Motor Boat & Yachting — November 2017

AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR BOAT WAS SPECIAL

What’s it made of?

Carbon fibre, mostly. The standard

board is 5ft 6in and just over 2ft wide.

The Sport version

is slightly

smaller.

Both

weigh just under 14kg and break down

into three sections for easier storage.

What makes it go?

An electric motor spins a ducted

(for safety) propeller. It’s powered

by a rechargeable lithium ion battery.

How fast is it?

It will reach speeds of up to 25mph,

which has to feel pretty quick

balancing above the water.

How long does the battery last?

Designed for speed and fun rather

than endurance, it depends how

you drive it. Lift Foils reckon about

an hour at an average of 15mph.

The battery itself is concealed in

an IP67-rated waterproof housing.

Where are the controls?

In your hand. A simple waterproof

trigger controller, a little like a

Scalextric handset, regulates the

speed. An LCD readout gives you

speed and remaining battery power.

Can I buy one?

Worldwide deliveries are due to

start any time at a cost of $12,000.

Visit http://www.liftfoils.com.

First foiling race yachts, then

speedboats and now a board?

It’s the year of the foil alright!

Following in the footsteps of the

recently featured America’s

Cup challenger and the Open

Sunreef, here we have foiling

made accessible – the eFoil.

That does look pretty

cool. Who invented it?

Nick Leason (no, not

Nick Leeson). He’s been

developing it since 2009 and

it’s finally going into production.

So what’s the concept?

Imagine a surfboard. Then imagine

it with a hydrofoil beneath it. Strap

a motor to the hydrofoil. Voila!

Simple as that, eh?

Not quite, it took eight years to

develop it into a finished product.

Riddle of

the Waves

by Steven Price Brown

For some reason, I

expected Riddle of the

Waves to be somehow

related to the famous

Riddle of the Sands,

a story of modern-day

espionage, perhaps,

maybe about catching

people smugglers or gun

running.

But it isn’t. It’s a story

of how a group of military

veterans, mentally or physically

damaged by their experiences

of war, sailed a 92ft gaff-rigged

schooner around Britain.

The basic narrative tells

the story of their trip – the

seagoing adventures complete

with the runs ashore and the

japes and banter that are to

be expected in any group of

ex-servicemen. It’s a light and

easy read. But what sets the

book apart from others of its

kind are the backstories of the

crew, describing their military

histories, how their lives turned

sour and how the trip helped

them to recover and move on

as civilians.

Adlard Coles Nautical, £16.99

New Seakeeper 6 stabiliser

Eliminate up to 95% of boat roll on your Little Ship

There’s a saying in automotive circles

that if you want to know what your

Ford Fiesta will be fitted with in 30

years time, have a look at today’s

Mercedes S-Class.

It has proven surprisingly accurate.

Anti-lock brakes were first fitted

to the S-Class in 1978, for example;

30 years later, even the most prosaic

cars were fitted with similar systems.

The same is true for air conditioning,

in-car entertainment and other items.

It’s not just cars that benefit from

the trickle-down effect of what were

once the preserve of only the largest

and most expensive. Equipment that

was once only found on the biggest

motor yachts is gradually permeating

smaller craft. A perfect example of

that is the new Seakeeper 6 – 40%

smaller than the original Seakeeper

M7000, it also draws 25% less power

and costs roughly half as much as the

original at $40,900 before fitting.

The new model’s sphere and

internal components have all been

redesigned to provide the maximum

angular momentum for a given

footprint and it also boasts an

updated electronics suite, including

an all-new touchscreen display with

NMEA and Ethernet capabilities.

Designed for 40-49ft vessels of

up to 20 tonnes, it is claimed to

eliminate up to 95% of boat roll.

It works in exactly the same way

as the larger units. A flywheel spins in

a vacuum at up to 557mph providing

the same resistance to roll as those

gyroscopes we used to spin and

balance as children in the age before

electronic entertainment. Processor-

controlled hydraulics

push against this to

hold the boat steady.

As a result, there is

no need for the drag

of fins outside the

boat and the system

works at rest as

well as underway.

With boats getting

ever taller in response

to customer demand

for more cabin space,

the requirement for

systems like this can

only grow. A Seakeeper

3 version takes that

LOA down to 30ft for

even smaller boats.

Contact http://www.

seakeeper.com

85

BOAT MASTER NEWTECH

The Seakeeper

6 is designed for

40-49ft boats