What they created was a performance design using the latest technology for a monohull one-design class with a sleek hull that already sails fast in conventional mode without foils.

Foiling monohull speed. Fitted with T-foil rudders and J-shaped daggerboards the GC32 can reach speeds of up to 40 knots. The GC32 is a 10m long by 6m wide foiling catamaran created through the collaboration of Laurent Lenne Dr Martin Fischer Head of Design at the Groupama Team France Americas Cup team and Premier Composite Technologies. The emphasis was on safety and slow take-off speed so that this boat can foil even at low true wind speeds.

Despite this the desired low takeoff speed was a real challenge. At 40 knots cavitation would probably have set in. Laureano Marquinez explains.

The rules specify a monohull with soft sails but with canted T-wing hydrofoils on both sides. It seems the project is currently mothballed. Despite this the desired low takeoff speed was a real challenge.

One reason for the J24s popularity when it was widely introduced in 1977 is that the hull design was such that it regularly went faster than larger boats. With the AC75 the righting moment stays constant as you go through the windspeed range - so in the mid-windspeed range once you are foiling in 9-15kts of breeze there is definitely the potential to be quicker than an AC50. First tests of our one design foiling monohull spotted last week at Lake Garda Italy.

Hull shape will affect this though. Gordon Baker developed and tested Monitor in the 1950s. Later designs like the Melges 24 were even faster.

Foiling Optimist Just to prove that you really can put foils on anything. What they created was a performance design using the latest technology for a monohull one-design class with a sleek hull that already sails fast in conventional mode without foils. Laureano Marquinez explains.