Hi Everyone,

Looong time lurker in need of some advice from the OSO experts.

Without going too in depth on who I am or what I need these for, I am seeking some recommendations of an offshore race boat manufacturer that can provide the following:

1) Various model lengths from mid 20' up to 40'....it would be preferable to partner with a single company who can provide a full "lineup"
2) Can build both stern drive and outboard varieties
3) Composite construction preferred, but properly encapsulated wood is OK
4) Doesn't have to be the lightest or fastest, but more importantly must be able to withstand thousands of hours of normal usage....think commercial application
5) Decent pricing
6) V-Hull only
7) STABLE and SAFE
8) Still on the fence about stepped hull or not. Stability and safety for somewhat novice operators makes me lean towards non-stepped hulls.
9) Easy to operate and forgiving (not quirky) for novice operator

Max seas would be around 5' typically less, max speeds in mid 70s. I am not concerned with interiors, cabin, fit n finish, fanciness, etc...I am purely focused on the hull and it's durability, stability and safety in a somewhat harsh, commercial usage environment.

So what boat builder would you recommend that can meet these criteria and why?

Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.

Active thunder first to my mind based off your description

We can build the 29, 33, or 37 as straight bottom or with the patented DDC single step.

Here is some info I posted in the past:

"The step comes to a very sharp point at the very center of the keel; the line that is followed from the nose. From the step back to the transom is a somewhat flat pad, that has strakes built into it for accurate tracking. This basically allows the sharp point of the step to land first, and split the water in two, and then the pad carries the boat straight and level with no chine-walk/teeder. With such a dramatic single step, the boat ALWAYS, ALWAYS turns on this one step, at 30, 50, 70, 90 mph.

Boats with multiple steps get into a disagreement with the driver on which step to pivot on, at any given situation, and this is how multiple step boats get out of shape in turns. I'll leave it at that. The AT is roughly a single 3-4" step (height varies per individual boat's goals). Some of the other manufacturers are using 2-2" steps for the same angle of attack. (Steps were not designed to reduce wetted surface, that was a by product. Steps were invented to give the boat a better angle of attack.) The DDC single step improves the hull's efficiency between 10-15%.

The 29, 33, and 37 use the same overall bottom design & patent.
The 33 is literally a 9/10s scale version of the 37.
Here is some information on the architect of the DDC hull:
http://www.schoellmarine.com/innovations.htm
And the patent itself: High Speed Planning Hull Re. #36879"

What kind of loads if any? Passengers? Cargo? Empty?

Empty, minus the driver and fuel of course

What are you using the fleet for?

Maybe?

You shouldn't Darr ask that question.

Oh but then I wouldn't have answered "empty" to the load question above. Probably would have asked more questions like "What boat has the largest cabin and is faster than customs and border patrol with the cabin packed completely full"?

Seriously though, legal and legit operation in business for a long time. I'd like to disclose more, but then this thread will get wayyy OT.

or RM