And there it sat – at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, even 30 knots – that
platform stayed in pretty much the same position. The only thing
that changed was the amount of white spray behind it. Under
extreme acceleration the bow lifted slightly as the mid-section of
the hull came up on the plane, and at planing speeds the level was
slightly higher out the water but little else changed.
Even when throwing the boat hard-to-port-hard-to-
starboard, the platform’s angle changed very little, which
is to say the boat hardly heeled. This is very different to a
conventional hull, which leans in towards the centre of a turn.
It is also different from most multihulls, which tend to lean
slightly outwards, a motion which many find disconcerting. The
Sea Blade however heeled in to the turn by no more than about
10 o, and then only at top-end speeds.
Shoving the throttle forward, she takes off like a scalded
cat. There was no dramatic “ok, we are now planing” moment- we simply rose evenly throughout the power range. This is no
doubt due to the energy recovered by the aerated water in the
entrapment tunnel, providing a soft rather than a sudden lift.
There were a couple of other boats around, and I found
someone pushing a big wake. I hit this at over 30 knots.
“Shloosh” is about the best description I can give of the
sensation. There was no slam as we hit the wake, almost no lift
and definitely no slam as we came down the other side.
Not quite believing it, I repeated the move – several times.
The only time I got a noticeable roll was when I went over it at an
angle, with one side lifting slightly before than the other. Yes, we
did lift the bow slightly – but softly – and landed just as softly.
So, the hull definitely achieves ride comfort. How about
efficiency? Although Winstone says he has seen 43 knots with
two people on board, we got her up to 38 knots with a four
people, a nearly-full tank of fuel, two full sets of dive gear, and
a day’s worth of picnic gear, food and several water toys. At
that speed, the big Yamaha was turning over at 5,500 rpm andRIGHT The multi-
purpose layout is one
of the vessel’s major
attractions.114 Boating New Zealand
RIGHT It’s
difficult to escape
the sense of fun
inherent in the
design.
FAR RIGHT
Hold on to that
biscuit.