"Yes - it's true, we'll be flying soon," Hans Spitzauer replies to an enquiry from YACHT online. However, the owner and founder of Championships Yachting in Austria is really stressed because the first Lago 26 with DSS foils from Hugh Welbourn will be exhibited at the Austrian Boatshow in Tulln at the beginning of March.
Hans Spitzauer and Championships Yachting presented the Lago 26 in spring 2013 (test in YACHT issue 20/2013). The exciting centreboard boat with modest touring capabilities, designed by Juliane Hempel, sees itself as a modern interpretation and alternative to the 20-metre dinghy cruiser. With success: Spitzauer has already built and sold 20 Lago 20 boats.
Now comes the first exciting updates, first and foremost the Foiling Lago 26, where designer Juliane Hempel and DSS pope Hugh Welbourn from England have changed the concept to the use of DSS foils. At Championships Yachting, the flexible, laterally protruding wings are also known as Q-foils, corresponding to the hull cross-section with wings. The DSS foils are also familiar in this form from the Quant 23 (presented in YACHT 19/2015). In 2015, the Scow from Switzerland caused quite a stir in the booming foiling scene as the "first flying keelboat".
For the foiling version, Championships Yachting will significantly slim down the Lago 26 with more carbon fibre. Ready to sail, the boat should then weigh less than 500 kilograms. The standard heavyweight version with a modest interior will weigh over 200 kilograms more in comparison. In addition, the rig will be positioned slightly further aft, will be around a third higher and will also be equipped with three trapezes. With this and the Code Zero, the Lago 26 should be able to foil completely, i.e. take off completely, even in light winds. The two DSS foils can also be completely raised for sailing in very light winds, for transport on the trailer and for manoeuvring in the harbour.
The second interesting innovation for the Lago 26 is a version with a lifting keel instead of the centreboard as in the standard version. This will also make the Lago 26 capsize-proof. The maximum draught with a lifting keel is 1.75 metres, which can be reduced to 0.40 centimetres when fully raised.
Championships Yachting will present the foiling version of the Lago 26 at the trade fair in Tulln in early March. For the Interboot trade fair in Friedrichshafen (22-30 September 2018), the boat will then be presented in both new versions as a foiler and with a lifting keel.
The basic price for a Lago 26 is currently quoted at 54,900 euros. For the version with a lifting keel, you will have to shell out an additional 3900 euros. There is no price yet for the foiler version, the calculations for this have apparently not yet been finalised.
The Quant 23 is the first keelboat to learn to fly
