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Who is going to figure out a retro fit to foil? http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=54685 |
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Author: | kiddro2003 [ Sun May 10, 2015 4:20 pm ] |
Post subject: | Who is going to figure out a retro fit to foil? |
Just watched the phantom 18 videos. There has to be a retired engineer or a upcoming brain who can figure out how to retro a foil system to the hobie fleet. |
Author: | MBounds [ Mon May 11, 2015 6:09 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: Who is going to figure out a retro fit to foil? |
It's been done - but it didn't work very well. ![]() It only foiled in pretty good wind and on a broad reach. Someone made a foiling Hobie Tiger, but it was heavy and again, the foiling envelope was pretty small. ![]() There are two things that pretty quickly dismiss foiling retrofit kits from Hobies: 1) Weight 2) Power A foiling Phantom weighs 155 kg. A Hobie 20 weighs 191 kg - and it has a less powerful rig. None of the pin-head mains sported by nearly every "older" Hobie Cat generate sufficient power for consistent foiling. Even the Phantom doesn't foil upwind - only on reaches and downwind (with the aid of a asymmetric spinnaker). The glitz of the foiling videos doesn't show what a royal pain in the a$$ foiling boats really are. They don't go in / out of a beach. They don't foil upwind. They have lots and lots of control lines. The learning curve is steep. Just putting the boards in is a major production - they have to be inserted from underneath the hull - and then the boat can't sit on the ground - it has to be on a hoist or on wheels. Weeds and debris in the water will take them out very quickly. Break a board? That'll be $3,000 for a replacement. A new Flying Phantom will set you back something north of $35,000. The retrofit foil kit for the Laser costs over $5,000 (and doesn't work that well). Hobie Cats are simple, durable, relatively inexpensive and easy to learn/use. Pretty much the opposite of a foiling boat. Putting foils on them is like putting Formula 1 racing tires on a VW Beetle - sure, it'll corner like it was on rails, but it's not a Formula 1 race car just because you changed the tires. |
Author: | Karl Brogger [ Wed May 27, 2015 8:35 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: Who is going to figure out a retro fit to foil? |
A Flying Phantom will foil to weather as I understand it. The one in Madison that sold was listed for $52k. |
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