The First Real Offshore Boat ...
 

I'm curious as to what was the first real performance offshore boat. Not nessecarily a race boat but, the first performance hull designed for speed in rough water.

Lets see what everyone thinks and post some pix if you have em.

:signs069: :party-smiley-048:

formula 233?

31 bertram.

Elco PT patrol boat

Ya beat me to it

:worthless_without_p

Agreed. Bertram's 31 Moppie was really the first legitimate offshore racing boat. Before the 31 Moppie, guys were running whatever they could plow big engines into with no real ability to take waves at speed.

Bertram did not not design the Moppie. The designer was Ray Hunt. Bertram contracted with Hunt to make the Moppie. Ray Hunt's design Bertram produced was the first 24 degree deep vee to hit the water (besides the prototypes Hunt built).

Pretty amazing that the 24 degree bottom is still the standard used today for offshore go-fasters.

Here's a link to an interesting read on Ray Hunt:

http://www.bertram31.com/ray_hunt.htm

way back when...Noah designed the 24 degree ark, hell that may have even been before Brownie's time.....

Great stuff guys!!

There were offshore races before the Bertram arrived on the scene. The early race hulls were semi V planing hulls like the Prowler out of Florida and others. These relied on big power and stripped down sportfish hulls to gain offshore speed in big water...... but they were certainly performance hulls.

T2x

x3 :cool:

True......... but not in Offshore conditions. The issue here is Offshore performance hulls.

X4. She was built for speed in rough water.
It just so happens she had a few guns mounted also.:)



Darrell.

Maybe not the first but an oldie non the less - SeaCraft!

ok, really...i saw an "eddy" this weekend...!

Looks like fun

Question for member 'Thunderbolt TS' .

Do you know what happened to Renato [Sonny] Levi's 4 engined "Barbarina" ?

Here're the pictures of her

http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/Barbarina.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/1...0Barbarina.jpg
http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/barba.jpg

ok..
i'll put back post 16.5...

Babarina
 

Hi
not sure if she is still around, the Med must have thousands of boats lurking in harbours and marina's some very famous I am sure..we know that ULTIMA DEA is now used as a fishing boat, apparently in Italy and the fishermen love Levi boats..
There is very good Italian site www.altomareblu.com
which has pages devoted to Levi, it has english translation of sorts!! maybe they may know...tell me are you a fan of Levi ?
I had dinner with him in Puket last new year he is absolutely fascinating to talk to...

Regards
Mike
THUNDERBOLT
1ST Winner Cowes Torquay 1961

Hi Mike: when I was racing with Carlo Bonomi in the early seventies, we used to headquarter in Cowes at the Groves and Gutteridge yard. That`s where I met Sonny Levi and his beautiful daughter. He was building his boats in the same building where I mantained the race boats, as you say he is a great guy, very personable and brilliant. I think it`s interesting this thread about first offshore boats. I think John Crouse pretty much covered it in the Searace book. I started in 1968 with mercury factory sponsored Seacraft 21` with twin 110hp outboards, I ran that boat in the original Bahamas 500 which was 548 statute miles with one stop for refuel. Out of 75 staters we finished 8th overall and first outboard to finish, over 13 hours .
Nice to hear from a Brit in the forums. I won Cowes Torquay Cowes 3 out of 5 times entered, It`s the Indy 500, and Lemans all in one. Best Regards Richie Powers 7XCHAMP

Quote:

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Originally Posted by THUNDERBOLT TS (Post 2922177)

...tell me are you a fan of Levi ?


Regards
Mike
THUNDERBOLT
1ST Winner Cowes Torquay 1961

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I'm a fan of Barbarina ,especially with her four Lamborghini engines ,hehe.
Friend of mine is a builder and he talked about Levi , that's how I got to know the name.
My friend's boat's designs were inspired by Italian naval architecture like Sonny' and Riva's .
Here's the link for my friend's boats and history www.kazulinboats.com .

Kazulin 24
http://www3.telus.net/spectrasonly/still%20iso.jpg

I´d say the first real offshore boat would be the OHEKA II built in 1927.
http://www.collectrussia.com/sBoot/ohekaphoto.jpg

although this one was built a year before and is lying at my garage...

Barbarina
 

Spectra

Your friends produce some very fine looking boats, what do you own?
Have you seen Sonny Levi's book Dhows to Delta's absolutely crammed full of his designs and history.

As you have seen had great reply from Richie Powers..it is amazing how the web breaks down distances..have you looked at our site recently is now back with new articles.

www.classicoffshore.com

x5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8tQP3s9DIQ

Sweet Video. I assume that is Mr. Sutphen SR.?

Checkout this site. http://www.herreshoff.org/hmm/index.html
Can't find pics but I have been to the museum and seen them there. Offshore powerboats dating back in the 1800s

Forgot to add that the designer, Herreshoff was blind and still built boats. Most of the designs he came up with are the basis of designs today.

Would be smoked by a Huckins PT boat ... probably even a Huckins cruiser of the same era

OHEKA is a good suggestion, but I think the British Turbina goes back farther and was faster

Elco, as well a British Power Boat hulls had a nasty habit of breaking their backs, not really surprising as Elcos were British Power boats in drag, and they weren't as bad as Higgins boats in rough water.
I also agree that the Huckins boats were superior as they were designed by Dr. Lindsay Lord PhD N.A. Lord's book "Naval Archetecture of Planing Hulls" was a true sea change in power boat hull design. Ray Hunt clearly gave Lord's "Monohedron" hull credit for inspiration for his additional step to a 24* deadrise hull he developed in the mid '50's.
But the clear rough water winner of WW II PT boats was the German Shnell boats that could maintain 40+ knots in very rough water, but it took 7,500 HP and round bilges to do it.