Anyone seen one of these CBTF boats? The full article is available at:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outd...s/1276881.html.

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"Speeds of 20 knots on a sport sailboat? Impossible. A 40-ft. sailboat
that beats 70-ft. racing yachts? Not likely. A yacht that can sail
without heeling over, yet go faster than anything its own size? Hard to
believe. Well, check out the DynaFlyer 40 Red Hornetand start believing.
What sort of magic is this? Just remember four letters: CBTF. They stand
for "canting ballast, twin foil." It's a concept that is revolutionizing
the yachting world, especially for the mainstream sailor. The DynaFlyer
design is the brainchild of two yacht designers with extensive America's
Cup backgrounds, Matt Brown and Bill Burns. What the pair have done with
their CBTF concept is to separate two sailing needs–lateral resistance
and stability–and solve them independently.

The canting ballast is the answer. Their DynaFlyer 40 has no
conventional keel. Instead, an 1800-pound lead torpedo is suspended on a
6-ft. strut made from a high-strength stainless steel billet. Using a
cleverly designed hydraulic system inside the boat, the entire strut and
torpedo can be angled as much as 55 degrees to each side. Operated by
buttons in the cockpit, the canting ballast moves quickly: just 12
seconds from lock to lock.

With the ballast in the straight down position and a 10-knot breeze, the
DynaFlyer heels about 30 degrees. Push the control button for a moment,
and the boat straightens up to just 10 degrees of heel while the speed
quickly increases from 5.5 knots to 7 knots.

Technical sophistication is one thing, but on-the-water performance is
another, and the DynaFlyer 40 has it in spades. In a 15-knot breeze, the
Red Hornet can reach 12 to 13 knots while reaching with spinnaker, which
would be satisfactory speeds for a catamaran. While racing, the Red
Hornet has often sailed faster.

The one absolute fact is that a sailboat sailed upright is both faster
and more comfortable. As the CBTF philosophy of "sail flat, sail fast"
spreads throughout the sailing universe, it's likely that the image of
the sharply heeled sailboat will one day be just a romantic memory."

Jim