SailGP’s cutting-edge, in-development T-Foils are set to be rolled out next season, with the fleet racing with the high-speed foils for the first time in Auckland.
It comes after further testing of high-speed T-Foils. Following San Francisco’s Grand Final in July, athletes on board the Canada F50 set a new speed record of 101.98 km/h in 32 km/h wind speed - a new record. Further testing took place at an off-season training camp in Bermuda where the new foils were trialed by the U.S., Danish, Brazilian and German teams.
Reflecting on the testing, U.S. driver Taylor Canfield said the foils require the F50 to ‘be sailed quite differently’ resulting in ‘a lot of processes and settings on the boat changing drastically’.
SailGP’s director of performance engineering Alex Reid said the testing process had been ‘very positive’, with key takeaways including the top line speed record and how ‘consistently the boat is staying at top speeds for’.
“In terms of maneuvers, the crews have a lot more time because the boats have a good glide,” Reid said, adding that ‘foil drops were also much easier’.
However, the introduction of the T-Foils came with new challenges, too. The faster speeds made it ‘much more physically demanding for the crew,’ Reid said. San Francisco’s testing, which took place in an unstable sea state, saw the crew struggle ‘to hold on’ as speeds ticked over the 100 km/h mark, which in turn increased water spray coming onto the F50.
As a result, two types of spray deflecting devices were tested in Bermuda - one to protect the grinders and one to protect the wing trimmer. The grinder version was received well by the athletes, but a solution is still needed to reduce the spray affecting the wing trimmer.
This, Reid says, ‘isn’t a new problem’ - pointing to the injury of Hans Henken in Taranto last season and Australia wing trimmer Jason Waterhouse, who was knocked over by spray in San Francisco. But it could result in ‘modifications’ to the F50 to make racing more comfortable for the crew.
What are the next steps?
Following testing in San Francisco and Bermuda, small design tweaks are being made to the T-Foils, which are currently being re-machined. A sacrificial tip will also be added to the outboard side of the foil to reduce damage during collisions. Once these modifications are made, and assuming the conditions are right, the T-Foils will be introduced to racing at next season’s second event in Auckland.
The introduction of the foils, Reid said, could ‘reset and level the playing field’ of the fleet. “A team like Australia has been sailing for five or six years with the L-Foils and are used to getting the most out of them, but the T-Foils are brand new, so it’ll be interesting to see how teams adapt to them.”
How do the T-Foils differ from the current L-Foils?
The F50 is fitted with two foils; one descending from each hull. Both the L-Foils and T-Foils descend in a vertical shaft, but the L-Foils which have been in use since SailGP’s inception in 2019, have a horizontal section at the bottom of this shaft which curves inwards towards the opposite hull.
The T-Foils meanwhile have two horizontal sections at the bottom of the shaft, one curves inwards but the other curves outwards, away from the F50.
Constructed from machined titanium and carbon, the high-speed T-Foils also have thinner sections than the L-Foils, reducing drag at high speed. As well as the high-speed T-Foils, SailGP will produce light-wind T-Foils, which will enable the F50s to rise onto the foils in almost 3 km/h less of wind.
