History of CBTF™ Development

DynaYacht's patented Canting Ballast Twin Foil™ System (CBTF™) has evolved through 5 generations of design since 1991. Individual components, such as the battery, hydraulic and control systems have been continuously refined.

The first CBTF prototype was a Soling modified with twin foils by Tom Blackaller. The original Soling keel weighed about 1250 lbs., with a ballast weighing in at about 900 lbs. with a much lower center of gravity than a standard ballast. The ballast was controlled by a truck winch with a cable attached to the top of the strut. Says Bill, “I remember the first time we canted the ballast, slowly increasing the cant angle and reducing the heel angle, until we were sailing upwind without heel straining hard against the hull speed limit. The results were exciting and proved the potential of the design.”

Further successful testing of the CBTF system on a Catalina 30 with a hydraulic actuation system led to the development of the DynaFlyer 38, Green Hornet. We discovered that by moving the ballast up to 55'on either side, we could reduce heel up to 40', regaining some of the horsepower lost to heel. Green Hornet was the first CBTF boat to become well known on the race course, being campaigned up and down the West Coast by Peter Isler.

Following the accomplishments of Green Hornet, the Red Hornet was launched in 1997. The 40 foot boat was raced from San Francisco to Key West, turning heads everywhere it went with its combination of blazing speed and simplicity.

These designs paved the way for more current models, which can be found under CBTF Boats.

Return to the main company page.
Read some short biographies of our team.

Company

Thinking Outside the Boat

→ How we revolutionized sailing.

The CBTF Team

→ Read a little background on our founders and some of the current professionals behind our company.

History of CBTF Development

→ How this new technology became the next generation of sailing.