Car industry has a lot of tests and specifications that are standardized (for example fuel consumption, safety). Local car magazines may have a bit different way to do the tests, but they are pretty much the same all over the world. Car magazines also have their own standardized tests (for example for handling). In boating, there is no standardization, not even within a single magazine, let alone in the entire industry. For example fuel consumption is measured in various different ways in various different conditions with various different loads and settings. Same boat can receive considerably different numbers in different tests and boat manufacturers do not typically even publish consumption figures. Boat handling tests are completely subjective and there are no tests specified. In most cases the tester just praises the boat handling without any criticism. I am sure many boat manufacturers have their own internal tests, although probably not nearly as comprehensive as the car manufacturers, but they are not publishing any of the data.
In this post, I am trying to lay out a standardized test plan for boats. Due to the fact that sea state cannot be standardized like the asphalt can, it is not possible to do testing in standardized conditions, but it is possible to avoid some of the issues caused by this. This meant to be more like a discussion opener than a comprehensive proposal.
Fuel consumption
Fuel consumption can be defined in nm/l, l/nm, (n)mpg, gallons per nautical mile etc. It does not really matter as long as the measure includes both amount of fuel and distance. lph or gph are not good fuel consumption measures as they do not include the distance. Engine manufacturers can obviously only publish per hour numbers, but boat manufacturers and magazines should not do that as that has no important for the consumers.
Measuring the fuel consumption per distance covered should be done with a few things in mind
- It should not be done in circumstances, wind and sea state that considerably affects the measurement. To put it another way, it should be done in relatively calm weather.
- The boat should be driven in a relatively straight line and it should be driven the same line to both directions (which will at least partly void the effect of the wind and sea state)
- The loading of the boat should be standardized. It would be good to always have two persons on board, 33% fuel, 33% water. 1/3 tanks makes if more fair for the boats with large tanks than 1/2 or full tanks. On the other hand, the size of the tank is quite dependent on the type and size of the boat, so it does not make sense to specify exact litre or gallon amounts. It would also be good to do one or two tests with additional weight on board. The amount of added weight depends on the type of the boat and it could be based on the dry weight of the boat (for example added weight of 5% and 10% of the dry weight of the boat).
Boat behavior and handling
It is clearly a much trickier task to standardize boat handling tests than car handling. Only a few things can be really measured in standard conditions, however, many things can be measured in semi-standard condition.
- turning
- turning radius at specified speeds
- bank at full turn at specified speeds
- speed
- minimum speed (at idle forward)
- minimum planing speed (if a planing boat)
- most economical speed (nmpg or l/nm)
- maximum speed
- acceleration
- time to plane (if a planing boat)
- time to 20 knots (if applicable)
- pitch (degrees)
- at 6 kn (which is typically below maximum displacement speed for any boat)
- maximum during the climb to plane
- at plane (well above minimum planing speed)
- maximum in a wake from a specified boat type (this would be totally magazine or tester specific) driving past at specified distance (e.g. 25 m) with a specified speed (e.g. 20 kn)
- roll (degrees)
- maximum in a wake from a specified boat type (this would be totally magazine or tester specific) driving past at specified distance (e.g. 25 m) with a specified speed (e.g. 20 kn)
Noise levels
Noise levels should be measured in a few different displacement and plane speeds (e.g. 80% of full speed and full speed) at standard locations, which could be
- Helm seat (inside)
- Helm seat (outside/flybridge, if applicable)
- Salong
- Cockpit bench
Visibility
Visibility from the helm seat in displacement, planing and getting-into-plane speeds at three different heights (short captain, average captain and tall captain).
- Photos and video at eye level
- How much does the boat structures block the horizon (degrees)
- 360 degrees visibility (amount of obstructed visibility in degrees)
To take the videos and photos, and measure these, it would be good have a standard tool, although it does not have to be as fancy as the H-Point Machine (HPM) used in car industry.
Storage space
List of storage spaces. Volume and dimensions of different storage spaces. Hatch opening size for different storage spaces. This is especially important for spaces like lazarette where people may want to store large items like bikes.
Ease of access
The ease of access to following should be described and also measured if possible
- daily checks (both description of the access and time it takes to conduct the checks)
- engine basic service parts (fuel filters, oil filters, air filter, impeller, belt)
- advanced engine maintenance
- steering gear
- electrical systems and batteries
- plumbing and sewage
Objectivity
Most of the boat tests are all praise, very little or no criticism. Being seasoned boaters and boat testers, I cannot believe the testers do not find any issues with the boats. The message boards are full of very objective criticism (as well as very subjective). It seems that the crowd can see from the photos and data things that testers do not notice or mention. When visiting and testing these boats, I have noticed that many crowd observations are spot on. It is almost impossible that the tester would not have noticed these issues, so I think the only reason is that their business is totally dependent on the getting the boat manufacturers to provide them boats for testing and therefore they cannot really do an objective review. This is not a good place to be and I hope there would be someone who would have the guts to start doing honest boat tests.
Conclusion
I am sure there are plenty of other things that can and should be tested. As meant this to be discussion starter.