RGR / Doug Wright 28'

[Rayzor]

Thanks for all the nice compliments. I will respond in depth when I have more time. To answer a few questions the boat will be built in a seperate facility along with the new Top Fuel, and alcohol boats. This boat was purposely designed to make it more affordable to the general public. Big boat looks feel with a single to run over 100. And just have fun. And to answer yes it will also be a race boat. Thanks Have a Great Weekend

Best of luck with the new 28, I'm certain it will be an awesome rig! Great to see something new to get excited about. We've done everything there is that can be done with these 28 Skaters, considering they came out way back in '94! What TFH team are you part of, and what new boats do you have coming out? New teams? Besides my BAH, I'm pretty connected with some of the heavy hitters in the pro classes out here.

[Davidlake]

Yup David, yours is the last one! The molds aren't even in the shop any more, so there's no new ones in the pipeline even. I honestly think yours will be the last one ever built. He's sold so few in the last decade, it's not worth taking up space in the shop any more. My '07 is #124 and I think you said your '13 is #129? That's only about 1 every two years, considering he hasn't built any after yours.

WOW!!! how I love my 28! - but expensive as you stated.

[CLIMAX]

Razor we have designed this one from zero also, Dan Ellison designed it. I personally have been on it a year and a half. If you Know the Heavy Hitter they are very aware the molds were pulled last week. Robert Mills is coming out of retirement? And my friend Franky Taylor built the bullit for the TAH. Hold on we will be there shortly and one Pro Mod

[Rayzor]

Razor we have designed this one from zero also, Dan Ellison designed it. I personally have been on it a year and a half. If you Know the Heavy Hitter they are very aware the molds were pulled last week. Robert Mills is coming out of retirement? And my friend Franky Taylor built the bullit for the TAH. Hold on we will be there shortly and one Pro Mod

Very cool! I just spent last weekend w/ Scarlata and Knox down at Parker last weekend - Tony's a good friend of mine. Eddie didn't mention any new team coming to TFH is why I asked. Tommy Thompson is backing a boat in every pro class now, as you probably know, and another buddy of ours - Mike DeClark is already running some good #s in their new TAH. You guys coming out for the WFs this year?

[CLIMAX]

That si what we hope, Kirkland Knows

[CLIMAX]

Why do you think it blew out and is sitting upside down? I did that in the only vee I ever had a forty two Executioner . Let's the ass blow out. Then that is exactly the way you end up if it is stepped too heavy. Briliant Idea

[Chaz]

Rick ,
I'm sure your above answer is aimed at post 41 ....
Ten years .. ok maybe a little more ago a couple big step's were in .
To some, It's easy to see your new design with more , smaller , subtle steps will "hide" a larger percentage of the running surface at speed . Others will never get it ..

Now Ric , I hope you and the general had fun this weekend flyin all over the country .. but ship his azzzzz home , He gotz work to do .. ! Ahhh , please ,, ahh .. sir



Frankie Taylor ... you mean this Frankie Taylor ...

[CUDA]

Stepped-hull drawbacks
As I’ve noted, stepped bottoms are not for everyone, largely because a fully loaded boat traveling much below 30 knots simply isn’t going to go fast enough to get up and ride on its steps and transom (the third contact point in a two-step hull). The steps will actually create extra resistance when cruising at less than 30 knots since they increase form drag and turbulence without the benefit of reduced wetted surface.
We all know that it often gets rough on open water and that big waves will keep you cruising well below 30 knots much of the time, making the stepped hull a much less viable choice for a family boat. In fact, if you see steps on a boat that cruises below 25 knots, especially if it has a high CG and narrow beam, then absent extremely light bottom loading, you are almost certainly in the presence of a marketing gimmick. The ultimate, and most transparent, fraud is the chine that’s carved out to look like the entrance to a step, while the hull bottom stays as straight as a Garrison Keillor Lutheran.
Like a catamaran that only performs well when it is light enough for the tunnel to rise out of reach of the waves, a stepped hull must not be overloaded. Putting too much weight aboard will make it harder to achieve the speed required for the stepped bottom to work properly. Too much weight will also make it easier to block airflow to the steps, as the hull sits deeper in the water, increasing the chance of a spinout, capsize or sudden stop. So watch your weight. That’s one thing I like about a well-designed conventional monohull over a cat or a stepped hull; it is much more forgiving of excessive weight and operator inattention.
Stepped hulls ride on pressure points located just forward of each step and at the transom. Since the hydrodynamic pressure at each of these small patches of hull is very high and localized, it is difficult to change the hull’s trim, (its bow-down attitude). If the hull is well-balanced in terms of its longitudinal center of gravity and its center of dynamic lift, then all is mostly well. But even in the best planing boats, it helps to be able to raise the bow for improved control down-sea, and to drop the bow for a smoother ride (if slower and wetter) up-sea.
The stepped bottom also reacts more quickly to a wave gradient, so the hull will be at a more acute angle to the next wave when it impacts it than the slower-acting (in trim) conventional bottom. For all its efficiency and speed, the stepped hull is harder to fIy, or control in trim and heel, than the slower conventional hull. The same pressure points that lock in trim also give the hull a tendency to precisely follow the wave gradient, which is often exactly what you don’t want. For instance, you want to keep the bow up when running down the back of a wave. If you want to be able to run at 15 to 25 knots, which you will have to do anyway when it gets rough, then a stepped bottom will do you no good, and at slower speeds it will actually be less efficient than a conventional hull.
There is also the effect of the steps on transverse, or lateral, stability. All is well when the boat is running along at high speed in fairly calm water. However, if the boat suddenly slows — the driver chops the throttle, for example — and abruptly changes direction, roll can be accentuated. Also consider that the hull at the chines directly abaft the step generates no lift, and this is not what you want when trying to recover from a deep roll, whether that roll was induced by heel or listing. And, naturally, you can expect a stepped hull to heel more in a turn for the same reasons, though this can be offset by chine geometry (chine flat width and down angle).

Formula's John Adams and other designers have made solid progress with stepped-hull boats.

Taking the right steps
Along with the issue of stalling out the steps and creating a momentary vacuum, high-speed hard turns should be undertaken with care and only by those with the requisite skill and judgment to do them safely. The bottom line is that high-speed hard turns have been a bugaboo of stepped hulls.
I was at the Multi-Agency Craft Conference in June at the Navy’s base in Little Creek, Va., and I ran and rode on several of the most advanced step-bottom boats around, including one by Michael Peters. In calm Chesapeake Bay conditions and with moderate loading (half fuel and modest passengers), the Metal Shark Fearless 40, a Peters design, did fine in a hard turn, as the builder pointed out. As one would expect, the people driving the boats were experts, but this was the one potentially poor handling characteristic they all pointed to as a non-issue.
Operator inexperience is one reason stepped hulls spin out in a turn, along with inattention. If you are used to a conventional deep-vee, like I am, you are likely accustomed to running with the drives trimmed out to minimize wetted surface and increase speed. I only use the tabs to correct for my single outboard’s prop torque or if there is a lot of weight aft. If I am going into a hard turn at high speed, I drop the engine down, tucking it in to get the prop deeper in the water to prevent it from ventilating. The boat slows and the bow drops, but it’s otherwise a non-event. I can also chop the throttle part way into a turn without incident, other than slowing the boat down. Not so with the stepped hull, which would be a thrilling place to be under those conditions.
If the stepped hull’s drives are tucked in, you accentuate the problem of the center of frictional (and form) resistance being farther forward, which leads to coursekeeping instabilities. In this case, the bottom is wet much farther forward than it should be, essentially creating a longer lever arm transversely. With the bow immersed, there is a greater distance longitudinally from the props to the center of resistance, so the same turning force is working over a greater distance, which is what makes the boat spin out so easily. And remember that a stepped hull tends to run flatter than a conventional hull to start with. Before starting a hard turn at high speed, the drives must be trimmed to get the bow up and out of the water, and you can’t chop power going into the turn.
There is also the issue of vertical center of gravity. A boat that has less transverse stability or whose transverse stability is subject to change considerably depending on speed, loading, attitude and wave conditions won’t tolerate a higher vertical center of gravity. In other words, you can’t add a lot of weight up high, like installing a flybridge or tuna tower, after taking delivery. Expect the boat to be more reactive to strong relative wind, especially from the beam, when the boat has more sail area up high.
Finally, you can’t have waterjet power with conventional steps, since the water filling the jet intakes will be full of entrained air. Just choose one, waterjet power or conventional steps, and leave it at that.Conclusion
A stepped hull is a very different animal than a conventional planing hull. It’s not necessarily a bad animal; it’s just different from what most people are looking for. It’s a little like owning a poodle and a Doberman. Both make fine pets, but you don’t have to be as nice to the poodle.
Be sure to keep these factors in mind when choosing a boat for casual family use. Conventional planing hulls are more forgiving of operator error and inexperience, can tolerate heavier loads without ill effect and can operate efficiently from below 12 or 13 knots on up. Stepped hulls work their magic when everything is dialed in and the boat has a focused mission in moderate sea conditions involving cruise speeds starting at a minimum of 25 knots. Dialed in means the boat’s balance (dynamic lift vs. center of gravity) is spot on and not subject to much change. Running trim is optimized for speed, handling, distribution of wetted surface and minimal resistance. Displacement is under control, and the hull’s basic geometry (shape in three dimensions) is optimized, such as deadrise distribution, chine flats, strakes and buttocks aft. The steps are the correct transverse angle and height — the buttocks ahead of the step have to be lower than the buttocks abaft the step — and they should be reliably supplied with air at the chines under extremes of loading, heel and speed. When all of these conditions are met, the step- bottomed boat’s performance and utility can be a joy to behold.
What all this means is that the stepped boat is for the specialist in a niche market. Invincible, Intrepid and Contender are all popular among this niche segment in part because their boats can go faster for the power and farther on a tank of fuel. Based on what I have seen, owners of these boats tend to be more experienced, so they likely know how to drive properly and safely and have screwed up often enough in the past to know they must be careful and pay attention.
If you want to cruise at 30 to 60 knots, go farther on a tank of fuel and faster for the horsepower, and you have enough experience in high-speed planing craft to have equal parts ability and humility, then by all means there could be a stepped hull out there with your name on it. Some stepped bottoms are predictable and handle very well, while a few are just plain dangerous. Make sure you can tell the difference by doing your homework, but don’t put too much stock in what you read and hear from any single source. Dig around, diligently acquire expertise, talk to people who own (or, better yet, used to own) one of these boats, and run them to decide if one is right for you. You’ll be glad you did.
Eric Sorensen is a consultant to boat- and shipbuilders and to the government. He was founding director of the J.D. Power and Associates marine practice and is the authoir of "Sorense';s Guide to Powerboats: How to Evaluate Design, Construction and Performance." A longtime licensed captain, he can be reached through his website at www.ericllc.com.
See related article:
- Passing the stepped-hull test
This article originally appeared in the December 2011 issue.
Comments (1)


1 Monday, 12 November 2012 09:52
Roger Mutimer



Hi Eric,yes I agree with your comments with regard to the stepped hull.I have designed a hull which is fully aerated and still has the same handling characteristics as a standard conventional planing hull.





yvComment v.1.24.0


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[Chaz]

Not much , if any of that applies to this boat. Unless someone plans to buy one to use as a family boat that never goes over 30 knots ...

[AZMIDLYF]

What, not a ski boat? 8(

[CLIMAX]

Steps are nothing new then were developed by the government for sea planes

[CUDA]

Steps are nothing new then were developed by the government for sea planes

Not all steps are good design and the driver has to understand the different technique in turning at high speed


The Concept was originally proposed by Rev. Ramus 1872...

First used in racing 1912 Maple Leaf 4
http://www.lesliefield.com/other_his...the_future.htm

[JPEROG]

Not all steps are good design and the driver has to understand the different technique in turning at high speed


The Concept was originally proposed by Rev. Ramus 1872...

First used in racing 1912 Maple Leaf 4
http://www.lesliefield.com/other_his...the_future.htm

I think that most guys stepping up for this hull will have a clue of what they are getting in to. I am more concerned with seeing these boats run in the rough then anything else.

Joe

[Dave Strong]

I have no concerns about nothing, sure it will be an awesome hull and can't wait to see the finished boat. No boat does everything perfect but sure this will be a great allround boat.

Dave

[NICE PAIR]

I have no concerns about nothing, sure it will be an awesome hull and can't wait to see the finished boat. No boat does everything perfect but sure this will be a great allround boat.

Dave

"So many idiots, so few bullets"