The glider flies. The first production boat with foils is a reality: here comes the Figaro Beneteau 3
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It is no longer just a trend, no longer just the latest fad. Sailing today flies on foils. From the America’s Cup to small sailing clubs, from the Vendée Globe to kitesurfing. And the Beneteau shipyard is the first to recognize this new reality by putting into production the first monohull with standard foils: the Figaro Beneteau 3. The design of this new one-design with foils, which will be used for the Tour de France (Solitaire URGO – Le Figaro) starting in 2o19 (50th anniversary of the race), has been entrusted to the expert pencils of Van Peteghem – Lauriot – Prevost (VPLP), fathers of the latest generation Imoca boats that are making the round-the-world rounds in the Vendée Globe and winners with their hulls of the last two editions of this prestigious race.
This boat is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the Beneteau Group and the Figaro class: the first example of the Figaro Beneteau 3 recently entered construction and will be ready for launching next summer 2017. However, the technological innovation of this boat does not stop at foils; compared to the Figaro 2, the hull, free from ballast, will also be more performant with a lighter and narrower keel (which ensures less drag ), the mast has taken an additional step towards the stern, and the sail plan (which includes a square top mainsail, genoa, jib, 105 sq. m. spinnaker and a small gennaker) has become more generous, thanks also to the presence of the bowsprit. However, one of the points on which the shipyard has most insisted is the reliability and safety of the boat, and this is precisely why VPLP have stated that even if the foils break, the boat’s hull will not suffer structural damage.
Unlike the foils we find aboard the Imoca 60, those on the new Figaro will have an inward-facing profile and a more versatile charactere: “this ensures not only dynamic power and vertical upward thrust as is the case aboard the Imoca, but also the least possible drag in light airs and a significant reduction in drift at high speeds,” said Vincent Lauriot Prevost.
The shipyard’s stated goal is to produce 50 hulls between now and the end of 2018.
www.beneteau-group.com
THE FIGARO BENETEU 3 IN NUMBERS
Overall length: 10.85 m
Hull length: 9.75 m
Length at waterline: 9 m
Maximum beam: 3.4o m
Waterline beam: 2.40 m
Draft: 2.5 m
Displacement: 2,900 kg
Ballast: 1,110 kg
Mainsail area: 39.5 sqm2
Jib surface area: 30.5 sqm2
Spinnaker surface area: 105 sqm2
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