Investor pulls out of Flying Mantis leaving opportunity for another?

The foiling trimaran, Flying Mantis, is seeking investment. Originally marketed at the luxury product market, the project is in danger of crashing to ground. Owner of the company, Simon Chrispin, says his existing investor is no longer able to continue with the project for personal reasons which puts the project – bringing the Mantis to the competitive mainstream dinghy market – in doubt.

“We have created a great little award-winning boat with lots of potential. Now we have a crisis,” he says.

The boat’s won several accolades including “Dinghy of the Year” in the 2018 British Yachting Awards, and been cited as in lists of ten best foiling water toys by other media – including for billionaire superyachts. And therein lies an economic problem. “It was not that the luxury side could not work, it was just that the financial investment required to succeed was too high for the level of risk,” says Chrispin. So the Mantis team has been working on bringing the trimaran’s cost down to £20k for a relaunched version, instead of the original build-to-order strategy.

Boat design came from train rides

Chrispin got the idea for the Mantis on his daily journey. “I used to commute to London on the train, designing a boat in my head. I wanted it to be fast. I really liked going for a blast on a Laser in a strong wind. I wanted a multihull, stability on the water and the righting moment advantage of sitting on an outrigger. Tippy performance skiffs are not for me. I wanted a trimaran. After all trimarans were the fastest boat design out there.

“I wanted to relight the adventures I had sailing Lasers and Hobies on crystal clear waters.

“The ideas flowed. Make it lightweight, all-carbon construction. Why not an easy to transport trimaran that can also foil? The stability of a Tri meaning that beginners can sail the boat like any other dinghy but then gently progress through ‘set and forget’ foiling controls. Ultimately, gaining experience and unleashing the full range of controls for new levels of sailing. Exciting sailing even if the wind is not strong enough to get foiling.”

Collaborations to design Flying Mantis

Chrispin contacted Stefan Knox of Bang Creations who still runs a workshop at the British Library, on taking a new product to market. He worked with Jamie Stewart of Solent Boat Works who adapted an unbuilt design for a 5.5m foiling trimaran to produce a smaller 4.6m boat and notes that Dr Richard Pemberton assisted in the development of foil design and hull dynamics. Pemberton is a specialist in Computational Fluid Dynamics, working as a designer and technical consultant to sailors for The America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe race, the Olympics and the World Speed Sailing Record.

“Anyone who has attempted a new product design will know that the creative process is difficult to fit into a neat project timetable and within a financial plan.

“I spent much more than my budget, but we came up with a working prototype hull on first attempt, which has remained largely unchanged, with the exception of the addition of a ‘snodger’ (a bowsprit to enable the wand to be further forward on the boat, also a good lifting point),” says Chrispin.

Economies of scale in trimaran production

“To compete in the mainstream market bespoke one-by-one production had to change to a method that resulted in economies of scale and using our own contracted labour, rather than relying on third parties. That meant having to part ways with our original boat builder, Solent Boat Works. The labour cost is by far the biggest cost element in the boat build.

“I met Yannick d’Armancourt, the designer of the Epoh, at Boot Düsseldorf who gave me the good advice that it would take as much effort to get the boat to market as it took to develop the boat in the first place. Lesson learned, I found an investor to help with the production method and getting the Flying Mantis to the market.

Interested investors sought for Flying Mantis

“Working with that investor we have had some great ideas for making the production version of the Flying Mantis even more fun to sail, and quite unique in the sailing market. Those ideas have not been unveiled yet.” To find out what they are, contact Chrispin via email.

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Main image courtesy of James Tomlinson.