The Founders | The Team | Early Development
CBTF Co., formerly known as DynaYacht, came to fruition when Chuck Robinson,
Alberto Calderon, Bill Burns, Matt Brown and Peter Isler joined forces to create
a radical new appendage design that uses a canting ballast for righting moment
and two foils – one forward and one aft of the keel – for side force
and steering functions of the yacht. This design, called Canting Ballast Twin
Foil (CBTF™) technology, sprang from the “geek” design of
Tom Blackaller’s 1988 America’s Cup Campaign, which featured a forward
foil and fixed keel. CBTF Co., based in San Diego, CA, developed technology
to swing the keel and control the foils and now commercializes this innovative
patented technology.
Over the past few years, moveable ballast has become more and more mainstream as designers seek methods to improve the speed, safety and simplicity of sailing yachts. The adoption of canting-keel systems by most of the “around-the-world” monohull yachtsmen and yachtswomen is a testament to the benefit and safety of the concept. Today you’ll see canting-keel and CBTF™ designs on a broad range of boats. The production boat, Schock 40, won Sailing World’s “Boat of the Year” in 2001. And many custom boats now use canting keels and the CBTF™ system, including luxurious cruising yachts by Wally and high-performance racing yachts by Reichel-Pugh.
Movable ballast significantly improves boat performance as evidenced by its growing popularity on racing and cruising boats around the world; however, Canting Ballast Twin Foil™ by CBTF Co. is the only movable ballast system that provides safe, reliable and non-intrusive performance for everyday sailing. The successful development of the CBTF™ concept is a milestone in the evolution of sailboat design.
