by Bruce N. Crandall
Semiround-bottom design tends to bank this speedster into large oncoming waves not met head-on. So for long trips at high speeds with minimum pounding I suggest you try this.
This is an extra-deep and extra-beamy, semiround-bottom model designed for as safe and smooth a ride as possible at high speed in rough or choppy water. Because the outboard motors of today are both more powerful and more dependable than their predecessors, most outboarders are taking longer trips at higher speeds than ever before. As larger waters are tackled, the persistent problem of riding heavy chops at planing speeds becomes more and more important. Even our most protected waterways become rough from boat wakes alone. It is, of course, not possible to eliminate completely pounding from any planing boat, but many of my previous semiround-bottom, developable-surface designs have proved that they can give a smooth ride at high planing speeds into a considerable chop. With the aid of the experiences I have had with these previous boats, I designed this one to do it even better. It has a deeper round than the previous models, carried all the way aft, so that there is no flat surface to receive a solid shock. To go along with the soft-riding bottom there is extra beam, large, beveled chines, larger spray rails, somewhat deeper keel, and considerable flare carried all the way aft. The soft riding is accomplished without the aid of a deep, sharp forefoot which can smooth out small waves but is a dangerous thing at best in a high- speed planing boat because it will act as an uncontrolled bow rudder and jerk the boat in exactly the wrong direction on meeting oncoming waves. The type of bottom used on this boat will instead tend to bank into any large oncoming wave not met exactly head-on; this is a safety factor, improving steering in rough going.
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