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Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/11085
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

<p>A kiteboat is essentially a boat that uses a kite instead of a sail for propulsion. This seems like an intriguing concept, and an interesting alternative to the traditional sailboat designs. As advocates of the sport the website <a href="http://project.kiteboat.com/design/">The Kiteboat Project</a> has a big article on the advantages of a kiteboat.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The advantages of a kiteboat over a traditional sailboat are manifold. As a kite pulls a boat, it does not also heel the boat over or pitch it forward as a sail does. This fact means that a kiteboat does not require large counterbalancing forces which, in opposing the heeling and pitching forces of a sail, create drag and present practical problems. The absence of this behavior means that the only limit on kite size is kite control, since increasing the power made by the kite does not require increasing ballast or beam, for example, which are limiting factors on a sailboat. Kites can fly higher than sails, too, which grants them access to stronger, steadier, higher-altitude winds, and kites can be maneuvered through the air to create more apparent wind. This maneuvering generates extra power, which is not possible with a fixed sail on a mast.</p>
  
  <p>Finally, a kite lifts the boat out of the water as it propels it forward, which effectively reduces the displacement and decreases drag. While any boat would benefit from this boost, a hydrofoil benefits especially, because the kite reduces the amount of lift required from (and drag created by) the foils, and the lack of heeling and pitching forces makes reliably maintaining trim and ride height much more practicable. It is not necessary for a kiteboat to be a hydrofoil boat, but for us, this configuration represents a perfect marriage of technology.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Of course this is rather new technology and it would be hard to find support in the form of replacement parts on in an isolated island port. Apart from the maintenance burden that would impose what are the primary drawbacks to adopting this style of boat for long-term bluewater cruising?</p>