No wings? No problem! Retrofit kit turns speedboats into hydrofoils

All other things being equal, hydrofoils tend to be faster, more fuel-efficient and smoother-running than regular boats. But those regular boats needn't despair – there's now a kit that converts them into hydrofoils.Known as ONE, the system is manufactured by Norwegian company Lift Ocean. It's available for order now via the company website, but we're told it won't start shipping until sometime next year.And before you say, "Yey, I can turn my motorboat into a hydrofoil!," … sorry, but ONE is currently only being offered to watercraft manufacturers and fleet operators. The idea is that such companies could offer speedboats with a foiling option, if desired by clients. Sales are currently limited to businesses only, not individualsLift Ocean Putting it simply, the kit consists of three parts.First and foremost, there's a trio of motorized foil assemblies, each one of which is made up of a vertical mast with a moveable wing at the bottom. Two of those wings are mounted on either side of the single outboard engine at the stern, while the third is mounted at the bow.There's also an engine lift bracket, which automatically moves the third-party engine (internal combustion or electric) up and down to keep the propeller in the water at all times. The third component is a flight control system, which is the hardware and software that ties everything together. The mounting arrangement of the wings is the same on boats of different shapes and sizesLift Ocean When ONE isn't in use, the three foils are fully retracted up out of the water. This reduces the rate at which marine growth accumulates on them, plus it allows the boat to be used normally in shallow water.Once it's time to start foiling, the foils are deployed at zero or low speed via a helm-located control panel. Upon reaching a predetermined speed, the wings activate, lifting the boat up out of the water. We're told that on a lighter craft, takeoff occurs at about 16 to 18 knots (~20 mph or 31 km/h) and cruising speed is reached at 20 to 25 knots (~26 mph or 42 km/h). Canary 28 testing with Lift Ocean's standard hydrofoil system Depending on wave height, users can choose Low, Medium or High flight heights. Onboard sensors including radar modules and dual GPS antennas continuously feed data to the flight controller, which operates the wings. What's more, different wings can be swapped in, depending on whether users want to prioritize factors such as performance, efficiency, or easy cruising. The engine lift bracket keeps the propeller submerged at all timesLift Ocean The current version of ONE is designed for speedboats measuring 6 to 9 m long (20 to 30 ft), at least 2.4 m wide (7.9 ft) and weighing no more than 2.5 tonnes (2.75 tons)."Since our whole business idea is to mount hydrofoil systems on various boats, the performance will vary – in some cases the boats are heavy and slim, in the other cases they are wide and light," Lift Ocean's Lars Bay tells us. "But the measurements we have done with our own test boats and client samples is roughly 50% [fuel] consumption reduction."Source: Lift Ocean