Start to Finish: Building Our 50' Skater
09-05-2021 | 11:12 PM
#1861
Registered
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,614
Likes: 375
From: Traverse City MI
Tyson,
Over the last few days, I have read every post in this thread.
You need to split this into two projects, each solving a different problem.
Project 1: break the round-the-world record for boats. That problem can be solved with proven tools and technologies, like a 50 ft Skater and Seatek diesels. Your endurance racing track record is also of use here. It is worth throwing a few million dollars at, assuming that you have a few million dollars to spare.
Project 2: radically improve the Diesel engine. That is a much harder problem to solve. Companies spend billions of dollars on it every year, and you are not very well-placed to do better. Start by getting a cheap boat. A used Fountain or Nor-Tech or something, for testing engines, so that you can keep your new Skater our of it. Just don’t piss Peter off by getting a you-know-what. Then take a PhD in combustion engine design at a good engineering school, with a deep specialization in diesel technology. Then start playing. There is a guy here in town who is doing something similar to what you are trying to do, but backed by a lot of knowledge about engines, since he works for the world’s top manufacturer of large Diesel engines. He has a Nor-Tech with diesels. It is not very fast, and at the rpms it takes, it is not very fuel efficient either, but he is having fun. Like is your case, things break. Among other things, he tried a turbine. When it exploded, all the shrapnel ended in in the hull, and none in his body. That’s the price of progress, but don’t let it keep you from doing what you originally set out to do: set the world record.
Over the last few days, I have read every post in this thread.
You need to split this into two projects, each solving a different problem.
Project 1: break the round-the-world record for boats. That problem can be solved with proven tools and technologies, like a 50 ft Skater and Seatek diesels. Your endurance racing track record is also of use here. It is worth throwing a few million dollars at, assuming that you have a few million dollars to spare.
Project 2: radically improve the Diesel engine. That is a much harder problem to solve. Companies spend billions of dollars on it every year, and you are not very well-placed to do better. Start by getting a cheap boat. A used Fountain or Nor-Tech or something, for testing engines, so that you can keep your new Skater our of it. Just don’t piss Peter off by getting a you-know-what. Then take a PhD in combustion engine design at a good engineering school, with a deep specialization in diesel technology. Then start playing. There is a guy here in town who is doing something similar to what you are trying to do, but backed by a lot of knowledge about engines, since he works for the world’s top manufacturer of large Diesel engines. He has a Nor-Tech with diesels. It is not very fast, and at the rpms it takes, it is not very fuel efficient either, but he is having fun. Like is your case, things break. Among other things, he tried a turbine. When it exploded, all the shrapnel ended in in the hull, and none in his body. That’s the price of progress, but don’t let it keep you from doing what you originally set out to do: set the world record.
Super happy to see Tristan and him enjoy raising their Daughter, and get settled into their new beautiful home. But looking forward to following along when he revs up this and his other projects again!
02-08-2023 | 10:07 AM
#1868
Registered
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,094
Likes: 1,146
Tyson's diesel project is on the backburner as he helps his wife raise their first child. He still thinks it's a viable power option, as a lot of the problems he had weren't due to any inherent design flaws of the core engine itself. Needless to say though, he probably is finished chasing the same diesel setup in the 50 after spending countless hours and dollars on the project. Diesel power is still a viable means of reliable, fuel efficient power for high-performance boats, it's just very expensive, big and heavy. Seatek has set just about every diesel-powered offshore world record there is and they still offer a complete line of high-performance diesel engines to the public - it just takes a big wallet and a big boat to run them.
| Engines | SEATEK s.p.a. (seatek-spa.com)
| Engines | SEATEK s.p.a. (seatek-spa.com)
02-08-2023 | 11:48 AM
#1869
Registered
Joined: Jan 2021
Posts: 922
Likes: 429
From: Gothenburg, Sweden
Seat
Seatek has set just about every diesel-powered offshore world record there is and they still offer a complete line of high-performance diesel engines to the public - it just takes a big wallet and a big boat to run them.
| Engines | SEATEK s.p.a. (seatek-spa.com)
| Engines | SEATEK s.p.a. (seatek-spa.com)
If I remember correctly - I don’t have time to find the post - Tyson has been in touch with Seatek, but they were unable to meet his requirements.
02-08-2023 | 01:49 PM
#1870
Racer
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,166
Likes: 79
From: Bradenton, Florida, USA
I remember asking some others about "SEATEK" as being a viable option, and was told the FB design is no longer a part of that program, and Fabio's vision for them, is NOT what SEATEK is doing any longer.
