences so that you can choose the best adventure for you.

First of all: What’s a hydrofoil?

Wikipedia describes it as a “lifting surface, or foil, that works in water.” Basically, it’s a wing-shaped underwater fin that lifts whatever craft it’s on out of the water when it reaches a minimum speed. This significantly reduces drag which in turn increases speed.

A Brief History of Foil Surfing

The first iterations of this technology came about in the second half of the 19th century in order to increase speed in boats without having to use more fuel. The design was interesting enough to be explored by the likes of Alexander Graham Bell (in case you need a refresh, he invented the telephone) and his chief engineer, Casey Baldwin, who ultimately pioneered the creation of the first passenger and naval hydrofoil boats using the previous designs of Italian inventor Enrico Forlianini. In the sixties and seventies, hydrofoils made their way onto more recreational activities like water skiing and knee boarding. Big names in the sixties, seventies, and eighties include Walter Woodward and Lucas Emmanuell (water skiing), Henry Buxton (water skiing), Mike Murphy (water skiing, knee boarding, the Air Chair ), Bob Woolly (also water skiing, knee boarding, and Air Chair), Mike Mack ( “the Mackstrap” , essentially a heel-strap for your board), and Brad Barnett (Air Chair).

It’s probably worthwhile to note that most of the early innovators in this field were also big into the sports that they were trying to upgrade. From the start, the process of creating, testing, and fine tuning was carried out by people who were working hard to find the best way to play. By the time the hydrofoil made its way to surfing, wind-surfing, and kite- surfing, the previous generations’ had made their own trial-and-error a way of life. The big names in early foiling- Laird Hamilton (surfing), Kai Lenny (stand-up paddle surfing and surfing), Mango Carafino (surf-board hydrofoil pioneer), Austin Kalama (SUP), Neyl Pride (wind-surfing hydrofoil), Robby Naish (windsurfing), to name a few- are all synonymous with the limitless quest for the enhanced version of their sport, no matter how impossible it seems at first.

The latest and most advanced version of the hydrofoil, the eFoil, came into existence much in the same way as its predecessors. Father-and-son team Nick and Michael Leason started a company of hydrofoils and boards that allowed them the room to try and get at what they thought was missing from their adventures. After much trial and error, Nick finally came up with the first hydrofoil powered by a battery pack and maneuvered through a wireless remote. This has taken the seamlessness of the hydrofoiling experience not only into new scenarios but also into a whole other level.

A quick timeline of some major events in hydrofoil history, in case you go to trivia night:

• 1898: Enrico Forlanini gets the first patent for the design of the “ladder” foil system
• 1908: Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin begin experimenting with the hydrofoil boat
• 1919: Bell’s hydrofoil boat HD-4 sets world marine speed record (114 km per hour) which stands for two decades
• 1950s: English couple build the White Hawk, the first jet-powered hydrofoil watercraft
• 1960s: Walter Woodward invents the first waterski hydrofoil
• 1973: Mike Murphy and Bud Holst develop the hydrofoil kneeboard
• 1979: Joop Nederpelt designs the first windsurf hydrofoil
• 1984: Bob Woolley creates the first sit-down hydrofoil
• 1990: the first Air Chair is sold
• 2003: Laird Hamilton brings hydrofoiling to the masses in Dana Brown’s Step into Liquid
• 2004: Mango Carafino makes the first hydrofoil for a kiteboard
• 2016: the world is taken aback by the footage of Kai Lenny Stand Up Paddle hydrofoiling in Hawaii
• 2017: Lift Foils makes the world’s first eFoil commercially available

About the foiling experience

Technically, you can hydrofoil with almost every watercraft: boats, surfboards, wind-surf boards, kite boards, and hydrofoil boards. There’s even a hydrofoil bike ! They all offer a different way to ride on waves or flat water, but they have one thing in common: they allow you to glide over the surface, increasing speed and eliminating drag. Maybe this sounds like a small thing, but trust us, once you’ve felt it, you can’t unfeel it.

Here’s a quick breakdown of all the different ways you can get out there, regardless of your level of athletic expertise:

Foil surfing:

The best thing about surfing with a foil is that it allows you to ride waves you’d never think were surfable. The wings of the foil push down against the water, propelling the board up, and since this can happen at speeds of as little as three miles per hour, your ride becomes much faster with the decreasing friction. According to Kai Lenny, “it is the ultimate equaliser for crap and crummy surf. When you are going downwind for 10 miles it feels like you are cruising on a pointbreak.” (We recommend reading the whole interview , as his is the ultimate insider’s perspective).

Kite foiling:

The same as with surfing, the magic of kite foiling happens when the board increases its speed and lifts out of the water, but with the kite, the speed is generated by both the water and the wind. This makes the biggest advantage of kite-boarding with a hydrofoil the fact that you can get out there and have fun much closer to the shore and with much lighter winds. It also makes riding upwind much easier and eliminates a lot of the chop and the sound.

Wind foiling:

As with kite foiling, you can reach higher speeds with less wind when you’re windsurfing with a hydrofoil, which in turn allows you to use a smaller sail. The windsurf board is lifted over 2 feet over the surface of the water, meaning that you not only get to play with the upwind and downwind control, you also get the added bonus of using your body to control the board’s altitude. Fun fact: The 2024 Olympics will require windsurfers to foil.

SUP foiling:

Made especially popular by Kai Lenny the first time he took a SUP foil downwind, this sport has become increasingly popular in the last 3 years. There are two ways to do it: downwinding and surfing. Downwinding takes some practice and requires you to be in optimal physical shape, but surfing is easier and allows you to ride waves for much longer than you could without the foil (not to mention surf waves that you usually couldn’t). Alex Aguera, Go Foil founder and inventor of the first SUP downwind foil board, says that “the technology and the performance have already come a long way,” so you should expect smaller and lighter equipment to consistently join lineups.

Wing foiling:

Wing foiling is essentially a hybrid of windfoiling, kitefoiling, and SUP foiling. You hold on to a wing that is unattached to your board with both of your hands while riding a short stand-up paddle hydrofoil board. Because the wing is so close to you and the board is so sturdy and wide, this sport allows you to manage your ride with a lot of stability and control. It also allows you to switch between going upwind and downwind without having to be a professional athlete.

Perhaps the most sci-fi of all the available hydrofoil experiences, the orignal eFoil uses an advanced lithium-ion battery to power a silent electric motor that’s mounted on an all-carbon fiber hydrofoil. All of this is controlled by a bluetooth remote. In a sense, it is the purest hydrofoiling experience as it needs neither water currents nor wind to allow you to glide over the surface of any body of water. You can foil on flatwater or in swells, you can be a professional athlete or a complete amateur: the possibilities with the eFoil are endless.

So now that you’ve picked your foiling poison…

Now you know the basics- that the hydrofoil improves your ride with less drag and greater speed, that it allows you to fly over the surface of the water, that it allows you to explore places and waves that you never thought you’d be able to explore on a board. It’s time to think about what equipment you’re going to choose when you decide to get out there. That’s where we come in.

If there’s anything that we can deduce from the history of hydrofoiling it’s that the people who are constantly evolving the product are the people that are also using them. Many of the pioneers of the sport came up with prototypes because they realized they needed them out on the water, blurring the line that separates the fine tuning of the experience from the fine tuning of the product. At Lift, we are those people. We’re obsessed with what we get out of what we create. This is why we can’t stop working to consistently make it better.

If you’re looking to buy a hydrofoil as a way to upgrade your windsurfing, kitesurfing, or SUP surfing experience, we’d always recommend starting your quest with the people who started feeding the frenzy: Robby Naish, Mango Carafino, Alex Aguera, Kai Lenny, Laird Hamilton, etc. Laird uses our foils. He gives us constant feedback. The Lift lineup of eFoil boards come in four shapes and sizes: the 4’4 Pro with 170 Classic, the 5’0 Sport with 170 Classic, the 5’6 Cruiser with 200 Classic, and the 6’2 Explorer with 250 Surf. Pro or novice, it doesn’t matter, we’ve got something for everybody.

What’s next for foiling?

There seems to be no end in sight for hydrofoil enthusiasts. Not only is the sport growing at lightning speed, it’s also bringing more and more innovators and inventors into the mix. We’re really happy to be a part of its history and to continue working towards its never ending possibilities. Stay tuned and let us impress you.

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Hydrofoils for Sailboats

• By By Steven Callahan
• Updated: July 29, 2020

Hydrofoils have been providing dynamic lift since fish sprouted fins. And people have been employing foils ever since they first put paddle to water, and certainly since adding keels and rudders to boats. But the modern, flying America’s Cup boats, kiteboards, Moth dinghies, shorthanded offshore thoroughbreds—these are all ­playing in a new world in which the terms “hydrofoils” or “lifting foils” describe those oriented to raise a hull or hulls from the water. In these racing realms, if you ain’t got foils, you ain’t got nothin’.

Lifting foils that allow these boats to sometimes home in on three times the wind speed might appear to be of little interest to cruising sailors, but with such common cruising features as self-steering and autopilots, self-tailing winches, rope clutches, fin keels and faster hull shapes all having been passed down from the racing scene, one must ask, “What promise, if any, do hydrofoils hold?”

Lifted or partially lifted boat patents extend back to 1869, but workable watercraft took roots along with early flight. Italian Enrico Forlanini began experimenting with foils in 1898. In 1906, his 1-ton 60 hp foiler reached 42.5 mph. Alexander Graham Bell’s HD-4 Hydrodrome flew on Bras d’ Or Lake at 70 mph in 1919. And several sailing foiler patents began appearing in the 1950s. Notably, JG Baker’s 26-foot monohull, Monitor, flew at 30-plus mph in 1955. Baker experimented with a number of foil configurations, and at least built, if not used, the first wing mast. The first offshore foiler was likely David Keiper’s flying trimaran, Williwaw , in which he crisscrossed the Pacific in the 1960s.

By the 1980s, numerous speed-trial and foil-enhanced offshore-racing multihulls showed huge promise, and have since evolved into behemoth trimarans clocking 30 to 40 knots continuously for long periods, not to mention the monohulls in the Vendée Globe (and soon the Ocean Race) that are capable of speeds exceeding 30 knots. But as boat designer Rodger Martin once reminded me, “If you want a new idea, look in an old book.” He was right. The fully foiling monohulls that will compete in the 2021 America’s Cup will bring things back full circle to the foiling monohull Monitor .

Fluid Dynamics Primer

Any foil—a wing, sail, keel, rudder or lifting foil—redirects the flow of fluid (air included), creating high- and low-pressure areas on opposite sides of the appendage, while developing lift perpendicular to the foil’s surface.

Advancements in foiling science is due in part to the hundreds of foil shapes that were tested, with tabulated results, by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the forerunner of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For the better part of a century now, aircraft and boat designers have been able to choose from a spectrum of refined foil sections that produce predictable amounts of lift and drag for known speeds of fluid and angles of attack, or the angle at which the foil passes through the fluid. Sections of efficient faster foils, as seen on jets or as we flatten our sails to go upwind or reach high speeds, have smaller nose radii and are thinner, with the thickest section of the foils farther aft, up to nearly halfway toward the trailing edge.

The most efficient foil sections at slow speeds are fatter, with the maximum thickness farther forward, and with larger nose radii, than faster foils. The angle to fluid flow or angle of attack also is greater. We see these slower foils on wings of prop planes and sails when off the wind or in light conditions.

Most sailors are familiar with traditional foils on boats, the teardrop sections of keels that produce lift to weather, reducing leeway, and of rudders, allowing them to steer. Even a flat plate can be a foil, but these tend to be inefficient. Such a shape is prone to fluid separation from the surface, meaning they stall easily, and they maintain poor lift-to-drag ratios. Even keels and rudders are somewhat lift-­compromised because they are ­symmetrical and have to work with fluid coming from either side, whereas lifting foils are more like aircraft wings or propellers, with asymmetrical sections honed for performance in a more stable, fluid flow.

The point is, any foil can be employed at various angles to the surface to prevent leeway, produce increased stability, or help lift the boat out of the water. But those not required to work with fluid flowing from opposite sides can then be honed to maximize lift and minimize drag. Asymmetrical foils were used on boats like Bruce King’s bilgeboarders, including Hawkeye , back in the 1970s. And, designers, including Olin Stephens, had previously employed trim tabs behind keels to improve keel performance.

Sails, which are heeled airfoils, not only drive the boat forward, but they also produce downforce, actually increasing the dynamic displacement of the boat. To counter this and keep the boat sailing more upright, multihull designer Dick Newick first employed slanted asymmetrical hydrofoils in the outer hulls of his small charter trimaran, Lark , in 1962. A portion of the lift developed by the hydrofoil resisted leeway, while a portion worked to actually lift the leeward hull, keeping the boat more upright and reducing dynamic displacement and drag.

Anyone who has ridden on even a foil-stabilized boat will know how riding at least lightly on the waves, and especially above them, beats smashing through them. When boats lift off, everything gets a lot smoother, drag falls away, and the boat accelerates.

Cruising on Foils

But why would a cruiser want to whip over the sea? Wouldn’t this demand an inordinate amount of attention by the crew? Would lifting foils even be applicable to a boat that must have substantial displacement to carry crew and stores? Aren’t cruising-boat hydrofoils an oxymoron?

Maybe, but I believe our boats’ hulls are likely to sprout fins much as fish have as we orient foils to more efficiently resist leeway, add stability, aid steering, reduce drag, increase comfort, allow for shallower draft, and enhance wider ­variations in hull shapes.

Boats have gotten increasingly wide through the years to advance form stability, improve performance (primarily off the wind), and boost interior volume. But the downside is that fat boats tend to slam more upwind. What if you could reduce dynamic displacement of the boat and lift that hull even partially from the water? The result would be less slamming, especially upwind.

At the same time, what about narrower boats that are known for being more seakindly, especially when closehauled, but lack form stability to carry adequate sail area for powering upwind, and tend to roll badly downwind? Or shallow-draft vessels that are lovely for cruising, but again, tend to suffer from reduced stability? Foils can give that stability back.

Looking ahead, boat ­designers might choose to reduce ballast, making up for it with a foil. In short, lifting foils can reduce boat drag and motion while increasing power and performance.

Pitching also does no favors for speed or crew comfort. Foils can come into play here as well. Foils parallel to the sea’s surface resist motion up and down, and a lifted boat skating above chop also is less prone to hobby-horsing through waves. Multihulls have always been particularly susceptible to pitching for a number of reasons, but watching videos of multihulls sailing to weather show an obvious huge advantage that foilers have compared with nonfoilers. Offshore multihulls now routinely employ T-foils on the rudders to control the fore and aft angles of the boat (attitude), a feature easily adaptable to any vessel.

OK, so what’s the cost? Obviously, the more things sticking through the hull, ­especially if they are retractable, the more it’s going to impact the interior. There would be added weight, complexity and cost. Foils also create noise, and there’s susceptibility to damage from hitting stuff. And let’s not forget compromises with shapes, purposes and things not yet imagined.

As for damage, it’s possible to fold the foils back into the hull. Think swinging center- boards or actual fish fins. Daggerboardlike foils can at least employ shock-absorbing systems similar to the daggerboard arrangements found in many multihulls. This includes weak links that are outside the hull, so if a foil is struck, it frees the foil to fold back or to come off before being destroyed or damaging the hull. Or, foils might hang from the deck rather than penetrating the hull, allowing them to kick up (and to be retrofitted to existing boats). These configurations also relieve the interior of intrusions, and keep the noise more removed from it. I have no doubt that numerous talented designers will be exploring all kinds of options and compromises in coming years, finding ways to make foils both practical and more than worth the compromises.

Sailing more upright, ­shallower draft, speed, ­comfort—what’s not to like? Just what is possible? I have a feeling the cruising community is about to find out.

Steven Callahan is a multihull aficionado, boat designer and the author of Adrift , an account of his 76 days spent in a life raft across the Atlantic.

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MAIN FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENT:   Lift the boat’s hull outside the water.

DESIGN PARAMETER:   Hydrofoil (It is a foil or wing under water used to lift the boat’s hull until it is totally outside the water.)

GEOMETRY/STRUCTURE:

EXPLANATION OF HOW IT WORKS/ IS USED:

1. At low speeds the hull (body of ship) sits in the water and the hydrofoils are totally submerged in the water.

2. As the boat’s speed increases, the hydrofoils create lift.

3. At a certain speed, the lift produced by the hydrofoils equals the sum of of the boat and cargo weights. Therefore the hull comes out of the water.

4. Instead of having an increase in drag with increasing speed because the hull is lifted out of the water (contrary to what happens in traditional boats due to pressure drag), the hydrofoils provide a more efficient way of cruising. Decreasing the drag contributes to the better use of the power needed for the movement of the boat.

DOMINANT PHYSICS:

How is the lift produced - Fluid Dynamics.

For the purpose of this project two explanations will be presented in a general and basic way. These theories are the application of Bernoulli’s Equation and Euler’s Equation for Streamline Curvature Effect.

Bernoulli’s Equation:  Po = P 1 + � r v 1 � + r gy 1 = P 2 + � r v 2 � + r gy 2

  This equation applies to flows along a stream line which can be modeled as : inviscid, incompressible, steady, irrotational and for which the body forces are conservative. Also the difference on the height of the foil (the distance from the bottom section to the upper one) is small enough so that the difference r gy 2 - r gy 1 is negligible compared to the difference of the rest of the terms. What is left is that the pressure plus one half the density times the velocity squared equals a constant (the stagnation pressure) . As the speed along these streamlines increases ,the pressure drops (this will become important shortly) .   The fluid that moves over the upper surface of the foil moves faster than the fluid on the bottom. This is due in part to visous effects which lead to formation of vertices at the end of the foil . In order to conserve angular momentum caused by the counter-clockwise rotation of the vortices, there has to be an equal but opposite momentum exchange to the vortex at the trailing edge of the foil. This leads to circulation of the fluid around the foil. The vector summation of the velocities results on a higher speed on the top surface and a lower speed on the bottom surface. Applying this to Bernoulli’s it is observed that, as the foil cuts through fluid, the change in velocity produces the pressure drop needed for the lift. As it is presented in the diagram, the resulting or net force (force= (pressure)(area)) is upward.

This explanation can be enriched with the Principle of Conservation of Momentum. (Momentum = (mass)(velocity)) If the velocity of a particle with an initial momentum is increased, then there is a reactant momentum equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the difference of the momentums. (See diagram). (Mi = Mf + D M) Euler’s Equation: d(p+ r gy)/dn = r v�/R

Here again, the term referring to the height is assumed negligible compared to the other terms in the equation. This equation says that as you go further from the center of the radius of curvature of a streamline, the pressure on the streamlines increases. The upper surface of the foil is closer to the center of curvature of the streamlines , therefore there will be a lower pressure than the ambient pressure above the foil. The difference between the pressure on the top surface and the ambient pressure at the bottom surface will produce a net pressure that will cause the lift.(See diagram.)

Angle of Attack:

As it has been presented, lift comes from the dynamics of the fluid in the area surrounding the foil. But the lift can be optimized by positioning the hydrofoil at an angle (relative to the incoming fluid flow) called the angle of attack (See diagram). The goal is to optimize the lift to drag ratio. This ratio depends on the shape of the foil, which in this case is considered to be a thin foil. With a small angle of attack, the lift increases rapidly while the drag increases at a small rate. After an angle of ~ 10� the lift increases slowly until ~ 15� where it reaches a maximum.  After ~15� stall can set in. When the angle of attack is 3� to 4� the ratio of lift:drag is at it’s maximum. So the foil is more efficient at those angles (3�and 4�) with lift to drag ratios of ~ 20 to 25:1

LIMITING PHYSICS:

At first, people can think that stalling is likely to be a problem in hydrofoils as it is in airfoils, but surprisingly it is not. A steep angle of attack is not needed in the design of the hydrofoil. On the contrary, small angles of attack are used on hydrofoils to optimize the lift to drag ratio as explained before.

What is a primary concern is the design of the foil, the struts/supports, and their positioning. All these features have to be taken in consideration.  So the features are designed to produce a minimum speed that will lift the boat of certain weight and keep it foilborne.

One problem that a hydrofoil craft can experience is the height of the waves being greater than the struts. Also, if the craft is traveling faster than the waves, the foils could break to the surface and outside of the water, resulting in a loss of lift and a negative angle of attack when the foil dives into the next wave, making the craft crash into the sea. Engineers have designed hydrofoils to minimize these limitations and better the ship’s performance.

PLOTS/GRAPHS/TABLES:

None Submitted

SOME HYDROFOILS AND THEIR USE:

Hydrofoils have become very popular. They are used in various kind of sea traveling, from military use to watersports. The high speed, smooth cruise and better turns delivered by hydrofoils have been used in military ships. Sailing has also adopted the hydrofoils to gain more speed. They enable new inventions that can satisfy people’s desire to challenge danger , like the sky ski. It is a water ski with a hydrofoil attached which permits people to fly above the water surface. Every day more hydrofoils are used, and in the future, they may be the dominate method of sea traveling.

REFERENCES/MORE INFORMATION:

See also on this site: Airfoil , Sailboats

Alexander, Alan, James Grogono, and Donald Nigg; Hydrofoil Sailing . Juanita Kalerghi: London, 1972.

Bertin, John and Michael Smith; Aerodynamics for Engineers, Third Ediotion . Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 1998.

Hook, Cristopher and A.C. Kermode; Hydrofoils . Pitman Paperbags: London, 1967.

The International Hydrofoil Society’s Web Page: http://www.erols.com/foiler/index.html

Hydrofoil Boats (Everything You Need to Know)

Despite the technology being around for over a hundred years, hydrofoil boats have once again become a hot topic amongst boat enthusiasts. Hydrofoil technology enhances both speed and efficiency of water vessels, and has been used by US Navy watercrafts, superyachts, racing boats, ferries, and many more.

A hydrofoil boat is supported by a winglike structure that creates lift as the boat’s speed increases. This makes the boat faster and smoother by reducing drag and keeping the boat above the waves.

With hydrofoil boats making headlines once again, it’s time to go over what they are, how they work, their advantages, disadvantages, and a serious evaluation on whether they are the future of boating or not. In this article, we’ll go over all there is to know about hydrofoils.

Table of Contents

What is a Hydrofoil Boat?

A hydrofoil boat is supported by a “hydrofoil” which is a structure composed of either a wing (V), T, or U shape. There are two types of hydrofoil boats: surface-piercing, and fully submerged. Both types of hydrofoils achieve the same purpose of lifting the boat off the surface of the water at high speeds.

When going fast enough, the lift of the foils is great enough to lift the entire hull of the boat out of the water, so that nothing but the foils themselves are touching the surface. This has some incredible benefits in terms of speed, efficiency, and experience – all of which we will soon go over.

Hydro foils help minimize drag and improve speed which is very similar to the effects achieved by aerofoils used on airplanes.

Hydrofoil boats are powered mainly in the same way other power boats are, by propellers or water jets. With that being said, they are also really popular in sailing. But the use of hydrofoils on sailboats is highly technical and primarily used by racing teams. They are most commonly used by commercial boats, and now are being introduced at the consumer level with pleasure boats.

History of the Hydrofoil Boat

The hydrofoil technology was first developed by inventors Casey Baldwin, Enrico Forlanini, and Alexander Graham Bell – yep, the same guy who invented the telephone. Forlanini had a prototype operating on Lake Maggiore in Italy by 1909. The hydrofoil boat achieved fame in WWII when it was used by both the German and US Navy to navigate waters that were heavily guarded by mines.

During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the hydrofoil technology was taken to water sports, where it was used in kiteboards, surfboards, and the air chair. It returned to the consumers’ attention in the 2010s, when it was used by racing teams across the world to set speed and time records in sailing championships. Most recently, watercraft companies have begun experimenting with the idea of hydrofoils on smaller scale boats outfitted with propelled and outboard engines.

How does a Hydrofoil Boat work?

So, we know that hydrofoils help boats achieve higher speeds with less drag, but how does that really work? The best way to think of it would be as “a boat with wings,” as that is essentially what they are. Just like an airplane would lift off the ground or water, as a hydrofoil boat gains speed, it lifts off the water too. While the foils themselves are submerged in the water still, much of the time there is enough lift to hold the entire hull of large ships and ferries off the surface. The sensation of being in a hydrofoil boat is much like being in an airplane that has limited flight. It’s smooth, and it’s really fast.

At the consumer level, hydrofoils require additional technology. As we’ll go over later on, this can result in some expensive price tags. As you can imagine, a boat that essentially “flies” through the air comes with some safety hazards. Hydrofoils require an automatic control system that maintains flying height, foil pitch, and smoothness of the ride. This “autopilot” system allows the foil to move in and out of the water safely, preventing the boat from slamming back into the water after it’s been lifted off the surface.

Hydrofoil Boat Advantages and Disadvantages

Their speed and unique ability to shed drag is undeniable, but are hydrofoils really all they are cracked up to be? In this regard, there are several advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Hydrofoil Advantages

• Speed: No surprise here. Most hydrofoils whether in the form of sailboat, ferry, or commercial vessel, can “fly” at speeds well over 50 knots (60 mph).
• Comfort: Because the hull of the boat is off the water, most waves and wakes hardly impact the boat, and therefore go largely unfelt by passengers. This makes for one smooth ride.
• Stabilization: For the same reason that comfort is increased, so is the boats stability (at high speeds that is). The hydrofoils cut through the water, decreasing the motion index of the watercraft.
• Efficiency: Since they aren’t impacted by smaller waves and wakes that would slow the progress of most boats, hydrofoils reach their destination in a much more efficient manner. For boats powered by traditional propeller or jet engines, this efficiency promotes a substantially better fuel economy.
• Experience: The reduced drag and impact from waves makes for a one-of-a-kind boating experience. It truly does feel like you are “flying” just above the surface of the water.

Hydrofoil Disadvantages

• Skill: Operation of a hydrofoil is a lot more technical, and requires a much more advanced skillset when compared to that of a standard runabout boat.
• Water Type: Hydrofoils are only suited for the open sea or large lakes (as of now). They are NOT fit for shallow water, as any bottom strikes while in motion could prove to be catastrophic for both the riders and the boat itself.
• Speed Range: Hydrofoils are built to “fly,” but only at certain speeds. Each boat will have a speed range where it likes to operate. Anything below that range will result in extra drag because the hull and the foils are submerged in the water. Anything above the range gets to be dangerous and uncontrollable.
• Maintenance Costs: The more complex technology comes with more complex maintenance and storage.
• Total Cost: They aren’t cheap. Some of the more popular boats at the consumer level cost upwards of $300,000.

While they may prove to be more complicated in terms of where you can drive them and their cost, there is an undeniable “coolness” factor with hydrofoil boats. As they gain popularity around the world, industry experts believe their cost and availability will become more and more accessible.

Hydrofoil Boat Costs

While you can find hydrofoils in nearly every style of boat, in this article we will cover the most common types of “personal” watercraft. You can find more information on commercial hydrofoils through this article by ScienceDirect.

• Price: $329,000
• Power Specs: 67 hp, 44 kWh battery, capable of cruising at 20-30 knots.

** One important sidenote to make about the C-8 is the incredible C-POD electric motor, which requires much less energy than a traditional internal combustion engine. The manufacturer promises 4,000 hours without any maintenance. That’s nearly 20 years of consistent use without maintenance!

• Price: $900,000 (base price)
• Power Specs: 740 hp supported by twin V8s, providing for cruise speeds upwards of 40 knots.
• Price: $240,000
• Power Specs: 40 hp, 40 kWh battery, capable of cruising at 22 knots

** For a more in-depth review, check out this Youtube video:

• Candela C-7 Review

The Future of Boating?

There are some undeniable advantages that hydrofoils have over general powerboats. The lift they get off the water not only makes for less drag and more speed, but also promotes a more comfortable and efficient ride. With that being said, their cost in manufacturing and maintenance has made them more costly than most people can afford.

It’s hard to say whether or not hydrofoils will be more commonplace at the consumer level. Right now, they are really just a fun toy for the wealthy. There are also some operational issues that manufacturers need to overcome before you’ll see them on your local waterway. Their susceptibility to damage in shallow water makes them unfit for anything but a large lake or open sea. Hydrofoils may not be as common as your run of the mill jet boat yet, but their popularity is growing at a rapid pace. If your local water happens to be a giant lake or open ocean, don’t be surprised if you start seeing more of them!

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15 April 2022     0 comments

Chris Maas Foiler Nominated in Foiling Week Awards

Retired boatbuilder Chris Maas lives in the San Juans on an island with no ferry service, so he built this fantastic electric foiling catamaran from recycled parts to be his commuter.

His GIZMO has been nominated in the Motorboat and Sustainable categories at Foiling Week . It’s marvelous to see Chris up against the over-hyped and overpriced foiling toys, best of luck to him.

  News   Designers   Hydrofoils

28 March 2019     3 comments

Will the Oz Goose fly?

Iain Henehan continues his foiling experiments with an Oz PD Goose, an ultra-simple 12ft (3.5m)  plywood club sailing dinghy designed by Michael Storer .

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26 November 2017     0 comments

VOR Proa Foiler

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  New Designs   Hydrofoils   Proas   Racing

03 March 2017     2 comments

Almost Hit a Tree

BROOMSTICK is a 15’ home-designed & built hydrofoil trimaran by Doug Halsey. It first sailed as a foiler in 2004 and has been refined gradually each year since then (only sailing a handful of times per year). Although it wasn’t intended to be the ultimate in speed, it routinely exceeds 20 knots, with a lifetime best speed of 28.7 knots. Box section hulls, round aluminum tube beams, deep-V hydrofoils and used beach cat sails - what’s…

  Hydrofoils

27 October 2016     0 comments

I want to believe

Dave and Steve Clark talk about their new UFO foiler destined for production. Dave demonstrates the launch procedure (piece of cake), and takes the boat out for a quick flight. The boat is designed to remove the “user hostility” from the Moth foiler sailing experience, thus broadening the appeal of hydrofoil sailing.

————

——-

  New Designs   Hydrofoils

12 May 2016     1 comments

Walk on Water

I had no idea this was even possible. Kai Lenny SUP downwind hydro-foiling. A hoverboard that works over water!

15 April 2015     0 comments

The Foil Alphabet

Rudders and centerboards with hydrofoils, profiled arms, wing masts… after the 34th America’s cup, it would be easy to say “we are in the age of wings”. And now it’s not only on multihulls but also on monohulls!

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09 April 2015     4 comments

The Trickle Down Effect

I’ve had an interest in hydrofoil sailboats ever since I ever heard about them, when I found ‘The 40-Knot Sailboat’ by Bernard Smith in the Kirkland Public Library as a teenager, which I must have checked out a dozen times. A few years later I was glancing through the Whole Earth Catalog at the neighbors and I saw an entry for ‘Flying Hydrofoils’, published by the AYRS in 1970, which I promptly ordered. So it has been with considerable…

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14 December 2014     0 comments

America’s Cup Trickle Down

The new windrider rave v hydrofoil trimaran.

WindRider has announced that it is re-entering the sailing hydrofoil market with a new 17’ design that is aimed at overcoming some of the chief limitations of the type, such as being a pain in the ass to trailer, rig, beach and sail.

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11 July 2014     1 comments

Hydrofoil Cruiser

Paul Bieker has announced this interesting new design on the Biekerboats blog. The foils resemble what is quickly becoming the standard on high performance race boats such as the A-class. We don’t think the B53 is intended to completely fly both hulls with this set up - the foils reduce displacement and provide dynamic stability.

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The Evolution of Flying Ships

The invention of hydrofoils was one of the most revolutionary developments in the history of marine engineering. Hydrofoils are vessels that use wing-like foils below the hull in order to reach greater speeds on the water. The "wings" are submerged so that the hull can be above the water, which allows the boat to go much faster since water is about 1,000 times more dense than air.

When Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini built a full-scale hydrofoil boat in 1906, the technology behind traveling on the sea took a hyper-leap. With a ladder system of foils under its hull, the winged ship reached a top speed of 68 km/h using a 60 hp (45 kW) engine driving two counter-rotating air props. Remember, the top speed of ships was about 40-50 km/h at this time.

Enrico Forlanini built a 60 hp hydrofoil at the beginning of the 20th Century. Photo: National Geographic Magazine/Wikimedia Commons

Sadly, despite their promise, hydrofoils did not take leading role in marine technology—they were popular for only for a brief period of time during the 60s and 70s thanks to the amazing Soviet hydrofoil passenger ships. The sensitive, complex and expensive technology is hard to maintain, and was passed over in favor of other modern technologies such as hi-tech catamaran, trimarans, pentamarans , wave-piercing hulls , SWATH hulls.

But throughout the last century an incredibly diverse fleet of these airplane-ship hybrid were built. The following are just a fraction of them.

Alexander Graham Bell’s fastest hydrofoil design, The HD-4, reached a speed of 114 km/h in 1919.

Photo: Our Baddeck

Photo: Internet Archive Book Images

This is the White Hawk, an ultra-high-speed hydrofoil powered by a 4,000 hp jet engine. It was designed and piloted by Frank and Stella Hanning-Lee in the early 50s.

Photo: Popular Mechanics, Aug 1953

The Carl XCH-4 "Canard" hydrofoil was a U.S. Navy test boat in the 50s.

Photo: U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons

The Lantern (HC-4), a Navy prototype, was one of the earliest hydrofoils to use electronic controls. It first flew in 1953 and reached a maximum speed in calm water of only 18 knots.

Kc-b, the canadian navy's experimental hydrofoil, could do 96 km/h..

Photo: Life, 27 Sep 1954

The nuclear-powered 320-passenger hydrofoil ocean liner concept that never came true.

Image: Népszerű Technika, 1959. június.

The Raketa (Rocket), a 60-person passenger hydrofoil, was in serial production between 1957 and 1976 in the Soviet Union. A total of 389 units were produced. It cruised at 60 km/h with a 500 km range.

Photo: Fox Photos/Getty Images

Image: Advertising poster for the Hungarian Navigation Co., circa 1960

The larger, Meteor-type Soviet hydrofoil was in production from 1960-1994. In 2003, two newer units were produced. Its top speed is 66 km/h and it carried 112-123 passengers.

Photo: Dmitry Lovetsky/AP

The sea-faring version of the Meteor was the "Kometa," with larger wings, bigger draught to manage the waves in coastal seas.

Photo: Attila Nagy/Gizmodo

The one-and-only Chaika (Seagull), a 30-seater Soviet built river bus capable of 95-100 km/h top speed, wasbuilt in 1962.

Photo: N. Akimov/Central Press/Getty Images

The mighty Burevestnik-type high speed vessels had two IL-18 airplane engines on their sides, with a power of 2.700 HP each. The type was produced from 1964 to 1979 in small number, its cruising speed was 93 km/h, top speed at an estimated 150 km/h.

Photo: rhzm.ru

The Soviet Turya-class fast attack torpedo boats were in service starting in 1972.

Photo: DoD/U.S. Navy/National Archives

USS Plainview (AGEH–1), the U.S. Navy's first hydrofoil research ship, was the world's largest hydrofoil in 1969. It was powered by the same type of engine used in F-4 Phantom fighter jets, plus two diesel engines. The ship was decommissioned in 1978, sold for scrapping, and abandoned on the Columbia river.

Photo: Ebay

Boeing designed and built several hydrofoil craft for the U.S. Navy, including six Pegasus-class hydrofoils (PHM-1 to 6), a series of fast attack patrol boats from 1973 to 1977.

The boeing 929 jetfoil, launched in 1974, could carry up to 400 passengers..

Photo: SoHome Jacaranda Lilau/Wikimedia Commons

Sea Shadow (IX-529) was an experimental stealth ship built by Lockheed for the U. S. Navy in 1985. It had a "SWATH" hull design: Below the water were submerged twin hulls, an aft stabilizer, and inboard hydrofoil.

Photo: U.S. Navy

Soviet-designed Voskhods are one of the most successful passenger hydrofoils, recently manufactured in Russia and Ukraine. They are in service in more than 20 countries.

Photo: Mauritsvink/Wikimedia Commons

Frank M. Rinderknecht, the Swiss car visionary that created the natural gas-powered Rinspeed Splash, used hydraulics to transform the car into a boat. It was premiered at the Geneva Motor Show in 2004.

Photo: Rinspeed

A Meteor hydrofoil yacht was built in 2006 for Alexander Khloponin, a Russian businessman and governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai.

Photo: Avenir Systems

The FSWH37 is an Italian made hydrofoil, completely built in aluminium alloy, except for the foils which are in high resistance steel.

Photo: Intermarine S.p.A.

The latest hydrofoil boats come from Russia, these glass bottom boats, the LOOKER, seem to revive the hydrofoil technology.

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Here's hoping for a bright future for the hydrofoil.

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[2023] Hydrofoil Yacht: The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Foils

• November 1, 2023
• Hydrofoil Basics

Quick Answer: A hydrofoil yacht is a sailboat equipped with wing-like foils that lift the hull out of the water as it gains speed. This reduces drag, increases speed, and provides a smoother ride. Hydrofoil yachts can be retrofitted on both monohull and multihull sailboats, with different types of foils used for stability and control.

Welcome to Hydrofoiling™, where we bring you all the latest and greatest information about hydrofoil boarding. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive into the world of hydrofoil yachts, exploring their history, configurations, classes, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or a curious beginner, this article will provide you with expert advice and insights into the exciting world of hydrofoil yachts.

Table of Contents

Quick answer, quick tips and facts, background: the evolution of hydrofoil yachts, types of hydrofoil yachts, hydrofoil classes: from moths to ac75, hydrofoil yacht brands and models, advantages and disadvantages of hydrofoil yachts.

• Recommended Links
• Reference Links

A hydrofoil yacht is a sailboat equipped with wing-like foils that lift the hull out of the water as it gains speed. This lifting action reduces the wetted area of the hull, minimizing drag and allowing the yacht to achieve higher speeds. Hydrofoil yachts can be retrofitted on both monohull and multihull sailboats, with different types of foils used for stability and control.

Shopping Links: Check out hydrofoil yacht products on Amazon | Shop hydrofoil yacht on Walmart | Etsy hydrofoil yacht products

• Hydrofoil yachts use foils to lift the hull out of the water, reducing drag and increasing speed.
• Different types of foils, such as T foils, C foils, S foils, and L foils, are used for stability and control.
• Hydrofoil yachts can be retrofitted on both monohull and multihull sailboats.
• The International Moth class is one of the most widespread uses of hydrofoils in sailboats.
• Hydrofoil yachts can achieve impressive speeds, with some reaching over 50 knots.

Hydrofoil technology has been around for over a century, with the first patent for a hydrofoil boat filed in 1898 by Italian engineer Enrico Forlanini. Since then, hydrofoil yachts have undergone significant advancements, transforming the sailing experience and pushing the boundaries of speed and performance.

The concept behind hydrofoil yachts is simple yet ingenious. By using wing-like foils mounted under the hull, these yachts can lift themselves out of the water as they gain speed. This lifting action reduces the wetted area of the hull, minimizing drag and allowing the yacht to glide effortlessly through the water.

Hydrofoil yachts come in various configurations, each designed to optimize performance and stability. Let’s explore some of the most common types of hydrofoil yachts:

Monohull Hydrofoil Yachts : Monohull hydrofoil yachts feature a single hull and employ a “ladder” arrangement of hydrofoils. These hydrofoils typically have a dihedral angle of around 50 degrees and are complemented by a stabilizing rudder foil. This configuration provides stability and control, allowing the yacht to sail smoothly on foils.

Multihull Hydrofoil Yachts : Multihull hydrofoil yachts, such as catamarans and trimarans, offer increased stability and performance. These yachts use wider planforms, allowing for greater lift and control. Some multihulls utilize three foils, with two main forward foils providing lift and a horizontal foil on the rudder for additional control.

Hydrofoil Catamarans : Hydrofoil catamarans, also known as foilcats, combine the stability of a catamaran with the speed and efficiency of hydrofoils. These yachts can achieve impressive speeds while maintaining excellent stability, making them popular choices for racing and recreational sailing.

Hydrofoil technology has found its way into various sailing classes, revolutionizing the way we sail. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable hydrofoil classes:

International Moth : The International Moth class is one of the most widespread uses of hydrofoils in sailboats. These single-handed dinghies feature foiling capabilities, allowing sailors to achieve incredible speeds and maneuverability. The class has seen rapid growth since 2001, with carbon fiber foils and advanced design techniques pushing the boundaries of performance.

Waszp : The Waszp class is similar to the International Moth class but utilizes aluminum foils instead of carbon fiber. This makes the Waszp more accessible to a wider range of sailors while still providing the exhilaration of foiling.

AC75 : The AC75 is a foiling monohull sailboat class used in the 2021 America’s Cup. These impressive yachts can reach speeds of up to 50 knots, showcasing the incredible potential of hydrofoil technology in the world of competitive sailing.

IQFoil : The IQFoil windsurfer class was selected by World Sailing for the 2024 Summer Olympics. These windsurfers feature hydrofoils, allowing athletes to glide above the water and achieve impressive speeds.

IMOCA 60 : Originally designed as non-foiling offshore racers, the IMOCA 60 class has embraced hydrofoil technology. These yachts now feature S-shaped daggerboard foils, providing partial foiling capabilities and enhancing performance in various conditions.

F50 : The F50 sailboat class is used in the SailGP series and is the first sailboat class to break the 50-knot barrier during a race, with a top speed of 52.2 knots. These high-performance catamarans showcase the incredible speed and agility that hydrofoil technology can offer.

Several brands have embraced hydrofoil technology, offering a range of hydrofoil yachts to cater to different sailing preferences. Here are some notable hydrofoil yacht brands and models:

Gunboat : Gunboat is a renowned brand in the world of luxury hydrofoil yachts. Their models, such as the Gunboat 68 and Gunboat 72, combine performance, comfort, and elegance, providing an exceptional sailing experience.

GC32 : The GC32 is a hydrofoil catamaran designed for high-performance racing. This foiling catamaran offers thrilling speeds and precise control, making it a favorite among competitive sailors.

AC72 and AC45f/AC50 : These hydrofoil catamarans were used in the America’s Cup, showcasing the cutting-edge technology and innovation in the world of hydrofoil yachts. These yachts pushed the boundaries of speed and performance, captivating sailing enthusiasts worldwide.

Nacra 17 and Nacra F20 : Nacra is a well-known brand in the world of multihull sailing, and their Nacra 17 and Nacra F20 models feature hydrofoil capabilities. These yachts offer a perfect balance of speed, stability, and maneuverability, making them popular choices for recreational and competitive sailing.

Hydrofoil yachts offer a range of advantages that make them appealing to sailors seeking speed, performance, and an exhilarating sailing experience. However, they also come with some drawbacks. Let’s explore the pros and cons of hydrofoil yachts:

Advantages:

Increased Speed : Hydrofoil yachts can achieve impressive speeds, thanks to reduced drag and increased lift. This allows sailors to cover more distance in less time, making hydrofoil yachts ideal for racing or simply enjoying the thrill of speed on the water.

Smooth Ride : By lifting the hull out of the water, hydrofoil yachts provide a smoother and more comfortable sailing experience. The reduced contact with the water minimizes the impact of waves and chop, resulting in a smoother ride even in rough conditions.

Improved Efficiency : Hydrofoil yachts are more efficient than traditional sailboats, thanks to reduced drag and improved lift. This increased efficiency translates to better performance and reduced energy consumption, making hydrofoil yachts an environmentally friendly choice.

Disadvantages:

Complex Design : Hydrofoil yachts require a more complex design compared to traditional sailboats. The addition of foils and the associated control systems can increase the complexity of the yacht, requiring more maintenance and potentially higher costs.

Learning Curve : Sailing a hydrofoil yacht requires a certain level of skill and experience. The handling and control of a hydrofoil yacht can be more challenging compared to traditional sailboats, requiring sailors to adapt to the unique characteristics of foiling.

Higher Costs : Hydrofoil yachts, especially high-performance models, can come with a higher price tag compared to traditional sailboats. The advanced technology, materials, and design required for hydrofoil yachts contribute to their higher cost.

How fast is the hydrofoil racing yacht?

Hydrofoil racing yachts can achieve impressive speeds, with some models reaching over 50 knots (57.5 mph or 92.6 km/h). The F50 sailboat class, used in the SailGP series, holds the record for the fastest sailboat class, with a top speed of 52.2 knots (60 mph or 97 km/h).

What does a hydrofoil do to a boat?

A hydrofoil lifts the hull of a boat out of the water as it gains speed. This reduces the wetted area of the hull, minimizing drag and allowing the boat to achieve higher speeds. The lifting action of the hydrofoil also provides a smoother ride by reducing the impact of waves and chop.

Read more about “… Hydrofoil Catamaran: The Ultimate Guide to Foiling on Water”

How fast do hydrofoil boats go?

Hydrofoil boats can reach impressive speeds, depending on their design and purpose. Racing hydrofoil yachts can achieve speeds over 50 knots (57.5 mph or 92.6 km/h), while recreational hydrofoil boats can reach speeds of 20-30 knots (23-34.5 mph or 37-55.5 km/h) or more.

Why don’t boats use hydrofoils?

While hydrofoils offer significant advantages in terms of speed and efficiency, they also come with certain limitations. The complex design and higher costs associated with hydrofoils can be prohibitive for some boat owners. Additionally, the handling and control of hydrofoil boats require a certain level of skill and experience, making them less accessible to novice sailors.

Read more about “… Why do boats not use hydrofoils?”

Hydrofoil yachts have revolutionized the sailing experience, offering increased speed, improved efficiency, and a smoother ride. Whether you’re a competitive sailor looking for the thrill of high-speed racing or a recreational sailor seeking a more exhilarating sailing experience, hydrofoil yachts provide an exciting and innovative option.

Recommended Links:

• Hydrofoil History
• Advanced Hydrofoiling Techniques
• Hydrofoil Equipment Reviews
• How Do Hydrofoils Work on Boats? 2023

Reference Links:

• Sailing Hydrofoil – Wikipedia
• Gunboat Official Website
• Nacra Official Website
• SailGP Official Website
• America’s Cup Official Website

Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of hydrofoil yachts, it’s time to set sail and experience the thrill of foiling firsthand. Whether you’re racing on the high seas or cruising along the coast, a hydrofoil yacht will take your sailing adventures to new heights. Happy foiling!

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is based on research and personal experience. Hydrofoiling™ is not affiliated with any specific brand or product mentioned in this article. Always consult with experts and follow safety guidelines when engaging in hydrofoil activities.

Review Team

The Popular Brands Review Team is a collective of seasoned professionals boasting an extensive and varied portfolio in the field of product evaluation. Composed of experts with specialties across a myriad of industries, the team’s collective experience spans across numerous decades, allowing them a unique depth and breadth of understanding when it comes to reviewing different brands and products.

Leaders in their respective fields, the team's expertise ranges from technology and electronics to fashion, luxury goods, outdoor and sports equipment, and even food and beverages. Their years of dedication and acute understanding of their sectors have given them an uncanny ability to discern the most subtle nuances of product design, functionality, and overall quality.

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Trending now

Navier's vision for sustainable water transportation takes flight in the Bay Area

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- It's a boat, it's a plane, it's the future of transportation.

Founder and CEO Sampriti Bhattacharyya launched Navier, home to America's first all-electric hydrofoil boat. The sleek and sustainable invention is helping to reimagine our waterways.

"In a year, a person spends over 100 hours in traffic," said Bhattacharyya. "Waterways are this infrastructure, already built out that's underutilized because we haven't figured out how to move things on the water in a cost-efficient way, and not only that, in a comfortable way."

Enter the N30 craft aka the next generation of high-speed, zero-emissions water transportation.

Unlike traditional gas boats, it runs on a battery and rises above water instead of expending energy pushing through the waves. In fact, the hydrofoiling craft is 10x more efficient than gas-powered vessels.

"We're taking on electrifying boats," said Kenny Jensen, the Chief Technical Officer at Navier. "It's good for the environment, you're not burning gasoline. You're also not putting oil into the water."

The boat of the future is virtually silent and cuts through waves like butter, making it a comfortable way to avoid congestion on the highway.

"You are literally flying on a cushion of air," expressed Rich Miner, Co-Founder of Android, Entrepreneur, and Investor. "If you can have boats here in San Francisco, cutting across the Bay, that's great. The problem with San Francisco Bay, it's often choppy. Navier gets the boat up above all that."

"It feels like you're floating on clouds," added Sam Seder, the Head of Operations at Navier. "You can put your coffee, your tea, right on the seat in front of you, and it won't spill as you're going through chop at 30 mph."

This month, Navier announced a pilot program to provide water transit services to Bay Area Commuters. The financial services company Stripe, Inc. is Navier's first partner in the program.

Starting March 2024, Navier will provide water shuttle services for Stripe employees traveling from Larkspur, California to Stripe's US headquarters in South San Francisco.

"Today, 46% of the world's population lives in crowded coastal areas, which continue to struggle with traffic congestion, fossil fuel pollution and a lack of affordable housing options," described Bhattacharyya. "Our pilot program demonstrates a clear path forward for these cities to reduce traffic, costs and emissions, connect business hubs with more affordable areas, and unlock the productive potential of millions of workers who would otherwise spend uncounted hours stuck in traffic."

Navier's groundbreaking innovations extend beyond just the product. The company is starting a movement within the maritime industry.

"We're in a climate emergency," stated Melissa Blaustein, the Mayor of Sausalito, California. "Transportation is the key to changing our carbon footprint, that's why boats like Navier's are so important."

"When we see this sort of design combined with zero emission technology like the battery electric system, it really gets us excited about the future for ferry service," added Seamus Murphy, the Executive Director of WETA.

The boat is poised to revolutionize how we experience water, initiating a positive ripple effect on the economy.

"If every marina can be a transportation hub, more waterfront infrastructure develops," said Bhattacharyya. "There will be a whole new wave of economic activity, a whole new wave of jobs, affordable housing."

She added, "That is what is exciting, that is what inspires us to get up and work as fast as we can to build out this vision."

For more information, visit here .

For the latest updates, follow Navier and Sampriti on social media.

@navierboat

@sampriti_bh

@sampritibh

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