Are there any links or search terms to find a breakdown of the basics of how a vehicle like this works? I've never seen anything like it, and I'm really interested.
There are plenty of links to Wing In Ground vehicles.
Google Airfish One to see something similar on google.
There was a European guy called Lippisch back in the fifties and sixties that developed Ground effect boats.
I also believe The Iranian Navy is using such "boats" as coastal interceptors.
As for the sailing part: There are many boats that create lift from so called Hydro foils in the water:
The moth class is a sailboat race class that's gone over entirely to hydrofoils afaik. there are people on surfboards that hydrofoil as well. The Hobie Tri-foiler (Nice youtube videos) tried to make it during the early 2000:s It failed because of being too unpractical, and because once you were in the boat it was more like riding a complicated race car than sailing a boat which most people expect to be physical..
Rigid Wing Sails Has also been around for some time. When you want to set Speed records sailing around sixty to seventy nmph, you want to use these. In a full gale storm in the middle of the Pacific its an entirely different matter how you want to dress your mast.
The Body shapes remind somewhat of a real air-plane concept developed in the 1930:s called the Arup S2 (Heel lift Dr Snyder) in South Bend Indiana. A Milt Hatfield that was involved with these Arup Continued development in the late 1990:s, somewhere near Elkhart Indiana by constructing several so called "Little Birds" There is a very interesting Article on Wikipedia and 4 or 5 Youtube presentations including a walk through of his concept and Build.
The reason Why I decided to go with such a body is because of the excruciating forces at play in the Oceans an also because resemblance with Lippisch Ground effect boats as well as Airfish 1-8 (developed somewhere on the other side of the Pacific Ocean) There is one more incidence that made me choose to play with this shape. In 1946 American Northrop was playing around with an "unmanned air bomber:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_JB-1_Bat
In my Blender presentation that is coming along as I learn to animate, I hope to be able to show everyone how I hope this will turn out to function. I have already made a complete redesign of the Hull, Main Air-foil, floats and side masts, because of need to bring down manufacturing costs. positioning,but this needs to be screen-capped..
As a final thought I might put all the development files up on Git-Hub for people to grab.
I think that what I want to develop above if it works out have potential to bring ocean travel and living to a completely different level.