To me the biggest advantage of having a stepped boat was that it flew level without any tabs and it didnt seem to porpoise which to me is alot more efficient and a better ride in I think most water conditions. You also can have a higher X-dimension which reduces drag.

OK, who's going to take us from mid 50s to the 90s? T2x, Steve David, and others filled in a lot of it, but I'm not totally clear on the dates. How did it go from the 50's to:

From T2x post earlier.

If Elvis was a boater it would explain not only the gap, but why Reggie dresses that way.;)

Well I can’t stand it any longer! I was just going to mind my own business and not comment on this thread but I can’t. I agree 100 percent with T2X, this whole step thing is more about marketing than it is about actual performance gains. I think it is a fad that will go the way of teak swim platforms, dark colored gel-coat, and splash graphics. Uh oh, I’ve now got myself on to the topic of boat graphics!!! I hate when I do this to myself!!! Whats up with all the stupid graphics these days? Call me old or call me conservative but I think graphics should conform to or enhance a boats lines. I hate this bizarre colored splash $hit all over late model boats. I mean really now, talk about your latest idiotic trend sprayed all over your $200,000 go-faster. Out of style in less than the time it takes to burn two tanks of fuel. You know, I would love a nice brandy-new 35’ Cigarette but they have some of the most obnoxious, dumb looking, trendy paint jobs on the market. I don’t want to piss off any of you guys with these bizarro paint jobs, but whats everyone’s real opinions of the state of today’s paint jobs. I like classic looking stuff, and I like bow rails, and I like windshields, and I like real cleats that don’t disappear. Ok, I guess I am old but so what!!

Major Boat manufacturing companies' marketing departments have proved conclusively that complex and expensive paint jobs improve boat speed in direct proportion to their cost.

This has been amplified by APBA's new "HyperGraphics" classes which shorten course length and reduce weight limits based on your gel coat cost....and the manufacturer's cash input to the LLC.

T2x

About ten years ago, Larson Boats commisioned Harry Schoell to make a step-bottomed 25' Senza. He took a standard, rigged boat with a big block Chebby, and built a DDC bottom right over the top (or bottom?) of it. It picked up over 10 mph. Five years ago, John Connor and John Cosker did the same thing for a VERY famous builder and picked up 14mph! I don't reckon this could be true in every case, but I know this did happen. On another subject, only one designer kept on with steps after WWII. That was Bob Hobbs, who did some boats for Cal Connell. I personally don't like steps, because they are too hard to get off the trailer.

Re: Back on Steps
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jimboat
[B. There is quite a history of step design... the Solair set a record of 46 mph with 70 hp with a 12 stepped hull in 1910... TE] . [/B][/QUO

I repeat my earlier point from a different thread....

Imagine how fast a 36 step boat would go with 70 hp.

Brownie: If they're harder to get off a trailer......does that mean they're slower in reverse?


T2x

How have the speed increases of boat models that have gone to steps been verified outside of what the manufacturer says in a PB ad. I just find it unreasonable to be expected to believe that there could be a 5-10mph "gps/radar" gain strictly due to a couple of notches without other changes such as weight, strake placement, etc. and/or tests conducted on perfectly flat waters where each boat is required to trim to exactly the same angle, i.e. to where the step would remain in the water so the comparisons are equal.
Now it is even more unreasonable to buy it when comparing hull types in rough seas. As I mentioned earlier in this post, the comparison couldn't possibly been conducted when you consider the vertical/lateral g-forces inputted when running in these waters. When in a "chop" both hulls are aerated negating any feasible advantage. I just can't get away from this thought when thinking about the step theory.
The backing off the trailer or chips from boatel handling is another negative aspect of the step. Let's not forget backing off a beach if you get up a little too high as well. Throw in barrel rolls and spinning out.............I just don't get the attraction............Oh I forgot, they "look" pretty speedy.

BTW with that being said, I do believe steps are a little quicker to plane than V bottoms.....At least by feel and sensation anyway.

TTT

last post on steps
 

T2X's & Reckless288's comments are right on the money! The most significant issue with step design was, and still is, the very difficult engineering challenge of properly locating an efficient step on the hull. The length of planing surface behind the step (ie: the location of the step) and depth of the step have a huge impact on the performance of the setup. To design the step improperly can actually decrease performance. The issue of multiple steps makes the challenge even more tricky.

During the early development of stepped hulls, the reason that performance varied so drastically, was just exactly this issue...the designers didn't always achieve the best engineering solution to the placement and depth of hte step.

This is still the case today...performance of stepped hulls can widely vary. So it's difficult to assume that any boat with steps, will necessarily be any better than one without.

Why do you suppose we haven't seen more boat builders putting air induction holes into the back of the step like Phantom and Outerlimits have? The air is drawn in via ducts on the side or top of the hull and plumbed into the back of the step. The air is used to break the vacuum behind the step which aids in further airation of the hull.