Sunday, June 12, 2011

A Trial Run


We took the boat out this weekend and had a great time. We were part of an Antique & Classic Boat Society club get-together. We were surrounded by beautiful traditional mahogany runabouts. I had changed the engine propeller to one with a more aggressive pitch and the result was more speed- 28 mph. The engine was still achieving 5950 rpm, at the top end of its recommended rpm range, and I am wondering if an even higher pitch will bring the rpms down a little and improve speed further. You can see in the attached image that the boat's bow is out of the water at speed. This is due to the slight rocker in the run. By calculation, the bow should rise about ten inches to achieve its planing attitude, and I don't think that is far off. From a visibility standpoint, the bow rise is not an impediment. At low speed the boat rests at its marked waterline. The ETEC engine is so smooth and quiet, and we are still using our first six-gallon tank of gas. My wife is not much of a boater, but seems to really like this one. With the intense sun in Colorado, our bimini top is an essential.