Copyright 2001-2021 inclusive McGowan Marine Design, Inc.
LeBlanc Forchu 36 (11m) Jetboat
This boat was built by LeBlanc Brothers Boatbuilders for a lobster fisherman on Cape Cod. His harbour has only 18" (46cm) of water during the lowest tides, so he wanted the shallowest boat possible. A warped hull (deep vee forward, flatter sections aft) was chosen to minimize the speed hump as the boat rises on a plane. There are a lot of stops and starts with lobster fishing and the energy lost while wallowing in a large speed hump adds up over a day's fishing. Skegs were added for directional control, yet the boat is still able to turn in her own length. Hamilton Jet speed predictions were right on: even with a large deck box, mast and boom Bella V achieved 28.5 knots the first time out.
This was the second Bella V. With the first one, LeBlanc Brothers modified one of their stock designs, then seriously overbuilt it. They are known for their strong boats but this boat was almost 100% overweight! Understandably, performance on launch day wasn't the best. They then did something rarely seen today... they built another custom boat and took the loss on the first one. I was hired to help make sure that the second boat worked. Hull layup in a quickly-built (demountable) and very accurate female mould proceeded rapidly. Bella V (v.2) sat on her lines on launch day and is a good performer today.
Transom View
Launch Day - 28.5 knots
