Game Of Inches

IMTRA’S NEW ZIPWAKE INTERCEPTOR SYSTEM IS A SMALL ADDITION TO YOUR TRANSOM THAT CAN ADD UP TO BIG GAINS IN PERFORMANCE.

- Daniel Harding Jr

I’m often amazed at how a yacht’s performance, especially a voluminous yacht with four staterooms, can be impacted by the smallest dimensions. An inch of pitch on a prop, pulling rudders in a couple inches, an added degree of deadrise—it’s the smallest margins that can mean the difference between exceptional performance or a dangerous design.

When I first held a Zipwake interceptor from Imtra in my hand, I was again astounded at how an aftermarket-ready device that lowers an inch and a half (when fully deployed) into the water from the transom could improve a boat’s time to plane, reduce bow rise, tighten its turning radius, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce roll when underway.

“It’s an interceptor so it’ll do everything your traditional tab will do for pitch control and you’ll also add in the fully automatic roll control system. You’ll get running stabilization,” said Jamie Simmons, product manager at Imtra. “Our most popular customer segment is [owners of boats in] the 20- to 60- foot range, but we’ve installed our system on a 100-footer.”

In my hand, the Zipwake 750—the largest interceptor the company offers—felt strong, but I was skeptical to say the least. I began to think about how to test the product. “We have a new Hunt Surfhunter 33 we can take out on Buzzards Bay if you’d like to see it in action,” came the offer from Jamie. I was in.