Last updated: August 2026

Foiling: Why It Might Save Sailing

What is foiling?

Foiling is when a boat lifts its hull clear of the water on underwater wings called hydrofoils, cutting drag and unlocking speeds well beyond a normal displacement hull. Once reserved for the America's Cup and SailGP, the technology has moved into affordable dinghies a beginner can learn in a single session, and BirdyFish is built specifically for that shift.

Is foiling hard to learn?

Not on modern boats. Early foiling designs demanded elite balance and reflexes. BirdyFish uses self-regulating J-foils that generate righting moment as well as lift, so the boat stays stable at rest with progressive takeoff instead of tipping the moment it slows down. Sailors with no foiling background regularly report their first flight within their first session.

Built for everyone: the BirdyFish range

BirdyFish isn't one boat, it's a range built so a sailor's first flight and their hundredth are on the same brand, whatever stage they're at.

• Ioda is the entry point. A single-handed foiler with a 32kg hull (55kg fully rigged), it lifts at 8 knots and can reach speeds of up to 24 knots while staying composed underfoot. Rig it and be on the water in minutes.
• BirdyFish S is built for solo sailors who want more, or for two people sailing together. A 83kg hull (110kg fully rigged), with wheels integrated directly into the hull for one of the simplest launch systems in the range. It takes off from 7-10 knots and is foiling by 11, and it was named Sailing World's Best Foiler for 2025.
• BirdyFish Double Race is the flagship: a two or three-person foiler with a 105-110kg hull (145kg fully rigged) and a top speed of 27 knots, built for sailors who want to bring a partner, a kid, or a crewmate along and still race at a serious level.

The point of building it this way is simple. A family, a sailing school, or a club can put a beginner on an Ioda, a solo sailor on the S, and a couple or a crew on the Double Race, all foiling the same afternoon, all flying the same brand.

Hand-built, not mass-produced

Every BirdyFish is hand-built in Nantes, France, where the company controls its entire production chain in-house rather than outsourcing to a third party. That means a small, dedicated team building each hull, rigging, and foil set with consistent quality control and short supply chains, not a factory line turning out boats at volume. It's a deliberate trade-off: slower to scale, but it means the boat that leaves the workshop is the boat that was designed, foil geometry and all, not a value-engineered version of it.

Why foiling could grow sailing participation

Traditional dinghy and cruising sailing has a real numbers problem. One 2026 UK industry report by market research firm Arkenford, cited in Yachting Monthly, found roughly 60,000 fewer yacht cruisers and 9,000 fewer yacht owners in the UK than a decade earlier. Ageing fleets and rising costs are pushing existing sailors out faster than new ones are coming in. Foiling addresses that from several directions at once.

1. It removes the biggest barrier to trying sailing at all: intimidation. A sport that used to demand years of dinghy experience before it got genuinely exciting now offers that excitement in the first session. Lowering the skill floor for a thrilling experience is one of the most reliable ways to grow any participation sport, and foiling does exactly that.
2. It brings back the people traditional dinghy sailing has been losing. The fastest-growing segments of participation globally are two-person crews and family groups, not solo elite racers. A boat like the Double Race, built for two or three people, meets that shift directly, turning what used to be a solitary pursuit into something a couple, a parent and child, or a group of friends can do together.
3. It's built for the way people discover sport now. A hull lifting clear of the water in a burst of spray is some of the most shareable content in all of watersports. That's not incidental, it's how a generation that discovers sport through a screen before it discovers a boat ramp actually finds sailing in the first place.
4. It gives clubs and schools a reason to invest. A range that spans a lightweight solo entry boat, a solo-or-double performance boat, and a full crew race boat gives a club a foiling pathway rather than a single expensive purchase, which makes it a far easier case to put in front of a committee.

Put together, these forces mean foiling isn't a niche add-on to sailing. It's a genuine growth lever for a sport that badly needs one.

Can BirdyFish capsize?

Like any dinghy, it can. But every boat in the range uses J-foils that generate righting moment as well as lift, so the boat is designed to stay stable at rest with progressive takeoff rather than tipping over the instant it comes off the foil, which is a meaningful departure from most single-foil monohull foilers.

FAQ

Do I need sailing experience before I try foiling?

No. BirdyFish is built to be learned from scratch, and many first-time sailors report flying within their first session. Prior dinghy or catamaran experience helps but isn't required.

What wind speed do you need to foil?

It depends on the model. The Ioda lifts at 8 knots, the BirdyFish S takes off from 7-10 knots and is foiling by 11, and the Double Race is built to get sailors flying in a similarly moderate breeze rather than needing strong wind.

Can two people sail a foiling dinghy together?

Yes. The BirdyFish S can be sailed solo or with a partner, and the Double Race is purpose-built for two or three people, one of the few foiling dinghies on the market designed that way from the ground up.

What's the difference between the Ioda, the S, and the Double Race?

The Ioda is the lightest and simplest, a single-handed entry point at a 32kg hull weight. The BirdyFish S sits in the middle, sailed solo or two-up, with an integrated launch system built into the hull. The Double Race is the flagship, a two or three-person race boat with a 27 knot top speed. All three share the same J-foil design philosophy, so skills carry across the range.

How heavy are the boats, and how easy are they to transport?

The Ioda's hull weighs 32kg (55kg fully rigged), the BirdyFish S hull weighs 83kg (110kg fully rigged), and the Double Race hull weighs 105-110kg (145kg fully rigged). All three are designed to be manageable for a couple of people to rig and launch without specialist equipment.

Is a hand-built boat better than a mass-produced one?

It's a different trade-off. Hand-building in a single facility in France means tighter quality control on every hull, foil, and rig that leaves the workshop, at the cost of higher production volume than a mass-market factory line. For a performance product where foil geometry has to be precise, that trade-off favours consistency over scale.

Who is BirdyFish suitable for?

Everyone from a first-time sailor stepping onto an Ioda to an experienced racer pushing a Double Race at 27 knots. The range is deliberately built to cover beginners, solo sailors, couples, families, and sailing schools within one brand, so there's a natural next boat rather than a ceiling.

BirdyFish Australia is the exclusive authorised distributor of BirdyFish foiling dinghies for Australia and New Zealand. For current pricing, demo availability, and specifications, contact us directly.