It set the sailing world in motion last year: as the first foiling keelboat, the Quant 23 (test in YACHT 19/2015) will go down in the history of sailing as a technical revolution. The boat and its innovative concept were honoured with the coveted "European Yacht of the Year" award in January.
Now the Quant 23 is to go into series production. The first unit has left the Paul Jennings shipyard in Cowes, England, and has been delivered to Switzerland. Project founder Michael Aeppli also names a price for the first time: the ship will cost 77,760 euros, including 19 per cent VAT. A complete set of sails (main, jib, gennaker) will cost an additional 7500 euros.
And Quant Boats has realised numerous modifications and improvements for the series and in comparison to the orange-red test carrier. In addition to many changes, DSS specialist Hugh Welbourn has heavily modified the foils. They are now rounder and the profile has been slightly revised. This should enable the Quant 23 to come out of the water even earlier and be sailed with even more control during the flight phase. And the hull penetrations have been further optimised - the foils can now be raised and furled more easily and quickly.
Anyone who wants to try out the Quant 23 will have the opportunity to do so at the next Stickl Foiling Camp in Malcesine on Lake Garda. The first series boat will be available there from 8 to 14 May for test drives or perhaps better "sightseeing flights". More information can be found at www.stickl.com.
An overview of the most important new features of Quant 23 as a picture gallery:
And the pictures from the YACHT test:
The Quant 23 is the first keelboat to learn to fly
Downloads:
Michael Good
Editor Test & Technology
