What is a Hydrofoil Boat?
A Hydrofoil boat is a vessel with a lifting surface (foil) attached to the hull to lift it from the water level at high speed thus decreasing the drag and increasing the speed of the boat.
There are many different types of boats in the world. All of them share some common and uncommon characteristics. This article discusses what hydrofoil boats are, what principles they are based on, what they are used for, and what their advantages and disadvantages are.
Following are some interesting facts about hydrofoils.
What is a Hydrofoil Boat?
A hydrofoil boat or just a hydrofoil is a kind of lifting surface that moves up the hull as the boat gain speed thus minimizing the water drag and improving the speed of the vessel. They are similar to aerofoils which are used in airplanes.
Boats with hydrofoils are much faster than ordinary vessels and have been a great attraction in the boating industry.
The technology of hydrofoils is not very popular today, but it is not even new. They were first created by A.G. Bell and Casey Baldwin in 1908 that is more than a hundred years old. They were extensively used during the first world war by American troops. They helped greatly in avoiding the waters which were trapped by mines.
How Do Hydrofoil Boats Work?
Hydrofoil boats are gaining more popularity nowadays as they are faster and speedier on the ocean water. There is a hydrofoil that is attached to the base of the boat. This hydrofoil allows the boat to move easily on the water. It also ensures that the hull of the vessel does not come into contact with the water.
How do hydrofoil boats float?
Hydrofoils can only work if the boat is still on the surface of the water. Hence the body of the boat also prevents the vessel from coming out of the water and from causing a boat to sink or capsize.
These vessels are so fast and gain acceleration so efficiently that the hydrofoils lift the body of the boat out of the water. This reduces the drag and also allows greater velocity.
What is the Physics Behind Hydrofoil? – Principle Behind Hydrofoil
What does a hydrofoil do for a boat?
A hydrofoil boat is designed in such a way that if it ever comes out of the water, its force will make the hull crash back into the water and the hydrofoil gets submerged and till it generates adequate thrust for the hydrofoil to lift the boat and carry on with its operation.
At low speeds, the sits on the water surface with hydrofoils under the water. As soon as the speed of the boat increases, hydrofoils start creating lift gradually lifting the hull at a certain speed. At this speed, the lift produced by the hull is equal to the combined weight of the craft and the cargo.
Since the hull is out of the water, there is a decrease in drag instead of an increase in cases of traditional vessels. This results in greater speed and power efficiency.
Use of Hydrofoil Boats
Hydrofoil boats are used for several purposes. The primary use of them is in fishing. However, because of their high speeds, they can even be used for many essential purposes as well. They can be used as cargo carriers to transport goods over long distances in a short period.
It does not even affect marine life much as most of the boat does not even touch the surface of the ocean, unlike large cargo ships which have large water lines.
These vessels are advantageous because of their efficiency. The main disadvantage of fast watercraft is that a lot of effort is required to push it through the water. Some kinds of vessels try to solve this problem. They rise up over their bow wave and skim across the water surface.
However, even in these crafts, the stern is still immersed in the water which can create significant hydrodynamic drag.
In a hydrofoil, the boat is entirely above the surface of the water, and the hydrodynamic drag only acts on the lines and the stern gear. The stern gear propels and steers the boat. As the boat does not touch the water surface, it is not affected much by the disturbances of waves. It rides smoothly on the water up to a good extent. Other than this hydrofoil is also quite stable and easy to handle in certain circumstances. Also read: https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/hydrofoil
Hydrofoils are very much smaller than aircraft wings. This is because water is about eight hundred times denser than air. Hence the foils have a lot more to push against than the wings of an aircraft. Thus, they do not require the same surface area.
Hydrofoils were extensively deployed during the first as well as the second world war by countries like Germany, Italy, and the United States of America. These boats are also used for sailing and other sports. Nowadays hydrofoil vessels are also being used as passenger boats in more than 20 countries all over the world especially in parts of Asia like Japan, Hong Kong, or Macau.
You may also be interested: Types of Bow Designs
Are Hydrofoils Good or Bad for boats?
There are pros and cons for every technology. Hydrofoils are no different.
Disadvantages of Hydrofoils
1) Prone to Accidents
A Hydrofoil boat can also have many disadvantages. First of all, hydrofoils can easily fall off the foils as a result of contact with any small disturbances as well. It can lead to several accidents in the waters.
Even though these vessels do not take up much space, if the foils ever hit a marine animal it could be fatal for it as they have very sharp edges.
2) Expensive
Another major disadvantage is that they are costly to build.
3) Unfamiliarity
Many people do not know these kinds of watercraft. They do not have experience in operating these and have a conservative mindset. Hence people do not usually prefer to use these kinds of boats.
4) Complex Engineering
These boats are very advanced when it comes to technology, and many people do not understand the science behind it. It is challenging to make propulsion systems and controls. These are also not very reliable. Even the maintenance cost for hydrofoils are very high.
These are the reasons why hydrofoil is slowly going out of use.
So in conclusion hydrofoil are some of the most innovative and a vital part of the marine industry but is also at the same time one of the least known types of boats. People do not know much about them and the technology that they use.
It is the reason why they may refrain from using and constructing them and why they are going out of use nowadays. Still, they are very efficient and beneficial, and people should study about them and at least try and consider the advantages that they offer over using cargo ships for specific purposes.
Advantages of Hydrofoils
1) Efficiency:
Are hydrofoils more efficient? Yes, hydrofoils are more efficient because of their extremely lightweight and less drag. The low drag provided by the hydrofoils increase both speed and fuel efficiency.
2) Fast
Due to their design, boats with hydrofoils are fast.
Does a Hydrofoil Work on a Pontoon Boat?
A pontoon boat’s flat bottom produces drag which slows down its speed. A hydrofoil can increase enables the pontoon boat to glide over the water decreasing the resistance drastically.
Here is an example of a hydrofoil pontoon boat which uses the same technology to a great effect.
