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DESIGN (and designer) EVOLUTION AND PHILOSOPHY
The concepts underlyiny the design of Spirit of the Bahamas have evolved over a lifetime spent in the pursuit of low cost vessels (in terms of both construction and operation) capable of providing a high level of comfort while travelling at moderate speeds in moderate sea conditions.
For moderate speeds, read 12-25 knots and for moderate sea conditions, read 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m.) seas. (It would seem that vessels capable of fullfilling these requirements would satisfy demands for the majority of applications and could be built and operated at a relatively low cost.)
Naturally, when this pursuit first began some 50 yearrs ago , the designer's motives had not yet gelled into the achievment of the above goal, and they certainly were not based on any altruistic, conservation oriented, considerations. There probably wasn't much of a conservation movement back then and, if there was, at the age of ten, the designer certainly hadn't heard about it.
The only motives in the designer's mind back then were purely economic ones. he wanted a boat and he didn't have any money to buy one. The answer appeared to be to borrow his mother's wicker laundry basket and to prevent it from leaking, by covering it with the "oil cloth" from the kitchen table held on by thumb tacks.
After sneaking his creation to the nearest body of water, he launched his first vessel into the choppy waters, climbed in and within a minute promptly rolled over and sank. He then had to return home and face his mother's wrath.He had started on his boat designing and building career and learned his first lesson - that it wasn't going to be easy.
Over the intervening years, (admittedly, motivated mainly by the same economic factors) while the designer's goal slowly crystalized, he learned that first lesson over and over again - plus a few others - such as:
In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is considered insane.
Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat you over the head with it.
A book IS judged by it's cover.
Image is everything! no one cares about substance!
Form follows whatever is currently trendy
In regard to the nuts and bolts of boat design and construction, after a life time spent designing, building, playing and working with boats of every type and size, the designer has learned that adhering to the following guidelines is essential to achieving the goals of comfort, speed, and economy simultaneously - it is a lot easier to achieve any two.
1. LENGTH DOES MATTER! For thousands of years, it has been comman knowledge among boatbuilders that a long skinny hull is faster, easier to propel, and more seakindly than a short fat one. In the latter half of the last century, however, with the advent of powerfull lightweight internal combustion engines , it has become possible to push short fat boats very fast indeed. As a result, that ancient bit of boatbuilding wisdom has apparently slowly faded from the collective memory.
Unfortunately, the resulting negative impact on the environment has been substantial. One would think that the equally large impact on the wallets and bodies, of the owners and operators of these boats, would also raise a few protests, but not many seem to be forthcoming. (Perhaps, this can be accounted for by brain damage -reulting from repeated exposure to very high G forces.)
The unavoidable facts are that, in relatively moderate sea conditions, short fat planing boats, besides guzzling huge quantities of expensive fuel, are unable to bridge the distance between seas and are therefore subjected to huge vertical accelerations with every wave encountered. Their broad relatively flat hulls only serve to accentuate the problem by transforming the vertical accelerations into violent bone (and boat) jarring jolts.
It has been patently obvious, to the polynesians, for many milleniums and, should have been obvious to westerners, for many centuries, that the best means of combining long skinny hulls with the need for ample lateral stability is provided by the multi hull configuration.
Over the last decade or so, a few manufacturers (particularly in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) have finally begun to offer power catamarans to the public, but, for whatever reason, most designers have hesitated to take full advantage of the possibilites offered by this configuration and have shied away from really, really, long skinny hulls.
The resulting vessels, in some cases, have shown substantial improvements over the norm, while others have shown little, if any, improvement. It is encouraging, nonetheless, that power catamarans, following in the trail of their sail powered cousins, have finally begun to receive some acceptance and respect - particularly in the commercial sector.
2. K.I.S.S [Keep it Simple Stupid]. The economies derived from the adherance to this philosophy run all the way through from the drawing board to operation and maintenance. There is also an inherent "snowball effect which produces even further economies.
For instance: (For any given level of available capital investment and required payload and speed) "simplicity" lowers design, construction, and outfitting costs - which allows for a longer more lightly loaded vessel - which is easier to propel and therefore requires smaller, lighter less expensive engines - which, in turn, require less expensve and lighter fuel loads - which makes it even easier to propel etc. etc.
The icing on the cake is that the resulting vessel, by virtue, of it's longer length, provides more space for the occupants and a more comfortable ride in adverse sea conditions.
3. FIX THE PROBLEM - NOT THE SYMPTOMS! Consider your typical "state of the art" 30ft (9 m.) express cruiser - generating "oohs and aahs" at the boat show. Countless man hours and a plethora of exotic and expensive materials have gone into creating the curvaceous lines, the eliptical windows and eye-catching furnishings.
No expense has been spared in order to shoehorn accomodation for six persons, 500 mechanical horses, the fuel to feed them, and a myriad of "clever" storage compartments - into a rather limited space.
An equally large number of man hours has been invested in an attempt at ensuring that all the pieces stay together - when subjected to the enormous stresses such a vessel cn be expected to encounter in normal use. No wonder then that the price tag for this feat of engineering is probaly somewhere around the $200,000.00 mark - or about he same as the family home.
Now imagine this same vessel heading directly into 20 m.p.h. (32 k.p.h.) winds and 5 ft (1.5 m.) seas - by no means unusual conditions in most boating areas. Assuming the boat and the occupants are still in one piece, the boat is probably proceeding at the breathtaking speed of 12 m.p.h. (19 k.p.h.)
You may rest assured that none of the occupants are below for fear of breaking their necks, while being bounced off the ceiling, or ruining the eye catching furnishings with the breakfast they had a few hours ago.
They are far more likely to be found in the cockpit - sucking on exhaust fumes, or on the bridge - hanging on for dear life and being drenched by every other wave. All in all they are not likely to be very happy campers.
The problem is simply that the seas are too big, or conversely, the boat is too short. No amount of time, energy or money thrown at the symptoms of this basic problem will substantially reduce the stresses on the boat and the occupants - or guarantee that either will remain intact.
It is also doubtfull that the curvaceous lines, eliptical windows, eye catching furnishings, clever storage spaces (or the knowledge that the 500 horses whose exhaust gases one is inhaling are capable of propelling the boat at 40 m.p.h.) would provide much comfort to the occupants at that particular point in time.
The only way to substantially effect a reduction in the symptoms is to address the problem directly and make the boat longer!
Note. The preceding"rants" should not be construed as inferring any disparagement of others who are involved in the design, engineering and construction of boats. It is simply a question of priorities.
Presumably the boat buying public (and ,in turn, the marketing people) demand boats which "wow" them at the boat shows and which accommodate the highest possible number of persons (and mechanical horses) per linear ft. The designers, engineers and builders are merely endeavouring to satisfy these demands - and clearly doing a fine job of it.
One can, however, perhaps fault the motor boating publications, which have, for the most part, deteriorated over the years, from thoughtfull, informative periodicals to a collection of glossy advertising brochures which pander unashamedly to the rediculous public misconception of boats as simply being the nautical equivelant of the family car or recreational vehicle - and subject to the same type of design requirements.
One has to question the responsibility of boat reports which attach tremendous importance to such aspects of design and performance as dashboard instrument placement, upholstery quality, hull graphics,"clever" storage compartments, acceleration, cornering ability, top speed and overall "style".
It would seem fairly obvious that, unlike multi billion dollar highway systems, the sea is not paved, there are no corners, no stoplights, no need for "stop and go" driving, no moutains (other than rather rare 50 ft (15 m.) waves), no admiring crowds - and 5ft. (1.5 m.) deep "potholes" are not an unusual occurence.
Perhaps the transformation of "offshore" powerboat racing into an inshore spectator sport has helped in blurring the obvious fact that, at sea, in perfectly average conditions, a top speed potential of 50 miles per hour, for the average family boat - combined with terific style, excellent cornering abilities and tremendous acceleration are all about as usefull as "teats on a boar hog".
It might be argued that most pleasure boat owners remain in protected, calm
inshore waters (except for the 5ft wakes most of them are throwing up) - as well they should, considering the design of the boats they are probably piloting. Many do venture offshore however, and if, by chance, those five foot deep potholes should become eight or ten foot deep, what might have been merely a very uncomfortable experience can rapidly turn in a terrifying one - with no convenient rest stop to pull into.
CAUTION - DEEP END
All information, related to this venture, has been included on the 2 HOME
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2007
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