Oracle Team tries foils on one of its AC45′s

by Vsail.info · 25 June 2012

[Source: Oracle Team USA] During last week’s training session in San Francisco, ORACLE TEAM USA sailors were learning to fly on hydrofoils. An L-shaped daggerboard and T-shaped rudders were fitted to one of the team’s AC45s and the platform took flight.

Foiling is not a new phenomenon. Many high-speed ferries rely on hydrofoils for a smooth ride for their passengers. In sailing, the Moth class has experimented with foils since the early 1970s, about the same time that designers such as Rod Macalpine-Downey were experimenting with foils at Weymouth Speed Week. In 2009 the 60-foot foiling trimaran l’Hydroptere set the record at 51.36 knots.

Foils help reduce draft and increase speed. They are a very cost efficient way to gain performance. You can research them extensively in the computer before you build them, and they are small scale, compared with a wing. The foil project is a continuation of one started on USA 17, the team’s 90-foot trimaran that won the 2010 America’s Cup.

Oracle Team USA tries foils on its AC45 yacht in San Francisco. Photo copyright Guilain Grenier / Oracle Team USA