foiling chasing UFO

It is an american startup project from fulcrumspeedworks.com.

Weight 50 kg! , 2.70 x 1.70 meter, sail 7.8 sqm

8 kts wind speed gives 15 kts speed



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsOTjI7wi7Y

Cool....

Question, what it the thing coming of the bowsprit that is dragging in the water for?

Stop the vid at 4.43 and you see the dragging-feeler which controls the angle of the small foiling front wings.

Like with the Moths. They invented this mechanism.

Here's another more conventional cat with the wand foil adjustment system, called the Stunt S9.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmRTZik0Vf8

Difference is the dimension of the cats and hence the price.

The Swiss Stunt S9 cost 18.000 euro while the UFO goes for 8000 dollar

Here's what I've been wondering ever since this foiling thing came to the A Cats, once you are up on the foils, hull length no longer applies for speed, so the real challenge comes to be how much sail area you can control, and how efficient your foils are, right?

Perhaps once all cats start foiling, a new measurement rule will evolve that only looks at total sail area, total foil area, and minimum weight?

Hull length, and maybe even beam, won't matter as much once you are up out of the water.

But that's exactly the genius in the design of this new UFO.

It's a very small and short craft with no other purpose than flying as soon as possible on foils.
It doesn't sink like a Moth and also doesn't have all the rimram of a full size cat.

Besides that, you can lift it single-handed and it has the price of an old second car.


It's more or less a "folk foiling boat".

Volkslfiegenkatamaran

Beam (righting moment) is HUGE for a foiling boat, any handicap/rating will have to take that into account.

look here http://www.s9team.eu/ or facebook page
price 16600 euros full optional
24.7 knots top speed
80 kg

Similar to the stunt: http://www.catamaraneuropecentral.com/

16.790 ex VAT

The Stunt, Stunt 9, and S9 are all terms for the same model boat. I sailed one at Foil Week in Newport in early September and enjoyed it. I sailed in marginal foiling conditions (maybe 8 mph) and was told when we got to shore that it would be priced at $22K in the U.S. (boat, originating country tax, trailer, and delivery to U.S.) I looked at Mark Batchelor's Exploder A Class cat and learned from him that they are available for $25K. I would spend the extra $3k for that boat over the S9 if I was in the market for a foiling cat. I would also wait to see how the production UFO turns out as all they had at that time was the prototype and were anticipating selling it for $9K and that would be way easier to transport, rig, launch, retrieve, store, and pay for if you just wanted to go foiling.

ifli 17800 its base boat , alu mast , fiberglass hulls , no covers , no beachtrolley, poor blocks and ropes, and probably 125 kg .
this boat have give nothing on foiling trend , all its copy.

Mike , many time S9 proved to be better in the race, compared to A,
and have a really more big range wind-wave than A.

whether I win or lose in a race is not as relevant to my interest as ease of foiling/control and the "fun" factor (not complicated setup/breakdown, easy moving on land, storage, transport)

Heck, Hobie Waves aren't exactly the fastest low-riders on the market, but they are a hoot to sail due to their ease...

I was impressed with the stunt, I thought it looked very well put together. Its much more boat than the UFO.

What's next???

Increasing the width of the foils, sailing into an updraft, and soaring 2000 feet in to the air?

These foiling boats are turning my H-16 into the equivalent of a hard-wired dial phone!

And the problem with that is....>? What's wrong with "classic" tech if it still works reliably and is enjoyable for you?

I enjoy driving manual transmission vehicles
I like hardwired phones
I still write letters
I sail a low-rider

Here is the latest foiling entry and the price of 15,000 Euros would be under $16,000 U.S. thanks to the strong dollar. Looks very promising! http://www.foiling101.com/

interesting that the magic wand is behind the main foil rather than in front of it like the mothie... I guess foil trim isn't that sensitive that it has to be out in front?

The explanation is that by having it behind the foil where there is a smoother ride (less elevation variation compared to nearer the bow) and therefore less trim variation from the wand moving less, there is less "porpoising" from reduced trim tab movement. Makes sense and seems pretty clever.

Sounds nice. I thought there was a damper control on moths that helped reduce the porpoise effect..

I guess unless the seas are really steep/square having the wand behind the foil should do nicely...

What about getting rid of the amas and putting two center hulls together for a catamaran? Would that increase the price that much? More sail area needed?

Fulcrum Speedworks put this out on their Facebook page.

BIG Website update including a thorough FAQ and detailed description of the stuff that goes into the UFO. Check it out
http://www.fulcrumspeedworks.com/UFO/

Their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/fulcrumspeedworks/
Hint the price for the UFO is under $8,000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcDG0OU08jU

(dutch made and ordered by New York Yacht Club)

Looks like a great boat if you have $500,000 to spend. I would love to do the Mac races on this.

The UFO won this award from Sail magazine: https://www.sailmagazine.com/boats/best-boats-2018-foiling-ufo

It is also nominated for an award at Sailing World magazine.

Very good explanation in the vid by the maker(s). But what about the rudder??

And a genius design!

Here's a nice vid including the comparison with a wasp.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNyzX80Kqdk

The UFOs seem to been beaten to the finish by boats like a Butterfly (for people outside the USA, it's a heavy 12' scow that is much slower than a Laser) in their first regatta, in light winds. The Waszps aren't as fast as Moths, but that still mean they are a lot quicker than the UFOs in such conditions.

There's a bit of unfair comparison in that vid. Early on, it says foiling isn't easy and shows a bunch of Moths crashing. It then shows a UFO foiling nicely.

But the vid of Moths crashing seems to have been at the Sorrento worlds, where howling winds had about 35 miles of open water to build up waves which then met shoals and currents. The UFO vid shows someone sailing in perfect conditions; the sort of stuff any decent sailor can foil on any decent foiler.

OK, it's a promotional video, but the comparison still isn't fair.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx2qG_YMrDs

the near future.