this looks interesting, not sure if its fast enough though.

TQA said:
The drug smugglers are getting rid as although they can outrun the US Customs boats the Customs guys are now using helis with airborne snipers who can hit the engines on the go fasts.
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I notice in the photos' that she is a Guernsey boat - if it was ever there and used for 'smuggling' it wouldn't have taken very long to get to Carteret from StP P. !
 
It says the boat is in Miami but the first six pictures, with the apartment blocks in background, are taken in the boatyard at Cap D'Ail port, in France just west of Monaco. The last three pictures are somewhere else.
 
More money than sense, from whoever rigged that thing - I can't believe that she came out of Skater with that absurd setup.
They must have realized only after installing the four outdrives that there wasn't enough space left for trim tabs... WTF? :disgust:
 
Another Q for MapishM or anybody
What design elements mitigate against the thing flipping up and doing a Donald Campbell .
Ok presume the drives can trim in ( hence no need for drag inducing flaps ) .Any thing else ?

Reason I ask modern Ferraris have ground effect underbody ventures .this means normally up to 80 mph you notice nothing .How ever over say 80 you start to fell it pushing down @130 to 180 there's a big force that you can feel throught the steering pressing it down -sucking it the road ,along with rear suspension designed to give a bit of rear wheel steering -total package is confidence to take curves /bends at high speeds .

How's that boat stay flat @100 -160 mph ?
 
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TheOrs said:
Do you think it'll do 160mph?
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Well, in principle it's possible, with a 46' air entrapment catamaran and 1600hp each side.
If we were talking of one turbocharged 1550 Merc Racing with M8 outdrive each side, I would bet that she could reach even a bit more.
But with those silly 4x800hp and 4 outdrives, your guess is as good as mine. That's bound to be much less efficient, anyway.
 
Portofino said:
What design elements mitigate against the thing flipping up and doing a Donald Campbell.
Ok presume the drives can trim in ( hence no need for drag inducing flaps ). Any thing else ?

Reason I ask modern Ferraris have ground effect underbody ventures .this means normally up to 80 mph you notice nothing .How ever over say 80 you start to fell it pushing down @130 to 180 there's a big force that you can feel throught the steering pressing it down -sucking it the road ,along with rear suspension designed to give a bit of rear wheel steering -total package is confidence to take curves /bends at high speeds .

How's that boat stay flat @100 -160 mph ?
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Forget trimming in with surface drives, on any 3-digits speedboats.
It's with trim tabs (and very specific/long ones!) that you drive those beasts - hence my previous comment about that crazy setup with none.

And yes, at those speeds, also aerodynamics come into play, but with boats (particularly air entrapment cats, but also monohulls) the aim is exactly the opposite of what you describe for cars.
In fact, air is actually used to lift the boat, reducing the wet surface, which in turn allows for higher speed.
The obvious drawback is that when pushing these boats to their limit (i.e. at their max speed, which by definition is achieved with drives trimmed out as much as possible and neutral flaps) there is a real risk of flipping the thing. It can and does happen, in fact.
Afaik, the only offshore cat designed with some aeronautic-style wings, dynamically controlled to control the boat attitude (on top of trim tabs), is this one.
But I think she only made a few tests, before the project was eventually abandoned.
 
I see - one of the passengers seems to have the job of "stabilising "
Is that little wing between the front hulls move able ?
Also presume pumping fliuds about from tank to tank -fuel and or ballast ?

Any how looks risky 4up driver ,throttle man , navigator and stabiliser -
 
IIRC, I read somewhere that the wing(s?) was (were?) supposed to be computer controlled, along the lines of modern fly by wire fighter planes, because at 200+mph reaction times had to be well beyond human capabilities.
Sorry, I don't remember other details, but I suppose you might still find some by googling around, if you wish...
 
The front wing on the Hunton looks awful Imo, can't believe it does anything useful,but I'm.no powerboat racer so what do I know
 
Peter is an unbelievably talented engineer and understands his boats and the modifications he has made to them inside out.

The wing generates a lot of lift at speeds over 40 kts and has helped to increase his top speed to circa 80 mph for a diesel powered leisure boat with remarkable fuel economy.

I agree the looks are not for everyone but then he also ones the cuv 38 cinzano so he can stare adoringly at that as well if he wants form over function.

Never really been a fan of entrapment tunnel cats myself, give me a nice v bottomed boat any day...
 
I can't honestly remember here but there is an article in the recent sports boat and rib about it. Will dig it out when im home next week.

He has done a lot of weight reduction on the boat and re engined / exhaust mods, drives closer. Believe new he was getting around 60 mph from stock d6370s.

Peter is an a very interesting guy and you can talk to him all day about what he has done and why, one thing that struck me was the methodical way he has done everything on his various boats testing each change step by step to establish the benefit.

His fleet of boats is really very very nice for the seasoned petrol head!

Last I heard he was making some new props as the old ones had been reworked by him so many times metal fatigue had taken over and repairs were no longer strong enough.
 
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