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Your Dad's Cabin Cruiser: The typical Box on a Hull Design Concept
| Cabin cruisers traditionally have combined the power and running speed of a runabout with overnight accommodations to provide all-night comfort and convenience and a family experience.
That is still true, but today.. they are called Cruisers, Express Cruisers, Sedans, and Flybridge Sedans ... with less emphasis on the cabin and more on socializing and the outdoor integration of living spaces.
Sounds like a real estate ad... "room with a view", but it isn't. It's today's cabin cruiser gone upscale. Something your dad may not totally recognize but would surely love. |
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Sea Ray's New 48 Sundancer
Euro styling has won over as a design maxim replacing the box on a hull concept. and made many into fashion statements or virtual floating condominiums. Some may be less comfortable in rough conditions, many have become even better at sea.
If you have not bought a new powerboat in the last few years, you may have missed the quiet revolution in design that has taken place. Subtle changes in hull design have produced performance benefits which were not previously possible. The newer boats plane a little more efficiently, ride flatter and corner faster. Flat turns are also very prominent in the new generation of today's cabin cruisers.
So what's contributed to this change?
The following provides some insight but does not represent all of the changes. You will get the idea?
Prototyping, Testing and Development
Beneteau's Advanced Engineering Lab
One of the biggest advantages of having generated the virtual model by computer is that the resulting geometry or parts definitions can be sent anywhere worldwide, simply by email. This allows the design team to be anywhere in the world. Design information can be shared instantly worldwide, as needed, both during the creation of the design and also during the actual building of the boat.
Beneteau's Bold new Flyer 12 with Volvo Penta's IPS System
For the Beneteau group ,for example, there are over twenty-five full time design engineers each specializing in different areas. In addition, their Marion, South Carolina plant has their own production engineering staff and supporting method technicians. Thousands of engineering hours go into a new model before the first hull is produced. This commitment to design ensures some of the tightest tolerances of any manufacturer in the Industry. | 
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