New Spirit of Qatar

[Serious News]

Photos taken during the holidays at Ellstrom Racing’s top secret shop in Seattle show work progressing on the new boat the team is building for the 2014 racing season.

Asked if the project is on schedule, Erick Ellstrom replied, “Pretty close. The sponsons are hung and the shoes will be added soon.”

Ellstrom also said the systems for the boat (fuel, electrical, hardware, etc) are ready to go in and that process will begin soon.

Ellstrom expects the new Spirit of Qatar to be completed early in the spring and – when asked who will drive the new high-tech craft - says, “”We will announce our new driver when the boat is ready.”

Photos and Complete Story: http://www.h1unlimited.com/2014/01/new-96-spirit-of-qatar-taking-shape-2/

[Serious News]

A February check on the progress of Ellstrom Racing’s new 96 Spirit of Qatar shows work progressing and the boat taking shape.

The hull is ready for the addition of frames and decking. All parts have been manufactured and are going on the boat.

Erick Ellstrom says many of the advancements in the new boat will not be obvious to the naked eye and the profile on the water will probably be quite conventional.

96 front cropEllstrom explained, “A good way to think of it is like a computer. A ten year old computer running a Pentium processer and a new one running Intel’s i7 can look pretty much the same, but the technology and performance contained is much different.”

Advancements will include an on-board computer system by Cosworth which will give the team more complete information on the performance of the boat and do it much quicker than existing systems.

96 sideEllstrom also left the door open for changes in the actual appearance of the boat, depending on how the testing of new concepts goes.

Ellstrom added, “There are some things we want to try that would change the look a little, but we can go back to a conventional setup if we don’t feel they are making a difference.”

Asked if a redesigned cowling could be one of the things tried, Ellstrom replied, “That could be one of the things we are talking about.”

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[Serious News]

March 1st finds progress being made on the new 96 Spirit of Qatar, which will be the most state-of-the-art hydroplane ever designed and built.

Owner Erick Ellstrom says, “Work is progressing nicely. The frames are all in now and the tubes for the electrical are going in. The steering system is under construction. Most of the advances we are making from our old boat are not things that will show up in photos and the hull won’t really take shape until the decks go on, and that is one of the final steps after all of the systems in the hull, including fuel and electrical, are done.”

Plans are to move the hull from it’s top secret construction site in Seattle to the team’s race shop in Ballard some time in mid-April, where it will be prepared for the 2014 season, one of the final steps after all of the systems in the hull, including fuel and electrical, are done.”

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