Whether you’re watching mighty Class 1 offshore powerboats thundering across the waves at over 100 mph or the scarily basic Thundercats – not much more than an inflatable catamaran with a plywood floor and an outboard – powerboat racing is every bit as exciting as any kind of powered racing on wheels.
Having been the UK official governing body of powerboat racing for decades, the Royal Yachting Association will at the end of 2018 relinquish that role, leaving the UK sport to be governed directly by the international governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), until such time as they appoint a successor organisation. Headquartered in Monaco, one might think them somewhat remote from nuts and bolts powerboating, where not every sponsorship cheque has at least six noughts on the end of the number. But to their credit, they have firmly embraced green technologies, including solar and battery-powered race boats.
“Whenever you get in a boat where you’re trying to travel fast and closer to the edge of most peoples’ comfort zones, there’s always an element of trepidation,” says V20E pilot and Jaguar Vector technical director Peter Dredge, “of what might go wrong.” But the boat, a Formula 1 race boat modified in partnership with Williams Advanced Engineering using technology similar to that developed for single-seater Formula E racing cars, performed flawlessly. In the two best runs along the course, the V20E clocked an average speed of 88.61 mph, breaking the record by a significant margin.
While electric road cars can be eerily silent, the V20E at speed sounds more like a jet aircraft. “Most of the noise was behind me,” says Dredge, “and with my helmet on as well, I wasn’t really that conscious of much noise. But there was a lot less vibration than when the boat ran with a petrol engine. It was simply a case of being super cautious as the boat picked up speed, then once it was on the plane, hoofing it!”
“We’re delighted with the performance of the boat,” adds Jaguar Vector CEO Malcolm Crease. “The potential to take the bar much higher is now established.” Peter Dredge is optimistic, too. “We’ll almost certainly come back next year for another attempt. If we can improve the battery power, there’s no reason why we can’t get to over 100 mph.”
Portsmouth-based Team Britannia’s 80 ft aluminium powerboat Excalibur, in the latter stages of construction on Hayling Island, will attempt to break that record, and while its twin diesel engines are pretty standard, the fuel they will be using isn’t. It’s been known for over 100 years that mixing water with fuel makes it burn more cleanly – the problem up until now has been how you maintain the mixed state, since water in either petrol or diesel tends to separate, leading to expensive engine damage. Through his company Clean Fuel Ltd, Team Britannia principal and ocean adventurer Alan Priddy – also a veteran of a previous world circumnavigation record attempt with the powerboat Spirit of Cardiff – has cracked the problem using an emulsifying agent and patented mixing process.
“The commercial version will be based on around 15% water in the fuel and emulsifier mix,” explains Priddy, “but we have actually had an old banger running with 90% water – mixing the water and fuel at the molecular level enables energy in the water to be released during the combustion process!”
When Team Britannia’s Excalibur hits the waves at the end of 2018, the six 6,000 litre fuel tanks will be filled with regular diesel, and the mixing process using desalinated seawater will take place on the fly in the engine room. While that’s more than ample to cater for round the world passages of up to 3,500 nautical miles, if necessary, it will be possible to extend the boat’s range simply by altering the water to fuel ratio.
“We couldn’t consider carbon fibre,” says Alan Priddy. “Light and strong it may be, but in some quarters it’s regarded as the next asbestos time bomb. It simply isn’t an environmentally friendly material, and there’s no responsible way of disposing of it once it’s done with. Excalibur, on the other hand, is not only made from recycled aluminium, but in the event that she’s ever scrapped, over 90% of the boat will be recyclable.”
The hull design – claimed to be 30% more fuel-efficient than anything else afloat – was the brainchild of leading naval architect Professor Bob Cripps. But it doesn’t even end there. Excalibur’s power transmission is ultra-efficient, too, with the 800hp FPT engines coupled directly to Castoldi water jet drives with no intermediary gearboxes.
Mindful of the serious problem caused by plastics in the oceans, Alan Priddy last year agreed with the University of Portsmouth a programme whereby seawater will be sampled regularly and tested for suspended plastics throughout Excalibur’s circumnavigation. That co-operation has recently been expanded into an educational programme which will include not just pollution and environmental sciences, but engineering, sports science, health and wellbeing, and media. What this will achieve, believes Priddy, is not just a wider level of participation, but hopefully a legacy of data which will be of use to the university for many years to come.
So here we have two very different maritime projects, both of them highlighting British engineering excellence. And even if you’re not that interested in the record-breaking aspect, they do have the same aim at heart – Britain will not only rule the waves, but turn them green!
Clive Tully is a freelance journalist and Team Britannia’s onboard media crew member.
Further information:
www.jaguarvectorracing.com
www.teambritannia.co.uk