Solar Sal 27: The Quiet Type

I couldn’t count how many times I have visited with prospective customers who, while talking about sailboats, have said, “I love it when I shut down the engine and hear only the sound of the water.”

- Sam Devlin

It’s an easy sentiment to understand. I have experienced the same sensation many times. The weather gods cooperate with enough breeze to move the boat when the auxiliary engine is shut down. But what if the wind isn’t cooperating, and what if I find myself in a powerboat, rather than a sailboat?

I have a strong desire to be on the water, but our summer winds here in the Northwest are notoriously light and fickle. That’s why my choice of a vessel during summer is most often a powerboat, and why I’m often sketching a classic launch-type vessel on the drafting table.

Once I have the rough perimeter outlined, my next step is to consider how to power my little launch. I consider the noise of the engine banging below in its engine box, and that amazing sensation of hearing only the water slide by the hull, silent yet not silent at the same time.  For simple powering of this design, the obvious options are a diesel inboard of small horsepower or an outboard in a well. But how about electric power? That would mimic the feeling of shutting down an engine and hearing only the water.

For electric powering, I would need a hull that moves with minimum fuss and horsepower — a perfect description of my launch. Her hull will be displacement-type, one that is very slippery and easily driven. This type of hull would mate well with the relatively low horsepower of an electric drive system, and it would cooperate with the drive by not dragging her hind end, creating excess wake and wasting horsepower.