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[Martin (Admin)]

I'm sure this on here somewhere but I can't find it now, anyway...



https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/yachts/what-happens-when-you-let-mclarens-designer-build-boat.

This jaw-droppingly gorgeous boat was created by the revered automotive designer, Frank Stephenson, whose works on terra firma include the revived Mini Cooper and, more recently, the McLaren MP4-12C… Riverbreeze

Currently directing McLaren Automotive’s design department, Frank Stephenson is rather well respected in the automotive sector, but his elegant boat – dubbed ‘Riverbreeze’ – is a radical departure from his clean-cut, sharp supercars.  Inspired by the day boats of the 1960s, the 31-foot tender is crafted in rosewood and mahogany from Africa and Brazil – complete with 35 coats of lacquer to create that sumptuous shine – and is powered by a 4.2kW electric motor. The cherry on the cake, so to speak, is the hood ornament on the bow, originally found on a 1932 Cadillac. Happy sailing, Frank…
Photos: Frank Stephenson



Also: http://www.thedrive.com/article/817/mclarens-design-boss-just-built-the-worlds-most-beautiful-powerboat

[malcolmfrary]

Utterly gorgeous, but 4.2KW?  That's about 6HP, enough to move it in still water, but it might struggle on a river with moving water.  I just hope he didn't get his batteries from the same place that McLaren-Honda got theirs last season.

[Brian60]

Beautiful looking craft. It was only the last photo I realised it had a collapsible hood like a sports car!

[derekwarner]

Well with a hat like that it could be a Yank.......but driving a London registered craft bearing the Red Ensign of your Country  ........ Derek

[ballastanksian]

Mmm sleek

That would make a gorgeous model.

[essex2visuvesi]

Mmm sleek

That would make a gorgeous model.

Agreed
Must locate plans

[Unsinkable 2]

Re: What happens when you let McLaren’s designer build a boat?


Answer.... You get an awesome looking boat with a Honda 4.2kw motor that gets passed by rowing boats!


It seems they took a leaf from last seasons F1 car............... 

[DavieTait]

Think they either "misheard" the power number or made it up , 42kw/56hp would get this to 10 knots max , 4.2kw/5.6hp be lucky to move this at 3 knots , ok if its designed for canals and inland waterways with a 5 knot speed limit but a bit daft designing a boat like this to put in a smaller motor than you get in some motobility scooters...

[tsenecal]

Think they either "misheard" the power number or made it up , 42kw/56hp would get this to 10 knots max , 4.2kw/5.6hp be lucky to move this at 3 knots , ok if its designed for canals and inland waterways with a 5 knot speed limit but a bit daft designing a boat like this to put in a smaller motor than you get in some motobility scooters...

nope, another article states that the boat has a torpedo-shaped, 4.2-kilowatt electric pod motor and 14.7kw battery allowing them to take a 10 hour day cruise up the thames at a nice slow pace.


so, basically, the boat is a poser.

[derekwarner]

 ...not suggesting that the boat is not a poser plume  ..."4.2-kilowatt electric pod motor and 14.7kw battery allowing them to take a 10 hour day cruise" ....

Mathematics would suggest a long walk home after a somewhat lesser cruise time...does 14.7 divided by 4.2 not = a 3.5 hour duration?.....................

But then again, if the 4.2kw motor was run on 1/10 power output, it would provide a 35 hour cruise [going down hill ] ..........just goes to show how dumb the posting text is........Derek

[Netleyned]

Poser maybe but fit for purpose on the Thames which has a speed limit of 8MPH.
Its a very slippery hull by the looks of it.
Back in the late 60's when I lived in Reading my Buckingham Cruiser was drived by a 9 horse yamaha
and a lot of others used 5 horse engines.


Ned

[inertia]

But of course it's a boat for a poser! To suggest anything else is missing the whole point of it.
First off, the speed limit on the Thames above Teddington is 5mph (8 kph) so there's little point in having a huge engine unless you have a big blunt boat that needs a lot of shoving. This one clearly doesn't.
Next, you wouldn't want to pay out all that dosh for 35 coats of varnish, the finest woods available, an eye-watering price for a real figurehead casting  and the company of a Beatle-person on your champagne-fuelled jaunts - and then flash past everybody on the bank at warp speed. Like the man says, all he wants to hear are the birds and the river.
I too think there may be a few errors in the technical aspects of the text, but to insult the bloke by suggesting that this is not a supreme example of showing-off his wealth is crass.
He's got it. He's earned it. Good luck to him.
I wouldn't turn down a cruise up the Thames in it, even at walking speed; would you? I might even dig out my straw boater!
DM

(Posted before I saw Ned's reply. That makes two of us anyway! Point of info: 4.2kW = 5.6BHP)

[derekwarner]

Ned......I just went back to the 60's & found a snap of you in your Buckingham 25 on the Thames.......and a beautifully lined craft she was 

I also see you flew the Red jack  ....none of that poncy Bleu versions 

Derek

[inertia]

Just found this. Look at the table and check out the 'E-Propulsion Consumption' figure i.e. 30% x 10kW. Frank's 4.2kW doesn't look unreasonable c/w that. http://www.mastervolt.com/systems/all-the-comforts-of-electric-sailing/
We learn new stuff every day.
DM

[tsenecal]

not living in Britain, i am unaware of the speed limit on the Thames, but still, since it is electric, there is no harm in putting a 200kw motor in it. (except maybe weight).  i also don't begrudge him the look, or the impeccable taste shown in all the accessories.




but, let's face it.   EVERYONE who saw that boat thought it should be going about 35 knots when the throttle is punched.




to me, that makes it a poser.






i also want to see what the bottom of that boat looks like.

[malcolmfrary]

If it gets used on a river, it does need to be able to go upstream faster than the water is going downstream, else the viewing public, rather than admiring, will scoff and mock at the flash projectile backing downstream.  I assume that the Thames speed limits are as seen from the shore rather than boat speed through the water?

[inertia]

If it gets used on a river, it does need to be able to go upstream faster than the water is going downstream, else the viewing public, rather than admiring, will scoff and mock at the flash projectile backing downstream.  I assume that the Thames speed limits are as seen from the shore rather than boat speed through the water?

A quick Google shows that it's speed over the ground, not speed through the water. It's reasonable to assume that 4.2kW is adequate or he'd never make it upriver in order to cruise gently back again - as described in the flowing prose.
Theirs may not be the fastest or most reliable Formula 1 cars but I'll have a bet that the designer of McLaren knows at least as much about BHP and kW as anyone reading this forum..... and there's little point in fitting a 266HP motor if you can only legally make 5mph.
At the risk of repeating myself, the boat was designed and built to 'pose' in while cruising the River Thames. I dare say he has a Sunseeker moored somewhere on the Med for faster water-born activities.
Well, wouldn't you if you could?  http://www.peterfreebody.com/freebody-slipper.php
DM

[essex2visuvesi]

Well, wouldn't you if you could?  http://www.peterfreebody.com/freebody-slipper.php
DM

YES
*dribble*

[Tug Fanatic]

..................but, let's face it.   EVERYONE who saw that boat thought it should be going about 35 knots when the throttle is punched.................

Actually no. There is a traditional type of boat on the River Thames known as slipper launches. This is a startingly pretty slipper launch. They are not high speed but were sold as gentlemans day boats that looked good and are very coverted by enthusiasts.

There is a big rally held each year at Henley on Thames:
Thames Traditional Boat Rally

& at least one enthusiast web site
The Slipper Launch Collection

 

[BFSMP]

I used to have relatives living close to Maidenhead some years ago and used to visit as a young man.

I remember trips to Henley on Thames and much closer to "home", and  would see these beautiful boats queuing up to sail though Boulters Lock on the outskirts of Maidenhead.

They would get at least four slippers in the lock and it was something else to see them all sailing up the Thames in line astern.

Ahh Halcion days.

I often wondered how difficult it would be to make a replica from ply wood, rather than plank on frame as most were.

Jim.

[inertia]

Jim
Looking at T-F's pictures it looks as if you could quite easily make the hull from plywood rather than POF. The deck, of course, would be a different matter but you could consider veneering it. My dream would be to visit Freebody's and see how 'St Peter' does it!
A bit like punting on the Cam or taking a picnic hamper into Richmond Park, 'day-boating' is not a concept we could reasonably expect a colonial to understand....
Dave M

[derekwarner]

Well.........posers some maybe, but yes some absolutely beautiful woodwork in the images here..........http://www.tradboatrally.com/.....

Thanks for that link TF ....... Derek

[BFSMP]

Jim
Looking at T-F's pictures it looks as if you could quite easily make the hull from plywood rather than POF. The deck, of course, would be a different matter but you could consider veneering it. My dream would be to visit Freebody's and see how 'St Peter' does it!
A bit like punting on the Cam or taking a picnic hamper into Richmond Park, 'day-boating' is not a concept we could reasonably expect a colonial to understand....
Dave M

Freebody's is just an awesome place and I was left speechless for most of my time.

I once had visions of purchasing an Austin Healey 18' speedboat some years ago for restoration and went to the company marina to have a look at one they had for sale.

Sadly I did not take much notice of that boat as the Slippers that were in the marina were just absolutely mind blowing.

As for punting on the Cam............yes, there and the Isis are just wonderful and pleasant places to punt. Went many times to both in my youth, and had many happy memories of the  "voyages" we had as a group.

Now, a  self built punt would be another matter to build from marine ply if one had a workshop large enough to take one. But I doubt I would get far on the River Wyre where I overlook these days. I think it would be a case of going either with the flow, or backwards.

Jim.