The Kiteboat Project w/video

Source: Kiteboat Project

Go fly a kite!  Seriously, have you ever tried to fly one of those fighter style kites?  They are not that easy to control.  Now imagine trying to control a kite large enough to pull you and a boat across the water.  

The Kitefoiler is the vision of a group of dedicated boaties out of Alameda, California.  They are attempting to help evolve waterborne transportation into the use of kite propulsion.  There are a few advantages of kites over conventional sails, the biggest being a virtual elimination of heeling and pitching moments that a sail produces (the boat doesn’t tip).  Couple that with the high efficiency of a hydrofoil and I’d say this group of researchers/boatbuilders is onto something good. Their goal is to see you flying a kite someday.

Check out a video of the Kitefoiler topping out at 36.3 knots (41.7 mph) in San Francisco Bay.





Source: The Kiteboat Project and Vimeo