monochrome

In case you are serious - you can probably make something similar to what the gentleman in the picture below built, without using expensive materials like carbon fiber. The v-foils probably have more drag than L or Z- foils (especially going to windward). But they foil is supported at both ends, so can be made from wood/glass or aluminium without breaking. Other than that it's probably great fun to build and sail a foiler. Remember that 90% of the time/effort is spent on all small tweaks and modifications to make it work once you spent 10% building it. If you are not prepared for all those efforts, I think it is better to buy a foiling boat instead. The UFO seems reasonably priced and a good platform to learn foiling on. A boat by Doug Halsey

Robin showed me the rudders and they looked just like a Speer section to me. Not sharp edges. I remember wondering how the "feel" would be, since they have camber. I imagined that they would want to push/pull the tiller, depending on how they were balanced. But I didn't ask him about it. He also showed me the mechanism to automatically move the centre of lift to either side of the axis of rotation, depending on the direction of movement. It was all machined out of aluminium, with bushings and sliders made from nylon or similar low friction plastic. The rudders also had a way to kick up. I think it was all mainly Robins own design. Looked well built. I think Robin had had a sail on that French Proa. He mentioned something about that when I asked if he had ever sailed a proa. But he started building his before that, I believe, so with no proa experience. I guess that is the case with most proa builders.

I wanted to do that myself Robin gave me a tour of the boat once, a few months before it was launched. As a matter of fact, that was almost exactly one year before the tragedy... It was around new years, 16/17. And I had no idea until recently when I found this thread. I thought the boat was a real work of art. Strip planked in western red cedar. Beautiful round shapes. Good luck! and let me know if you need one or two people for crew when you sail her... =)

Beautiful!

To me it's obvious that foiling boats are more dangerous. Mainly because speeds are higher. Reaction times are shorter. Impact energy increase with the square of speed. Foils are sharper. (That lifted windward board looks like the most dangerous object on the superfoiler. A huge sword ready to cut into your flesh after a small mistake.) I also have a background in racing motorcycles. To me sailing isn't dangerous. Speeds are slow. Water is relatively soft. Sure you can get some cuts and bruises, but compared crashing in 180km/h it's no big deal. My biggest fear when sailing is getting hit unconscious and drowning (since I sail alone). These guys have a crew and rescue boats close by. But there are of course still the risk of a serious accident. My heart beats faster when they sail close to each other at high speed. But that is part of this kind of racing. The sailors are there for the thrill of sailing these superfoiler.

I think some of you seem to have a very square mindset when it comes to sailing. Yes, they are kind of racing V8s on a gokart track with potholes in the corners and spectators in the sandtraps. Isn't that a bit fun? Like, fun in a way where it's not all serious but still in a competitive spirit? Like things used to be as kids, you know? I think it can be a bit fun to watch sailing on television. But most of the time it's not. Sailing for real is much more fun. Except when there is no wind. But then you can relax on the trampoline. Except when it is a snowy winter. That is when you watch sailors on television almost crash into each other, and then capsize on the finish line.

Just a guess, the sail/boom "behaves" better during the gybe?

Nice! That looks very smooth. How much of a drag penalty is it to have these two T-boards compared to one L-board, like they used in the Americas cup? To me, it doesnt look like much drag when you are able to do gybe after gybe in what looks like light-medium wind. But I've been reading that on the outside of the lee T, the vertical board creates positive pressure, while the foil creates negative pressure. And that is supposed to be draggy? Nice boat.

I have one piece of criticism though: Why don't they bring some basic spare parts to the locations where they race? The minimum should be an extra set of boards, rudders, sails, and all the small bits of ropes and pulleys for the rigging. And ideally, they should bring one of these sets for each team. And finally, a spare boat. According to the news, one team member had to drive 1800km this weekend to get some spare parts. And I think we can conclude that an extra set of boards doesn't even exist, since one team couldn't race on Sunday after a board was damaged.

For me, the fact that the sailors are new to the boat, is positive. Makes it interesting to watch, and follow their progress. It also gives some insight into how much skill is needed to become a good sailor, and the incredible gains that can be made if you are. The dream team was 50% faster than the slowest boat in the gusty conditions on Sunday. In another thread about a-cat races, Glenn Ashby was 50% faster than most of the fleet, in gusty conditions. That amazes me, that it's possible to read the wind, trim the sails, and steer the boat, in a way which makes the boat so much faster. So I have enjoyed watching these races. The commentators, who were a bit hesitant/unsynced in the first races, are getting a nice flow in their commentary. And it's pure joy to watch the foilers at full flight downwind.

This time it was not just the slow guys who were lapped though, if I understood the report correct!=) Glenn lapped everyone except Brawin, (including Outerridge and the rest of top 5) is what I understood. He must have an exceptional talent of reading the wind and trimming the sails. Or could it be that he also had a better setup boat? Like, larger foils fitted? Is it legal to switch equipment during a regatta? Could you for example fit a sail with a larger roach on a calm day?

So Glenn Ashby sailed 3 laps faster than all but one sailor sailed 2 laps? As an amateur sailor, I'm wondering, how is it possible to be that superior, to sail 50% faster than the other sailors in the same conditions?

Is there a stream/radio/report of the a-cat championchips?

According to analyses of that incident, they were not on collision course though.

They have some serious camber in those foils.