Foiler Flying Yacht hydrofoil boat - GIF

[Altair]

Foiler Flying Yacht hydrofoil boat.




Previously:

Ground effect vehicles
A-90 Orlyonok ground effect vehicle - photos
Float-on yacht transport vessels - GIF and video

[greyhoundollie]

Something I am not sure of. These hydrofoil boats have been around for well over 50 years. But no one seems to have come up with a really good kick butt use for them. A few were made for the US Navy, but those are gone now. I did see a few in various European countries used as ferries across smaller bodies of water when I was a teenager. And there were a couple of them in James Bond movies in the 1960's. It looked like for a bit that their most prominent use would be as people ferries. But bigger fast 400 passenger people ferries like the hovercraft across the English channel have come and gone. The Staten Island ferry company seems to transport a large portion of Manhattan Island daily work commuters has not "upgraded" to these faster hydrofoils over these last 50+years.

1. They are faster than a regular boat.........but they consume a lot of fuel at high speed.
2. They are not able to travel on their foils at slow speed .......... so they use even more fuel at slow speeds(the foils drag) than regular boats do at same speed.
3. I am not sure but they may only be a "fair weather" boat. Maybe Unable to take high waves, and maybe unable to deal with winds 90 degrees to their direction of
travel.
4. I wonder how they deal with passing over a floating kelp bed.

[IntheGroove]

And then there's these crazy things...

[suther51]

"They are not able to travel on their foils at slow speed .......... so they use even more fuel at slow speeds(the foils drag) than regular boats do at same speed."

The navy ships that I am slightly familiar with the foils folded up for normal operation. By the strange recesses on the hull of this one I would dare guess these foils fold up also.