The Pogo Foiler is a production prototype, designed to create an off-the-shelf Mini 6.50 that can compete in the experimental prototype class. Fran\u00e7ois Tregouet reportsSince the Pogo 1 was launched in 1997, the Pogo Structures yard in Brittany has won ten out of the last 12 Mini Transat 6.50 races (the single-handed transatlantic race in 21-footers) in the Production class. Even more impressively, the Pogo 3 has not only won the Production fleet but also finished hot on the heels of the Prototype class many times.
\nThis gave the French shipyard the idea of offering a \u2018production prototype\u2019, or a best of both worlds design. While it might sound paradoxical, the idea is to offer an alternative for sailors who want to go beyond the level of the production boats, without venturing into developing a complex prototype design from scratch \u2013 with a corresponding budget that\u2019s almost impossible to control.
\nThe initial objective was to make it simple and efficient. For simplicity, the Pogo Foiler does not have water ballast, so no pumps, piping and bulky tanks. For performance, the hull, drawn by the much-courted Guillaume Verdier, adopts the scow shape currently in vogue everywhere from the Class 40 to the IMOCA 60s. But the Pogo hull has an optimised wetted surface that is claimed to erase the \u2018hole\u2019 suffered in light air performance by some other designs.
\nThe scow bow, designed by Guillaume Verdier, has a chine well above the waterline, reducing the wetted surface in light airs
\nIn addition to the power aspect, the extra-wide bow also significantly reduces the volume of water getting on deck, and makes it safer to move around on the foredeck: two appreciable benefits when you\u2019re mid-Atlantic, single-handed, aboard a boat only 6.50m (21ft 4in) long.
\nFlying mini
\nThe big decision made by the design team was to make their Mini fly, which means it has specific appendages. Even though the keel is not the most complex possible, it is still both tilting and telescopic. The Mini class operates a box rule, limiting the maximum draught to 2m (6ft 7in). Prototype class Minis have for several years used rams to adjust the keel\u2019s position when tilted. This lowers its ballast compared to a conventional pendulum keel, thus improving the boat\u2019s righting moment.
\nAt higher speeds, when canted to its maximum, the lifting effect of the keel is working in opposition to its ballast effect: optimum performance is, therefore, not necessarily achieved with the keel fully tilted, but slightly \u2018under-keeled\u2019. This is a subtlety that\u2019s also been observed on the Volvo 65s and IMOCAs, and is a good illustration of the very high level of performance achieved by this little racing machine.
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But what\u2019s really unique about the Pogo Foiler is undoubtedly its foils. Whereas most IMOCA boats have been developing \u2018Dali\u2019 foils, here the architect and engineers have chosen T-shaped foils similar to those of the AC75 flying monohulls of the next America\u2019s Cup.
\nThe Mini rules mean that they have to fit within the maximum 3m width when retracted: so their shape, and location just forward of the point of maximum beam, are designed to make them easy to stow. The shape means they\u2019re also more compact and better suited to the small size of the boat, providing greater surface area upwind and extending less when downwind.
\nWhere the original intention of simplicity may have got somewhat lost is in the fact that these foils are adjustable in all three dimensions. They can obviously be moved in and out to conform to the widths imposed by the class rule (from 3m when retracted, to 5.4m max beam when both out) and limit the drag of the windward foil; but can also rake \u2013 or tilt back and forth \u2013 as well as cant up and down.
\nOnce extended the foil can be adjusted both up and down, and fore and aft, to adapt to the speed and sea state
\nThese adjustments are positioned so they can be controlled by a solo skipper without needing to leave the windward helm station. According to Erwan Tymen, head of development at Pogo Structures, the numerous controls require a very high level of precision. As with wind angle, 5\u00b0 of foil angle difference can equal 5 knots difference in boatspeed, and this has led to a great deal of development work on the sails.
\nThe sails, which have been designed by All Purpose, have to tolerate large differences in speed and therefore in apparent wind angle, such as spinnakers that can deal with being permanently overpowered.
\nThe management of the positioning of the foils is so complex that we weren\u2019t allowed to photograph the mechanism: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be giving any clues to possible future competitors as to the solutions that have been found,\u201d confides Christian Bouroullec, founder and managing director of Pogo Structures.
\n\u2018Boomerang\u2019 spreaders to maximise the surface area of the genoa, as seen on the America\u2019s Cup monohulls
\nHis son, Tanguy, is the test pilot for this prototype. Although the Foiler\u2019s development is focussed on getting ready for the 2021 Mini Transat, he took the opportunity of a first real-life test by sailing the development boat in the 2019 Transat, achieving a promising 4th place despite early serious damage to his bowsprit pivot. For the first race Tanguy did not even have the rake setting for the rudders; essential for adjusting the boat\u2019s trim and level for foiling.
\nThe Holy Grail here, as with the IMOCAs, is not to fly high, which leads to big climbs and falls as brutal as they are costly in energy, but regularly, just above the surface of the water. If in big seas the foils act as shock absorbers, the rudders allow for trimming the boat either up or down, similar to an aft ballast tank but without the weight. Both rudders are also lifting, which adds two more lines to the 50 or so (not counting the headsail sheets) already in the cockpit.
\nThe goal is clearly victory in the 2021 Mini Transat, but the project is already a success for the builder. A bit like Formula 1 or rallies for car manufacturers, the Pogo Foiler is a formidable technological showcase for their know-how, a development platform for new resins which have been tested on this prototype and will be used on other models by the brand, and a motivation tool for the teams who have been involved with this innovative and ambitious project.
\nWith 114m\u00b2 sail area under gennaker, and a weight of 730kg, the Pogo Foiler has the same power as the Pogo 30, which displaces 2,800kg
\nWith the log showing 16 knots at 130\u00b0 off a true wind of 18 knots, the foil whistles, sending spray in the helmsman\u2019s face, but that doesn\u2019t dampen the excitement of sensations that are closest to those of a racing catamaran. The performance and reliability, if not the simplicity, originally sought by the yard are clearly in evidence.
\nThe economic objective has also been achieved \u2013 for the price of about two Pogo 3s you could aim for the top of the prototype category. Put that way, the Pogo Foiler is undeniably the cheapest prototype Mini 6.50 on the market.
\nSpecification
\nLength overall: 6.50m (21ft 4in)Beam (foils retracted): 3.00m (9ft 10in)Draught: 2.00m (6ft 7in)Displacement (light): 730kg (1,609lb)Mast height: 12m (39ft 4in)Mainsail: 28m\u00b2 (301ft\u00b2)Jib: 21m\u00b2 (226ft\u00b2)Spinnaker: 76m\u00b2 (818ft\u00b2)Gennaker: 41m\u00b2 (441ft\u00b2)Naval architect: Guillaume VerdierDesign & build: Pogo Structures
\nAbout the author
\nFran\u00e7ois Tregouet is a sailor and journalist from Brittany who has competed in the Mini Transat and cruised all over the world.
\nFirst published in the September 2020 issue of Yachting World.
\nThe post Pogo Foiler: This little racing machine will take the Mini Transat to another level appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pogo Foiler is a production prototype, designed to create an off-the-shelf Mini 6.50 that can compete in the experimental prototype class. Fran\u00e7ois Tregouet reportsSince the Pogo 1 was launched in 1997, the Pogo Structures yard in Brittany has won … <\/p>\n