Updated on June 15th, 2025
The idea of using kites for supplemental or even primary propulsion on recreational and commercial boats is not new and has been around since before kites were used as sporting equipment. Various modifications of parachutes and flying sails have attacked the minds of marine engineers and simply restless adventurers for centuries. The modern sport kite proved to be the most efficient. But will it be widely used on yachts?
Manufacturers seeking to tap into the green yacht market periodically reinvent flying sails and try to adapt them to their boats. There is no doubt that there will be interested buyers for these boats. After all, a kite is just an addition to a regular motor, possibly solar, catamaran, so there is no need to make any major changes to the boat’s design.
However, the prospect of mass distribution of such alternative traction on private yachts is highly doubtful. While kites have some significant advantages over traditional sails, including lift generation and the ability to catch more stable laminar winds, there are too many nuances that make kiteboats still seen by sailors as a cool toy rather than a viable option.
The fact is that the kite works well only on full courses, with a fair wind. And despite its seeming simplicity, a flying sail requires rather sophisticated electronically controlled equipment. This equipment, of course, also needs maintenance. And when yacht owners hear the word “maintenance”, they instantly have a desire to get drunk.
Motor yachtsmen who bought their boats in an effort to get rid of all the problems associated with sails are unlikely to want to add another problem on board. Even if it is fuel economy.
But perhaps the biggest obstacle is that the kite just doesn’t look organic with the boat. Especially when we talk about catamarans, which, to put it mildly, are not exactly known for their beauty and elegance.
Sailboats are bought by those who really want to enjoy the wind and the romance of adventure. Motor yachts, on the contrary, are bought by sea lovers who do not need to fuss with ropes and other sailing paraphernalia. And fussing with a kite, obviously, is also one of them.
Progress in battery technology does not stand still, and the efficiency of solar panels also increases every year. Now hydrogen has joined in as a likely source of inexhaustible clean energy. Even today, electric boats can cruise almost non-stop, especially in sunny regions, but in the near future, few people will think of launching a kite into the sky, except for fun.
However, there is a very important role a kite can play: as a back-up equipment. At sea, there is no such thing as excessive reliability. Any power plant, drive, or propellers themselves can fail. With a kite, you have every chance to get to the shore, even if it is hundreds of nautical miles away. From this point of view, it would be useful to equip all vessels crossing the ocean with such systems.
As always, this is just the opinion of the editors of Motorboat Planet magazine, which in the future may have nothing to do with reality.