SOMETHING DIFFERENT

FOILING UFO

Foiling sailboats aren’t anything new — folks have been fiddling around with one type of foiling device or another on sailboats since at least the 1950s. But these craft can be a challenge to sail, leaving a substantial chunk of hopeful foiling sailors on the dock. Fulcrum Speedworks’ Foiling UFO aims to change that. It’s 10 feet long, and its hull weighs 70 pounds, which means it can fly in as little as 8 knots of wind. Things can get hairy above those speeds, however, and sailors aboard traditional foiling sailboats have come into contact with some portion of the boat when things came crashing down. The Foiling UFO is designed to avoid all of that, keeping a clear splashdown area forward of the skipper. The whole package is car-toppable. Fulcrum Speedworks says most folks are able to “fly” the UFO their first time out.