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Bluegame BGF45, America’s Cup technology enters recreational yachting

The Bluegame BGF45 brings technology developed for the America’s Cup into recreational yachting, combining foil assistance, efficiency and multihull space

The BGF45 launches a new Bluegame range with a foil between its twin hulls, Volvo Penta IPS propulsion and speeds above 30 knots

The Bluegame BGF45 starts from a particularly interesting question: what happens when technology developed to meet the extreme demands of the America’s Cup is transferred to a yacht designed for recreational cruising?

Bluegame’s answer is a 45-foot multihull that does not simply reproduce a competition-derived solution. Instead, it uses that experience to address efficiency, stability, performance and the relationship with the sea. Unveiled at the 2025 Cannes Yachting Festival, the BGF45 is the first model in the new BGF range and marks another stage in the development of the Sanlorenzo Group brand.

From the America’s Cup to a yacht made for living

The starting point is the BGH-HSV, the hydrogen-powered chase boat developed by Bluegame for the 37th America’s Cup. Equipped with foils, it was designed to reach 50 knots with zero emissions while supporting American Magic and Orient Express Racing Team.

The BGF45 naturally belongs to a very different world. It is not a support boat created to follow high-performance racing yachts, but a recreational model. What makes the project particularly relevant is precisely this transition from a highly specialised platform to a yacht intended for everyday use.

Bluegame has used the experience acquired through the BGH-HSV as the foundation for a new range that brings some of that hydrodynamic knowledge into recreational yachting.

A foil working between the two hulls

The technical feature that most clearly distinguishes the BGF45 is its foil-assisted system, positioned between the twin hulls.

According to Bluegame, the configuration significantly reduces hydrodynamic drag while improving speed, stability and fuel efficiency. The company states an efficiency improvement of more than 40%.

The intention is therefore not to turn the BGF45 into a yacht that flies completely clear of the water. Instead, the foil works together with the twin hulls, dynamically reducing load and limiting the resistance encountered as the yacht moves through the water.

This is where knowledge developed through competition becomes particularly relevant to recreational boating: not simply as a route towards absolute speed, but as a way of using hydrodynamics to achieve performance with lower energy requirements.

Mario Caponnetto and Francis Hueber, continuity in development

The connection with the America’s Cup project also continues through the people involved. Bluegame has maintained its collaboration with hydrodynamics specialists Mario Caponnetto and Francis Hueber, who had already worked with the team on the BGH-HSV.

Their contribution to the BGF45 focused on refining the hull configuration and the dynamic behaviour of the system.

This continuity helps position the BGF45 as something more than a yacht using a foil as a distinctive visual or marketing feature. It is part of a development path that began with a vessel created for unusually demanding technical requirements and was subsequently adapted to an entirely different cruising environment.

Above 30 knots with Volvo Penta IPS

Propulsion comes from two Volvo Penta IPS engines. Bluegame states that the BGF45 is capable of speeds above 30 knots, while maintaining an emphasis on cruising comfort and ease of handling.

The IPS system fits naturally within the broader philosophy of the project: strong performance without making the onboard experience unnecessarily demanding.

The BGF45 is intended to be a yacht to use rather than merely a technology demonstrator. Its foil and hydrodynamic development therefore need to coexist with manoeuvrability, comfort and straightforward everyday operation.

Other technology partners involved in the project include Garmin and Siemens, alongside Volvo.

A 45-footer that uses the width of a multihull

The advantages of the multihull configuration are not limited to hull efficiency. A considerable part of the design is devoted to the way space is used.

Developed through the collaboration between Luca Santella and Zuccon International Project, the BGF45 takes advantage of its wider platform to create an open layout strongly focused on onboard living.

The interior offers two cabins and a versatile third room, allowing the layout to respond to different owner requirements.

Outside, a generous sundeck is complemented by a streamlined beach area designed to maintain an immediate relationship with the water.

Technology matters when it improves the experience

Foils, electronics and propulsion systems become genuinely interesting when they move beyond technical specifications and begin to influence the way a yacht can actually be used.

On the BGF45, the search for greater efficiency therefore sits alongside a distinctly Mediterranean interpretation of life on board: open spaces, areas dedicated to relaxation and an aft section that brings guests closer to the sea.

The technology originating from the America’s Cup is not necessarily what guests notice first when stepping aboard. Much of its value lies beneath the surface, working to allow the yacht to move through the water in a different way.

BGF opens a new direction for Bluegame

The BGF45 is also the first representative of a family that will further expand Bluegame’s multihull offering.

The brand had already entered the segment with the BGM range. With BGF, the focus moves more strongly towards the integration of foil technology, performance and efficiency while retaining versatility as a central element.

Bluegame has also confirmed that additional models are under development.

The BGF45 therefore has a role extending beyond the individual yacht. It is the first tangible result of an attempt to transfer technologies developed in one of sailing’s most competitive environments into a completely different form of navigation.

Not to turn every day at sea into a race, but to use what competition has taught to cruise with greater efficiency, comfort and freedom.

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bluegame.it

25 August 2026
© MED Yachting Editorial Team
Bluegame BGF45, America’s Cup technology enters recreational yachting
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The information in this article has been sourced from and adapted from official sources and/or press releases, in accordance with our editorial code of ethics.