ETF26 Full Foiling, the new upwind foiling catamaran
by ETF26 14 Oct 2024 17:44 BST
ETF26 Full Foiling © ETF26 / Qaptur
A new "Full Foiling" version of the ETF26 Foiling catamaran has been developed this summer by yard owner Anemo Sailing. This new version features new, longer foils, wider rudder elevator surfaces, a differential rudder rake adjustment system, and a flatter set of sails.
As a result, the boat takes off at a speed of 14 knots instead of 16 and foils both upwind and downwind from 7 knots.
These performances are the result of two years of development, from the initial studies carried out by the Architect Guillaume Verdier to the sea trials this summer. At the end of 2023, a first prototype foil had to be tested in order to finalise the design and a first serial pair was manufactured in the spring of 2024.
The new profiles generate more lift, so the boat's balance had to be completely adapted with improvements on peripheral elements such as the rudder elevator, the shape of the sails, the mast trimming, the angles of the foils bearings... The number of parameters to be fine-tuned is huge.
The balance of the boat is controlled in a similar way to an aircraft, with large wings in front (the foils) and small wings behind (the rudder elevators). The crew can adjust the trim (positive or negative) of the foils and rudders to take off or stabilise the flight. The rudder planes are called to as differential trim because each of them can be adjusted independently. This means that you can have a positive incidence on the leeward rudder and a negative incidence on the windward rudder to facilitate upwind take-off, for example. On the ETF26, all these controls are manual, with the crew operating the lines, without any electronic assistance or joystick. It's not high technology but very instructive !
The ETF 26 Full Foiling is a member of the very exclusive club of the catamarans that foils both downwind and upwind, joining the Nacra 17 (Olympic series) and the F50 of the international SailGP circuit. It's very satisfying to have achieved this goal, which will make the boat even more attractive to top sailors.
This is a new start for this boat, which hasn't really evolved since its launch in 2017. Highly innovative at the time, and one of the first foiling boat to emerge from the 2017 America's Cup, the ETF26 needed a new version to remain competitive and to offer teams even more fun and excitement.
Indeed, this offers incredible development potential for the ETF26 Class. Already used as a training boat by the Youth and Women's America's Cup teams as well as SailGP Teams, the ETF26 SERIES is more than ever the perfect pathway between Olympic sailing (Nacra 17, 49er) and the professional circuits (SailGP and America's Cup).
Crews will now be able to foil both upwind and downwind in a wider range of wind conditions. The regattas will be even more exciting and fabulous to watch ! As a result, we hope to attract more teams to the ETF26 SERIES events.