This has to be one of the coolest personal watercraft/sailboats that I have seen in quite sometime. Sure, parts of this technology are already being used by the 2013 America's Cup boats, but this one doesn't cost millions of dollars. Brave folks can buy the Flying Phantom Catamaran for just under $40k and relatively easily transport it to your favorite body of water. Make sure it isn't a tiny lake as the Flying Phantom has a tested top speed of 33 knots. The entire boat weighs just 342-lbs.
Some of my favorite quotes from the guy who sails the boat in the amazing video, after the break, "It's insane", "Nothing can compare:, and ",noiseless, fast, and never ending".
The Flying Phantom Catamaran uses two J-shaped hydrofoils to get the hulls about two feet out of the water. This causes the boat to have very little drag so that every bit of wind translates to more speed.
"The main speed limits of a catamaran are the length of the hull, the wetted surface, and the pitch poling as you push it too hard," explains Phantom's Nicolas Felix. "When you're foiling and the hulls aren't dragging in the water, you can get nearly limitless performance. On a regular boat, you're always fighting to gain a tenth of a knot, fighting against the friction of the water and the pitching of the waves. When you take off, the drag just disappears and there's pure silence. Every puff of wind is transformed directly into acceleration."
The Flying Phantom boat can raise up on its foils in just 7-knots of wind and can go a over 30 knots. That is fast.
SPECIFICATIONS
Design team: Martin Fischer
Development team: Alex Udin, Franck Cammas and Groupama sailing team
Length: 5.52m / 18"³
Width: 3.00m
Weight: 155kg
Mast: 9.6m / Tapered / Pre preg Carbon cured in autoclaved
Appendages: T-foil rudders +L-shape foiling dagger boards "“ Pre preg Carbon cured in autoclaved
Hulls: Pre preg Carbon, Nomex sandwich
Main sail: SAIL INNOVATION VXM Black Tecnhora membrane / 18sqm with mast
Jib: SAIL INNOVATION VXM Black Technora membrane / 5.5sqm
Gennaker: SAIL INNOVATION R Polyester / 24sqm
