The future has arrived...........

I have been sailing my 21SE since it was new in 1989 and love it...

but I been looking toward the future of cat sailing and I see a new Flying Phantom Essentiel as a good fit for my kind of sailing.

I will keep my 21 and my 16 but add to my stables a current design...................

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Bill 404 21SE

I had to get Google to find it for me. I want one too! It looks like what they hoped the Nacra 17 would be. I was tempted with the Nacra 17, but I never liked the rounded foil daggerboards, and knew they wouldn't keep them flying.

I showed it to Pam. She said, "If they start racing them for money, let's get one." She crewed for me the last year in Prosail, and liked the money winning part, as much as the show. With the 16 Worlds in the U.S., I asked her if she was interested in racing in that. She asked me how much the prize money was.

I'm glad someone came out with a small cat that foils! In the videos, I didn't see anyone on a trap, just sitting on the wings. I'd like it better if you could trap off the wings. The wind may have been too light in the videos I saw.

The future......

At last year's big regatta, Mr. Clarke sailed his UFO Foiling Cat, all 110 lbs of it. Crazy little boat, and I've sailed it. Nope, no foiling for me until I know how to handle the boat.
Only US$7,600, however it is a little boat.

Last week, I crewed on a NACRA F18 Foiling cat. Sure, it was more complicated to rig than my H16, and lowering the curved daggers and rudder foils was tricky.
The boat sails great. However, this whole season, none of the foiling guys has been able to get it to foil for longer than ~60 seconds.
So the future is with us....however.....coming up out of the water onto the foils means a huge change in dynamics, and returning from air to water is another huge change.
Twice, the boat has capsized to windward while on a downwind run!
Physics will do that to you every time.
It is not that simple to foil, nor to build a foiling boat.
Don't expect Hobie to rush into this.

My guess is that we'll all have to wait many years to go foiling....in the meantime, I will enjoy my H16.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

We are heading out Thursday to play on a new Flying Phantom Essentiel at our sailing club....the future has arrived.

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Bill 404 21SE

The future has its costs...
On Sunday, after the big regatta, the foiling F18 took a wrong turn, and broke a dagger board on the rocks.
Dang! another $5,000 down the drain.
This end of the sport is not a small budget game.
Enjoy.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Hobie came about as close to perfecting foiling as anyone ever has with the TriFoiler. The thing just plain flat-out works. No pitch problems. And while it is possible to capsize one, it is pretty rare. I cannot see them backing up and producing any sort of foiling vessel that doesn't work at least as well.

Hobie , already did that ; and it was AWESOME !!!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=hobie+t ... 10&bih=441

If anyone has a Hobie trifoiler , that they would like to donate to
a guy with (2) fake legs ; just Pm me please !!

Bille