Here are few video clips of an all new foiling catamaran prototype......it weighs in at 75kgs ready to sail and is 17'6" long with 8'beam....more info and spec coming soon .......the final production version will be around 65kgs!
That's some of the most stable small-boat foiling I've seen in a long while. T-Foils with trailing wands. Interesting.
looks like an A-cat with Moth foils
how far outboard do those T foils extend?
Wouldn't want to injure the crew when picking them up from the water... but as stable as that thing looked, maybe it's not an issue.
Wow, that's pretty fricking awesome looking, looks extremely stable. I still want to see how they work around the cans though.
Is the crew sheeting the main from the top block? What would be the reasoning on that? Looks too high to be mid-boom sheeting.
From the designer builder....
the hull is carbon sandwich with kevlar carbon aramid in impact areas.
It has a 9.5m carbon wing mast with 16 square meters of sail and a roller furling gennaker the size of which is still to be determined. the rig loads are taken through the bowsprit. the production version is a single component monocoque with stress mapped fiber layup
More info to follow.....
And here is a video of my business partner sailing the whisper (his very first attempt at foiling!)....in bugger all wind!
Brandy Snap2 weeks ago
Whisper is a custom built 17' 9" cat being developed by Southampton Solent University as part of its foil development research. Whisper has been so successful in providing a stable easy to control platform, and there has been so much interest in the boat, that a production version is currently being designed, which will incorporate a number of modifications which will make the Whisper truly remarkable
I beginning to think something like this might be mainstream enough to actually be in my future.
I haven't watched all of the video, but do the foils retract? What's the price range?
did any of them indicate a price?
Do the rudder foils move, or just the main foils?
Looks super-cool
Pricing and final production version spec coming very soon....
given what I saw with the AC boats, do you even need a spinnaker with a foiling cat? Maybe just a screecher?
and does it matter that much if you trap out?
Just to clarify....
1.Boards: Fully retract flush to the the hull surface so the boat can be launched in the same depth of water as a standard displacement catamaran and have both angle of attack and ride height 'on the fly' adjustment....
2.Rudders: Fully retractable and also have 'on the fly' trim adjustment similar to a moth....
3.Sail area: Jib, main and furling gennaker (which hasn't been required so far as it has such a early take of speed) final sail area is being finalised based on the current daily sea trials....
4.Platform construction:The hulls and beams will be a monocoque style construction on the final production boat....
5.Delivery: The first production boats will be ready for delivery in January 2015........
6.Pricing: The final retail price will be decided in the next 3 to 4 weeks but do believe interested parties will be very very pleasantly surprised.....
What about crew weight?
combined crew weight around 150/160kg
singlehand? (I don't have any friends)
Sweet baby jeebus, somebody go check on whether the Nile has turned to blood or if any other Biblical plagues have popped up! <img src="<>/laugh.gif" alt="laugh" title="laugh" height="15" width="15" />
You will if you buy that.
I had heard that Karl <img src="<>/wink.gif" alt="wink" title="wink" height="15" width="15" />......but yes it has been designed to be sailed single handed if desired
It does look more difficult to launch from the beach compared to the 'L' foils.
The foils fully retract to the hull surface for launching and landing....
Like those foils could become
ankle biters
if you're not careful?
(this from a guy who still gets
bit
on the shin by the dang trailer hitch... you'd think I'd have learned by now)
The foils fully retract to the hull surface for launching and landing....
How do you insert the boards when you are on the beach?
Won't the T foil break when you pull the boat on its side (assuming they enter from the bottom).
It's going to wieght less than 150 lbs. Less without the rig. Pick it up by the rear beam and stick em in.
The foils fully retract to the hull surface for launching and landing....
How do you insert the boards when you are on the beach?
Won't the T foil break when you pull the boat on its side (assuming they enter from the bottom).
It weighs 75kgs.......you get someone to lift the bows or stern on the beach and insert from below.......designer is going to do a video this weekend of the whole process.....
The foils fully retract to the hull surface for launching and landing....
How do you insert the boards when you are on the beach?
Won't the T foil break when you pull the boat on its side (assuming they enter from the bottom).
It weighs 75kgs.......you get someone to lift the bows or stern on the beach and insert from below.......designer is going to do a video this weekend of the whole process.....
Well Karl, that eliminates sailing UNI.
It only eliminates sailing Uni if you have no friends at your sailing club.....
Ah,that makes sense. Missed the part about it weighing 75kg.
Hope you bring it to Texel next year.