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Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into the world of epic moments in motor boating. We begin with one of the stories we were most passionate about.
From Boats by Motor 2024, No. 38, July-August, pp. 68-73.
When the very first “flying” pleasure boats were seen, many turned their noses up or were skeptical about foils. The reasons were many. First, because the solution was not that new. They had already been seen, hydrofoils had been using them for decades, and “Forlanini was already flying a hundred years ago.” Why, then, reintroduce them now on classic boats? They were seen as a limitation rather than an opportunity. This is all true, and if we stop at the most “extreme” cases such as the now-famous Candela, even the usability is certainly different from what we are used to in everyday life. Foils, though, are not just that, and today they are becoming more and more common, on every type of boat.
Highlight example? The Azimut Grande 44, the shipyard’s new 44-meter flagship, will be the brand’s first hull with a foil system. The study of the live-work was done to have Hull Vane foil technology, suitable for large displacement hulls sailing at low and medium speed. Then we take the “weekender” catamarans that are raging on the market today. Almost all of them, from Aquila Powercat as a pioneer with its hydro-glide foil, have or will have the option of installing a foil between the two V-shaped hulls. The effect? Raising the hull just enough to reduce fuel consumption. In the case of the Aquila 36 Sport this is up to 37 percent less fuel used than not having one. All without compromising stability or mode of operation.
With this in mind, consuming less is a theme very dear to electric boat manufacturers, who in range and price have their “kryptonite.” Both of these two aspects revolve around batteries: the bigger they are, the greater the range, but also the price. The smaller they are, the fewer miles you can travel on a single charge. Here, then, is where the foil, becomes an ally to extend the distance that can be covered to the maximum without going to impact prices that in many cases are prohibitive and out of scale for the general public. Even the world of powerboating with foils is finding new life as is happening for “example” with the E1 Series.
By Beppe Boniventi
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