Boat International US Edition - June 2018

immediately. While the basic

requirements didn’t change, the owner

specified a whole range of interesting new

features, including a powerful diesel-

electric drivetrain, a sophisticated

electrical system that would incorporate

batteries and a shaft generator to deliver

10 hours of silence, a reduced reliance on

hydraulics and an easy-to-handle sailplan.

In today’s sophisticated world of yacht

design these were not huge demands and

he returned to his trusted friends at Baltic

Yachts where together they selected Farr

Yacht Design to create the new carbon-

hulled Baltic 142 Custom.

One aspect, explains her owner, was to

prove totally revolutionary. “I had become

interested in the DSS foil that had proven

successful in smaller racing yachts and

I thought it might solve my comfort needs

with its ability to significantly reduce

both angle-of-heel and pitching. Farr

were already aware of the technology and

Baltic did not seem averse to it, so we

asked them to investigate whether it

would work for us.”

Henry Hawkins, CEO of Baltic Yachts,

continues the story. “We knew of the

technology,” he says, “and we were

enthusiastic to incorporate it, but because

a foil would impact on the yacht’s whole

structure, its layout and its rigging, we

had to make absolutely sure it would

work. Together with Farr, we ran some

very advanced prediction programs and

the more we saw, the more we liked the

idea. The only downside was its perceived

complexity and, of course, the added cost,

but not only did the VPPs confirm that the

foil would enhance comfort, they also

indicated that, when deployed,

performance could be improved by

between five and 20 percent depending on

conditions.”

With these exciting findings presented

to the owner, the decision to incorporate

the foil was soon taken and both Welbourn

and Kay joined the Baltic design team as

advisers. Down the line, BAR Systems,

which had worked on Ben Ainslie’s

America’s Cup foils, was taken on to

engineer the bearings for the Baltic-

designed DSS drive mechanism, while

the construction of the whole DSS pod

was subcontracted to the specialist

French engineering firm Isotop.

Push-button operated, the system will

use a single captive winch to extend the

foil 20 feet from the yacht’s leeward side,

running on four sets of 25 composite

roller-bearings set in titanium housings.

Baltic’s head of research and development,

Roland Kasslin, explains: “This pod, built

as a plug-in cassette, carries a 9 meter

[29ft 6in] long foil and is incorporated

into the yacht’s mid-sections just below

the waterline, where its position beneath

the master cabin will have little or no

impact on useful internal volume.”

The eagerly awaited launch is on

schedule for 2019, when we will be able to

experience the efectiveness of this new

technology. Baltic is also examining

a proposal for an Infiniti 105ft

DSS-equipped cruiser-racer, while

Welbourn is working on a design for

a 60ft cruising yacht with a DSS foil.

So is this the future for cruising

superyachts? Hawkins’ answer is

interesting: “I’m as confident as anyone

can be that the DSS will work well, and

I have a sneaking suspicion that it will

change future designs. As more people

examine the concept there will be new

developments and new possibilities. As

for the added cost, well, it should make

a yacht more comfortable to sail and

people are prepared to pay for such

luxury.” Overall, I think that’s a yes.B

WATCH

TRIMARAN

EDMOND DE

ROTHSCHILD

FOILING ON HER

SEA TRIALS

boatint.com/

foiling

TESTING TIMES
Clockwise from above:
tank testing for the Infiniti 100S;
Maverick’s foil housing sheaths;
testing foils at the Wolfson Unit

JUNE 2018