SEAir was awarded for its expertise and for the significant fuels savings resulting from the use of its foiling systems on powerboats on 17 March 2018.
The “Special Mention for Environmental Benefit” award at the Union Internationale Motonautique (IUM) gala evening in Monaco is international recognition of SEAir’s work in the sector.
The company is honoured to have been selected by such a highly-regarded international organization. It also potentially offers the opportunity to enter a new era of racing.
In the last few years, the foil has had a considerable impact on competitive sailing. Has the time now come for motorboats to benefit from the many advantages of hydrofoils? With this award, SEAir hopes to convince the UIM that championship drivers could also enjoy the advantages of foiling, not just by inventing new foiling racing boats together, but by creating new events in the future.
Naturally, there are ecological advantages with fuel savings averaging 30% and up to 50% at top speeds. The boats cannot be matched for their enhanced comfort and the way they behave no longer resembles anything we know because they are above the water. More flexible and stable underway, the they are much safer for drivers. Foiling also heightens the sensational and spectacular side of events.
Many UIM categories that are not yet classed as high speed can accelerate by using foils. All these major strengths show without a doubt that racing practices can evolve. The young generations switching to these boats will have the advantage on others for many long years.
SEAir is working towards making foiling mainstream and has shown that foiling already works on boats for the general public. All that remains is to create racing boats. SEAir hopes to work with racers to create more ecological, comfortable, and spectacular boats for seasoned boaters, combining safety and speed!