They will still have to take the wing off every night, store it indoors (find a huge hanger) and then put it back up every morning.

With a huge wing like the 72 had, (and I'm guessing the 62 wing won't be much smaller) it took a hundred guys four hours to launch each boat.

Where's the cost savings by going to the 62? 10 feet of hull? OK, a little less carbon there, but in the big scheme of things, they are still going to need the most expensive part, the shore crew, to raise and lower the wings daily, and they are going to need to find (or pay to build) storage facilities for the wings.

OK...so how much faster is using the wing, than using a soft sail, which would eliminate the need (and cost) for all of the above?

Is it 10% faster?

20%?

If the boat will go 40 knots with the solid wing, will it only go 32 knots (20% slower) with a soft sail?


Blade F16
#777