by Bruce N. Crandall
LOA 17' 1", BEAM 6' 11 1/2", DRAFT 8 3/4", DISPLACEMENT 1670 LBS.
Shopping for something in the 40 mph class that still offers big-boat comfort? This is for you.
This is a semi-round bottom, high-speed model designed for planing speeds with one or two outboard motors. Outboard cruisers, like any small boats, fall into two classifications: those designed as displacement boats and those designed to plane. The displacement types up to 22’ or more in length are generally quite satisfactory for motors from 10 hp to 25 hp. The planing types, especially the larger cruisers, often require too much horsepower to make them plane properly, especially when there is a load aboard. A boat which will not quite plane is always very unsatisfactory and inefficient to operate. There are some types of bottom design which are suited for semi-planing speeds or slow-planing speeds, but these cannot be built of sheet plywood. While a developable-surface design such as this one is not as efficient at slow-planing speeds as some types, at somewhat higher speeds it becomes the most efficient, and therefore the fastest, of all equally soft-riding planing types. A boat this size attains planing speed at between 18 and 20 mph, and between 26 and 28 mph this design reaches its best efficiency. Now, with a similar boat just two feet longer, minimum planing speed would be one mph higher, and the speed for best efficiency about 1½ mph higher, which illustrates the great increase in power necessary for equal performance as the boat gets larger and heavier. So, you can see, this 17’ cruiser is the ideal size for attaining maximum speed without undue expense for motors and fuel. The hull design is suitable for planing speeds in choppy or even comparatively rough water with motors from 25 hp to 60 hp. Even more power can be used in calm water if greatest speed is desired. This boat is ideal for week-end cruises or fishing trips, especially when transportation by trailer is necessary. It is not heavy enough to make launching from a modern trailer or loading up again at all difficult. The bottom, sides and even the cabin top are designed on developable surfaces to make planking with sheet plywood easy. The bottom is of the semi-round or convex V-bottom type, which makes for soft-riding and good banking qualities at high speed. The entire hull is designed with rough-water use a primary consideration, and it is as seaworthy as any boat of its size can be.
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