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? Because they have often been 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 Candle, even the usability is certainly different from what we are used to in everyday life.
But there are so many ways to use foils today. Here are which ones.
How foils work
Foil and superyachts
Foils, though, are more than just that, and today they are increasingly common, on every type of boat. Highlight example? The Azimut Grande 44, the yard’s new 44-meter flagship, will be the brand’s first hull with a foil system.
Azimut Grande 44
The study of the living work was done to have Hull Vane foil technology, suitable for large displacement hulls sailing at low and medium speed. It is a carbon Hull Vane wing attached to the stern to reduce the stern wave and to generate forward thrust, providing further reduction in overall drag as well as dampening of pitch, sway and roll when sailing.
Weekender catamarans and foils
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 Eagle 36 Sport you get up to 37% less gasoline used than not having it. All without compromising stability or mode of operation. Also the Four Winns TH36 installs from 2025 similar technology. You can see it well at this video.
Foil and electric boats, but not only
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.
