Making a hull where the LOA is longer than the running surface is an age old trick to get higher top speeds. And although Reggie takes a lot of heat for the practice, he's certainly not the only one - nor the biggest offender. Anybody look at an old Hydrostream for instance? Their running surface to LOA ratio makes Reggie look like a Girl Scout.

But a boat that incorporates this design / marketing practice also faces some other challenges. For instance, most marinas charge for dock space, detailing, shrink wrap, etc. based on LOA. So your 44' boat that in reality is more like 40' long will cost you a pretty penny on certain services. Just a thought.

it all comes down to thorough research and comparing apples to apples for your own end expectations.

Just food for thought, a C5000 Mystic is 50+' from sponson tip to Rudder post (LOA) but the running surface is 43' AND Skater has been giving length and stretch in their model designations... no one questions this but it can be confusing as hell to someone that has a perceived understanding of boat dimensions and looking to fit a new(er) into an existing slip/lift or building opening.

Does putting a regular hot dog on a foot long bun make it a foot long ?

I bet the DW team doesn't call it a 44 when they go to race it in Super Cat next year with SBI. Funny how it will fit in the class rules of 42' maximum length for the class.

So someone is really racing one of these new 44 DWs in Super cat next year? And if they are- to your point Dale, I know that there is a new 438 going to racing in that class. So how does that boat fit in to the class rules?

PBC was going to race the new canopied DW40 in Super Cat, but now that they picked up MTI, they're going to campaign an MTI instead. I don't doubt that somebody will pick up the canopied DW40 to run Super Cat with it next year. There would have to be minor changes made to a 438 in both width and length to fit into the Super Cat class as the rules sit right now - 66" max tunnel width and 42' 0" LOA.

Unless you have a navy ship or a Wally of course the LOA and the LWL will always be different. It's not a trick, it's just that of a marine hull. Now the beak, bustle, a notch or a long laid out bow is a just a mere manufacturer design. LOA is used in different ways throughout the entire marine industry. Use a 42 for example, Outerlimits, Cigarette, and Fountain. The fountain looks like a toy in comparison but guess what...its a 42... Just marketing gimmicks.

Before that it used to be the other way. My 24' is not 24 feet long and my 19' is not 19 feet long, et, etc....