Watersport Boat: Quant 23

At the world’s largest water sports fair in Düsseldorf, a jury awarded a prize to a sailing boat that takes off thanks to its wings. The most spectacular innovations at a glance – from family sailers to luxury yachts.

The hull rises out of the water, the boat hisses over the waves on wings: A yacht that flies has so far been a rather unusual sight. But foiling, as water sports enthusiasts call this discipline, is regarded as the new trend in sailing. At the world’s largest water sports fair “boot”, a yacht with so-called foils was presented and named the most spectacular novelty of the season.

The “Quant 23” is the winner of the “Yachts of the Year” competition in the “special boats” category. It is the first keel boat that can foil. To do this, the boat is launched on the leeward side, i.e. the side of the boat facing away from the wind. At a certain speed, the wings develop sufficient lift to allow the boat to fly above the water surface – at up to 24 knots, i.e. 45 km/h.

The amazing thing about Quant 23

Boat builders experimented with this technology ten years ago and it is now becoming popular. “The amazing thing about the ‘Quant 23’ is that you don’t need any special suitability. Every ambitious sailor can simply go flying”, says Jochen Rieker, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Yacht”.

The sailing boat, about seven metres long, is light (270 kilograms) and looks unusual: The flat, rectangular shape of the bow section ensures safety – especially when diving back into the water. A small series of the sailboat is planned, a surcharge of up to one hundred percent compared to normal sailors of this size is likely.

Despite the high acquisition costs, many experts believe that foiling is the future topic in sailing. “Until 2020,” Rieker predicts, “foil sailing will definitely become a new Olympic discipline. Helge and Christian Sach, former sailing world champions in the F18 class, have already made the change and are successfully foiling. At the “boot” they will talk about their experiences with fast wing sailing in several lectures.

At the “boot”, which has now begun in Düsseldorf and will last a week, less radical coasters will also be presented. An eleven-member jury from the editors-in-chief of Europe’s leading sailing and motorboat magazines has awarded prizes to five motor and five sailing yachts each. Take a look at the photos of the award-winning boats here.

Trends at the “boot 2016

Individualisation is the big trend for standard sailing yachts. This is exemplified by the “Hanse 315”, which also won the “Yacht of the Year” award. “In its configuration of around nine metres, the entry-level boat offers the owner just as much bandwidth as a 15-metre yacht. It can be adapted precisely to personal wishes,” says Rieker. The entry-level price is 65,000 euros. “But you can also order a Hanse for 100,000 euros, depending on your special wishes.”

Comfort on the water is in demand, and it can cost anything.

This applies not only to sailing boats, but also to motorboats. “People are willing to spend more money on new boats again,” says Torsten Moench, editor-in-chief of “Boote”. The new ships are accordingly lavishly equipped. “Easy Boating’ is in demand”, explains Moench, “there are more and more innovative propulsion concepts and a wealth of electronic helpers”. Larger yachts such as the “Galeon 500 Fly” with a length of 16.20 metres, which has received the “Power Boat of the Year” award, can now be steered by a crew of two.

According to Moench, customers among motorboats are increasingly being recruited from “aging former sailors who want to continue their water sports and switch to motorboats”. These people are now one of the main target groups for motor boat builders. Moench: “Some shipyards have reacted and serve these customers, who have a certain demand and know what a boat should look like”.

At the “boot”, which has now begun in Düsseldorf and will last a week, less radical coasters will also be presented. An eleven-member jury from the editors-in-chief of Europe’s leading sailing and motorboat magazines has awarded prizes to five motor and five sailing yachts each. These watersport boats is efficient in sailing and travelling which you can have with your family and friends.

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