Sad News...

[HellRaZoR004]

Such a tragedy. Considering the boat was 40 something feet long it looks like it went in excess of 40 vertical feet off the water.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by HellRaZoR004

Such a tragedy. Considering the boat was 40 something feet long it looks like it went in excess of 40 vertical feet off the water.

After reading the press release the other day I couldn't understand how "wind" could possibly tip a boat upside down. I Just watched the video and I was astonished by the estimated 170-195MPH speed the boat was traveling at before the crash. 50MPH in a boat feels like 100MPH in a car. I can't fathom what those type of speeds feel like. How fast can those boats go?

[Woodsy]

The boat that won the shootout went 244MPH... its called the Spirit of Qatar if you are inclined to google it.

Godspeed Mike!

Woodsy

[ApS]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

After reading the press release the other day I couldn't understand how "wind" could possibly tip a boat upside down. I Just watched the video and I was astonished by the estimated 170-195MPH speed the boat was traveling at before the crash. 50MPH in a boat feels like 100MPH in a car. I can't fathom what those type of speeds feel like. How fast can those boats go?

As we can see in the video, the "wind" hardly raised a ripple. If helicopters were present at this event—that's a game-changer.

The reporters also described the boat as a "catamaran"; however, the boat in the fatal crash would be better described as a "tunnel-hull", given that the space between the hulls is a solid material. In other catamaran craft, that same space is given heavy netting to discourage lift and avoid capsize. The benefit to the "tunnel-hull" in powerboats is to gain lift, which increases speed. Even at less than half those speeds, the tunnel-hull scarcely leaves any wake!

[Jack]

A few pictures of the design boat he was in although there was no canopy to these, just open design. At the poker run I go to each year in upstate New York on the St Lawrence river I have seen 3 canopy style boats-they lead the pack of them all due to the speed they go. I have seen them run as fast as 145-160 but then its not a race!! My Way, out of Canada and Aquamania from Alexandria Bay, NY are the two popular ones. Note the air lift design to the boat to allow for air to go under lifting it so less drag in the water... Very fast and powerful boats!!!