The GM 26' hull will take up to 400 HP and that would make it pretty fast but it wouldn't be efficient. I think he quotes cruising at 24 kts and full speed at 29 kts with the Volvo 6. IMO, that's an overstatement on Stacey's part, maybe on an empty tank with a following sea.
I think the biggest reason why that boat is so stable at rest, as compared to others besides its downeast semi-displacement design, is because it's hard-chimed.
I'll be retiring next year and our plan is to upgrade our boat the year after to a cruiser/fisher. I would really like a diesel for longevity and better milage, but where we boat/slip, I'd have a 20 mile trip to the nearest pump or, I'd have to hand carry it in, not something I'm inclined to do, especially as I get older. So I've been waffling back and forth between a smaller boat with outboard(s) or a bigger boat with a diesel.
I checked out GM's web site and saw they are now offering a 36'. When I was there last winter, he had just picked up that mold, Northern Bay's. If you want to check out a sweet Northern Bay 36 foot cruiser, go to Yatch World....I could live with that boat thumbsup.gif, but not its $250,000 price tag.
Getting this thread back on track, I use to make my own plugs/poppers for Large mouth fishing out of a lightweight epoxy years ago. Recently, I made up a formulation that I will be trial-making some Striper plugs, needlefish and other pencil popper types. I also have this idea for a jointed swimming eel that I will try.
This stuff is a two part with dry, putty-like consistancy that can be hand-molded (with gloves) into just about any shape. These would obviously all be one-of-a-kinds, since you can't always hand mold the exact same shape repeatedly. But it does allow you to try some crazy design stuff that would be virtually impossible using wood unless you want to hand carve. Once I get something I am happy with, I can use it to make a mold, alter the formulation so it could more easily be cast, then cast it in two halves, insert the weights (rattles - whatever), and bond the two halves together; At least that's the plan going forward. I've only got limitted experience in making these plugs and only for LMB, so I know I've got a big learning curve in front of me. But, it sounds like a good retirement project to me.
I never did the wire-through technique for the large-mouth bass application as I didn't need to and at least at first, I'm not planning to do it here. I may have to play a little with the formulation to get the right combo of strength and lightweight properties for stripers though.
The other advantage is that when cured, it's already water proof so you can skip the sealing step typically used on wood. All that's needed is some weighting to get it to sit and swim right, light sanding, the paint, an epoxy topcoat or two, and your good to go.
Since I don't think you're to far from me, we could meet and I can hand off a small amount if you want to play with it this winter.
Let me know.