What are the limits in terms of wave handling? How well does it stack up to a large rib in rough seas?
Check out our videos from the Caribbean and a comparison with an 8 meter aluminum boat in a choppy archipelago condition.
Can we foil in every single wave height there is? Abosolutely not, but our boats outperform regular boats in comfort in weathers where you'd normally bring out your 8 meter daycruiser/open boat.
It's also worth remembering that in rough seas, you can go down from the foils with no issue. You just cut the efficiency down to regular boat levels...
Even if not foiling, can you still take the boat out with, say, beaufort 8-9 weather? That's more similar to what I was expecting in the "high waves" videos, and is not unusual to encounter when commuting or spending the day elsewhere, depending on your area (obviously, it starts being unpleasant if you want to spend the day at sea on a speedboat).
Edit: now realizing it, but your target market is probably only going to go out with calm weather in protected seas, given the price point and finish. I hope that sort of product will get mainstream at some point.
My boating skills aren't that fresh anymore, despite living on one during my childhood, and spending a good chunk of my youth close to the sea. I might thus misremember or exaggerate things, but I am fairly confident of the above.
Below that it seems to me like it behaves more or less like a regular boat. Regardless, I'd probably avoid speeds above 10 knots if I found myself in relatively high seas, and I'd just avoid going out in that kind of boat altogether if I had the option. If you do find yourself in that kind of sea though my experience is that most swells tend to come from one direction so you can find a good bearing surf the waves, zig-zagging if need be. Adjusting speed as need be is crucial in rough seas for sure.
It does have a reasonable draft without the foils extended it seems, 1 meter, and at 2.4 meters wide it seems like it could be pretty stable actually. It'll be interesting to see once my buddy gets his delivered.
The reality is that it's the sea state that matters. A sheltered lake or estuary could only have 30cm waves with 40 knots of wind, whereas the open sea would have a 1.5m+ swell with 1m waves on top.