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Hydrofoil Boats are basically one of the distinct types of watercraft. They are quite infamous to a lot of people. However, they have characteristics that are exclusive or uncommon compared to many most known kinds of water transport.


Although they are not usually seen today, hydrofoil boats embody rare features that genuinely make them truly interesting to sailors. It has many terms or labels as it is also called sailing hydrofoil, foiling boat, or simply, hydrosail.

A hydrofoil boat is an ascending surface or foil that operates or moves in the water. They are somewhat similar in view and scopes to aerofoils that are used by airplanes.

Unlike other watercraft, hydrofoil boats have greater speed. As they gain acceleration, the hydrofoils literally lift the boat’s hull out of the sea, reducing the drag and permitting greater velocity.

In appearance. Hydrofoil Boats usually incorporate a wing-like design, seated on struts beneath the hull. Or, cross to the keels of a catamaran in a range of boats.

As a hydrofoil established watercraft heightens speed, the hydrofoil aspects under the hulls create enough lift to position the hull out of the water. This, basically decrease the hull drag.

Furthermore, this gives a matching boost in speed as well as efficiency in fuel consumption.



Hydrofoil boats are now just part of the history

Despite the advantages and some quite remarkable attributes of Hydrofoil Boats, they are only just part of the history. They years 1960’s to 1970’s have marked the fact how these watercraft have become popular and serviceable. Hydrofoil boats were used as passenger boats, for military usage, sailing, and sports, and even have become part of the modern times passenger boats.

Hydrofoil boats had their peak in recognition and demand in the 1960s and 70s. However, their discontinued operations have been publicly known during the years 1990’s to 2000’s due to quite a few drawbacks or disadvantages. Since then, there has been a substantial decline and degeneration in their use and acclaim for the military, leisure purpose, and commercial passenger transport use.

Here are the following weak points of Hydrofoil boats:

  • They are considered susceptible to contacts with marine animals and floating objects. When being hit with something, hydrofoils boats may fall off the presence of foils. That generally causes an impression of marked up instability and danger.
  • Such kind of boat has sharp edges, which reside in the water while moving or in operation. The edges can badly injure sea animals like whales.
  • Hydrofoils are weighed as impractical because they are undeniably expensive to build. Some of the hydrofoil boats created were about 3x the cost of a tantamount catamaran passenger ferry.
  • For having a quite conservative marine industry, hydrofoil boats are still treated as an exotic type of boats by a number of commercial operators of high-speed watercraft. Because of this, many will not take the risk of experiencing to operate a peculiar boat like hydrofoils, even the fact that they are quite beneficial in some scopes.



As mostly observed, hydrofoil boats are technically complicated in nature.

Their unavoidable high maintenance has put an end to many previous military hydrofoil proposals. The US Navy, for instance, fabricated some of the immense technically upgraded hydrofoils but could not realize the conglomerate propulsion systems, as well as the ride control reliable.

Eventually, this has led to the ultimate suspension of their hydrofoil boat projects. Many other Navy expansions have unfortunately met the same outcome.

As to the Russian Navy, they still run huge hydrofoil boats and have been lucrative. Essentially, they have opted for quite non-complex systems that might not have the similar performance as the US structures. However, they are evaluated as more flourishing and reliable.

The progression of technology in the maritime industry like the existing of sophisticated inventions like voyage data recorders, data monitoring softwares, and others have not been exposed to hydrofoil boats, due to their phased out status.

However, despite their losing nature, very few same type are still introduced nowadays but are having a more improved and safety disposition.