Originally Posted by
Ghost
Happy to, and I have all my own gear. Of course, I'll need a plane ticket to meet you somewhere with crystal clear water...
Originally Posted by
Ed Donnelly
As long as the water is over 88 f I'm in
I will pay my own air fare too....Ed
Alright, it's ON!! Just gotta wait for a bluebird day with more than 8" of visibility in the TN river. Unless maybe someone in the S. FL contingent wants to host the event...
Lots of discussion around the interweb regarding steps in small boats. Is the juice worth the squeeze? A definite "maybe." In small boats - not sure what the official cutoff is, in my mind it's around 25-27' - they can be a detriment. First, not enough LOA for the step to make a huge difference compared to a "big" boat. Second, and more importantly, they introduce some well-known handling quirks that are magnified by the short LOA. Since new boaters generally buy smaller boats they are the ones that will probably end up with the small stepped hulls and that can be a recipe for disaster.
Seems like the potential for adverse handling for the most part increases with speed, and my slow boat has been pretty docile thus far. Just gotta stay awake at the wheel and ignore the temptation to trim in and/or reduce throttle while turning, which is tough after that has become ingrained over the years. Gotta keep the trim up and set the throttle before turning. I don't do any WOT sharp turns either. Mostly seems to be a matter of getting the hull settled in for a turn and keeping track of what it's doing. I suspect that at 70 my boat would be a different animal and would require some retraining...
Regal has had admirable success with their "FasTrac" single step pictured above, Donzi less so in boats under 26 (only the LXR, Z22, and 22ZX). Obviously some mixed results with the BBC powered ZX... Not many other mainstream boatbuilders doing it for small hulls, although multiple boutique builders have experimented with them over the years. The LXR has the step and a shallow-v pad running from the step all the way to the transom. Some folks have postulated that the step helps with mid-range efficiency and the pad takes over at WOT. Not sure I've had the power or the right prop to confirm that yet, but maybe I'll find out this summer.
Bottom line, I thought that was a great picture and really illustrates the hydrodynamics of a step in action on a small boat. Lots of physics at work there... Now I'm just a dumb Artillery guy and didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so definitely curious to hear some other experiences with and opinions on stepped hulls.
Last edited by duckhunter; 04-22-2013 at 08:33 PM.
Reason: clarification
"Speed's fine, but accuracy is final."
- Bill Jordan
1998 Donzi 21LXR
1971 Boston Whaler 13