Australian driver Tom Slingsby expects the SailGP's fleet will finally be able to reach speeds above 100km/h during racing thanks to a technical change made to the boats ahead of the Auckland regatta.
After nearly two years of testing, the globetrotting sailing league has fitted its 12 50-foot catamarans with new foils - the boards on the boats' hulls that allow them to lift out of the water in windy conditions.
It's in the act of foiling that the SailGP's identical fleet of boats, similar to those used in the America's Cup, can reach speeds above 90km/h.
But the previous foils, dubbed "L-foils" for their shape, had been prone to breaking down - a board malfunction that notably thwarted the three-time defending champion Australian boat during last season's $US2 million grand final on San Francisco Bay.
Slingsby hopes new "T-foils" installed ahead of this weekend's Auckland SailGP will reduce instances of similar mishaps during season five.
"These will be more reliable," the Olympic gold medallist told AAP.
"We were having structural problems with the L-foils. The way that they are loaded and the engineering of them, basically we couldn't make them strong enough to take the loads and the speeds that these boats are going.
"(The T-foils) have been built with a bit more margin for breaking loads and everything like that. It will be better for the league as a whole and we'll have fewer breakdowns of the boats."
The T-foils are constructed predominantly from titanium, rather than carbon as the L-Foils were.
They're built thinner to reduce drag, too, so have helped the boats sail at dizzying pace in testing.
The Canadian SailGP team reached speeds just shy of 102km/h during the rigorous testing process on the T-foils and in practice ahead of the Auckland regatta, New Zealand clocked 97.2km/h.
Slingsby said with the T-foils, boats would have a better chance to exceed the fastest in-race speed ever recorded in a SailGP event - 99.4km/h by France at the St Tropez regatta in the third season.
"We did about 90km/h on our first training day (with the T-foils). If we get the right conditions, we know they can go very quick," Slingsby said.
"I'd expect to see us go over 100 (km/h) if we get the right conditions."
From a sailing point-of-view, the T-foils will be higher-maintenance than their predecessors, demanding drivers make bigger adjustments to changes in the wind - or risk falling off the foils and losing their speed.
That's fine by Slingsby, who adds America's Cup, Sydney to Hobart and world championship titles to his name.
"If you get a gust of wind you need to change the set-up of the boat and then if it gets lighter you have to change the set-up again. It's a lot more dynamic," he said.
"It's more enjoyable as a sailor, really. It's really making the boats tough to sail. I think that's a good thing."
