Surfers Want To Transform Your Commute With Hydrofoils

 

Manta5, client of Mark White, is leading the charge along side a few other innovative companies to pave the way in water transportation. Check out this initiative, covered by The Wall Street Journal.

The last time surfer Kai Lenny visited the Statue of Liberty, he skipped the ferry and hovered across the Hudson River and around the landmark on a hydrofoil board.

“It’s the fastest way to commute in New York,” says the Maui-born and based waterman. And if he has his way, hydrofoil-assisted surfing will become a popular way of commuting on the water.

The world’s smallest personal watercraft, the hydrofoil, or foil, board is made up of a surfboard and a mast that extends below the water, which is attached to a hydrofoil, essentially a fin with an airplane-like wing. As the wing deflects water pressure downward, the hydrofoil lifts the board 1 to 2 feet above the surface, moving it with the momentum of the waves, even small ones, and allowing the rider to glide without drag. Riders stand upright, steering as they would on a normal surfboard, by shifting pressure between the feet and pumping their legs to augment the momentum from the water. Some models, known as efoils, have battery-powered electric motors that keep riders in motion.

Mr. Lenny wants to bring the foil board to the masses. Alongside companies like Puerto Rico-based Lift, Australia’s Fliteboard and New Zealand’s Manta5, he is seeking to use century-old hydrofoil technology for personal, water-based mobility devices that travel vast distances and don’t require surf experience or athletic expertise to use. Electric motors, better batteries, Bluetooth capabilities and beginner-friendly designs, proponents say, are primed to turn the foil board into a mainstream form of water transportation—as ubiquitous as shared electric scooters are on land.

In an era of traffic-congested roadways and rising gas prices, quiet, zero-emissions water travel has the potential to transform the urban commute, says Juan Matute, deputy director of the UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies.

“Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways,” he says. “To have a board that can essentially work in any water conditions is a real innovation. But a lot of that innovation relies on building a network and regulations that allow the technology to be used by the masses.”

The hurdles are daunting. Mass transit via foil board would need to meet water-safety requirements, including lanes that avoid boat traffic, as well as personal flotation devices and possibly helmets for riders, in case they fall in the water—the foils are sharp. Companies or authorities would also need to install infrastructure for efoils such as a network of solar charging stations and docking stations. Efoils cost upward of $14,000 or more and weigh around 60 pounds, making them luxury toys, for now. And even with an e-assist, riders need a basic fitness level to avoid tiring on longer rides or ending up wet.

The Lenny brothers’s big plans

Mr. Lenny, 29, makes it look effortless. An ocean athlete who has surfed since age 4 and ridden waves the size of Manhattan skyscrapers, he has the balance and strength necessary to be his own engine. He is able to keep the foil board moving for distances of up to 50 miles, and has crossed nearly every channel in the Hawaiian Islands.

He started the Hydrofoil Company in 2017 with his brother, Ridge Lenny, 24, and engineer Carlos Marino to research and develop foil technology. The first year, they engineered a wing design for a standup paddleboard that allowed Kai Lenny to cross the 26-mile channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu in 2 hours and 52 minutes, more than an hour faster than the previous record. Their foils are relatively narrow with long wingspans, similar to the wings of a glider aircraft, allowing for more forward momentum, Ridge Lenny says. Kai Lenny says he has reached speeds of 40 mph in open ocean swells on a foil surfboard, and can get moving in waves as tiny as 6 inches high.

The Lenny brothers’ short-term goal is to develop foil technology for recreation and performance—designs sturdy enough to ride 100-foot waves—on surfboards, kiteboards and stand-up paddleboards, as well as inflated, hand-held wing assistance. Their first line of foils is set to be released in 2022. Someday, commuters could use efoil boards to travel waterways in cities like New York and Stockholm, just like they use municipal bike-sharing programs today, says Ridge Lenny.

“We believe the breakthroughs we’ve made in speed, stability and efficiency have the potential to dramatically increase the viability of use for personal transport going forward,” he says. “Our dream is to get the technology to the point where foils become a prevalent way of traveling across the Hawaiian Islands.”

The next wave of foil transit

Hydrofoils have been used on boats since the late 19th century, when early iterations helped increase boat speed while saving fuel. More recently, America’s Cup yacht-racing teams have added foils to their 72-foot catamarans, revolutionizing sport sailing. Ocean athletes have experimented with hydrofoils since the 1960s, adding them to everything from kneeboards to chairs. The 2003 film, “Step into Liquid,” featured big-wave riding legend Laird Hamilton being towed into giant waves wearing snowboard boots attached to a hydrofoil board and surfing the waves. With boards as light as 5 pounds and as small as 4 feet long, foil boards are now as common as surfboards in watersports meccas like Maui, Southern California, Australia and Hood River, Ore.

Nick Leason, a surfer and trained engineer, is credited with inventing the first efoil, which became available in 2018. The co-founder of Lift, he began developing the efoil in 2013, tapping into advances in batteries, brushless motors and Bluetooth and wireless communications.

“The number of smartphones, drones and electric vehicles released in the market has driven demand for the development and mass production of these components,” he says. “It has enabled companies like Lift to take advantage of technology that would otherwise not be available at scale.”

““Affordable, reliable, quick personal watercraft options that can embrace a shared-fleet business model would be a game-changer for people who live near waterways.””
— — Juan Matute, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies

The company’s newest model, the Lift3 efoil, released this year, uses the same powerful lithium-ion battery as drones and electric vehicles. It can sustain a 2-hour ride on a 2-hour charge, reaching speeds of 30 mph. Emission-free, wake-free and almost silent, it’s like the Tesla of personal watercraft, says Mr. Leason. Four board designs and 14 wing shapes make it possible for riders to customize the device. Riders control their speed by a waterproof, Bluetooth controller.

Rudi Miklosvary, general manager of Fliteboard USA, expects that advances in battery, wireless and foil technologies will make efoils more accessible. This summer, riders used Fliteboard efoils to cross a 23-mile section of the English Channel. A rider in a suit and backpack, meant to simulate a commute, remained dry while circumnavigating a 55-mile route around the Isle of Wight, off the coast of England.

Lighter, longer lasting batteries and enhanced foil designs could make long-distance efoil travel a reality, says Mr. Miklosvary. In five to 10 years, he envisions efoils with fully automated stability, seating for multiple riders and watertight compartments for storage.

“The electrification of everything is resulting in significant investment in battery technologies and the rise in nonpowered foil surfing is leading to innovations in foil design and construction techniques,” he says.

Manta5 is using hydrofoils on electric bikes that riders use on the surface of the waves. A seat and handlebars provide more stability, allowing riders to save energy and travel farther. Their model reaches speeds of 12 mph and gets up to 4 hours of ride time with pedal assist on a single battery charge, double the charge of efoils. The company tested the bike’s sturdiness at sea this summer by having a rider cycle across Cook Strait, the 16-mile stretch of rough water between New Zealand’s North and South Island. He completed the crossing in 2 hours and 28 minutes; ferries currently take more than 3 hours.

The current model, which costs $9,000 in the U.S., is designed as a watersports device. It semi-submerges when not in motion, meaning riders get wet mounting and dismounting. The company is developing prototypes that float and even detach from the foils, allowing users to continue cycling on dry land.

The motor broadens the market for who can use Manta5’s bike, including older people. Mark Robotham, the company’s chief executive, says that he expects that in a year or two, we’ll see manual foil bikes, floating hop-and-go electric-assisted foil bikes and performance models used for catching waves.

“Water covers 71% of the planet,” he says. “Foil technology is going gangbusters right now. As technology improves, costs will go down, and it will give the masses the freedom to get off congested roads and use waterways for travel.”

 
Samantha Gee