Design

New Zealand designer Brett Bakewell-White describes his fastest creation (yet)

Background
How is it that a design studio that has built a reputation for good-looking performance sailboats has come to burst onto the New Zealand offshore powerboat racing scene, with their first design becoming the national open champion? Possibly because that design office is New Zealand based and the small size of the local market has ensured that for any designer to succeed they must be versatile and able to turn their hand to any marine design opportunity. This is possibly one reason why so many New Zealand designers have been successful internationally.

Designing a racing powerboat is in many ways very similar to designing a racing sailboat, and in fact in some ways is easier and less complex. The objective is a mix of top speed and handling ability to get around a set course in the shortest possible time, and while the power source is a known quantity, the weather and sea conditions that the boat is likely to experience do affect the design of the vessel's form. A flat-water design will not be the fastest boat on a rough day, as much because of the crew's ability to absorb the punishment as the boat's...

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