The Icon is BMW and Tyde GmbH’s first foray into the world of electric hydrofoil yachts. The Icon flies above the brine on three hydrofoils. These lift-generating appendages work in concert with the vessel’s twin rudders to balance gravity and centrifugal force while executing turns to yield what Tyde terms “coordinated curve control.”

Christoph Ballin, Tyde’s co-founder and managing director, says the toughest challenge his company faced when creating The Icon involved assembling the right team. While BMW initiated the project’s development and build, and is responsible for the yacht’s luxe interior and exterior design, Tyde’s crux involved bringing cutting-edge marine expertise—including forward-leaning companies and individuals with deep experience with hydrofoils and flight-control systems—to the design table. The magnet? “The concept was convincing,” Ballin says.

Flight control is handled by a centralized foil-control system that Tyde developed with Oceanflight Technologies. The system’s algorithm crunches incoming data from the vessel’s sensors 100 times per second, and it leverages custom-built actuators to articulate the vessel’s hydrofoils.

Power Play

The Icon is powered by dual Torqeedo Deep Blue electric motors that each spin a dedicated contra-rotating propeller. Hull and hydrofoil design was tackled by America’s Cup-winning naval architect Guillaume Verdier; as such, The Icon’s hull contributes to smooth takeoffs and landings. The Icon achieves a (ballpark) 50-nautical-mile range at its 24-knot cruising speed. Top speed is 30 knots. 

Take the next step: tyde.one

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Nick leason is psyched to see that the sport of e-foiling is having a moment among boaters.

For more than a decade, the company he founded, Lift Foils, has been building and selling the toys that can be used pretty much wherever there is water. Mega-yacht owners and crew discovered e-foiling pretty quickly and have been adding the toys to their lazarettes for a number of years in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. But it’s only in the past year or so that Leason has seen a surge of interest from owners of yachts as small as 40 feet length overall.

“People are realizing that these don’t take up any space,” Leason says. If you have a tender or a personal watercraft, “you need a crane or a platform; you need infrastructure for that. These e-foils, I can fit it in a Mini Cooper. You can put it on any size boat, even if you’re buying a yacht in the 40- or 45-foot range.”

The increased interest is coming from outside the boating community too, including from beginners who want a more entry-level product. The New Lift3 F is Leason’s solution to that increased demand. It reduces the use of carbon fiber in the toy’s construction and instead adds materials, such as fiberglass, that still perform well but can take more of a beating from beginners at a lower price point overall.

“What’s also neat about the New Lift3 F is that it’s all modular,” he says, explaining that the toy can evolve along with the rider’s skills. “They can build off of that platform and spruce it up however they want.”

Related: Sailing World Expeditions is the go-to place for sailing adventures that fit your on-water lifestyle.

The cost savings for people who buy the toy is substantial. A fully kitted-out assembly from Lift Foils can run about $15,000, compared with the New Lift3 F’s starting price of $8,995, he says. It’s a price point that yacht owners are more comfortable with as they watch beginners get the hang of using the toy. “The fiberglass is really robust,” Leason says. “The aluminum mast is bomber. If you’re banging into things, these are more abuse tolerant.”

The modular design is also a feature that yacht owners and crew are gravitating toward. This is a toy that can be broken down for smaller stowage spots on board and then be put back together for use pretty quickly.

“The assembly is literally six screws,” Leason says. “It takes about five minutes to assemble or disassemble. It has carrying cases and bags. The board itself is no larger than 5½ feet by 30 inches wide, and the propulsion case sits right next to that with the battery.” By comparison, he adds, “a kayak’s huge. This is more like an inflatable kayak that packs down into a bag.”

Riders, he says, span the gamut in terms of age. The company is seeing everyone from teenagers to people in their 70s giving it a try, with most people being able to do a basic ride within about 30 minutes of starting a lesson. “We’ve gotten older people going on their first ride,” he says. “And my favorite thing about the e-foil is that it’s a family toy. It brings families together. Rarely does a family have one toy that the whole family enjoys. I think that’s pretty cool. Especially when people are going out on their yacht, they bought it because they want to get out there, and they hope the family will all make time in the schedule, so having the right toys is a big part of that.”

How It Works

This water toy is battery-powered. Riders manage the experience with a Bluetooth hand controller that displays the remaining battery life, and that lets riders switch between speed and performance settings. There are two choices of battery: a “light battery” that provides about 60  minutes of ride time and a “full-range battery” for about 100 minutes of ride time. The trade-off for adding that extra time is also adding weight, with the full-range battery packing an extra 7 pounds.

New Colors

Ice Blue and Sunset Peach are two newly available colors. Both boards are made of a fiberglass blend that’s crafted into an aerodynamic shape. The mast is built of 28-inch precision-milled aluminum. At the bottom of the mast are front and back wings. All the components are modular, for easier stowage and transport.

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Swedish boatbuilder Candela announced in January that it had achieved an expected 65-mile range with its C-8, a nearly 28-foot-long carbon-fiber foiling powerboat that runs on electric power.

The technological advancement in extending the boat’s range—a task that has long bedeviled makers of electric boats worldwide—was achieved in collaboration with the Swedish company Polestar, which is Volvo’s electric-vehicle subsidiary. Candela and Polestar first announced their collaboration this past August. According to Candela, the 65-mile range announced less than six months later makes the C-8 the world’s longest-range electric boat available today.

The Candela C-8 will use the same 69 kWh battery pack and DC charging technology as the Polestar 2, a vehicle that has a reported 300-mile range on the roadways. The boat’s 65-mile range will be achievable on a single charge at a cruising speed of 22 knots.

“This collaboration means that C-8 can travel to destinations previously only reachable by combustion-engine boats,”  Gustav Hasselskog, the CEO and founder of Candela, announced. “The Candela C-8 powered by Polestar marks a significant breakthrough for electrification at sea.”

The boatbuilder says the C-8’s hydrofoil technology is also a key element in the range extension. As shown in the photograph, the C-8 can “fly” above the waves on computer-guided underwater wings that reduce water friction. Candela says the C-8 uses 80 percent less energy than conventional boats at high speed. Its pod motor, the Candela C-POD, outputs 75 kW (the equivalent of 100 hp) for takeoff. Once foil-borne, the C-8 draws around 23 kW (about 30 hp) continuously from its Polestar battery pack. A similar-size conventional powerboat would use around 120 kW (160 hp), according to the Candela team.

Another thing that makes the boat notable, the company says, is the way the collaboration with Polestar enables DC charging on board. The installation of standardized charging stations for electric boats is a chicken-and-egg situation, with many marina owners holding off on adding higher-speed charging stations until more electric boats are on the waterways to use them. “With access to DC fast chargers, which are now starting to pop up in several places around the globe, you can cover totally new routes with Candela C-8,” Hasselskog says. “You can go from Sweden to Finland in one day, or along the entire French Riviera in a few hours.”

The C-8 is not the builder’s first model; the company, founded in 2014, previously launched the C-7 bowrider, without an enclosed cabin. That boat, which was announced in 2019, was suitable for six people. It’s now only available on the brokerage market.

All new-order Candela C-8s going forward will be equipped with the Polestar batteries, the company says. The boat can be ordered in three versions: day cruiser (with an open top), hardtop and T-top. The interior layout is designed for overnights with two adults and two children, with a marine head, dimmable lights and an optional premium sound system.

Deliveries on the boats are expected to take place starting in 2024. According to Candela, the company has already received more than 150 orders for the C-8.  

High Tech Meets Scandinavian Style

The Candela C-8 foiling electric powerboat comes from Sweden. Its interior styling is based on the basics, with a marine head and room for two adults and two children to sleep overnight. The sex appeal of this boat is in its technology, including the foils and the battery-powered propulsion. The foils can be fully retracted out of the water when the boat is at the dock, which should cut down on marine growth that could increase drag and reduce range. Using them is reportedly easy; some reporters with no boating experience say they can have the boat flying within about two minutes.

The post Candela’s C-8 Goes the Distance appeared first on Yachting.

There’s a revolution underway in the sport of sailing, and it can be summed up in one simple word: foiling.

More specifically, we’re talking about hydrofoils, the winglike appendages mounted beneath the hull of a vessel that, at a certain speed, lift the hull clear of the water. When this happens, the foiling sailboats can reach speeds two or even three times faster than possible in “displacement” mode.

And sailboats are just one element of the foiling revolution: Surfboards, paddleboards and powerboats are also getting in on the act.

An Italian naval architect named Enrico Forlanini is credited with developing the first waterborne hydrofoils, which he affixed to a 60 hp, airscrew-driven craft that topped off at 36.9 knots back in 1906. In the century that followed, a series of would-be inventors took a swing at the concept with varying degrees of success. Foiling sailboats finally ascended into the mainstream during the 2013 America’s Cup, when Oracle Team USA beat Emirates Team New Zealand in a match between foiling 72-foot catamarans (the Cup has been contested in foiling cats ever since).

Surprisingly enough, my first foiling experience happened some three decades ago, aboard something called a Hobie TriFoiler, from the popular manufacturer of Hobie surfboards, beach cats and kayaks. The TriFoiler, basically a 22-foot trimaran with a central pod and a pair of mainsails stepped on the twin outriggers, was invented by a fanatical California engineer named Greg Ketterman. The sail controls were laid out just forward of the tiny airplane-style cockpit; you steered with foot pedals. It was so ridiculously easy that even a gremmie like me had the thing foiling within moments of getting in and reaching off.

But after the initial thrill, it was actually kind of boring. Which, I believe, is why it went out of production soon after. The TriFoiler was, unfortunately, way ahead of its time.

Such was the extent of my personal foiling experience until this past summer, when a new class of foiling monohull skiffs called Persico 69Fs rolled into my home waters for a series of races among youth squads in the class’s inaugural season. I got an invitation to take a spin.

After donning my helmet, wetsuit and life jacket, I was handed the helm with a pair of skilled young sailors on board. At 25 knots, we were towed into Narragansett Bay behind a powerful RIB, foiling all the way. It was terrifying. And a preview of coming attractions.

Once the tow dropped us, the sails went up and we bore off. I skied the tiller extension while scrambling out onto the hiking racks. Which sent us off on a screaming reach. Which flipped the 22-foot-7-inch carbon rocket ship.

Twenty seconds into foiling, and I’d capsized the bloody thing. How embarrassing.

The kids, bless them, were kind and patient. We got the whole shooting match, including ourselves, back upright and tried again. The mainsail trimmer sheeted it home, we started to accelerate, and he said: “Here we go! You’re up. You’re flying!” Indeed, we were.

Hard on the breeze in the 12-knot southwesterly, things unfolded quickly. Spray was flying, and I took more than one solid wave to the kisser. I was mostly too frightened to concentrate on anything but driving, but I did glance at the speedo once: 17.4 knots. (I felt pretty chuffed until later learning a 69F’s top speed is 34 knots. Ugh.)

However, I guess I’d proved the point: With a couple of sailors who know what they’re doing, foiling is for everyone. From now on, just call me Mr. Foiler.

The post Sailing’s Hydrofoiling Revolution appeared first on Yachting.

The Candela C-7 is a foiling boat that employs computer-controlled hydrofoils and an electric outboard for a smooth, nearly silent ride. C-7s are propelled by Candela’s proprietary outboards. The C-7’s foil-control system leverages ultrasonic sensors, accelerometers, GPS receivers and gyroscopes to trim the foils 100 times per second. Owners can reportedly achieve 30-knot top speeds or a range of 50 nautical miles at a 22-knot cruising speed.  

Whom It’s For: Candela C-7s are for boaters who want electric and foiling technologies in a traditional-looking vessel.  

Picture This: A beautiful afternoon on the San Francisco Bay finds you cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge to Point Diablo. A gathering sea breeze opposes an ebb tide en route home, but your C-7’s flight-control system ensures a smooth ride.  

Take the next step: candela.com

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This content is also featured on our Princess Passport. To return or learn more, visit: The Princess Passport

Prior to departing from the dock in Plymouth, England, the captain of our Princess Yachts R35 called out: “If at any time you feel sick during the ride, let me know.”

Forty-five knots later, our R35 and five-person crew were streaking across a rain-spattered Plymouth Sound. The boat’s twin 430 hp Volvo Penta gasoline sterndrives sang with all the power of a tenor and all the range of a soprano. (The builder says speeds up to 50 knots are possible.) Our captain put the wheel hard over, and the hull gripped the ocean with purpose. The boat stayed level in the turn. No lean. No heel.

I felt like an astronaut taking a G-force-tolerance test, laughing the whole time. In fact, everyone on board was laughing so hard, it sounded like a boat full of kids, in spite of the abundance of gray hair. Our helmsman kept the wheel pinned over, and just when we thought the boat couldn’t turn a tighter circle than one boat length, it cut that down by several feet. We made a third pass, turning even tighter. The boat seemed to be doing a pirouette on the props. When the wheel came straight, the R35 was back up to that mid-40-knot speed almost instantly. The experience seemed more like flying through the air than riding on the water.

This boat’s performance comes, in part, from under the water in the form of foils. Not the foils most people think of, where the boat is raised above the sea, sitting on blades that look like skis. Instead, the R35 has what’s called the Princess Active Foil System. Picture two T-shaped wings tucked into the hull, forward of the sterndrives. When the foils are deployed, they don’t lift the boat up, but instead constantly adjust the R35 for heel and running attitude, ensuring stability. Princess says the foils also reduce hydrodynamic drag by up to 30 percent, increasing overall performance and that slick feeling underway.

The foils operate independently. Princess developed them in cooperation with BAR Technologies, the group behind Britain’s last America’s Cup vessel. Additionally, computer software running the foils calculates their position around 100 times per second. That’s a lot of math happening at warp speed. Based on my time on board the R35, it all works.

Our R35 was operating in what Princess calls comfort mode. For owners looking for an even more thrilling ride, there’s a second mode dubbed “sport.” Sport mode essentially allows the R35 to lean into those turns. We didn’t run the boat in sport mode, but given my comfort-mode experience, I imagine it would feel something akin to shooting down a mountain in a super-G, heeled over and attacking slalom gates like Lindsey Vonn.

While the foils enhance performance under the water, the R35’s aerodynamic exterior design assists above it. Princess used 3D modeling and computational fluid dynamics to create the R35’s shape, one that, in profile, resembles a knife blade. The sheer line transitions from a fine point at the bow, creating a seemingly straight line down the side that resolves at sweeping wing stations aft. It’s a clever bit of blending of linear and curved lines, creating an aggressive lean-forward look with all the sleekness of a sports car. It makes sense when you consider that auto-design firm Pininfarina (think Ferrari) helped create the R35’s exterior look.

Form follows function as the design allows air to flow over, around and through the vessel unimpeded. Less air drag—like less hydrodynamic drag—means better performance. A raked windscreen directs air over the helmsman and guests, keeping everyone’s hair (mostly) on their heads and reducing noise in the cockpit at speed.

The last bit of the R35’s performance puzzle is its build. It’s made entirely of carbon fiber via resin-film infusion. Resin-film infusion is different from traditional resin infusion used in fiberglass builds. With typical resin infusion, the builder says, the resin flows through the fiberglass cloth. In resin-film infusion, the resin is “already contained within the fabric as layer.” The builder says the carbon fiber is hand-laid up in layers, via dedicated craftsmen, and it is vacuum-bagged and baked in an oven at 80 degrees Fahrenheit for around 12 hours. The essential benefit is that, while resin infusion helps reduce weight by about 15 to 20 percent compared with traditional fiberglass layups, resin-film infusion reduces weight by up to 25 percent. And every pounds counts.

Resin-film infusion also means there is no gelcoat. The benefit, according to Princess, is additional weight savings of about 660 pounds and the elimination of potential print-though issues when the boat is painted.

While mostly known for its yachts and express cruisers, Princess Yachts has shown with the R35 that it has the skills and wherewithal to produce a high-performing sports boat that pushes the boundaries of technology across the board, from the stabilizing foil system to the carbon-fiber build. Will the lessons learned from the R35 see use in the builder’s larger models in the future? It’s possible. But for now, if you get the chance to run the Princess Yachts R35, just go. The fun this boat offers is infectious, and it will leave you laughing long after you go home.

Take the next step: princessyachtsamerica.com

This story originally published in the February 2020 issue of Yachting Magazine

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To develop the R35, which is the first Princess R Class model, the British builder worked with globally renowned experts. BAR Technologies, known for its America’s Cup advancements, helped to develop the Princess Active Foil System. It includes twin carbon foils beneath the waterline to reduce drag.

Pininfarina, the Italian automaker, helped to develop the R35’s carbon-fiber hull. The team at Princess added a glass helm, Esthec soles, a Naim audio system and other onboard comforts for which the builder is known.

Princess is calling the 35-footer a “technologically game-changing yacht” that is ideal for day cruises or a weekend on the hook, with a belowdecks galley, head, and seating that converts to a berth.

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