Figaro 3: Beneteau Debuts Foiling One-Design Monohull

With the debut of the Figaro 3 (FB3), Beneteau is on track to shake-up the world of sailing, having designed the first ever series-built production foiling monohull. Thanks to a collaboration between the French boat builder’s skilled specialists and naval architects Van Peteghem Lauriot-Prévost (VPLP), the team has come up with something innovative and unique.

Boasting a better performing ballast-free hull, a more slender and deeper keel, a setback mast and more extensive, larger sail plan, the FB3 offers a sleek, modern look and reliable structure. The foils will be inward-facing and versatile, creating drift reduction while improving the boat’s righting moment without increasing her movement. 

Her keel is deep, featuring a straight blade, which produces minimum drag. Made of foam-sandwich fiberglass and polyester-infused resin, her hull certainly reflects what the sailing community has come to expect from the present-day build market. In terms of mast and sail layout, she’ll offer solo sailors a square-top mainsail, a genoa and a jib, but also a small gennaker and masthead spinnaker (105 m² (=125 yd²) for acquiring more speed in a light breeze.

To see her in action, check out the clip above and watch how the FB3 tares through the water with purpose.