Mahogany 28'5.5" Planing Hull
design specifications, gallery, and builders information
Gallery, Specifications, and Comments
Mahogany 28 foot 5.5 inch Planing Hull
Mahogany 28' 5.5" Planing Hull
Construction: cold-molded
Length: 28' 0"
Beam: 7' 6"
Draft: 20.5"
Displacement: 5,700 lbs (half-load)
Power: Twin 330 HP Mercruiser Outdrives
Top Speed: 65 Knots
Builder:
Comments
The step hull has been around a long time. A transverse discontinuity appears in what is generally acknowledged as the first planing hull patent, that of the Reverend C.M. Ramus in 1872. Though no working vessel resulted from Reverend Ramus's work, step hull "Hydroplanes" started appearing soon after 1900. Development continued until about the Second World War when most of the world's navies decided against step hulls for Motor Torpedo Boats. They had a reputation as hard riding, (because of flat sections aft of the step) were prone to break, (bottom discontinuity is difficult to engineer in wood) and had trim problems resulting from major shifts of LCG after torpedo launch. So the step hull fell from the public eye and little development was attempted until quite recently. We now see steps that work on offshore racers, monohull and catamaran, and they have appeared on a number of production 'Muscle Boats'.
The pad is a narrow section of hull with much less deadrise running along the centerline from the transom to the first step. Because of the pad's low deadrise it creates tremendous lift for it's area, and it's the section of hull last to leave the water and first to reenter. Some say it cushions reentry. The boat rides on this pad and the area of hull just forward of the second step. This makes the boat longitudinally stable but still flighty in comparison to the regular deep-vee.
last updated August 02, 2006