Over the last decade, Dinghy Foiling has transformed from a curiosity into one of the most exciting and fastest growing areas of sailing anywhere in the world. What once seemed experimental is now firmly part of the modern sailing pathway, with foiling boats appearing everywhere from local yacht clubs to SailGP, the America’s Cup, and the Olympic Games.
Along the way, thousands of sailors took a leap of faith and became early adopters. They purchased the first generation of modern foiling dinghies, traveled to small regattas before major fleets existed, introduced their local clubs to foiling, and helped create the foundation for the thriving international communities that now exist around boats like the WASZP.
Those early sailors helped change the direction of the sport.
Today, many of those original boats remain scattered across North America. Some are still actively racing, while others have become occasional weekend boats or simply sit waiting for the right opportunity to return to the water. Increasingly, USFoil believes those boats may represent one of the greatest untapped assets in sailing development.
At its core, USFoil was founded around a belief that the future of sailing depends on rebuilding strong local communities around accessible, exciting, modern racing. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, USFoil exists to support yacht clubs and sailing centers through coaching development, affordable equipment access, and the creation of sustainable Dinghy Foiling programs that keep sailors engaged long after traditional junior sailing.
The organization’s focus is not simply elite performance. It is participation.
Across North America, clubs are searching for ways to keep young sailors involved after they age out of the Optimist class. Many sailing directors face the same challenge every year: talented, enthusiastic young sailors suddenly lose connection with the sport because there is no exciting, affordable, locally supported next step. At the same time, adult sailors increasingly want modern boats that are athletic, social, and capable of building vibrant local fleets.
The WASZP has proven uniquely positioned to solve both problems.
Over the last several years, the boat has quietly become one of the most successful one design foiling classes in the world. Sailors are drawn not only to the speed and excitement of foiling, but also to the accessibility of the platform itself. The WASZP’s multiple rig sizes allow sailors to grow within the same boat from youth development into adult racing, while the class structure emphasizes large fleet racing, inclusivity, and community.
Increasingly, clubs are beginning to realize that the WASZP is more than just a high performance racing boat. It can also become the foundation of an entire local sailing ecosystem.
That realization has fueled the rapid growth of the USFoil HUB Program, which works with yacht clubs and sailing centers to create sustainable local foiling fleets through coaching support, programming assistance, shared resources, and affordable access to equipment. HUBs are designed to lower barriers to entry while creating regular local activity that keeps sailors connected to the sport year round.
What has become increasingly clear, however, is that the next phase of growth will require creative solutions around equipment access.
That is where the idea of donated boats began to emerge.
Across North America, there are now significant numbers of early generation WASZPs that still have enormous value as training and community fleet boats. While some owners may have upgraded to newer equipment or shifted into different sailing programs, many of these boats remain perfectly capable of introducing new sailors to Dinghy Foiling with only modest refurbishment or modernization.
For a young sailor stepping into a foiling boat for the first time, the experience is no less inspiring because a boat is several years old.
The excitement is immediate. The learning curve is addictive. The sense of progression is unlike almost anything else in sailing.
USFoil now believes there is an extraordinary opportunity to create a national donated boat initiative that reconnects these boats with new sailors and new communities. Under the concept currently being explored, older WASZPs could be donated to USFoil, refurbished with the support of philanthropic funding, and strategically deployed into HUB programs across North America.
A boat that once introduced one sailor to foiling could now introduce hundreds more.
The impact could be enormous.
A donated boat in California might become part of a youth training fleet in the Midwest. An older boat sitting unused in Florida could help launch a new foiling program at a club in New Jersey. Sailors who never imagined they would have access to a modern foiling boat could suddenly find themselves training weekly with friends at their local club.
More importantly, these programs create community.
One of the most encouraging trends emerging from active HUB locations is the way they bring sailors together across generations and backgrounds. Younger sailors train alongside adults. Parents become involved again. Coaches develop new skills. Former racers return to the waterfront to mentor the next generation. Clubs begin seeing activity and energy return to weeknight sailing programs in ways that many have not experienced for years.
In many ways, the sailors who helped launch Dinghy Foiling in North America are uniquely positioned to help shape what comes next.
The same sailors who spent years learning the quirks of early foiling equipment, figuring out tuning systems, organizing road trips, and helping new sailors at the ramp now hold an incredible amount of knowledge and experience that could directly benefit the next generation. USFoil hopes many of these early adopters will consider not only donating boats, but also donating time.
For some, that may mean volunteering one afternoon each summer at a local HUB clinic. For others, it may become a weekly commitment helping younger sailors rig boats, launch safely, learn race strategy, or simply feel welcomed into the community. Some may help mentor coaches. Others may assist with repairs, boat setup, transportation, or event support.
Not every contribution needs to be enormous to have enormous impact.
One of the great strengths of sailing has always been the way knowledge passes organically between generations. A teenager learns from a college sailor. A Masters sailor helps tune a younger competitor’s rig before racing. A former champion spends an hour after sailing helping a beginner understand how to foil through tacks. Those moments create confidence, friendships, and lifelong connections to the sport.
USFoil believes rebuilding that culture of mentorship may be just as important as rebuilding fleets themselves.
In that sense, the donated boat initiative is about far more than equipment.
It is about rebuilding the social fabric of sailing.
For decades, yacht clubs thrived because boats were shared, mentorship happened naturally, and young sailors could easily picture themselves progressing through the sport within their own local community. USFoil believes modern Dinghy Foiling can help recreate that environment by giving clubs an exciting, visible, aspirational platform around which sailors naturally gather.
The opportunity is particularly powerful because these boats still have so much life left in them.
Unlike many sports where older equipment quickly becomes obsolete, well built sailing dinghies can continue creating meaningful experiences for decades when supported by active communities. With proper refurbishment and thoughtful deployment, many of the early generation WASZPs currently sitting in storage could help support local sailing development for another ten years or more.
For owners considering donation, the opportunity may also provide meaningful charitable tax benefits while directly supporting the future growth of sailing in North America. But for many sailors, the greatest reward may simply be knowing that a boat which once played an important role in their own sailing journey can now do the same for someone else.
USFoil is currently beginning conversations with sailors, clubs, and supporters interested in helping shape the initiative. That includes owners interested in donating older WASZPs, donors willing to support refurbishment efforts, volunteers interested in mentoring at HUBs, and clubs looking to establish or expand official HUB programs.
If you are interested in donating a boat, supporting refurbishment efforts, or volunteering your time to help the next generation of sailors, please reach out now using the link below.
Because the future of sailing is not going to be built solely through elite campaigns or professional racing circuits.
It will be built through healthy local clubs, passionate coaches, accessible equipment, and communities that make sailors excited to come back to the waterfront week after week.
And somewhere in a garage, under a cover, or beside a yacht club fence, there may already be a boat — and a mentor — waiting to help make that happen.