Unlimited offshore powerboat racing in UK/Europe?
Discussion
Just been doing a bit of reading on the RYA website, it seems all the powerboat racing they endorse is basically spec series, up to a maximum of one 5.7l V8 engine, only one boat design permitted to enter, any modification to boat or engine = instant disqualification. IMO this is most unsporting - do we not have anything like what the Americans have going on, especially around Florida?
I've heard sooth said of the RYA before. It really seems a shame, I'd love to see some proper tear-the-rulebook-up racing going on in UK waters.
Is there any reason why we couldn't have monster boats with big-block V8s, V12s or whatever pushing 3000bhp per shaft?
Nanook said:
Making everyone follow the rules and regulations is unsporting?
That word must mean something different to you, than it does to me.
Watched the racing off Greenock last year. Not a great spectator sport IMO. One of those ones that works better on TV IMO.
What I'm saying is that imposing a single design of boat with one permitted engine at one permitted output is unsporting. 320bhp from what I presume to be an LS1 or old-school Chev 350 SB is not that much...That word must mean something different to you, than it does to me.
Watched the racing off Greenock last year. Not a great spectator sport IMO. One of those ones that works better on TV IMO.
Is there any reason why we couldn't have monster boats with big-block V8s, V12s or whatever pushing 3000bhp per shaft?
wobert said:
I’ve posted this pic before in here.
During the mid-80s my brother worked for Bill Bonner, who at the time was developing marinised version of the Jaguar V12.
It was fitted to two boats, a monohull Goldrush and a Cougar catermaran Supercat.
For around four years both boats competed on the Class 1 offshore series around the UK.
They had a small measure of success, mixed with unreliability, mainly with the Arnesen stern drives.
At the time, Supercat was the most powerful boat on the circuit, twin V12s pushing out 1700 bhp.
IIRC they ran at Windermere Soeed Trials one year and broke the Britsh record getting to c115 mph.
Now THAT is what I'm talking about! Properly insane... how did they get the Jag V12 to 850bhp? I'm guessing lots of boost... I used to drink in the same pub (recently illegally demolished) as a lot of the Lister guys here in Leatherhead, they said some of their twin-supercharged lumps were pushing north of 1000, somewhere around 1200 IIRC?During the mid-80s my brother worked for Bill Bonner, who at the time was developing marinised version of the Jaguar V12.
It was fitted to two boats, a monohull Goldrush and a Cougar catermaran Supercat.
For around four years both boats competed on the Class 1 offshore series around the UK.
They had a small measure of success, mixed with unreliability, mainly with the Arnesen stern drives.
At the time, Supercat was the most powerful boat on the circuit, twin V12s pushing out 1700 bhp.
IIRC they ran at Windermere Soeed Trials one year and broke the Britsh record getting to c115 mph.
MOTORVATOR said:
You are being misled by reading the RYA website which does not reflect what we race. The class you are referring to is V24 of which there are only or two left racing in the UK. The supposed idea of a one design boat that died a death a few years ago.
If you look at the pictures above you will see a huge variety of offshore boats taking part in our series including for instance an Outerlimits powered by twin 1350hp Mercruisers. As for 3000bhp per shaft as you put it if you can design a big block V8 or V12 that will sustain that sort of power at full throttle for over an hour you are a better man than the likes of Lambourghini. This is where marine engines and auto engines diverge substantially. Then you also get into an exotic world of being able to transmit that power to the water. It is one thing to design gearboxes and drivetrains to sustain that sort of power being put down as a boat enters and leaves the water but a real feat of engineering to design propellors that can continue to be efficient all the way through the intended speeds you expect to attain doing the same. ;-)
Right! I suppose that here, as with all things, there's no replacement for displacement... getting a durable, reliable 3000bhp out of a twin-turbo Chev 572 big block is probably a lot harder than with 27 litres of Rolls-Royce Merlin... and even then, the Reno Mustangs apparently need a total of four engines - transport engine, race engine and spares for both... what I wonder about is some of the enormous big-blocks available on the aftermarket, there's a guy called Sonny Leonard builds a 1006ci (16.5-litre) V8 for drag racing, with a 5.22in bore and 5.875in stroke - only slightly less than the Merlin (5.4in bore, 6in stroke) - which, naturally aspirated, makes 2150bhp @ 8000 rpm and 1500ftlb @ 6200rpm on 112-octane fuel. I'd imagine that, if you were to limit it to 5000rpm (at which point it would be turning at a mean piston speed of just under 4900fpm, compared to 5280fpm for the current Audi R8 V10 at its 8250rpm redline), you could get quite reasonable reliability - and it would still be pushing nearly 1350bhp N/A (indeed, there's a guy in Denmark running one in a modified C3 Corvette road car, fuelled on E85, that's making 1360bhp @ 5500rpm and 1314ftlb of torque (rpm not specified), on a milder 12.5:1 compression (the race engine runs 17:1). Add a bit of boost...If you look at the pictures above you will see a huge variety of offshore boats taking part in our series including for instance an Outerlimits powered by twin 1350hp Mercruisers. As for 3000bhp per shaft as you put it if you can design a big block V8 or V12 that will sustain that sort of power at full throttle for over an hour you are a better man than the likes of Lambourghini. This is where marine engines and auto engines diverge substantially. Then you also get into an exotic world of being able to transmit that power to the water. It is one thing to design gearboxes and drivetrains to sustain that sort of power being put down as a boat enters and leaves the water but a real feat of engineering to design propellors that can continue to be efficient all the way through the intended speeds you expect to attain doing the same. ;-)
Regarding propellers, I understand that Vosper Thornycroft used an innovative cavitating design for their fast patrol boats, which, in the case of the Brave class, were pushing 3750hp per shaft, using Bristol Proteus gas turbines (now there's a thought... how about a modern equivalent with a pair of big modern turboprops?)... the VT-built superyacht Brave Challenger is still around, there's a thread on its ongoing restoration here on PH.
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