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Building a new boat is always a tricky situation. Our new D (Tohatsu) boat was built by Jason Derksen, seen here 85% finished. As racers we strive to improve. Sam Hemp in his many boats would continue to improve boat and bottom design. Well, where do you start when trying to improve a boat in a class that has made some changes in the last few years. The D class has seen a heavier motor become the engine of choice. This has caused some to widen the bottom. Darnelle on the West Coast and Reed on the East coast have built great boats that have won National championships. So that is were we started, with their measurements. A boat that rides well on the water is a balanced boat. So, you can not over look the size and weight of the driver to achieve stability. We are building boat that is also an airplane, allowing the driver to control the attitude of the boat yet allowing the boat to be as free from the friction of the water. The amount of lift needs to fit the drivers weight and the angle of motor. In some designs, more lift is used to counter the tuck of the unit. This allows you to raise the unit and still satisfy the height rules. NBRA has no restriction. We selected 2"3/4" lift as our driver weights 180lb. Speed often determines the length of the boat, as pro boats are much longer. We selected 11'2" as we will approach speeds of 80-84mph. This is larger than some, but here in the mid-west we have full fields and wind. We selected 39" width of bottom to give more stability in the turns. We find the Tohatsu is slow to reduce rpm and we have to back off of the throttle sooner than we would like. Only one way to see if a boat works, build it and then keep testing. Doc Miller
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Red mark points out a angle windshield allowing less down force. -
Cool to see Doc!Comment
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Mike you are changing boat designs. Keep up the good work.Comment
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Thanks Doc.
Hopefully we'll have some new stuff for 2017.
Happy New Year!
- MikeComment
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Mike: Is this the first Tohatsu D boat you have built? Just curious.Comment
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Dave,
I need to talk Jim Sweeney out of retirement before I start building. ..Comment
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I can honestly say I have never heard of Jason. I have always built my own boats, and current boat is getting pretty tired....thought I might be done, but Dewey Anderson (no relation) came forward and offered to build me a new D hydro...pretty excited to get started on it! Does look like Jason builds a good quality boat...any more pics of it?Comment
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The dimensions of the boat are very similar to the boat I built last winter for DSH/DMH. I feel the wider boats carry through the corners much better. It was nice to go out and lead my heat in it from start to finish with the 3rd place boat at summer nationals this year handily behind in 2nd.Spencer Utman #16CEComment
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Dave, Jason built our C stock boat and built Tate's boats that Andrew drove at Moses Lake. This is a peak at one stage in construction. Right side has a double piece with carbon fiber sandwiched to prevent the side from breaking. We put a tunnel in help reduce water contact of the 39" bottom,Last edited by Hydro doc; 01-06-2017, 11:22 AM.Comment
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