Among the
new boats at the Fort Lauderdale Boat show were several sporting traditional
looks, such as the Albury Brothers 23-foot Classic Runabout and the GT60
Hatteras, a 60-foot sportfisherman with classic Carolina styling. But if you’re
in the market for something dramatically different, the Axcell 650 might be
your boat. It made its debut in the water at 726 G Dock at Bahia Mar, the
Axcell 650 uses HybridAir Technology to glide smoothly, quickly and efficiently
over the water. That technology lifts and supports half of the 60,000-pound
boat’s weight.
The boat is
the brainchild of Bruce Barsumian, who 14 years ago decided to see if he could
“make big boats go fast with less power,” because he didn’t like paying for all
the fuel required by his 40-footer.
Barsumian,
who lived in Fort Lauderdale from 1960-1983, lives in Tennessee and works at
Research Electronics International, a company that started in Pompano Beach and
makes anti-surveillance equipment used by the government and big corporations
“to make sure boardrooms and secret labs are secure.” An electronics engineer,
Barsumian built a 16-foot prototype catamaran powered by a 60-horsepower
outboard motor. He made the sections of the boat’s two hulls interchangeable so
he could experiment to find the best configuration. Those hulls were pumped
with air, which lifted the boat and reduced friction on the hulls, resulting in
a top speed of 41 mph.
“The air
process intrigued me,” said Barsumian, who adapted technology that was being
used in ferry boats and U.S. Navy hovercrafts to his prototype.
Given his encouraging
test results, Barsumian used the success of his electronics business to fund
his boat project. He consulted naval architects in New Zealand, Australia,
Europe and the United States and, after 10 years, he finally had Vectorworks
Marine in Titusville do the engineering and tooling for a bigger version of his
prototype.
It took
three years to build the boat, which is 65 feet long and 21 feet wide and tops
40 knots using just two 1,000-horsepower engines. Barsumian said a typical
65-foot catamaran would have a pair of 2,000-horsepower engines and burn almost
twice as much fuel.
The plush
interior of the Axcell 650 has three forward staterooms, including one in each
hull. Barsumian said the boat, which comes with a 16-foot rigid inflatable that
stores inside the catamaran between its hulls, would sell for about $3.95
million.
Related Videos
