Dual-purpose, full-foiling yacht concept incorporates carbon fiber composites

On Oct. 28, Persico Marine (Nembro, Bergamo, Italy), comprised of a team of experienced builders and engineers of carbon fiber racing yachts, inshore/offshore yacht designer Carkeek Design Partners (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) and Pininfarina Nautical (Turin, Italy) revealed the concept of its Persico F70 “hyperboat” project.

The Persico F70 is an ultra-fast, lightweight, foil-assisted carbon fiber composite day sailor and racer designed to deliver unprecedented performance with style and comfort. Said to incorporate the latest research and development (R&D) and state-of-the-art technology, the F70 Series is Carkeek’s response for a dual-purpose full-foiling yacht, with the goal to offer owner drives a seamless transition between day sailing and regatta racing modes.

“Seventy feet has been deliberately chosen as the starting mid-range size most able to provide an optimal all-round solution,” Carkeek explained in a earlier announcement concerning the project. “It takes into account low crew requirements, dual usage, racing and lifestyle requirements, while also keeping an eye on cost and the bigger picture.”

Pininfarina Nautical has collaborated with Carkeek Design Partners on the exterior and interior design and all composite components will be built in-house at the Persico Marine yard, incorporating the use of the company’s recently developed robotic technology.

“The F70 will be a boat without precedent,” Shawn Carkeek, lead designer of Carkeek Design Partners, stresses. “The foils, derived from those on the IMOCA60 [monohull sailing yacht], will be aided by elevators on the rudder blade, just like those on the AC75s [racing yachts]. This way the boat can reach full flight mode with only 10 knots of wind, without resting on the downwind side of the hull. What’s more, the foils will be completely retractable to allow the F70 to dock easily, and the project will avail itself of the same CFD and VPP software used on both the IMOCAs and the AC75s.

To make this a reality, an aerodynamics study was previously performed to ensure exceptional performance, taking hydrodynamic expertise from Carkeek, and Pininfarina Nautical’s know-how developed over the last 50 years on its wind tunnel.