42' Carbon Fiber - "Passagemaker Lite"

[scott diego]

After reading and following this forum for a long while (thank you for such a great resource) I became enthralled by progressive powerboat design. The purpose of posting this thread is to post the fuel economy results of the boat I bought and how its design has either advantages or drawbacks.

The things that inspired me were the ability to go long distances in a boat while living simply and being frugal with fuel consumption. (enabling the user to get out on the water more without denting the pocketbook so much)

I had always loved the 'go anywhere design' Tad Roberts' Passagemaker Lite but knew that a 'newly' built one would likely be out of my price range forever. As I scoured the used boat market, I had always looked for single diesel straight shaft boats that could sleep a few people and could be single handed and hopefully trailered to cut down on transport costs. The design I had always linked to extreme fuel efficiency was narrow beam, lengthy LWL, and high ratio of beam to LWL. In this case 7.5'(at its widest) by 42' = 5.6. (with the low wake, as I understand it, being a tell-tale sign of good fuel efficiency)

Here are a few links that I always looked at and saw beautiful design efficiency:

Blue Whale overhead:
blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/files/2010/12/Bluewhale.jpg

Nigel Irens - Molly Ban:

http://www.nigelirens.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Molly-Ban-Ext-01.jpg

Dashew FPB 64:

http://avatarlogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/launch-day-148.jpg


At nights I had been blissfully perusing boats, all the wile understanding completely that passagemaking under power is often a wealthy persons past-time due to significant costs. Then one boat in particular caught my eye. It was long, light, efficiently powered, and wasn't $1MM. I had watched this boat sit for a while looking for its perfect owner (as custom boats often require) and after a lots of deliberation and the all-critical-approval from the wife, I decided to give the owner a call. I flew out, rode in it, and ended up buying it. (I am well aware it is not nearly as blue-water capable as the boats it emulates such as Tad's PML and Dashew's FPB.)

boatselect-images.com/boats/933/TX/15365/newick-42-picnic-1.jpg

The specs of the boat are as follows:

42' Carbon Fiber, fiberglass, and linear foam construction - Total weight ~ 5,000 lbs - Designed by Dick Newick
4 fuel tanks - 50 gal/each (200 total)
Yanmar 4LHA-DTP turbo diesel - 158 continuous rated HP

I have been really happy with the performance of the boat and am continually getting more in-depth understading of the various on-board systems.
I cant wait to push its boundaries farther and farther along the pacific coast and beyond!

Here are some pics and the fuel economies I have been testing against the below performance curves and fuel consumption chart:

http://www.yanmarmarine.eu/theme/yanmarportal/UploadedFiles/Marine/productDownloads/Pleasure - datasheet/English/Yanmar-4LHA-DTP.pdf

 

[scott diego]

Pics here - uploading

 

[fcfc]

Interesting boat.

Look like http://www.stadtdesign.com/designs/production_yachts_power/fineliner_40

The main problem of fuel saving is that it has a cost...

The cost may be reduced speed, reduced comfort or increased price (or a combination of). It is up to the future owner to choose what option he prefers.

 

[groper]

i like your boat too scott Have you got any videos of it underway? I was thinking about building something like this next perhaps...

 

[Tad]

Thanks for posting this Scott, nice boat.

I think I was vaguely aware of this boat, but any further detail will be very interesting. Particularly your impressions on seakeeping and/or comfort at sea.

I have lots of questions, feel free to ignore them. What's the beam? How do you know the boat's weight? Is 5000 pounds with full fuel, 1/2, none? What is the gear reduction and propeller size?

Be aware that actual fuel consumption can only be measured in the boat while under way. The theoretical curve provided by the manufacturer is different than what the engine will consume in operation.

 

[scott diego]

Attached is a pic of the boat out of the water sitting on the trailer.

I am relaying the weight from the Seller who had the boat made. A seasoned boat builder (paying to have custom boats made for him) I believe that weight to be without fuel. Also, when towing the boat across the country the 'weight' felt correct, but I have not independently verified.

The beam is 7.5 feet at its widest point. There is a lengthy keel that protects the running gear.

The transmission is a zf hurth 1.5. By all means ask as many questions as you wish, I am happy to participate on this forum.

On seakeeping, I am still getting comfortable taking it out into bluewater. In head on seas it handles them like a champion. Been in a short interval 8-10' before heading back in. Abeam seas are where I am still stretching her legs.

I will report back when I am able to take a vid running the boat and post some more pics when I am on a proper computer.

 

[scott diego]

Interesting boat.

Look like http://www.stadtdesign.com/designs/production_yachts_power/fineliner_40

The main problem of fuel saving is that it has a cost...

The cost may be reduced speed, reduced comfort or increased price (or a combination of). It is up to the future owner to choose what option he prefers.

Wow I hadn't seen that before. The design looks very similar! Beautiful boat.

 

[scott diego]

Here is a pic showing the profile.

 

[Doug Lord]

Nice looking boat! Like the idea behind it.....

 

[scott diego]

I plan at some point to install a diesel flowmeter to really pin down the fuel efficiency at each RPM step.

Question: I am going to put a little 'half tower' on the boat like the one below:

I am debating changing out the existing U-flex mechanical throttle to electronic controls (for the ease of adding the second station):

Seastar I6800

www.jmsonline.net/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/265x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/-/1-i6811.jpg

SeaStar Solutions http://www.seastarsolutions.com/products/controls-and-cables/electronic-controls/i6800-electronic-control/

OR: maybe just using this system and keeping the mechanical controls:

cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0222/8308/products/12_1028a239-2cbe-430f-9b5b-ccb2da87cfa0_grande.jpeg?v=1449592053

What do you guys think? (the increased cost aside)

 

[scott diego]

Have the fuel management system working (Maretron FFM100). Here are a couple pics of the fuel economy. I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[scott diego]

Picture 2

 

[Steve W]

I like, its probably cheaper to run than a sailboat.

 

[FAST FRED]

"I like, its probably cheaper to run than a sailboat."

Perhaps but it has the accomodation of a sail boat ,where most living is done down in the hull.

Makes for a very seaworthy vessel , but sadly most boaters seem to be looking for Roommarians .

2 or 3 story beach balls with vast above deck accomodations on the shortest WL , for the lowest dock bills.

Efficient boats seem to have a tiny market.

 

[Ol-Paint]

Interesting fuel burn numbers. What is the maximum speed--is that the 2nd picture?

Douglas