Skaw A, construction has begun on the first true cruising foiler

It bills itself as the first authentically cruising foil monohull that has been produced, and indeed the concept of Skaw A goes in that direction, namely a boat with the classic bow volume of round-bow racing Scows, with a super cruiser interior. In fact, there have been questions for some time as to whether it is possible to exploit the volumes of this type of hull for cruising pleasure craft as well, andaccording to Skaw Sailing and designers Benoit Marie and Clement Bercault this idea is feasible, so much so that construction of the boat has begun in France.

Skaw A, which boat is

Skaw A is a 11.95 m long and 4.85 wide, the shape of the boat and hull is very reminiscent of ocean racing open boats, the Mini 650 scow in particular, but with some special solutions for the water lines: in fact, the boat in the submerged part tightens up, with a non-flat shape, almost a hint of a V. This will make the wetted surface when the boat is flat and the boat will not be penalized too much in light winds. And at the same time it will make the hull a little more forgiving upwind, with somewhat gentler impacts on the waves than a tauter hull. The boat is then equipped with a pair of C-shaped foils that will ensure true flying moments even though it does not have elevator on the rudders (the horizontal component that there is on boats that do 100 percent foiling), this thanks to a tonnage limited to 5,000 kg. In addition to foils, the boat will have a Keel lift that moves from 1.2 to 3.5 meters draft. Verisimilarly, the boat will be able to lift above 10 knots of wind, at not too tight angles.

Interiors

And then there are the interiors, which can take advantage of a width of almost 4 meters even at the bow, which is unique in the cruising boat scene. They will be enhanced by windows on the deck and around the deckhouse, for a very high level of interior brightness. The real advantage of scows certainly lies in being able to offer almost twice as much volume for the same length; the challenge lies in being able to make boats that can also be used by cruisers. The doubt remains about the conditions the boat will impose on the crew upwind in wind and wave: the “slamming” on the waves of the scows makes these hulls very hard to digest for those on board, given the violent impacts on the waves. We will have to see if the arrangements made by the designers will be enough to make sailing enjoyable even in hard sea conditions.

skawsailing.com