35th Americas Cup: Foiling Multihulls!

The "basic boat" is €65,400 before tax without sails according to the Quant Boats web site. Factor in sails, taxes, duties, shipping, trailer and some covers and it's likely well over USD100,000 for a 7m skiff.

 

Great points Corly.

As Fred notes, according to the stuff on their own website the Q23 will be over $90k US with sails. A Melges 24 - known as an expensive boat - is $50k US plus sails. If they cost about the same as Dragon sails, the Melges would be less than 2/3 the cost of the Quant 23. A J/80 is $36,000 US with sails, assuming the same price for sails as a Dragon. It's therefore a mere 40% of the price of the Quant 23.

Revolutions in sailing don't normally take time. Modern foiling has been around for about 14 years. So what had some other 'revolutionary' classes achieved in that time?

15 years from the delivery of the first Windsurfer, every third household in France had a windsurfer (figures from Prof. Andreff of the Sorbonne), there was a major pro circuit, Olympic medals had been handed out, and worldwide sales were about 250,000 each year. Modern kitesurfing is about 20 years old with over 25,000 boards sold each year (ISAF figures). The Laser sold 140,000 boats within 14 years. The J/24 sold something like 4500 within 14 years. The cats took off very quickly

The facts speak loudly and clearly - 'revolutions' in sailing do NOT all take time.

 

35th America's Cup on Foils!

The Quant 23 offers what no other boat her size does at any price: foiling from 5 knots or so wind to 25 knots wind. She is part of a sailing revolution in easy to sail foilers that can foil in light air and strong wind. Worth every penny.
And just the beginning of a new type of foiler that will allow more people to foil than was ever thought possible. All inspired to one degree or another by the Foiling America's Cup.

 

35th America's Cup on Foils!---Oracle-Tech Tuesday

3D modeling- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=CFEoYoeX53I

 

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The price is $75-80,000 USD complete with sails and trailer. Quant Boats estimates $5000 for shipping from the UK for just one boat. The boat is a foiling keelboat scow-not a "skiff".

 

35th America's Cup on Foils!

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According to this site a new Melges 24 cost $70,000 in 2011.
http://sailingmagazine.net/article-1000-melges-24.html
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Modern foiling is just beginning!! Until now all foilers were race boats requiring great athleticism and far from easy to sail and not specifically designed to foil in very light air. As I have repeatedly pointed out there are new foilers being introduced to be easy to fly and to foil throughout the windrange(from 5knots wind on up) . It's these new foilers that will take the foiling revolution to the people in a much different way than any previous foilers have. And this will have a tremendous positive effect on sailing as a whole.
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The facts are that the foiling revolution is not like any other so-called "revolutions" in sailing since it involves:
1) kiteboards,
2) windsurfers
3) dinghies
4) sportboats(full flying and foil assist)
5) cruiser/racer monohulls(foil assist)
6) ocean racing monohulls(foil assist)
7) Beach cats and catamarans from 17' to 72'(mostly full flying-some foil assist)
8) Beach trimarans(just a few so far-full flying and foil assist)
9) Cruiser racer trimarans(foil assist)
10) Ocean Racing trimarans(full flying and foil assist)
11) Americas Cup Race boats(full flying)
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As best I can tell there has never been another revolution in sailing that has involved so many types of boats at the same time!

 

The big distinction to me is that if you buy a Melges 24 you are buying a boat with a strong fleet and a well organized program of regattas. If you buy a Quant 23 who is there to sail against? You believe the foiling is worth every cent but I question how many people who actually are in the market to buy a boat will see it that way.

I see the same dilemma coming for the club level multihull crowd in Australia. The biggest division is cruising/racing Division 2. Division 1 is the boats with very high handicaps due to their high performance. It doesn't have many competitors and is the money zone. Foilers will surely arrive in that category soon as a few of the competitors have the money to purchase and run them.

I see a further division coming where the more conventional cruiser/racer type floating and foil assist competitors reject racing with full foilers due to the performance difference. There is already disquiet in Division1 as more competitors are rocking up with boats that have no interior and are basically large off the beach craft. So there will be a further division that can only run occasionally when sufficient foiling boats show up to race or the foilers handicap will go through the roof.

 

35th America's Cup on Foils!

Who cares about racing when you can fly?! Seriously though, the Quant 23 foils retract 100% so if your local fleet won't allow foilers, just retract the foils. Fleets have to start somewhere-the idea of not buying a really cool boat that you enjoy because there's not a fleet (yet) is kinda nutty to me. With that attitude how can new boats ever have a chance?
I really don't think it will be a problem with the Quant-it offers so much more than any other boat its length under sail.We'll see.
The new easy to foil boats that fly from 5knot winds on up, aren't "fiddly", and are easy to set up will change the public perception of foilers built up over the last 17 years or so-and that will have a big impact as time goes by.
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Corley, if you haven't had the chance to foil yet you should give it a shot sometime.

 

Quant price from here;

http://www.quant-boats.com/documents/Q23_waterkampion300.pdf and here http://www.quant-boats.com/documents/Bootsbeschreibung_Q23_Juli_2016_light.pdf

Melges and J/80 price from the official class reports to ISAF.

Yes, I know the Dutch article includes Dutch VAT but that was allowed for in the ratios used earlier.

 

The Quant 23 price I quoted was today from the owner of the Company.....

The Melges was 62,000 in 2010, $70,000 in 2012-can't find a price for one today outfitted with a trailer and racing sails . But I'd bet is close to or higher than the Quant.......

 

Lets look at historical fleet building just as a reference the boats that become successful are those that have strong manufacturer support and a vigorous program of promoting races. The Hobie 16 is a good example because by the standards of the time it wasn't the highest performing catamaran if you bought a Hobie you knew that you had a whole network of enthusiasts making an experience (the Hobie lifestyle) to go along with the racing. That's attractive to people like me who have a family and potentially it means my kids would get involved and sail too. Maybe that's the key to a successful future for a one design foiler like the Waszp build a community around it and make the events family friendly.

I think racing under handicap rules is easily the most popular. Sure in the multihulls we have a few "hero" boats that take line honors most of the time like the Mad Max team but the competition for the OMR handicap win is the big cheese that everyone wants.

By the way I'm not against foiling at all. I've purchased one of Ian Holt's RC foiling trimarans to have a tinker with it. Fundamentally that's where I see the value of foiling the excitement is in the tinkering not in one design racing which can be done just as well in slightly slower boats. It's the technical aspects that provide the attraction take that away and you have removed the main attraction.

 

35th America's Cup on Foils!

Corley, that's pretty cool about getting one of Ians boats-they seem to perform really well particularly off the wind. I'd like to hear about your experiences with it.
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I personally don't think its the technical aspects that "make" foiling-I think its the flying. I think the new boats that are "set it and forget it" technically will make a huge impression on a lot of people- way more than the "techno" boats have. Time will tell....

 

I'll report on it when I get it assembled and rigged. I've had it for a few weeks now and not got round to putting it together as yet. There is good RC sailing water near my home at the Patterson River so looking forward to letting it rip over there . I still have to buy rig, sail and radio so have a bit of messing around to do before it hits the water. The standard of finish on the boat is impressive and the natural carbon crossbeams gorgeous in their own right.

 

I'd suggest getting a spread spectrum radio(like 2.4ghz in the US) and use LiFe lithium batteries instead of lipo. Hope it works out well!

 

I've ordered one too. But that's a subject for a different thread.