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Xucia is Mini 6.50 #1081, a radical Sam Manuad foiling mini and hydrofoiling iteration of the popular single-handed class. In Yachting World, Rupert Holmes looks at the accelerating pace of change in the Mini 6.50s:
The past few years have seen an explosion of activity in the Mini 6.50 class, with qualifying races for the iconic Mini Transat race oversubscribed by up to 100% and two-year waiting lists for new Series-built boats.
Yet, the front of the fleet is no longer an economic place to go racing. Typical fully equipped prices for new Series (production) builds are around €150,000 ($186k USD), while the bill for new one-off Protos (custom) is well over double that figure, reflecting the costs of full carbon one-off boats that incorporate build knowledge gained from America’s Cup campaigns, plus in some cases the enormous cost of foils.
Historically the class has been a hotbed of innovation. It’s here that twin rudder designs and canting keels were first refined and proven to be reliable, even if some of the latter initially had problems when scaled up to much larger yachts. However, for the past few years almost all new development has been in the lower-powered Series fleet, where scow bows have been the norm for several years…
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