Super Foiler Grand Prix Race 1

Bored? Watch the Super Foiler Grand Prix racing series from 2019. Some of the best racing ever. Here is the first race. Will post a race each week.

Boating Permits/Stickers

As many of you know Idaho, Washington, Montana and pretty much every other state in the union require boats to have Aquatic Invasive Species stickers displayed on ones watercraft whether motorized, human powered, or sail powered only. If your boat is registered in the state you live in then the registration sticker is your invasive species sticker (that is if your boat is required to be registered, if not then you must have a stick on your boat). If you leave your state and boat in another state then one must have the sticker on their boat of that state. Yes it's annoying because if you are like me, I boat regularly in about 4 states other than my own. So I have 5 stickers on my freaking boat. 

Here are the links to each states Aquatic Invasive Species website so you can find out what you need before boating in these states...

Idaho
Washington
Montana
Oregon

I might add on top of this sticker fees there are also boat launch fees. I can see why there is a growing trend among boaters to boat in their own state, especially those on a fixed income, etc. I do agree its getting a little bit out of control cost wise. If you are an outdoors person there are also fees to use parks and trails, etc. There may come a time when as a group of outdoors enthusiasts we will need to get together and rein in the bureaucracy.

In a future article I will be doing research about how these states Aquatic Invasive Species programs are doing, are they accomplishing anything or is it just another way for governments/agencies to suck more money out of us. Seems like we can no longer do anything outdoors without there being a fee. Is this fact affecting outdoor activity, are people just staying home? Is outdoors recreation becoming just for the rich? On the outside someone might think the fees are not that much, but if you are accessing several states, between sticker fees, launch fees, camping fees, not to mention the cost to drive to various sites, it adds up rather quickly. So stay tuned as my article about all this is coming soon.

Coronavirus Boating Rules

China Coronavirus USA boating rules. Please follow them until this pandemic passes officially!

However marine mammals may not follow the rules...

Read

Hello fellow sailors Small Craft Advisor is offering free online digital subscriptions to anyone that clicks on this link and signs up.

During this time when many of us have more down time Small Craft Advisor is great reading. This is my favorite sailing publication by far because it focuses on small boat sailing adventure stories and product reviews, etc.

Also search through our FunToSAIL articles for some additional great reading.

Corsair Update

Nice little update related to Corsair first 880 development. I am very excited about this new boat and been watching its development closely. Here is the company update below...

We have our first hull! Corsair 880 update #14

"While the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to hit shores worldwide, at Corsair Marine we continue to progress our 880 #1 relatively unimpacted by the pandemic at large. You can read more on the status of the corsair Marine factory here:>>>

In recent weeks , we have made significant progress on 880#1 we have now joined the hull and deck of the main hull, we have all bulkheads fitted, the interior painted, windows and hatches are being installed and we continue to produce all smaller components such as rudders, daggerboard, beams, mast rudder case etc. We have been testing things like the daggerboard trunk, ensuring the board can be easily raised and lowered, we’ve tested the companionway hatch mechanism and we’re now running electrical and plumbing systems.

READ MORE

Open By Appointment

FunToSAIL store is now open by appointment. Please text us at 208-704-4454 or email us at funtosail@gmail.com to set a time to meet or make orders, etc.

Sailing away from the virus

I recommend during times like these that people go out in nature and get some fresh air. I do this by going sailing, others may go hiking, etc. What ever you do don't get cooped up and stagnant as doing so makes things feel far worse. This virus will pass and I think we all will be more serious about not passing colds around, being healthy, etc.

To Foil or not to Foil?

See some of the foiling sailboat designs below

See King of the Foilers video below after reading this article. Take what you hear on the video with a grain of salt. Also more videos below that.

To foil or not to foil that is the question? Or that is the question I get often. My answer to the question is simply. It depends on if 5-10 more knots of speed, more maintenance, and high cost is worth it to you.

We call sailboats that foil, Foilers. A Foiler that has just a single rear and forward foil (two foils) means that boat will be much more unstable to sail versus a boat with 3 foils or 4 foils. A foiling windsufer set up has one foil, so much more challenging to balance. On inland waters where winds typically shift a lot and come and go, I would not recommend a 2 foil boat. And if you are not in good shape, particularly do not have strong abb muscles and/or have back problems then 2 foil boats is a bad idea and one foil even a worse. 2 foil boats like the UFO and Wasp or Moth are fun boats when the winds are consistent and you have the strength to handle the boat. But if you do not have either of these then such Foilers will be a nightmare to sail.

A 3 or 4 foil boat will be far more stable. Some new foiling monohulls have 3 foils along with some trimarans, foiling multihulls will have 4 foils. One has to realize when sailing upwind a 4 foil boat will basically be foiling on 2 foils, however if the wind is coming and going, the windward foils will come into play resulting in more stability. Still any foiling boat when on the foils is going to be less stable than an in-the-water sailboat.

Also if you sail in an area with lots of weeds in the water it will be no fun to constantly pull the weeds off your foils. So if you do buy a Foiler you will want to buy one where you can reach the foils to remove stuff off them. With some foiling boats the foils do not lift up easily (or at all) for you to reach, so its something to really take into consideration before you buy one.

One most also realize with more speed comes more pain. If the boat pitch-poles you will be thrown forward with force and if you hit any part of the boat its likely to hurt, and hurt a lot. This pain can be mitigated by sailing a Foiler where you sit in a cockpit like the Hobie TriFoiler or Windrider Rave, both of which are super stable. These Foilers that do not require hiking out or trapezing. If you have to hike out or trapeze be ready for some wild trips when you are thrown through the air... It will happen!

Also remember maintenance will always be much more work with a Foiler, primarily due to the need to keep the foils in good shape. If you hit something while foiling, at high speeds, realize you will likely brake a foil and possibility parts of your boat. Again you may brake you as well, not fun.

So to Foil or not to Foil is actually a simple question. Again if you need more speed, and are ok with higher maintenance and cost, and possibility some physical pain then why not?

A down side to the current market related to Foilers it that they may not stay in production. That is a problem when you need parts, particularly the specific foils design for that boat. Currently the Wasp is likely the only boat that will be around for a while, maybe the UFO also, both of which are 2 foil boats. As for 3-4 foil boats, if remains to be seen which design will catch on and remain. There are some foil kits for boats like the Laser, but again who knows if these kits will stick around. I will keep you up to date on Foilers as I continue to monitor the market.

Foiling is here to stay but likely after the newness of it passes it will become a small market as compared to in-the-water sailboats. Likely foiling will primarily be for racing and even then will be a small component of racing.

As for me I am sticking with my Hobie 16 and and Corsair. I will grab onto a Foiler if ever one proves to be fun to sail in on and off again winds. Right now I like the Whisper and Phantom Cat, Wasp, and foil windsurfing.

The following Foiling boats are not in any particular order...

Flying Mantis (2 foils)

Phantom Cat (4 foils)

Many monohull designs to choose from  (2 foils). Google foiling monohull dinghies.
See the pictured boat called the Skeeta at this link https://bit.ly/349BQtE

F101 foiling trimaran (2 foils)

UFO foiling catamaran (2 foils) 

Wasp one design Moth (2 foils)

Foiling kit applied to a Laser. Can be used on an Optimist, and other small monohulls (2 foils)

Foiling windsurfer (1 foil) 

8m Monofoil (3 foils and centerboard) 

NACRA 17 Olympic class boat (4 foils)

Whisper Cat (4 foils) 

WindRider Rave (3 foils). No longer in production.

Hobie Tri-Foiler (3 foils). No longer in production.

World Racing Report