Groupe Beneteau unveils its first motor foiler

Feb 28th, 2019

After developing the Figaro Beneteau 3, the first production foiling sailing yacht, Groupe Beneteau has launched a new innovation, unveiling its concept foiling motor yacht.

DEMS Sarrazin Design, Noval and SEAir brought on board a range of design, technical and mechanical skills, alongside the innovation, naval architecture and product design experts from Groupe Beneteau.

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The boat delivers groundbreaking sensations on the water with and without the foils, improved boat performance, better comfort on board while foiling, reduced fuel consumption

Built in Vendée, the boat was tested and refined at Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie port at the start of February when it made its first flights.

Technical features

Hull length: 9.70 m Fully infusion-built: low-emission, weight-saving technology. Pivoting foils: they enable the boat to be used with or without foils, without any loss of output on the water. Docking is simplified and the boat takes up the same space in port as a boat without foils. Propulsion: outboard for the start of this project, with research underway for future developments.

The boat is starts foiling at a speed of 15 knots and up to 40 knots. It can also reach 40 knots without foiling. The objective is not to increase speed (with / without foils, she reaches 40 knots) but rather increase the comfort onboard when riding at 40 knots. The cruise speed is between 20 and 25 knots, where fuel consumption is significantly reduced when foiling.

When will it be on the water?

This is a concept boat built by Groupe Beneteau to test, verify and validate the technologies used on board taking into account all safety and performance parameters. In the future, it could be used as accompanying vessel to follow sailing races such as the America’s Cup, with a professional crew onboard.

At the moment, there is no decision taken to launch a series production of this boat. The R&D / innovation teams will continue working on the prototype and improving its navigation settings for safe cruising.