{"id":69355,"date":"2018-12-26T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=69355"},"modified":"2023-05-06T22:52:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T02:52:56","slug":"tf10-2019-foiler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/sailboats\/tf10-2019-foiler\/","title":{"rendered":"TF10: 2019 Foiler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n TF10: 2019 Foiler<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Seventy-five-year-old foiling<\/a> fanatic Malcolm Gefter, dressed in tattered neoprene sailing gear, with an impact-padded PFD and sailing helmet loosely clipped and askew, is beaming ear to ear as he watches his 35-foot trimaran<\/a> stream across the horizon, hovering 3 or 4 feet above the water with plumes of spray spitting from its rudders. We’re chasing them in our RIB, the big diesel outboard humming at full speed. On board the trimaran is one experienced pro and three of our Boat of the Year personnel. The three of them have zero foiling experience and less than 30 minutes on this boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Yet, there is BOTY judge Tom Rich, more familiar helming his 41-foot IMS-era lead dragger, perched on the TF10\u2019s bench seat, carbon tiller in his left hand, just absolutely sending the boat down Narragansett Bay at 25 knots. Rich is wide-eyed, white-knuckled and trying like hell not to wipe out. But otherwise, he\u2019s \u00adcomfortable. And confident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee? No problem. He\u2019s doing it,\u201d Gefter mumbles nonchalantly. \u201cI\u00a0told you they\u2019d foil on their first try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

No sooner do the words leave Gefter\u2019s zinc-covered lips does the trimaran\u2019s weather hull plunge, punch a hole in the bay, lift right back up and get going again as if nothing happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a big catamaran, like the M32, that would have been a pitch-pole or capsize, for sure,\u201d Gefter says. \u201cWith this boat, you get the buoyancy from the center hull, so that\u2019s not going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Gefter would know. His previous boat was a carbon Marstrom\u00a032 catamaran that required experienced dudes and a chase boat every time he wanted to go yachting. He\u2019s done with that. This\u00a0TF10 trimaran is his next boat, a product of his hyper\u00adanalytical mind. He\u2019s been hands-on with the design\u00a0and build since inception, and has invested a small fortune of his own time and\u00a0money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe concept was to build a boat that takes advantage of foiling capability and to bring it to the realm of the ordinary, but competitive, high-performance sailor,\u201d Gefter explains to the Boat of the Year judges. \u201cGuys from TP52s, Melges 32s, etc., that ought to be able to take a step up to this boat and go foiling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

When it comes to fast and stable flight, what makes the TF10 different from smaller foiling craft such as Moths and other singlehanders, which use human weight as righting moment, is the trimaran\u2019s \u201cmechanics,\u201d Gefter says. \u201cThis boat is about the mechanics and how you use them.\u201d That, and the undeniable fact that a trimaran is a more stable and comfortable platform for first\u2011time foilers like our judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou might get a little wet,\u201d Gefter says. \u201cBut it will be possible for each of you to foil from the helm on your first go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Hiking <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n All four foils are adjusted using buttons on modules located on the hiking racks.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Before setting off from the dock, Gefter explains the three-sail-inventory (gennaker, reefable jib and main). The mechanics he\u2019d referred to earlier are the four appendages \u2014 two large L-shaped daggerboards and two high-aspect T-rudders. All four stay down, he says, for what\u2019s called four-point foiling, but the windward board can be raised upwind for a fraction of a speed gain. Off-the-wind sailing is another story; all four must remain down all the time. Four-button control modules to control \u201clift and no-lift\u201d for each of the appendages are mounted at each of the trimming stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Gefter\u2019s TF10 foiling 101 is as such: \u201cThe windward rudder is pulling down to create righting moment, and the leeward rudder is lifting up to create lift\u00a0and adjust pitch. The windward \u00addaggerboard is providing\u00a0most of the lift, and the windward board is\u00a0providing slightly less lift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Like any other boat, the TF10 sails upwind with leeward heel, and with the big center hull, the sensation is similar to any other sportboat. Gefter sometimes drives from the center cockpit, but mostly from the bench alongside the main trimmer.\u00a0Once the gennaker is deployed, driver and trimmers work in sync to level the boat, and get the\u00a0foils in balance and the boat\u2019s \u00adattitude just right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to do,\u201d Gefter says, \u201cbut it\u2019s doable and straightforward once you do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Built by DNA Performance Sailing in Holland, the TF10 is a carbon-fiber collector\u2019s item, but fairly simple in the grand scheme, a boat that will demand constant attention and tweaking. A boat captain \u2014 or at least an experienced high-performance nipper \u2014 will be essential to make good use of every outing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime on the water with this thing is critical to learning how to sail it, and that\u2019s going to be the biggest challenge for any owner,\u201d Allen\u00a0says. \u201cIf you want to go sailing, you\u2019ll need to have the right conditions, and the guys ready to go. With these types of boats, there will always be projects once you\u2019re back at the dock, but it is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

While the first seven boats are built by DNA, the original group of owners \u2014 New York YC members \u2014 own the aluminum tooling, Gefter says, so they can build boats whenever and wherever they\u00a0want. \u201cIt has to be said how well it\u2019s built,\u201d says judge Greg\u00a0Stewart. \u201cIt\u2019s all nice and fair. The boat looks awesome at the dock, with a very cool profile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The trampoline is a carbon fabric, creating a strong, impermeable shield to sprint across. It blocks spray too, so the boat is dry until you get aggressive with its fast weather-heel mode. It\u2019s loaded with standard high-performance multihull controls: a diamond tensioned carbon rig with rotation assembly, and a wishbone boom that assists with the end-plate effect of a deck sweeper main.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The boat is sailed with four to five crew, positioned in different places to help trim and balance. Downwind, one crew moves inboard to the cockpit winch, grinding for the trimmer, who\u2019s outboard on the bench with the main trimmer and driver. For righting moment and safety, Gefter says, they never allow more than four people on the bench at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

While on the topic of safety, Gefter admits they have yet to capsize or pitch-pole the TF10, but could it? \u201cSure, it can happen, but it will be rare,\u201d he says matter-of-factly. \u201cBut the trimaran configuration is so forgiving. The center hull\u2019s flotation is significant, and at 2,600 pounds, it\u2019s much heavier than the Marstrom, and that\u2019s a stabilizing damping force on the skittishness. If it capsizes, it will turtle, which of course would not be pleasant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

The judges never come close enough to finding out, and Rich is happy to report that he is well at ease cruising at altitude at 25\u00a0knots. Stewart, too, has the ride of his life. \u201cIt was a breakthrough day of sailing,\u201d he says. \u201cJust windy enough it wasn\u2019t scary at all. Another 5 knots and we probably would have been putting in a reef and been just as fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Boat of the Year worthy? Most definitely, but too narrow of a niche, Allen says. \u201cYou\u2019ll definitely be having guys on the payroll to sail it, and the fleet will always be relatively small \u2014 maybe 10 or 15 at most \u2014 but they\u2019ll have a lot of fun together doing point-to-point racing and trying different formats, especially when they\u2019ve all got it wired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Rich agrees, adding that the TF10 checked all its boxes: It\u2019s very well-built, sails great and meets its design criteria. \u201cThey guaranteed foiling, and we did,\u201d he says. \u201cThe speed numbers Malcolm quoted about when the boat would do certain things was right on. It went upwind amazingly well too. We were flying upwind at 15 knots at pretty high angles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The age of flight is upon us, and this is your million-dollar ticket to foiling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20181226","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"160","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 35-foot, 4,000-pound TF10 sails plenty fast \u00adupwind with a bit of leeward heel, and with the big center hull, the sensation is similar to any other sportboat.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"TF10: 2019 Foiler %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"5AZ2CXFBB6WF2MUKY6TN3ANPWE","arc_website_url":"tf10-2019-foiler-year\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar-full-header","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[1529,1222,164,420],"class_list":["post-69355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-boat-of-the-year-2019","tag-foiling-sailboats","tag-sailboats","tag-trimaran"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}