To my shallow knowledge, a hydrofoil sailboat is just a large sail on a light boat with skis. This made me wonder how soon civilizations could have created a hydrofoil sailboat, if they were familiar with the concept. Was it only possible to produce them with modern materials which existed in the 1950s? Has anyone made one out of more common materials like wood?

Example:

This fellow did a good job making one with mostly wood, some stainless steel, and a bit of Styrofoam and fibreglass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWdJUPChj6M&ab_channel=LukasReitemeier

Some ancient forms of stainless steel existed incidentally, just from iron being mixed with some chromium deposits or the like, so technically you could get that fairly early on. If bronze was strong enough, that could also suffice.

The Styrofoam and fibreglass seemed to just be for extra safety and function, those could likely be imitated well enough with some forms of ancient materials. He also had a computer system he added on for stability, but it looked like he could've managed just steering it with his own body, if he had to.

Then it would just be a question on the boat and the sail--and for those I guess bamboo and silk are the best options? Readily available ancient materials both very strong and very light.

Conclusion

Putting it all together, you might be able to produce a hydrofoil sailboat back in the Bronze Age or Iron Age? It may only be able to be a 1-2 man craft, of course.

What do you think?

Thanks, and Merry Christmas!

was surfing last night and some dick kept zipping in and snaking waves before they even hit the lineup. Guy was passing within three feet of people- am I in the wrong for being filled with murderous rage here?