Hickman Sea sled Story, 23foot plug to be built for launch 2008

[tonydignity]

Hi
My youngest son and I are begining to Produce another 23foot Plug starting in September .
It will be trialed in the Bristol Channel some time in the late spring of 2008.
I have decided to modify my original ,some what, to make the new vessel "Greener".
You are invited to come see the trials if you would be interested
Best Regards Tony Payne

[Ausiwik]

Hi Tony this is my third attempt to reach you and my posts just keep disappearing
Any how I think its due to me cutting and pasting your post earlier this morning when you said the 20 and the 29 were not succesfull I think thats what you ment
I have followed your input with interest and seen and appreciated, the vast array of photos you have shared with us
I am hoping to start a Sea sled type of vessel in the near future for fishing purpose (6.5 m) out here in Mooloolaba Queensland
I am currently building a light weight Trailer Trawler (as a spec job ) in vacume infused composites and Im approching the finish stages.
http://marshalldesign.blogspot.com
I am a little confused by your last post re the transom Did you mean that neither the 20 or the 29 were sucessful and that the original was or ???
Sorry, I'm just trying to nail this down as it appears to be the key here (where the combined air water mix exits the hull )
Thank You
Steve Marshall
PS my last post just disappeared but it may well reappear somewhere else

http://marshalldesign.blogspot.com

[tonydignity]

Sorry mate I was long time no reply, yes it is my opinion ,that 23 foot x 7ft 6in.is an optimum size with 90 hp,as max for best overall performance. though it will work well with power down to 28hp and Plane.
Happy New Year
Tony

[PAR]

Have you made adjustments to the trip chines and the chine profiles? How about topside flare? A sneeze Guard?

I ask as I have a fair amount of experience with Hickman style, Jackson and others, including my own. The Hickman style is a wonderful concept, but development has been enjoyed since those lines were penned, to address some issues.

[tonydignity]

No ,I concentrated on maintaining the positive elements of Hickman and to produce a production product , if you look at the pics I added a trip well astern,I agree it might be an advantage to add another , but felt holding the bubble untill well aft gave the overall performance. Best tony

[PAR]

Carrying the bubble isn't the prime concerns, I and several others have encountered with the Hickman. Tripping in high speed turns, sneezing in steep or contrary chop, venation at the prop and a few other issues were common among the designs that stayed close to the original Hickman hull form.

With proper modifications, this is a great shallow water craft, which is also capable of some rough water duty. In other words, efficiency isn't a problem, in fact it's quite high compared to other, more conventional arrangements, but it does have it's own set of "squeaks" that need tweaking.

[Ausiwik]

Thanks Tony for getting back with that info.
Ive not advanced much on building one yet other than doing drawings . Im still building the trailer trawler, then race car wings, then so on and so on.
thanks steve M http://marshalldesign.blogspot.com