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As far as I know, the speed record for electric boats is 98+ mph set by Mike Bontoft in 2008. I was asked at that time about an offshore boat. It's easy today to get the power needed for high speeds, but the endurance is another thing. Unlike cars, boats and airplanes run at high continuous power levels.

This boat had around 300 hp. Dry Martini had 1200 hp and a top speed of close to 90 mph. However, in a real offshore race it often ran at half that speed. Even the winners of the Cowes Torquay Cowes offshore race seldom averaged much over 60 mph when it got rough. However, you need to keep this up for hours.

Lohring Miller

PS I do own a Tesla Model 3

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That's why it won the historic class in 2010 when I was the navigator with Eric Krum driving and Mike Bontoft on the throttles. Mike bought the boat and did a very complete restoration. He got the Thunderbolt trophy for that and the Uno Embassy restoration. He still races it in the B class.

Lohring Miller

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That's why it won the historic class in 2010 when I was the navigator with Eric Krum driving and Mike Bontoft on the throttles. Mike bought the boat and did a very complete restoration. He got the Thunderbolt trophy for that and the Uno Embassy restoration. He still races it in the B class.

Lohring Miller

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Lohring,

I didn't mean to diminish the accomplishment, and I certainly didn't know you and Mike had a hand in anything recent with the boat. I was only making reference to the connection it sounding like you were making between the current electric powerboat attempts and the performance levels of Dry Martini.

While the various electric powerboat examples are impressive, they are nowhere near catching what is being built in the fuel burning powerboat world. Personally, unlike with our model boats, I don't believe we'll ever really see the electrics catch the fuel boats in anything other than short burst comparisons. The weight of the batteries is likely going to be the ultimate limiter.

Thanks. Brad.
Titan Racing Components
BlackJack Hydros
Model Machine and Precision LLC
 
No worries, Mike and I have been involved in a lot of projects. The big boats were mostly Mike's efforts. I agree on battery/electric power for high power applications so far. Cars are relatively easy, trucks are harder, planes and large boats are very difficult. It's hard to beat the energy storage of fossil fuels. My Tesla stores the energy of around 2 gallons of gasoline. However, it goes over 200 miles on that energy. That's the advantage of electric power. Hydrogen fuel cells look promising for high power applications. They still need a lot of development.

Lohring Miller
 
For anyone into Big offshore this was us racing in Poole, (Uk's Southcoast) a few weeks ago. Also GoPro 360 footage. . After 10 years I think we are finally getting the hang of it. Still hurts though! I'm sure Lohring remembers. 👍
Each engine burn 325lbs of fuel per hour wide open x 2. At current battery tech. I think a battery of the size required would be heavier than the boat.
 

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Amazing improvements in chart plotters. The new one just purchased weighs in at about a tenth of the old unit with many more features. Simrad!
Of course I had to build a model. My Covid project. Built as a one off but someone's talked me into taking a mould. Original scaled to 1/8. I'm sure it will make a terrible powered model but should look awesome!
 

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