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Passion, commitment and vision
Designing and building the Quicksilver craft is a major engineering challenge. A dedicated team of specialists has risen to meet this challenge. It is a hand-picked team of highly-motivated engineers and technical sponsors that has already demonstrated the level of commitment needed to reach the goal. –
In common with all ultra-high-speed waterborne craft, Quicksilver is designed to skim over the water rather than ploughing through it. Water conditions must first be near-calm. As the boat accelerates, its hull design must be such that it can overcome water resistance by rising clear of the water's surface and skimming across it. Then, as the boat's speed swiftly increases as water resistance decreases, its design attributes must be such that safety and stability are assured at all times.
Achieving a rapid transition from the "displacement condition" (in the water) to the "planing condition" (on the water) has been a critical design challenge, because Coniston Water – with a usable length of a little over five miles – offers a sufficient, but not generous, course distance, and hull shapes optimised for ultra-high speeds are not usually conducive to making the displacement-to-planing transition rapidly, so a carefully-balanced compromise has been necessary.
Quicksilver is the largest and heaviest boat ever to contest the World Water Speed Record. It is also by far the most powerful.
With a considerable number of objectives already achieved, the next major goal of the Quicksilver project is to undertake full-power static engine runs at the earliest opportunity (preparations are currently nearing completion). Initial trials on water, at a location yet to be decided, will have the primary intention of proving the craft's planing capability and collecting test data. The ultimate aim is to make a record challenge on Coniston Water, in the Lake District in north-west England, subject to gaining the necessary approvals.
Structural design work and construction are the team's ongoing preoccupations. Work has also been underway to advance Quicksilver's on-board systems. The front section of the boat (bow module) is a monocoque structure composed primarily of composite materials. So too is the vee-shaped keel module, which incorporates a full-width "step" to assist the boat's transition onto its planing surfaces at the start of each run. The rear hull section (stern module), which is an aluminium monocoque, will be added. Both sponsons will be also be added, during final preparations for the first trials on water. In this initial waterborne form, the craft will be known as Quicksilver Dash 1 and speeds will be limited to 200 mph.
The craft will then be upgraded to its definitive Dash 2 standard and development during trials will facilitate ever-higher speeds, culminating in the record bid.
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TECH SPEC
Displacement: 3.5 tonnes
Length: 11.8 metres
Beam: 3.435 metres
Height: 3.038 metres
Structure: Aluminium, high-tensile steel, titanium, carbonfibre,
Kevlar, carbon/Kevlar, Xynole, Vectra and Zylon
Engine type: Rolls-Royce Spey Mk.101 low-bypass turbofan
Rated output: 11,030 pounds static thrust at sea level
(approx. max. 10,000 horsepower)
Fuel capacity: 277 litres (400 litres with auxilliary saddle tank)
Fuel type: Kerosene
Maximum fuel consumption: One litre per second at full power
Electrical system: 24-volt DC
SPEED ESTIMATES
Speed record (average of two runs): 330 mph
Peak speed on record runs: 350 mph
Theoretical maximum design speed of craft: 400 mph