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“We are having our first real weather today: 25 knots sustained, SW, seas at least 6 feet. We have three ships moving this morning, two outbounds and one in., all during the ebb tide (our worst case scenario).
“I had one of the outbounders making 16 knots. The pilotboat followed me out, then overtook me and ran away; this is something we have never seen before. Coming back in (on the pilotboat) with seas on our starboard quarter, the operator chuckled with amazement as he took his hands off the wheel and let her hold her own course at 20 knots.
“We are all amazed! This morning’s ride has exceeded my expectations. Everyone is talking about it. Our senior launchman, this being the seventh CF pilotboat he’s operated, says this is undoubtedly the best seaboat he has ever ridden on. Awesome, awesome boat!”
“This C. Raymond Hunt design delivers one of the best rides we’ve ever had on a small express cruiser.... We’ll say upfront this is certainly one of the best-running, smoothest-riding, straightest-tracking boats of this size and class that we’ve ever tested.... In short, it’s a superb little seaboat, capable of running offshore in conditions that would keep the vast majority of the competition tied to the dock....
“We had a 15- to 25-knot breeze blowing across Marblehead Harbor (MA), which a few miles offshore was kicking up a 2- to 3-foot sea with an occasional 4-footer thrown in. We were able to run at 15 to 16 knots right into these waves quite comfortably. When we sped up a few hundred rpm, or launched off one of those 4-footers, we landed with the midbody of the hull impacting first. Most boats would have jarred your kidneys, but this one just sort squished into the wave on impact. It did pound when forced up over 20 knots, but what do you expect? These waves were taller than a kitchen countertop....
“Laying-to in the beam seas, the boat rolled comfortably, with none of the snap seen in flat-bottom, too-wide hulls, and none of the excessive rolling common to many (non-Hunt) deep-vees.... Downsea performance was just as impressive as running into them. The boat tracked very well, both at semi-displacement and planing speeds. The boat never felt like it had a mind of its own: it was always under control, and handling was very predictable, which says a lot for a boat in quartering seas.”
“It was about 11 a.m., July 16, 1958. The open Ocean off Newport was dotted with boats, power and sail. Committee boats, yacht tenders, and the sleek 12 Meters, vying for selection to defend the America’s Cup.
“The wind was blowing a good twenty knots plus out of the southwest. Seas were running six feet or more. Great weather for 12 Meter sailing, but a little rough for the wallowing powerboats.
“I was on Vim, in charge of the foredeck crew, and we were waiting for the preparatory gun. In a situation like this, racing crews usually concentrate so completely on the boat and their jobs, it really takes something special to divert their attention. Well, something very special came hurtling across those six foot crests. It was Ray Hunt’s deep vee prototype. She was there as tender for the 12 Meter Easterner, also designed by Ray, and this was her first appearance. She picked a great time for it.
“Knifing through those six foot seas at thirty knots, this little 23 footer stopped every sailor in the fleet in their tracks. No one had ever seen power boat performance to approach it. I know I hadn’t.
“Before the preparatory gun sounded, I made a mental note to corner Ray after the race and get to the bottom of this amazing exhibition.
“I found that “getting to the bottom” was the right place to get for the answer. Ray explained that this new design was deep vee the entire length of the bottom. Other boats had had the vee bottoms before, of course, but the vee and the deadrise diminished to a flat, planing surface at the transom. (“Deadrise,” incidentally, is the angle the bottom makes with the horizontal.)
“Ray figured if he carried the deadrise and the vee clear to the transom, pounding would be practically eliminated. He also put longitudinal strakes on the bottom to give lift and throw spray out flat to keep the boat dry.
“He figured right. A demonstration ride the next day proved it. She ran straight and true, smoothing the seas cushion-soft. When we returned to the dock, we were as dry as when we left.
“I commissioned Ray to design a 31 footer for me.”
“There’s a sense of control, a confident feel - both underfoot and in your gut - when you run a boat with a truly outstanding hull in a sloppy sea... It’s hard to describe in words, but you know when you experience it. The original Sea Craft 23, the 47 Davis, and the Bertram 31 all come to mind. I’m now adding Hunt Yachts’ new Harrier 36 to the list.
“I got that special feeling while charging through 3- to 5-foot waves, and my heart continued to pound while viewing it at the dock. Its superior engineering and construction conspire with gracious accommodations and lines sweeter than cotton candy.”
“...It is the semi-displacement hull which is presented as the archetypal workboat hull, but this design, which is over 30 years old, has not really kept in touch with modern requirements.... The semi-displacement hull has an enviable reputation as a workboat hull, but my experience suggests that the deep-vee hull would be better on several counts.... On all counts which I can judge, the deep-vee hull has more to offer than the semi-displacement hull.”
“...The Deep-V hull provides the comfort and many seaworthiness advantages found in a displacement hull. This certainly proved to be the case in our positioning voyage. With moderately rough beam seas crossing the Caribbean, and gale-driven beam , quartering and broad-on seas to 15 feet in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, the crew was able to perform normal watch-keeping duties. There was no need to reduce our speed from the “turns” elected to maintain our economical speed of 12 knots. We never pounded or slammed.
“The vessel was exceptionally dry. We never shipped or came close to shipping a green sea. After several days of steady, gale-driven spray, not a drop entered - by deck scuttles, W/T door, windows or Engine Rm vents. This is unusual!”
“A deep-vee hull form has excellent seakeeping characteristics.... It exhibits less heave, pitch and yaw.... It has much more stability.... However, its roll motions and lateral accelerations are comparable to those of round bilge hull forms.”
“The deep-vee hull design exhibited better seakeeping performance than that of a very good, state-of-the-art round-bilge hull design.... It also exhibited significantly less yaw in following seas and thus much better coursekeeping ability. The deep-vee model exhibited much lower roll angles than the round-bilge model.
“The available seakeeping data indicates that a deep-vee hull form provides significantly improved seakeeping as compared with a round-bilge hull form.
“Recent studies by the Navy have indicated that a deep-vee hull form offers seakeeping performance that is nearly comparable to that of a Swath-type ship.”
“As far as regards seakeeping behaviour, a very extensive experimental program has been carried out, testing a deep-V model in two sea states (3 and 5), with significant wave heights of 1 m. and 3 m. respectively, four ship speeds (v-0, 12, 22, 32 knots) and for each of the previous conditions five different head-sea angles were tested (head, bow, transverse, quartering and following sea). All these results were compared with similar data achieved for comparable size “round bilge” hulls.... The seakeeping characteristics of deep-V hull have given positive confirmation of the expected behavior both in terms of motion and accelerations, which make it practically equivalent to a round bilge hull having at least double the displacement.”
Two very exciting accounts of the 1960 Miami to Nassau Powerboat Race are worth looking for in library archives. One is by Carlton Mitchell, owner and skipper of Finnisterre, 3-time Bermuda Race winner under sail, who crewed for Dick Bertram in that historic event; this appeared in Sports Illustrated’s April 23, 1960 issue as “Glory be to Power” and is a riveting first-hand account. The other is John Crouse’s article “The World’s Most Rugged Race” which appeared in Boating Magazine’s April 1960 issue. The 1960 race was won by the first “Moppie” and the results transfirmed powerboat design: they are credited with confirming the deep-V hullform as the best solution to rough ocean passages under power.
“In addition, the Fairey yard at Hamble became a focal point for the sportsmen of the day with events such as the Cowes-Torquay Powerboat Race in 1961, organized by Max Aiken and run over 179 miles in extremely rough conditions. It was won by Thunderbolt powered with 325hp petrol engines, driven by Tommy Sopwith at an average speed of 25 mph; second was Yo-Yo powered by a single 120hp petrol engine, driven by Jim Wynne; in third place was a Huntsman 28 Hear and Now with twin Ford Pearson Barracuda’s of 98hp each, driven by Charles Curry and chartered by Major Floor. Ray Hunt was the man at the drawing board for all three winning designs, no mean feat when only nine of 27 starters managed to complete the race.”
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