Motor test launch

Saturday, November 18, 2000. My buddy Andy and I headed down to Jordan Like near Raleigh, NC to play boats. We launched "Rambunctious" without problems and motored around a bit. He took his powerboat to run some fuel through the engine, and toted his video camera so that he could film my boat. In addition, he took the following photos from the dock.

My 8 HP Honda 4 stroke engine pushes the Martha Jane along at hull speed very easily at barely above idle RPM - the GPS showed 4 knots. The stern transom touches the water at about 5.5 knots. With the stern well flooded, it goes 6 knots. "Damn the torpedoes" speed is about 6.8 knots, but the engine did not sound happy at that speed.

In these photos, the boat trims down by the stern, but I am not at all finished adding weight to it. Nothing is finished on the inside (including the ballast tanks) and the mast is not on the front to weight it down either. I made some slow circles near the ramp. The video shows faster speeds on more open water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download a video clip!

 

 

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