How fast are beachcat hulls ACTUALLY CAPABLE of going with lots of motor power on the back?
Supposedly beachcats are displacement boats and therefore have a maximum hull speed, since they are not capable of really planing.
We have a Hobie 18 that has been converted into a powerboat (no mast) on it. We put a fiberglass "pod" on it that is fastened to the main and aft beams. The outboard motor mounts on the aft end of the "pod," and the front end of the pod has a console with steering wheel and controls for the motor.
Originally, we had an 18-horse motor on it, and the boat would go just under 25 mph (verified by radar gun). That motor got stolen, so now we have a 30-horse motor on the back, and Rick thinks the boat goes about 30 mph (on flat water).
This is including the "pod," which weighs about 150 pounds, and the motor, which probably weighs over 100 pounds, plus a 200-pound person on the boat.
So what I am curious about is whether this means the hulls are capable of going that fast (even with at least 450 pounds of "crew" weight) and, therefore, they could potentially go that fast under sail if they had enough sail area, and with the center of effort positioned correctly.
Obviously, with a heavy outboard motor on the back, the sterns squat down, and the bows are up and there is no tendency to pitchpole.
I just think that if you can prove the potential hull speed of a sailboat by using a motor, you can then figure out how to design a sail plan with enough equivalent power to get it to that hull speed without pitchpoling. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
