Okay, forget all that talk about looks and design and gas mileage and economics and optimum cruising speeds and gas flow gauges and propeller efficiency. Let's talk about what's really important in today's modern world of boating:
Raw, brutal speed.
I'm thinking about buying a 40' Mainship to live aboard. I went out on one the other day, and at full throttle we were whipping along at (and I hope you're sitting down) a mind-numbing, gut-wrenching, bone-shaking 25.4 MPH.
I still shudder when I think of how close we were to actually blacking out from the G forces. It's not something I'd recommend for anyone without proper training.
Yet, strange as it sounds, I wanted more.
So, the question is, how to attain a few more of them dear, beloved MPH's? Without having done any research on it (yet), I figure there are four things at play:
1. Paint. I'm sure there are special 'frictionless' paints out there that'll tack on an MPH or two. Expensive, I'll bet. Do special paints last longer than regular paint? If so, that'd have to be taken into account.
2. Propellers. Assuming there's some kind of gas/power ratio going on, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a tad of MPG for another MPH or three.
3. Turbochargers. Is this feasible, or do marine engines & transmissions have some kind of inherent limitation that cars don't have? Most likely the boat'll have a pair of 454's.
4. Hydrofoils, or the boat version of canard wings on an aircraft. Not actual hydrofoils, that is, just 'wings' to help lift the hull off the water and reduce some of the drag, which in turn translates to speed. In an ideal world they'd be operated by hydraulics, tucked up against the side when not in use.
Unfortunately (and you may find this hard to believe), a Google search for "Mainship hydrofoil kits" produced very few results, darn the luck.
As far as the turbochargers go, I'm not looking to turn these into some 9,000 RPM monsters -- a small boost would be just fine. And it would only be for short spurts, less than a minute. It would really be done just for the fun of it. One of those "Somebody's gotta do it" stories.
Plus, imagine how the ads will look when I sell it one day:
Only turbocharged 40' Mainship on the planet.
Yee-haw.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Chuck
Raw, brutal speed.
I'm thinking about buying a 40' Mainship to live aboard. I went out on one the other day, and at full throttle we were whipping along at (and I hope you're sitting down) a mind-numbing, gut-wrenching, bone-shaking 25.4 MPH.
I still shudder when I think of how close we were to actually blacking out from the G forces. It's not something I'd recommend for anyone without proper training.
Yet, strange as it sounds, I wanted more.
So, the question is, how to attain a few more of them dear, beloved MPH's? Without having done any research on it (yet), I figure there are four things at play:
1. Paint. I'm sure there are special 'frictionless' paints out there that'll tack on an MPH or two. Expensive, I'll bet. Do special paints last longer than regular paint? If so, that'd have to be taken into account.
2. Propellers. Assuming there's some kind of gas/power ratio going on, I wouldn't mind sacrificing a tad of MPG for another MPH or three.
3. Turbochargers. Is this feasible, or do marine engines & transmissions have some kind of inherent limitation that cars don't have? Most likely the boat'll have a pair of 454's.
4. Hydrofoils, or the boat version of canard wings on an aircraft. Not actual hydrofoils, that is, just 'wings' to help lift the hull off the water and reduce some of the drag, which in turn translates to speed. In an ideal world they'd be operated by hydraulics, tucked up against the side when not in use.
Unfortunately (and you may find this hard to believe), a Google search for "Mainship hydrofoil kits" produced very few results, darn the luck.
As far as the turbochargers go, I'm not looking to turn these into some 9,000 RPM monsters -- a small boost would be just fine. And it would only be for short spurts, less than a minute. It would really be done just for the fun of it. One of those "Somebody's gotta do it" stories.
Plus, imagine how the ads will look when I sell it one day:
Only turbocharged 40' Mainship on the planet.
Yee-haw.
Thanks for any thoughts,
Chuck
