SYZ & CO hydrofoil catamaran flies over Lake Léman

by PR on 4 Apr 2009
After over two years of development, thousand of working hours and first trials marked by teething technical problems between December and March, the hydrofoil catamaran finally took off yesterday evening in the waters off Société Nautique de Genève.

This historical outing started yesterday evening a little before 6pm and the crew, comprising Alex Schneiter, Patrick Firmenich, Arnaud Psarofaghis and Boet Brinkgreve, had a superb navigation in Geneva harbour.

Sailing in a breeze of approximately 13 knots with gusts going up to 16 knots, the hydrofoil catamaran first started with a reef on the main sail and the genoa. As the wind picked up, the crew quickly changed the fore sail and switched to the forestaysail. The SYZ & CO then proceeded windward until Creux-de-Genthod and the bearing away already promised to be spectacular.

The crew gained in confidence in the prototype and rushed downwind towards Geneva at a speed of 10 knots. A magical moment, every one holding his breath until finally a hull lifts up out of the water followed a moment later by the second one!

The catamaran accelerates to quickly reach 20 knots. The water is a little choppy and the boat dances on the waves. Helmsman Alex Schneiter later tells: She’s quite light to steer and responds quickly but remains tolerant. In flight, she stays pleasant to steer and easy to trim. When she’s on the water, in Archimedean mode, she’s heavier than a conventional yacht but I think that a lot will depend on the tune up.

Arnaud Gavairon, from North Sails, is also closely following the sailing: These new 3Di sails also require a lot of tuning. It’s like the boat: we’ve gone very far with the technology and a lot of detailed work will be needed. There is a lot of room for progression.

The beginning of an adventure

Back ashore, the crew confides: It really went on very well and we got a very good feeling. Given our obviously limited flight experience, we needed little time to adjust to sailing aloft. We are now very confident in the gear but, as we don’t know the boat very well yet, we’re going step by step.

There’s a lot of tuning up to do, be it on the foils, on the flaps, on the crew position and the tilting of the mast. The first impression is very reassuring and encouraging: « She flies very well and you can drive her hard. We’re very happy because the concept proves to be very sound » adds Arnaud Psarofaghis.

Next sailing and test and tuning phase

An intensive training and testing program has been established. During this crucial phase, Pierre-Yves Jorand, member of the Alinghi team, and Boet Brinkgreve will be the key people. Pierre-Yves, who logically is very interested in this project, will be able to share his America’s Cup experience and the discipline that defines it.

Boet, the on-board tactician, has put in place a test and checks program, managed from an on-board omputer, and has created a systematic analysis database for all parameters. Moreover, an optical fiber sensor system has been installed in order to analyze the performance and the loads on the foils.

Specifications

LWL 9.8 m
LOA 11.8 m
BOA 10 m
Mast Length 15.4 m
Air Draught 16.5 m
Weight 700 kg
Crew 4
Sail Area 85 m2 (close haul), 150 m2 (running)

Materials and technologies used
Hulls Carbon-Nomex
Appendices High module carbon
Beams High module carbon
Mast Very high module carbon tilting wing mast
Rigging Carbon rig
Sails 3Di / 3DL / North Sails (Switzerland)
Hydraulic system Foil dihedral, foil flaps, main sheet, mast tilting

Foil details
Overall length V-Foils 4.5 m
Overall length T-Foil 2.5 m
Overall span T-Foil 1.6 m

Functionalities
Straight V-shape main foils with flaps and winglets. Individual vertical and dihedral adjustment. Foils serve as daggerboards in archimedean mode. Incidence of T-Foil can be adjusted.

www.syzfoiler.com