THIS MONTH’S 10
1 SPIRIT’S SLEEK ELECTRIC FOILER
Spirit Yachts is partnering with BAR Technologies to build an all-electric foiling wooden speedster. A marriage of gloriously retro styling and cutting-edge foiling technology, it has been commissioned as a chase-boat by the European owner of the Spirit 111 supersailing yacht, Geist, the yard’s largest project to date.
The striking lines of the new 35ft electric foiler were penned by Spirit Yachts’ CEO and chief designer Sean McMillan, who admits to taking his inspiration from a 1920s Gold Cup-winning American hydroplane called Baby Bootlegger, which sported a similar near-plumb bow, long varnished foredeck and a two-seat cockpit. It also shares certain similarities with vintage racing cars of the era, such as the token fold-down aero-screens and the twin aerodynamic cowlings, which enhance the gorgeous sloping aft sections. Incidentally, those cowlings actually hinge up and back to form part of an otherwise concealed guest cockpit with seating for six.
The long, slender design is no illusion. The maximum beam is just 7ft 6in, giving a length-to-beam ratio of around 4.65.
For the moment Spirit and BART are choosing not to reveal details of the integral electric drivetrain, although they have said there will be just the one propulsion unit. What we do know is that it has a claimed top speed of 27-28 knots with a fast cruising speed in the low 20s. At this speed the quoted range is an impressive 100nm, approximately twice the distance claimed for the only other electric foiling sportsboat currently on the market, the award-winning Candela C-7.
The underwater profile of the hull is a modified deep-vee with a sharp entry forward and a single step amidships before flattening off towards the stern. McMillan says the design below the natural waterline
