Lightweight Canoes

It's a legitimate question to ask whether or not there will be proscriptions against Hydrofoils.

In the 4 international classes in which I am active , there is one( A Cat) that bans hydrofoils outright; one ( I-14) that limits their total surface area; one (IC) that prescribes that the daggerboard be capable of being withdrawn so as to not project below the hull; and one ( C Cat) that makes no procription except that foils must not stick out beyond the max beam.

So there seems like quite a range of options.  Only recently have Canoes started experimenting with rudder foils, and results have been pretty mixed.  Both boats with the option to sail with rudder foils at this year's world championship elected to use conventional rudders. Both were nicely done by front teir competitors (Ellis and Virtue), so it has to be admitted that what works in one class doesn't necessarily work in another or that it takes more than one shot at it to get it right. My own impression is that the IC suffers from a low Sail Area/ Wetted Area Ratio, and and functionally doubling the rudder area is hard to pay for with reduced wave drag on a boat that has very little wave drag to start with.

There has been discussion of hydrofoils in the class, and most feel they would not be successful at the current class minimum weight. Some feel that a fully foiling IC would be extrordinarily difficult to manage, stating that they find the boat hard enough to sail as it is and feeling that going full foiling will intimidate more sailors than it attacts.  The cost of foiling systems is also seen as a major problem. So, those of us responsible for trying to draft new rules which offer a significant advance in performance without adding greatly to the cost of the boat or making it an order of magnitude more complex or difficult to sail, elected to put a single horizontal limit in place, and to extend the rule that requires the withdrawal of the daggerboard to be extended to the rudder as well. This is a practicality and safety issue that insists that the boats remain trolly worthy and don't require being cpasized at the end of the ramp before sailing away.

This is a median position.  It may be a shame that we do not feel it is appropriate at this time to allow for full foiling ICs in the new rule, but that is what we feel is most acceptable to the class at large.  I can appreciate Mr Lord's enthusiasm for hydrofoil sailing, but he isn't a Canoe sailor or a Canoe owner and doesn't have any stake in the future of the Canoe class. I am in the exact opposite position, having competed internationally in the class for 27 years, built over 50 canoes, and organized two World Championships.  

Now, I am confident that once the dust settles and we are sailing lighter boats, some of our intrepid members will put hydrofoils under the IC and will see what happens.  At that point we certainly can review our position and take action if necessary. 

I hope this answers the question of hydrofoils civily and completely.  I hope the answer and rationale is acceptable to all.

SHC