ItBoat recently published a concept by French designer Mathis Ruhl, who drew a trimaran with bifurcating pivoting masts, most resembling the number zero in shape. The Aero Sail is another revolutionary sailing concept, only here it uses A-frames. Its main advantage over the previous one is that it is much closer to reality: the A-frame mast has already been tested in action on a 5.4-meter prototype and now a 19.2-meter boat is being built with a similar type of sailing equipment.
«Our goal was to create a sail plan for medium to large boats that combines a certain aesthetics with ease of handling and construction», explains Erik Šifrer, creative director at Mides Design.
Aero Sail is adaptable for yachts from 5m to 120m. The carbon frame distributes the forces acting on the hull more efficiently while the system of furling the sails into the boom eliminates the need for battens, genoa battens, pulleys, winches and other deck equipment.
This saves up to 40% in weight and saves usable deck space, opening up the possibility of creating helipads on superyachts from 56m.
Superyacht interiors will also benefit as there will be no need to integrate the central mast into the overall layout drawing. Time will tell if the Aero Sail concept will find its application in the superyacht industry.