Our Rotating Chair Trifoiler was originally a Hobie TriFoiler, a two-man vessel with a sail over each ama. Our significant modifications included removing the sails and attaching kites ranging from 16-30 sqm, adding a small trampoline, and adding a rotating chair for the kite steerer. That last addition was the most important development made on this boat, because a rotating attachment point reduces time lost during jibing—the rotating chair means that the kite steerer does not have to crawl across the boat, and the resulting savings in momentum allow the boat to complete a turn on its foils.
At our test site in Maui we have a second Hobie TriFoiler, which also we modified for use with a kite. Comparing the performance of the chairless Maui Trifoiler to that of our Alameda-based Trifoiler has allowed us to evaluate the difference that boat weight and wave and wind conditions make on boat performance. We’re also better able to approximate conditions on the open ocean by navigating the challenging waves and high winds off the Hawaiian Islands.
