Read a lot about HP boat speed and how the boats run faster in a chop vice dish pan cam conditions. My Scarab 22 is living proof of that. So if I understand this smooth bottom and smooth water thing right, the object is to create a slight turbulence between the hull and water to unstick the two from each other. This slight turbulence in turn creates air bubbles I guess much like the step hulls do. Now I'm a golfer and was standing around wating to putt and heard a go fast going down the Chesepeake Bay. So I got to thinking I know for a fact that a dimpled golf ball goes significantly further then a smooth one. You would not thinik so but that is physics. So if I spray a thin coat of LINE-X truck bed liner on the bottom area of the boat that contacts the water, then during cruise or WOT that should create some minor turbulence, thus creating small air bubbles, thus unstick the boat from the water, not cause noticeable drag and I would hope create more speed. I guess I'm setting myself for incoming and I'm sure I'll get the "go try it on your boat first and let us know" comment. However, I'm looking for constructive comments from the performance boat pros to tell me if it could work or I'm out to lunch.

Ed

no,

but wetsanding the bottom will give ya mile an hour or 2.

regular bottom paint is pretty rough and that slows you down so I'm going to say that lineX would be much worse.

You'll see golf ball type dimples (much bigger though) on the bottom of wake boards. I think they create suction though. A golf ball through the air is only surrounded by air, but a boat bottom is surrounded by air and water... that's what makes it confusing. Also, the speed from a light chop is partially from getting more boat out of the water from the bouncing.

Believe it or not, but the America's cup teams have spent alot more money and time on the Physics of a hull traveling through water ( no matter what Reggie says) and they are sticking with the hulls being smooth and waxed.

Golf balls are essentially pulled up becasue of the rotation. If the ball is not rotating, or rotating slower the the air speed, the dimples will slow it down. Turbulent flow causes more resistance then laminar flow. Dont paint the bottom if you want to go faster.

These hulls are displacement type non-planing, so smooth is the way to go, steps to induce air between hull and water speeds up the boat (design proven by many brands), however it not simply "turbulence" in the waterflow past a plaining hull that gives speed, must have the air as well. Air/water mix lessens friction over strictly water contact.

This works-

http://www.kisspolymers.com/index.htm

Expensive though.

You not taking into account the vacuum effect caused by speed. Sailboats speed is far less effected by vacuum than boats going on plane at high speed.

dimples on the bottom of a boat will cause it to STICK.

I know on the bottome of one of my wakeboards it has several large dimples to create suction.

Reggie smears his hulls with a proprietary mix of Vaseline and KY, and drops them from a helicopter right before the Kilo starting line so it does not wear off too quickly. I've seen him do it.