Big Yammies Mean, Green
Newcastle Herald
Friday February 29, 2008
YAMAHA rolled out the red carpet for the media launch of its new F350 outboard late last year flights to the Gold Coast, accommodation, wining and dining . . .
I enjoy a junket as much as the next freeloader but there was a lingering doubt. For all the novelty of seeing the world's first production V8 four-stroke outboard producing 350hp at the prop, few craft are equipped to handle it."Who the hell's gonna buy one of these things?" I asked myself in declining the invitation.An eloquent, indeed emphatic, answer has just come from Woody Marine, Brisbane-based manufacturer of Naiad rigid inflatables.They bought not one but four F350s to power a new 14-metre RIB. That's 1400 horsepower, for those away the day that maths was taught at school.It's the world's first craft quad-rigged with the massive Yammie. Woody has built numerous triple-rig boats for its commercial clients but the F350 presented an opportunity to go bigger and faster."Make no mistake," said David Green of Woody Marine. "This is a high performance boat and thanks to the power available from Yamaha, this is also the most powerful RIB that we have ever built."The boat weighs 91/2 tonnes on the water. Add the 40 passengers plus a crew of two and that's another four tonnes.It's no ordinary transom that can accommodate 1400 horses the hull structure had to be bolstered and Woody Marine's in-house naval architect finetuned the hull shape."I believe, for this boat, we could not have achieved a better combination," Green said."These engines are superb, unbelievably quiet throughout the rev range . . . The real bonus however has been fuel consumption results. These have fallen well inside the budgeted expectation."On a recent test run in over 20 knots of breeze, the boat was running at a comfortable cruise speed of 23 knots (43 kmh) at just 2800 rpm. Fuel flow at this speed was 94.2 litres per hour, or 23.5 litres per engine. At full throttle it reached 53 knots (98 kmh).On the strength of this performance Woody has an order for another almost identical rig destined for the tourist market in Far North Queensland.And, of course, there's a realm of possibilities from a recreational perspective if you think laterally.Runabouts that previously carried twin 175s can get away with one lighter and cheaper motor.There's an environmental bonus too. For all its grunt, the 5.3-litre V8 is setting benchmarks as the world's cleanest outboard, rating below 10 grams of combined nitrous oxide and hydrocarbons per kilowatt of power, per hour of operation.It's no fluke either, as the F150 and F115 Yamahas also shine in this regard, holding spots in the top 10 of the cleanest-running motors.mrothfield@theherald.com.au
© 2008 Newcastle Herald