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Old 12-30-2012, 10:14 AM   #27
Nomad Willy
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City: Concrete Washington State
Vessel Name: Willy
Vessel Model: Willard Nomad 30'
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 18,743
The efficiency of a vessel is measured by how much power it takes per ton of displacement to be driven and for a bulbous bow to even stay attached in rough going it must be very heavy. So to just break even it must overcome that large increase in weight PLUS the extra skin friction drag just not to be a loss. So it appears the benefit would need to be great just to break even and overcome it's own penalties. And their benefit is only available at a certain speed since their whole function is dependent on the length of the vessel's own wave starting at it's bow and becoming longer and shorter depending on speed.

Probably would work on Willy though as we almost always go 6.15 knots. The whales of McKay Reach may view it as a battering ram though.

I think it would be better and not any or much more trouble to just make the boat longer. And considering that a great deal to most BBs are fitted to vessel's with very raked bows so just a plumb stem like the Titanic should get much the same result. But the plumb stem would probably not fly in our "in w the new out w the old" mentality of our pop culture. New is always better even if it's not.

So the possibilities for a BB on small boats is limited at best and the only weak possibility exists almost exclusively for full disp boats. And there are VERY few of them in the powerboat world.
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Eric

North Western Washington State USA
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