Yachting World - July 2018

88

PRACTICAL

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overall weight of the G4, but van Riemsdijk says

that in real terms it means the G4 needs just 1

more knot of wind to foil.

The team has worked hard to strike a balance

between automation, and maintaining the fun

sensation of sailing a foiling cat. Heemskerk

says they focussed on making it feel intuitive.

There is also a jib and either fractional or

masthead Code 0 on manual winches, giving

the crew something to do other than enjoy the

ride. If the owner’s demands change, the pre-

programmed settings can be modified remotely.

Remotely optimised foiling

Automated foiling systems that can be remotely

optimised sound like the preserve of the

America’s Cup. The DNA team did call in some

expertise from programmers who had worked

with Groupama Team France, and discovered

they had arrived at quite similar solutions on

the G4, albeit for very different functions.

The G4 could theoretically raise its

performance yet further, with the potential

to set up the angles of attack on each rudder

independently, giving a differential variable.

That, Heemskerk explains, may be possible in

future, but would require additional load cells to

manage the associated rig loads.

The G4 is primarily a cruising boat with

performance that exceeds 99% of racers. You

can either have a lot of fun going nowhere in

particular, or use the G4’s mile-eating abilities

to cover a lot of water in a short time.

The interior is not luxurious, with the focus

on outdoor living. The cockpit is vast, with

easily enough room to have more than a dozen

friends or family out for a day sail. There is also

an outdoor galley area with fridge, two burner

hob and sink. The pilothouse has full height

headroom in the centre, with a large saloon

table and seating. Either side of the central

seating are queen sized double beds, with fabric

partitions for privacy, although they are more

akin to camping than separate cabins. There is

also a single berth abaft in each hull, again with

canvas enclosures.

In one hull is a carbon heads, “The world’s

first fully foiling toilet,” Heemskeerk jokes. For

bathing, it’s a solar shower over the trampoline.

The owner of the second G4 is unlikely to

care about the creature comforts, however.

When I visited DNA they were in the midst of

building a gigantic carbon cradle for the G4 to

be placed onto her new owner’s superyacht

helipad. There the G4 can sit, rig up, ready to be

craned into the water like a giant dinghy for an

afternoon of foiling fun.

The touchscreen mode and automation options

for sailing the G4

Manual

controls for the

rudders and

daggerboards

are next to each

helm position,

along with the

‘auto tack’

button

The daggerboards are lowered and lifted

hydraulically

The G4 features a rotating mast with a square

top mainsail

The newest

G4 can sit in a

custom crane on a

superyacht helipad

The outdoor galley and fridge area

A lithium battery bank and extra generator

supply the power-hungry control systems

The hulls

are spartan:

bare carbon

fibre with

watertight

bulkheads

The pilothouse has a central saloon area, with

double bunks either side

The control systems

required more than

18 months of continuous

development