TO FOIL OR NOT TO FOIL?

Many of my customers and students regularly ask me about the whole foiling craze, whether To Foil or Not to Foil is the question? So here I will supply my convoluted answer, as it's not an easy one to answer.

And just a quick note. No, foiling sailboats will not replace ALL non foiling sailboats as you will read foiling sailboats have their limitations, i.e. sailing in the surf, areas with weeds, etc. Foiling is really impacting racing. Foiling has brought younger sailors into the sport due to the excitement and new skills required to foil. Some racing classes will be for sure eliminated by foiling boats and some will not. This article is limited to foilers up to about 30 ft and available to the average weekend warrior.

Cost... In the near past foiling was way too costly and for the most part still is. However the UFO, a 10 ft foiling cat, is only $7,600 with a dolly (without shipping fee). You do have to be pretty limber and have some athletic strength/skill to sail this boat. However it's far easier to sail than a Moth and far less costly. Other than this boat, most new foilers are running around $30,000 and way up from there. So cost can be a big limiting factor for most people who have a budget to stay in. Hobie Trifoiler's and WindRider Rave's can be found for a reasonable price of $5-$10,00 or so (more on those boats shortly) USED as they are not in production.

Maintenance is another potential limiting factor. Hit something in the water while flying along at high speeds WILL result in major damage. And depending on the price of your boat, the repair and replacement parts can cost you well into the thousands of dollars, again based on the price of your boat. And realize some of the new foiling sailboats may only be in production for a short period, making getting replacement parts in the near future a real issue. There is a lot of work that goes into producing the high tech foils and with most foils being built out of expensive materials like carbon fiber, making repairs and replacements costly. One can not let a foil degrade too much as foiling would be limited, if not impossible to achieve. Foils must remain smooth without nicks, etc. to give you optimal performance.

Location... Another aspect is where you sail, which a topic none of the manufactures talk about. If you are sailing in a bay with lots of weeds, remove that location from you list of places to foil. If you get grass on your foils, of course flying on your foils is not possible. For many foiling boats, getting grass off the foils would require one to jump in the water every time, as with many foiling boat designs the foils will not kick up where you can reach them to remove grass. Sailing in areas with variable depths can be a problem, along with logs, broken off pylons; are all challenges in avoiding major damage while foiling. One might say well these are issues for non foiling sailboats as well and that is true to a degree, but the non foiling boats are not flying above the water at 20 to 30+ knots. I have done 18 knots on my Hobie 16 and hit an object only to have the rudder kick up. If I had done that with let's say a Phantom F18 foiling catamaran the damage would have been quite savier, not to mention sailors being launched off the boat during deceleration. Also just another point foiling in the surf is not possible. Foiling sailboats for the most part are not suitable to launch through the surf, unless the waves are small. So scratch surf sailing off the lists of places to sail. The Hobie 16 is king in the surf so no chance of a foiling boat replacing it.

Skills... Another aspect not talked much about is one's physical abilities and skills. Foiling boats that require hiking out or trapezing require one to have some level of athletic ability, and being limber, etc. On my UFO I have to consistently hike out which require strong abdominal and back muscles. When I tack I have to crawl under the sail quickly as the sail is very low over the deck. If you sail an 18 foot multihull or a bit bigger then not only are you having to trapeze but then you have to run and crawl some distance across the trampoline to the other side. If you are wanting to do a fast tack then you have to do it quickly. And there are those spectacular crashes one can see on YouTube videos. They look kind of harmless but in reality such crashes can put some big time hurt on your body. If you want to avoid some of this, purchasing a used Hobie Trifoiler or WindRider Rave, as with these boats one just sits in a cockpit. However all the other previous points apply to varying degrees.

Now as the foiling sailboat gets bigger, all these points grow, especially cost. I could add a few more points, but I am sure your getting the point.

So there are 4 items of concern... 1. Cost, 2. Maintenance, 3. Location, 4. Skills.

Now let's look at some of the current Foilers on the market and evaluate them based on the above 4 points.

I have included 10 new foiling sailboat designs and it's no doubt that many more designs will be forthcoming. So whether a boat is a cat, tri, or monohull one could use the following reviews to apply to various new designs that will come out.

The following list places boats in order of size. From smallest to largest. We are only reviewing boats that are trailer-able. Note prices are based on 2018 research.

SEE MY CONCLUDING STATEMENT AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE BELOW!

HOBIE TRIFOILER... This foiler was based off the record setting Longshot that held A, C, and B class sailing speed records topping out at 43.49 knots or 50.16 mph. It still holds the A class record. Production of the Hobie TriFoiler started in 1992 and ended in 1999, with about 200 boats sold. Still is the fastest production foiler ever built. This boat was made for speed and nothing else.
Cost: $8000 to $10,000 used.
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are still available via Hobie Cat. She is a pretty durable boat. Foils are made of fiberglass so repairs are less costly than carbon fiber. Main challenge with this boat was set up time if one was trailering to go sail. Took about 1.5 hrs to rig.
Location: Not idea to sail in areas with lots of weeds as one is sitting in a cockpit, way out of reach to remove weeds off the foils.
Skills: Great thing about this foilers is one does not need physical strength to sail as one simply sits in the cockpit with all controls in front of you. No hiking and trapezing needed. Suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 22', Beam 19', Weight 320 lbs, Mast Height 18', Sail Area 214 sq ft, Designer Greg Ketterman, Manufacture Hobie Cat, USA
Speeds: Takes 10 knots or so to foil. Top speed 40+ knots.
INFO: hobiecat.com/trifoiler and wiki-trifoiler.info

WINDRIDER RAVE... This foiler was designed more for the recreational sailor that wants speed at times yet also wanted the ability to non foiling as a more traditional sailboat. This boat was not built for top speed and racing. This is a tandem sit in type sail yak trimaran, with more of a boat feel than a kayak. Out off all foilers in this article it's the most recreational minded foiler for any sailor of almost any physical ability or skill level. This foiler takes a bit more wind speed to foil, about 12 to 15 knots, but is also a sailboat that sails well on light wind days off the foils. There is talk of building a newer design called the Windrider Rave V, which I have seen but cost of the new boat is around $35,000, versus $10,000 when this boat first came on in the 1998.
Cost: $6,500 to $11,000 used.
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are not available. She is a very durable boat. Foils are made of fiberglass so repairs are less costly than carbon fiber. Maintenance is like a traditional sailboat, even like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds can be an issue, however this this boat is a fairly easy reach to get weeds off the foils.
Skills: Great thing about this foilers is one does not need physical strength to sail as one simply sits in the cockpit with all controls in front of you. Once can take a passenger in the other cockpit. No hiking and trapezing needed. Suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 17'; Beam 18'; Weight 400 lbs; Sail Area 195 sq ft; Designer Dr. Sam Bradfield, Hydrosail, USA.
Speeds: Takes 12 knots or so to foil. Top speed typically about 20 knots but potentially 30+ knots in ideal conditions.
INFO: windrider.com

MOTH/WASZP... Is a light weight monohull with wings seats on either side with a rear and forward foils. The most sailed foiling sailboat in the world to date primarily due to the fact it has not had any single handed manufacturer competitors. Until recently the Moth was a purely developmental class, meaning if you bought a new boat one year, the next year or so it was likely your boat would be slower and old news. Also as a developmental class meant that the cost of a Moth would be $20,000 to $30,000, which is a lot for a little 11 ft boat with no hope of being competitive on it in the near future. The Waszp which is the one design version of the Moth has more buoyancy added to both hull and wing seat, along with standardize rules to keep the boat the same year after year. Both are unstable but at least the Wasp floats a little better upright. Both take a lot of athletic ability and skill to sail, with lots of hiking out, balance needed, and endurace to deal with the constant capsizes, etc. Basically these boats are narrow board on foils with netted wing seats on either side. When sailing YOU WILL CRASH THIS BOAT and at high speed those crashes are quite spectacular. Very wet ride!
Cost: Moth $20,000+ depending on make and options. Used 10 to $15,000. New Waszp is $10,500 without shipping.
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are currently available for both designs. On the Moth parts will break, with the Wasp less so. Foils on the Moth are made of carbon fiber but with the Waszp they are made of aluminum for lower cost and durability. Like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly regardless of what the foils are made of.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue. To get weeds off the foils means going for a swim.
Skills: Must be physically fit and know how to sail extremely well. Strong abbs required. Either design is not a boat to learn to sail with. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 11'; Beam 7.3'; Weight 105.8 lbs; Sail Area 8.2 sq ft or less; Designer Andrew McDougall, Waszp, NZ.
Speeds: Takes 7 knots or so to foil. Top speed typically about 24+ knots.
INFO: waszp.com and moth-sailing.org 

FLO1... This boat is a small 14 foot sailing dinghy with uni sail is line with a Laser or other such small day sailing dinghy but with foils added. I can see other monohull dinghies coming out with similar designs to this boat. With this boat one can opt to use the foils or not, allowing one to sail in the water. One might ask after seeing this little boat if its foiling or not? Well that depends if you think foiling is coming completely out of the water or not. This boats foils lift the boat just above the water or not, all depending on the conditions and the desire of the sailor to foil or not. With any major waves this boat will be in the water more than above it on the foils. This design is more in line with some of the new foiling ocean racing monohulls that have foils but do not really lift the boat all the way above the water yet gives the boat lift for greater speeds, for a monohull. aeronamics.com/flo1/
Cost: $16,153 without shipping.
Maintenance and Rigging: Make of carbon fiber so repairs can be costly but the boat is strong and durable. Similar maintenance to traditional dinghy. Foiling speeds on this boat are slower make hitting things less costly to fix.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue, but due to the sign and not being a boat the fully lifts out of the water, the foils are easy to reach to remove weeds.
Skills: Like with traditional non foiling dinghy sailing one should be somewhat physically fit enough to hike out and right the boat after a capesize. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 14.2'; Beam 7.5'; Weight 99.2 lbs; Designer Aeronamic DSS, UK.
Speeds: Takes 6-8 knots or so to foil. Top speed typically about 12+15 knots foiling.
INFO: aeronamics.com

UFO... The UFO is the answer for those wanting a more stable small solo foiling boat than the Moth/Waszp with speeds as fast if not faster. The UFO is a small 9 foot catamaran that one can sail on light wind days in the water or foil like a Moth with much better stability. This is  the best foiler for all with low cost, stability, durability, and super fast speeds. A recreational sailor can sail this boat as compared to needing to be a high strength athlete. Still one needs to be limber like with other foiler to pass under the low sail over the deck and needing abbs to hike out a lot.
Cost: $7600 without shipping.
Maintenance and Rigging: This boat has a fiberglass hull, aluminum and fiberglass foils, and carbon fiber mast and boom like on a windsurfer. This the lowest cost boat to repair if you were to hit anything at speed due to the low cost materials its made of.
Location: Due to the fact the foils on this boat lift up one can easily reach the foils to clean them off. Boat is easy to beach launch.
Skills: Physically fit to sail a traditional sailing dinghy, with strong abbs to hike out for extended periods. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 8.7'; Beam 7.3'; Weight 105.8 lbs; Sail Area 8.2 sq ft or less; Designer Steve Clark, Fulcrum Sport, USA
Speeds: Takes 6 to knots or so to foil. Top speed 30+ knots.
INFO: funtosail.com or fulcrumspeedworks.com


MANTIS or Fly Mantis is a unique foiling carbon fiber sailing trimaran. This boat can be sailed as a non foiling boat without the foils with conventional daggerboard, etc. One can learn to sail on it in the non foiling configuration and as your skill progresses install the foils for high flying fun. So the boat is versatile. One can dismantle it for trailering or to be stored in a fairly compact size. The construction is carbon and light wait so not a boat you want to drag up a beach (put it on a dolly) as it's not durable enough for that. Its a high cost boat which in my view is its big limiting factor in allowing it to become mainstream.
Cost: $49,900 without shipping.
Maintenance and Rigging: This boat has carbon fibers hulls and foils, with carbon fiber spars. Like with most foilers repairs are costly when hitting something at high speeds. It's built to be very light weight so results in less durability.
Location: Due to the fact the foils on this boat lift up one can easily reach the rear foil but the foil under the main hull will be challenging to reach. The trampolines have quick on and off attachments so to get to the central foil one would need to open up the tramp to get to the foil to clean it off. Boat can be beach launched in small surf via dolly only.
Skills: Physically fit to sail a traditional sailing dinghy, with strong abbs to hike out for extended periods. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 14'; Beam not noted; Weight of hulls only 110.2 lbs; Sail Area 120.5 sq ft; Designer Jamie Stewart and Dr. Richard Pemberton, Solent Boat Works, UK
Speeds: Takes 12 to knots or so to foil. Top speed 20+ knots.
INFO: flyingmantis.uk/the-boat/

BEFOIL... The BeFoil is a hybrid foiling catamaran that can either be use as a non foiling cat or easily converted to a foiler simply by swapping out the daggerboards and rudders with 4 T-foils. The boat is easy to sail for beginners as a non foiling boat but then as skill builds then one can learn to foil. This boat was built with sailing schools in mind. Nice feature of this boat is the forward foils do not go through each hull or attach to the bottoms of the hulls, but sit on the outside of the hulls in an aluminum bracket system attached to the forward cross bar, so if you hit something at speed its not likely going to damage the hull like with other foiler designs. Plus the boat is made of recycled aluminum and thermoplastic make the cost to build the boat lower than most in this size range and more environmentally sound.
Cost: $17,000.
Maintenance and Rigging: Boat is made of aluminum and thermoplastic for low maintenance. Forward foils are placed on the outside of the hulls resulting in less damage if the foils hit something.
Location: Due to the fact the foils on this boat lift up one can easily reach all four. Boat can be beach launched without much worry of damage. Its a true beach cat in the Hobie Cat way other than the foils must be protected as not as durable as traditional rudders/daggerboards.
Skills: The boat comes with wing seats and so one does not need to high out much in moderate winds. Boat is easier to foil than most due to the stable and wide catamaran platform with wing seats, and and design. In strong winds hiking with strong abs are needed. May be suitable persons with mild forms of mobility disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 16'; Beam 13.7' with wing seats and 8.3' with wings folded; Weight TBA; Sail Area 167.9 sq ft; Designer Benjamin Magnard, Magnard Innovation, UK.
Speeds: Takes 8-12 to knots or so to foil. Top speed 20+ knots.
INFO: befoil.com

NACRA 17 is a design the originally started out as a non foiling cat and is a current Olympic class. So this boat can be set up to foil or not. In the 2020 Olympics the boats will foil. Due to the boat being retrofitted with foils the boat sails well on foils down wind but not well on other points of sail. Boat can be fitted with a genoa (192.6 sq ft). This boat can be challenging to sail and one needs athletic abilities and strength to sail her.
Cost: $30,000 to $40,000 depending on options
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are currently available and for the foreseeable future. Hulls and foils are made of carbon fiber with associated higher cost to fix. Like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue. To get weeds off the foils means going for a swim.
Skills: Must be physically fit and know how to sail extremely well. Strong abbs required. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 17.2'; Beam 8.5'; Weight 376.9 lbs; Sail Area 216.3 sq ft; Designer Morrelli and Melvin, UK
Speeds: Takes 7-12 to knots or so to foil. Top speed 20+ knots.
INFO: nacrasailing.com

A Class Cat has been the staple of high performance solo multihull sailing for many years. Only used a mainsail, with no other sail options. Recently foils has been added to the design for great foiling performance on almost all points of sail except on a close reach which is typical of most foiler. Because this boat was not designed originally as a foiler one can of course chose to foil or not to foil via selection of foils or not. The boats are made of carbon fiber and are made to be light so durability can be limited and so dragging the boat on the sand, etc. is not a good idea. This boat does require trapezing a lot. This is not a boat for the beginner.
Cost: 12,000 used up to $35,000 new
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are currently available as all parts are stand components. Replacement hulls can be found new or used. Hulls and foils are made of carbon fiber with associated higher cost to fix. Like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue, but the foils do lift up so getting to them is easier than other designs.
Skills: Must be physically fit and know how to sail extremely well. Strong abbs required. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 18.3'; Beam 7.5'; Weight 165.3 lbs; Sail Area 150 sq ft; Many Designers building boat to rules governing the class.
Speeds: Takes 8-10 to knots or so to foil. Can maintain 24 knots. Top speed 30+ knots. Fastest solo cat in production. Built in many countries.
INFO: usaca.info

WHISPER CAT is a one piece frame design, meaning the hulls and cross bars is on continuous piece of laid up carbon fiber making for a very rigid boat. Only issue with this is if you destroy one hull one can not take that hull off and replace it so don't do that. This cat was designed to make foiling at high speeds more controllable versus other cats that take a lot of skill to keep foiling. This cat has 4 T-foils making more stable than ones without this configuration. It was also design to have a look of the previous large America's Cup cats, even the mainsail has a windsail look, but is a fully soft battened sail. Still this boat does take skill to foil as compared to in the water cats.
Cost: $38,000 depending on options
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are currently available as all parts are stand components. Hulls and foils are made of carbon fiber with associated higher cost to fix. Hulls and crossbeams are one piece making replacement of a damaged hull or crossbeam not possible. Like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue, but the foils do lift up so getting to them is easier than other designs.
Skills: Must be fit but not a world class athlete to sail this cat, however knowing how to sail is a must. Strong abbs would be nice. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 17.8'; Beam 7.6'; Weight 172 lbs; Sail Area ? sq ft; Designer Ron Price, White Formula, UK.
Speeds: Takes 8-10 to knots or so to foil. Top speed 20+ knots.

INFO: whisperboatsusa.com

PHANTOM 18 is what many consider to be the pinnacle of foil racing boat. There new Phantom Essential is a new more recreational focused foiling cat but still can be raced. The Phantom 18 is the first purely high performance foiling cat beach cat design that went into full production. The Phantom designers are the leaders in foiling multihulls design. The boat is fully carbon fiber and high tech components to get the best performance possible.
Cost: $45,000 depending on options.
Maintenance and Rigging: Parts are currently available as all parts and components are available through the manufacture. Hulls and foils are made of carbon fiber with associated higher cost to fix. Hulls and crossbeams are removable for replacement and storage. Like with most foilers hitting something at top speed could be costly.
Location: Like with all foilers getting weeds off the foils can be an issue, but the foils do lift up so getting to them is possible.
Skills: Must be physically fit and an athlete to sail the 18 but not so with the Essential boat, however knowing how to sail is a must. Strong abbs are needed for 18. Not suitable for sailors with disAbilities.
SPECIFICATIONS: Length 18.1'; Beam 9.8'; Weight 363.7 lbs; Mast Height 31.4'; Sail Area 252.9 sq ft; Designers Franck Cammas and Groupama Sailing Team, Phantom International, FR.


Speeds: Takes 8-10 knots or so to foil. Top speed 35+ knots.
INFO: phantom-international.com/sailing-1/



CONCLUSION: As more and more foiling boats come out the question arises who will be the winners and losers. Which manufactures will still be producing their boats 5 or 10 years from now. Like with the beach Cat crazy in the 1970's there is Hobie Cat, with the Hobie 16 that remains to this day the most raced in-the-water multihull and the Hobie Wave used the most for rentals. Then there is Performance Catamarans co. the old producer of the Prindles (no longer in production) and Nacras used in the Olympics today. So only two left and so it will be with foiling producers. It all comes down to which manufacture can produce the foiler that finds a balance between racers and weekend warriors/recreational sailors at a reasonable price. Hobie Cat has found that balance better than any but the question is which foiling co will do the same. I have my bets which ones will be successful. The sailor wanting to foil for a lifetime recreationally and competitively will ultimately be the ones that will chose the winner or losers.