Lifting Foils

Lifting foils were first tried in the prototype F-27 back in 1985. These were circular all carbon foils that could retract behind the beam, to still retain easy trailering, while avoiding the need to remove when folding or docking.

They worked well while reaching, but were heavy and very expensive to produce, and thus their inclusion on an 'all round' production boat could not be justified. The smaller floats used were then changed to larger floats on the production F-27, for good overall performance, and more offshore capability in very large waves. Non-retractable foils are used on some other designs, but these make folding more difficult, are a hindrance in light airs, slow down tacking, and make beaching the boat very impractical.

Simpler straight foils, as used by Kim Alfred's F-31 Cheekee Monkee (above), the F-9R Wilparina, and the first F-35C are less expensive, and appear to work well. I can supply the details of where and how such foils should be fitted, but they remain expensive and still have various practical issues.

The F-35C Blue Moon (line honors in 2007 Harvest Moon regatta by 1hr and 22 minutes)