gas turbine driven boats

Talk to Marine Turbine Technologies in Franklin ,LA. They build motorcycles powered by jet turbines,among many other turbine-powered things.

 

NorTech builds them in south Florida, though I don't think you can get one under 40'. Most are cats powered with twins.

 

Contact Ross Slotthauer, at Burly Products in Spokane Oregon. He makes them from scratch.
Burly Products: Engineering, Design, and Fabrication
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There was a 29' Baja on Lake Travis for many years that was turbine powered.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5xwRyuv6qU

This is a bit bigger than 40 foot but has 4 gas turbines
There was 3 of these but 2 have been scrapped and the remaining one is now an office block at a Turkish shipyard, used too much fuel to be economic.

 

Worlds fastest ferry with gas turbine engines

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP1K6nS_lLQ

 

Fatal Boat Crash on Lake Texoma Under Investigation - KTEN.com - No One Gets You Closer


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFdmbN8tcc[/ame]

I prefer sailboats.

 

Gas turbines are good for high speed craft, but if you aren't going fairly fast they aren't economical.

In fast planing craft you can cut the weight considerably when compared to diesel systems and that weight reduction pays off in higher speed for the same power or a reduction in the power required for a given cruise speed. In the 40 to 100 foot size class the reduction in weight is generally around 10% of the total displacement. For the same power. The payoff is not large in that the gain in speed is about 5% for the same power, or about a 10% power reduction for the same speed.

The fuel consumption of most turbines is significantly greater than that of a diesel, and this can and will eat up a good bit of that gain from lower weight if you try to go fast for a long time. There are however some turbines that have pretty good fuel consumption and if you're going fast for most of the time the reduced power demand from the lower weight largely cancels the poorer fuel consumption and you can get within 5 or 6% of the diesel fuel consumption in terms of gallons per mile. That's a penalty, but not a big one.

Gas turbines, at least the efficient ones, are expensive. There are a lot of boats powered by old Viet Nam era helicopter engines, but those engines suck fuel like crazy. More modern engines, like the GE T700 or the LHTEC T800 are very efficient, but are so expensive as to be prohibitive unless you are a government and want the performance. There are a lot of fast boats powered by old helicopter turbines because the surplus engines were cheap and the folks wanted to go really fast, but those are pretty much just a novelty because they suck so much fuel.

EuroMarine Limited is working on a turbine version of their 65 foot patrol boat. This would be a hybrid of sorts with two GE T700's and a smaller 300 kW electric drive for low speed operation.

GAS TURBINE / APU - ELECTRIC DRIVE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM 2

I could see something like this for a fishing "battle wagon" where you want to get to the fishing grounds fast (like at 55 knots) and then slow down and run on the APU for your fishing, and then haul butt back when you're done.

Going that fast in open water has its own set of problems. Most of the injuries to the seal teams were a result of getting pounded in the Mk V patrol boats and not from anything they did that was dangerous.

There are other advantages to gas turbines in this type of installation. Lower maintenance, no oil changes, and higher reliability are the biggest ones, but other things like lower gearbox stress (smooth power and no power pulses) lower noise and vibration still make gas turbines attractive.

But if you want to play you have to pay.

We do turbine design and installation integration as our day job, there's a lot more to it than just dropping in the engine and adapting it to a gearbox to make a system work.

 

You are not going to get a commercial company to put a gas turbine in a ferry due to the fuel costs, the one in the u tube video only runs as they get cheap natural gas or it will run on distillate.
The fuel costs killed the Stena high speed craft and its 4 gas turbines, but a great ferry to see close up- carried 1500 passengers plus cars and lorries.

The modern high speed diesels are getting a lot more fuel efficient these days. Cat make engines for these but they eat crankshafts. MTU do a pretty decent engine.

Pity you could not fit a steam turbine set and give it some style-proper engineering

 

A guy I knew back in the nineties had an Eliminator with a helicopter turbine for power...good thing he had a little fishing motor onboard also, seemed like he was always chewing up the leg (drive unit) and having to limp the boat back. His family originally started Campion Marine, he now builds super exotic boats. The name of his company eludes me but his name is Rex Jardine and one of his boats had a Williams/Martini livery/sponsorship and was featured at the Monaco GP. They are typically fitted with twin Illmor V-10 engines. Fastest boats on our Okanagan lake are Eliminators with blower motors....I was a little shocked that some of these big offshore boats are airconditioned!! Shocking fuel consumption!!

 

I'd much rather go with Whispering Turbines. They are without doubt the best in the business.

 

There's a lot of turbine pleasure boats out there. Most are cats. Mystic Powerboats currently builds the fastest. Bill Tomlinsons "My Way" currently runs in excess of 220 mph. Yes the Qatar boat runs faster and shares the same C5000R hull, but it's about as much of a pleasure boat as a Ferrari 458 GT3 is a street car.

Two of the most famous turbine boats within the powerboat pleasure scene are the "Jet Set" 46 Skater and the various incarnations of Tomlinsons "My Way". Besides that, there's a few Outerlimits Vees and Cats, a few Nor-Techs along with a few others.

While the turbines are reliable, they are not easy to use due to their narrow power band. They are fiddly around the docks and a bit tricky to cool. There has been quite a few fires associated with turbine boats. Not even sure Wake Zone will insure them. As piston power gets more reliable and hulls get more efficient, the need for gas turbines decrease. They are also super expensive, and uses a crap load of fuel - even by powerboat standards. They are somewhat limited in terms of what drives work with them, and they tend to be hard on props as well due to their high torque nature. Some run them through SSM #6 drives, but they don't live long. Only other option are ASD drives or BRM drives. The latter creates a further issue, as they are not steerable drive. Handling a turbine boat with steerable drives around the docks are no easy feat, doing it with a rudder is damn near impossible. So in many ways, they only make for good pleasure craft power plants in high performance applications when you're on the open water going fast and if you have somewhat good access to tech support. Lastly there's the question about sound. I've been on a few of these boats and they're a blast to drive. But a pair of blown V8 engines with dry-to-the-tips exhaust pushing 1200-1500 hp each in a 388 Skater, is just something you have to experience. That makes the turbine boats seem like soulless hairdryers - and it will still push beyond 195 mph and into the 200 mph numbers on a good day.

 

You're thinking of Vector Powerboats. They are not super fast compared to boats like Outerlimits, DCBs, Skaters, MTIs, Mystics and Statements etc, but quite interesting boats viewed from a technical standpoint and he tries a lot of original things that makes the boats very stable and fast in rough offshore conditions. The Ilmor V10 is no longer in production.

As for aircon? You need it in a closed canopy race boat. What's funny is to see peoples faces when a boat with room for six in the cockpit, has a toilet, two couches and a berth that sleeps 2, all while running 180+ mph.

 

When the Jardines owned Campion, Rex could obviously use any of the product that he chose and I heard from a reliable source that it irritated his dad that he would buy Eliminators instead of running what was called the Campion Chase back then. Rex was like a god to us young guys back then...Corvette, house on the lake and he loved to have fun. Wasn't there a guy based in San Francisco that was taking tourists out in a go fast boat with a Tumansky turbine?

 

There's a good reason why he didn't run the Chase boats. They still make those btw.

They are not real powerboats in any way - not even compared to "budget" style products like Bajas and Scarabs. When Campion made the 910 Chase, they sort of tried to market it as a powerboat. However, the reality was very different. As a large lake boat or bay boat it's fine, and it's not built bad for that. But they are not built for offshore go-fast conditions at all. Simple wire and hose clamping, lag bolted engine mounts and so forth, combined with a 22 degree shallow deadrise made it a poor choice for real powerboating. I've driven a 910 with two little 502MPIs and it rode like crap, and was constantly shifting despite having full hydraulic steering and props spinning in. The rear was all over the place with no bite and the ride was harsh as hell in the 2 footers. A Donzi 22 Classic rides better offshore...

While I'd never go near Eliminator for personal reasons, I can surely understand why he went elsewhere as his real passion is powerboats. A Campion is a great and fun family runabout, but neither the Chase 800 or 910 will ever be powerboats. It also speaks volumes about Rex Jardines passion for powerboats. when you see what he does with Vector - that's where his heart is.

Whether or not there was a guy offering runs to tourists I have no idea. I wouldn't be surprised though if there were.

Are you a fellow powerboater?

 

No, friends have go fast stuff but honestly, they (my friends) terrify my with their antics. I worked briefly at Campion as a kid along with my friends just out of high school and we knew they weren't to be compared with any high end stuff. Having said that, they improved their quality substantially in the 90's but weren't going to change the pecking order. I understand they are doing well with the pontoon style party barges now. Seems every year Rex gets an earfull from lakeshore residents when they test a new model. He was in the news a couple of years ago when a bullet pierced his house (nothing criminal), sounded like a hunters bullet (Rex lives in the woods). The hot boats around here at the moment are oversize Malibu and Mastercraft ski boats...sooooo expensive! I also live in Vancouver and have a great view of the Granville island area so am always watching anything interesting. Coolest thing yet was what appeared to be a 35-40 ft go fast with three giant outboards on it...very cool.

 

as exciting as it may appear, these boats become very dangerous as the speeds increase

a casual high speed cruise is a very serious event, and gets worse if the driver is inexperienced and any passengers are in a fun in the sun party mode... the uninitiated have no concept of the danger involved as the speeds increase as a boat transits the various wave action and wakes... there is a lot going on... especially for a driver who just traded a check for the keys to a fast ride... there is a reason why pros wear life jackets, helmets and use restraints... in the many years of high speed boats there is a trail of broken bones and worse...

 

Also why anyone who is smart and new to the type goes to school from a pro! Lots of little things they will show you that can make a difference betw fun & regrets.

 

You guys are very correct. It's the partying all day in the sun then it gets a bit dark out and the egos come out to play. I've seen these guys go flat out under the William Bennett bridge in Kelowna at night....crazy. I've never been accused of being a coward but I sure as **** won't go for a ride with these guys. BTW, Rex is an excellent driver, I'm talking about people I personally know.

 

Unfortunately way too few do the performance driving schools. I grew up around powerboats and so did my wife. We've been driving them since we were kids more or less. I still did the Tres Martin ultimate performance course twice. I've been boating for many years and there's still a lot to learn. Running boats over 100 mph is something that demands concentration.

Luckily, in my country you need an actual drivers license for go-fast boats. This was implemented in 2006 and accident ratings have plummeted like an anvil from a crane since. But it's frighting to think that a guy with money to burn can go out an purchase a 40 foot cat that runs 190-200 mph without any proper training. I know Peter Hledin (Skater) are, and the late Mike Fiore (Outerlimits) were very hesitant to even build boats for buyers that did not receive proper training. Unfortunately most other builders will sell to anyone.

 

That's the thing. I don't even allow my passengers to get drunk in any way. And if I get "pulled over" on the water with alcohol in the blood, it's either a huge fine or jail. I have no problem with that...

I hate the idiots drinking the whole day and then act like macho morons later. They are not what powerboating needs. We're already hated by blow boaters, kayaks and most of the public, so for this to stay fun we need the idiots out of the sport.

 

"Blow Boaters"...hah!! Love it. The cops are really vigilante for drinking on our lake, its the "stuff" they cant test for that is prevalent. Its also a long standing joke about how many of the new go fast boat owners and their passengers that lose their sunglasses.

 

By blow boaters I mean people in sail boats. They seem to be really pissed if anything with an engine larger than 10 hp comes within 500 meters of them. On our old Fountain we used to have the words "WARMING THE GLOBE 16 CYLINDERS AT A TIME" on the transom. It's been done by others before, but it's a great way to shut people up.

Here they do test you for the "stuff" on the spot. Takes about 10 mins. You get a 3 year suspension of your boating license if ANYTHING is found. They test for cocaine, cannabis, opiates and amphetamines. If you test positive for illegal substances, they drag you to the precinct and do a blood test that will determine the outcome - but the limit is ZERO. Same for car drivers.

Sunglasses I've lost my share of