Superboat Champ- Maritimo well positioned as race series nears its end

by Paul Wilson on 10 Sep 2014 Australian luxury cruiser manufacturer Maritimo’s Offshore Racing Team is confident it will finish the year strongly after winning several recent Australian Offshore Superboat Championships despite a set-back in Round Five of the series at Redcliffe at the weekend.

Maritimo is competing in two boats in the National Superboat Championship races and is using the series as a warm-up for the World Championships in Europe next year.

Conditions at Redcliffe on the weekend were testing and resulted in several boats being damaged including Maritimo’s new million dollar plus race boat.

Maritimo Offshore’s team spokesman and engine builder Kurt Davies said competition was fierce in Round Five with several boats colliding, one taking on extensive water and Maritimo’s vessel suffering some minor hull damage.

'It was a tough weekend, but we are still well positioned in the series overall so the year is looking ok for us,' he said.

'The new boat is getting better and better and we have been inching up the speed, but with anything new you have to take your time and there are always hiccups along the way.'

'The performance of the boat last weekend was fantastic as we didn’t think the water conditions would suit this hull design, but it performed well. There was some minor delamination so we withdrew before the problem became a serious one. Better to be safe than sorry.'

'The finals will be held in Hervey Bay in November.'

At this stage in the series Maritimo Australia is running second and our Maritimo Newcastle race boat, which is leased, is running third.

Maritimo’s founder, Bill Barry-Cotter, who plays a key role in the operation of the Offshore Racing team, said the performance of the two boats augured well for Europe.

Mr Barry-Cotter said the Australian Championships are run on a weight for horsepower basis and Maritimo has both bases covered.

'In simple terms, the rules stipulate that the weight per horsepower ratio has to be 2.848 kilograms per one horsepower,' he said. 'In our Maritimo Newcastle boat we are running 868 horsepower supercharged motors with a total weight of 4,950 kilograms and in the new boat we are running 790 horsepower motors with a boat weight of 4,500 kilograms.'

'In effect we have all the options covered because the advantage of less horsepower is that you need and burn less fuel and have a better power to weight ratio at the start with 800 litres of fuel, in the 868 horsepower boat and 500 litres in the 790 horsepower boat.'

Mr Barry-Cotter said Maritimo would be very competitive in the European series which commences in April 2015.

Maritimo ‘s Sales and Marketing Manager Greg Haines, said the expertise gained through the race teams ultimately transferred over to the company’s range of production boats.

'For example, steering systems in our production cruisers have already benefitted from race team experience and developments like engine positioning to lower the centre of gravity, minimize shaft angles and generate better fuel efficiency all stem from the race shop,' he said.

'The on-going experiences gained by our race teams provides knowledge that we continually incorporate into our production cruisers and that is Maritimo’s point of difference.'

'None of the competition can lay claim to such benefits.'