Many different groups of people have tried promoting and advancing technology
in human-powered vehicles. Our group was keen on contributing to this venture
while learning more about hydrodynamics, composite materials, and drive trains.
This led us to the challenge of designing and building a human powered hydrofoil
(HPH). A hydrofoil is a displacement hull with a submerged wing (or foil). Once
the hydrofoil reaches a certain speed, a lifting force is generated on the wing
which acts to raise the hull(s) out of the water. This results in lower drag and
thus, higher speeds than those attainable with planning or displacement crafts.
The application of this principal in a human powered vehicle will allow the hull(s)
to be raised out of the water at a certain velocity, while greatly decreasing the
drag and allowing much higher speeds to be reached under human power alone.