Windrider Rave Buyer's Guide
On the used market the Windrider Rave appears as a 17-foot hydrofoil trimaran in small numbers, a trailable foiler rather than a volume production class. With 136 built between 1998 and 2003 before the line was halted, it is a niche find for a shopper who wants retractable foils and foot-steered handling without a modern race-cat price. The boat's polyethylene hull and simple systems make it a plausible candidate for an owner willing to manage foil care.
Layouts on the Used Market
Used Windrider Rave boats follow the original center-hull plan with two cockpits, a forward rumble seat for a passenger, and the skipper aft at foot controls. The face-forward seating below the boom defines the boat's usable space; there is no enclosed cabin. Beam is 17 feet foil tip to foil tip, and the foils retract to give a 12-inch draft, so the hull itself is compact to store but wide when rigged.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The self-tacking jib is commonly fitted, using a molded-in traveler that is not very wide, and a chartplotter is commonly fitted for navigation though the boat's foot-steered cockpit leaves little need for complex instruments. The trampoline is commonly fitted as part of the trimaran layout. Beyond those, buyers should expect the custom trailer as the transport norm since the boat is too big for a car roof. Rig details such as the fat-head main and tall narrow jib are as built rather than upgrades.
What to Inspect
The defining inspection point is the foil system: the extruded foils preclude sailing the boat up onto the beach anchor, so check the high-aspect struts and their retract mechanism for impact or wear from any improper launch. Because the foils retract into the hulls, confirm the trunk seals and cockpit controls operate smoothly, as the foils are raised and lowered from the cockpit. The polyethylene hull should be reviewed for stress at foil penetrations.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in the United States. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm foils and struts retract cleanly, verify the custom trailer is present, and accept that beaching under sail is off the table. The Rave rewards a buyer who values foiling novelty and trailable size over cabin comfort.
- Verify foil struts and retract mechanism condition
- Confirm custom trailer included
- Expect commonly fitted self-tacking jib, trampoline, chartplotter
- Plan for foot-pedal steering and no cabin
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Windrider Rave. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26 | 1 | $6,500 | — |
Where they're listed
Windrider Rave listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $6,500 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |