Foil Assisted Cruising Cat

[sail]

The foils could be lifted at low speed and lowered at a "reasonable" one..that would need to be defined.
The biggest problem is probably the "heavy" 650-700 kg displacement for a 7 m cat. Wave breaking foils are probably for very powerful sailboats or motor boats.
If cruising sailboat cats have no foils there must be a reason. Foils are probably like shoes.They don't fit any sailboat and must be custom designed by experts for a narrow speed range. Since I am not an expert in this field..I will probably end up with a standard dagger board..

[tspeer]

Originally Posted by powerabout

what happens to a lifting foil when you hit something...
game over?

Not necessarily game over, but it's not going to be good, either.

Foils are really good strainers. Every impact with a foil is a head-on impact instead of a glancing blow along the side. And the foils sweep out a large area compared to a narrow hull. That's why I think hydrofoils make sense for a passage-maker, but not necessarily for a coastal cruiser or daysailer. Too much junk in the water.

For a cruiser, the foils need to be designed to break away cleanly. In this regard the foiler can be safer than a conventional boat. In the event of impact with the proverbial semi-submerged container, the foiler can pass over the container and land on the far side. The foil may be severely damaged, but the hulls would be intact. It would be a good idea to attach an anchor rode to each foil when foiling, ready to run freely, so the foil can be retrieved after foil shears off and the boat comes to a stop.