Hydrofoils

Work over the last  6 months has focused upon the design of test equipment to characterise the mechanical properties in the various hydrofoils. To date effort has mainly been focused on the IQ Foil but will include testing of the Formula Kite hydrofoils from January 2023.Working closely with the sailors we have identified various performance characteristics that the sailors feel and translated this into a scientific context to facilitate future foil selection.

Working with the TU Delft hydroexpert team essential work packages have been agreed so that work can start early in 2023 and continue through Marseille 2024. We are very much looking forward to this collaboration and working closely with Arnoud Greidanus who will head up the team from TU Delft.Our collaboration with TU Delft Aerospace department with MSc candidate Timo Van Maarschalkerweerd in support of the NACRA17 class is progressing rapidly with promising early results.

2023 is going to be an exciting and intensive year in terms of answering the sailors questions and bringing understanding to all aspects of the equipment and technique for the hydrofoil classes.

By: Alex Ashworth 
foil expert Sailing Innovation Centre