The XSR 48 was a powerboat designed by companies XSMG Marine and Green Marine. The XSR 48 was built at the Berthon Shipyard in Lymington. The XSR 48 was announced in 2006, and was featured on Top Gear in a race between hosts Richard Hammond and James May, with May operating the XSR 48 from Portofino to Saint-Tropez.
The XSR 48 featured two, 11.3 liter twin-turbo Diesel engines with a combined output of 1,600 HP, and a top speed of 75 knots.
The boat was designed by Fabio Buzzi and Redman Whiteley Dixon, and was built out of composite Kevlar and carbon fiber hull and deck. The boat measured 14 m (48 ft) in length and 3 m (9 ft) across its beam. [1]
The boat was built-to-order only, at a price of US$2.05 million. [2]
XSMG went into compulsory liquidation and was dissolved on 12th May 2015. [3] At least one completed boat was auctioned off among other items from the company by HMRC to pay of tax debts in August 2013 for £170,000, although the company continued trading. However the company was liquidated by HMRC due to further unpaid tax almost 2 years later, [4] after which no further boats were built. It is not known how many examples were built and how many still exist.
Offshore powerboat racing is a type of racing by ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.
A PT boat was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war by ineffective torpedoes, limited armament, and comparatively fragile construction that limited some of the variants to coastal waters. In the US Navy they were organized in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons (MTBRONs).
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are inflated with air to a high pressure so as to give the sides resilient rigidity along the boat's topsides. The design is stable, light, fast and seaworthy. The inflated collar acts as a life jacket, ensuring that the vessel retains its buoyancy, even if the boat is taking on water. The RIB is an evolutionary development of the inflatable boat with a rubberized fabric bottom that is stiffened with flat boards within the collar to form the deck or floor of the boat.
A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine.
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels, focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or waterskiing. It is a popular activity, and there are millions of boaters worldwide.
A motor torpedo boat is a fast torpedo boat, especially of the mid 20th century. The motor in the designation originally referred to their use of petrol engines, typically marinised aircraft engines or their derivatives, which distinguished them from other naval craft of the era, including other torpedo boats, that used steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines. Later, diesel-powered torpedo boats appeared, in turn or retroactively referred to as "motor torpedo boats" for their internal combustion engines, as distinct from steam powered reciprocating or turbine propulsion.
Hobie Cat is a company that manufactures watercraft and other products as the Hobie Cat Company. "Hobie Cat" can also refer to specific products of the company, notably its sailing catamarans. Its fiberglass catamaran models range in nominal length between 14 feet (4.3 m) and 18 feet (5.5 m). Rotomolded catamaran models range in length between 12 feet (3.7 m) and 17 feet (5.2 m). Other sailing vessels in the Hobie Cat lineup include, monocats, dinghies, and trimarans, ranging in length between 9 feet (2.7 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m). Its largest product was the Hobie 33, 33 feet (10 m) in length. The company's non-sailing product line includes surfboards, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, pedalboards, eyeware, and e-bikes. It was founded in 1961 by Hobart (Hobie) Alter, who originally manufactured surfboards.
The Type Two HSL was a 63 ft high-speed launch craft made by British Power Boat Company (BPBC). The craft were used during the Second World War for air-sea rescue operations to save Allied aircrew from the sea. The Type Two superseded the 64 ft HSL, and was itself replaced by the Type Three 68 ft "Hants and Dorset" also built by the BPBC. The Type Two was nicknamed the "Whaleback" due to the distinctive curve to its deck and humped cabin.
The motor gunboat (MGB) was a small, high-speed British military vessel of the Second World War, which was armed with a mix of guns, in contrast to the physically similar motor torpedo boat (MTB), whose main offensive weapon were torpedoes. The small size of the MGBs, and their high speed, made them difficult targets for German E-boats, though, like their opponents, they were limited by heavy weather, because they did not provide a stable-enough platform to aim the guns. The large number of guns meant the crew was relatively large, numbering as high as thirty men on the largest boats.
The Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship is an international motorboat racing competition for powerboats organised by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) and promoted by H2O Racing, hence it often being referred to as F1H2O. It is the highest class of inshore powerboat racing in the world, and as such, with it sharing the title of F1, is similar to Formula One car racing. Each race lasts approximately 45 minutes following a circuit marked out in a selected stretch of water, usually a lake, river, dock, or sheltered bay.
Fairey Marine Ltd, latterly known as FBM Marine, was a boat building company based on the River Hamble, Southampton, England. The company was created in the late 1940s by Sir Charles Richard Fairey and Fairey Aviation's managing director, Mr. Chichester-Smith. Both were avid sailing enthusiasts along with Chichester-Smith's good friend and former Olympic yachtsman, Charles Currey.
Coastal Motor Boat was a small high-speed British torpedo boat used by the Royal Navy in the First World War and up to end of the Second World War.
Austal Limited is an Australian-based global ship building company and defence prime contractor that specialises in the design, construction and support of defence and commercial vessels. Austal's product range includes naval vessels, high-speed ferries, and supply or crew transfer vessels for offshore windfarms and oil and gas platforms.
LOMOcean Marine is a naval architecture and yacht design company based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Hacker-Craft is the name given to boats built by The Hacker Boat Co. It is an American company, founded in Detroit, Michigan in 1908 by John Ludwig Hacker and is one of the oldest constructors of wooden motor boats in the world. The company moved operations to New York State in the 1970s and continues to produce hand-built boats.
X-Yachts A/S is a Danish shipyard, located in Haderslev in the southern part of Denmark. The shipyard builds sailboats between 35 and 65 feet.
Heesen Yachts is a Dutch ship building company that specialises in custom built superyachts. Founded in 1978, it has launched more than 200 yachts since its inception, many of which have won awards. It is considered one of the world leaders in the design, construction and engineering of all-aluminum yachts.
Fabio Buzzi was an Italian motorboat builder and racer.
Albin Marine was a Swedish boat builder. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.
Crash boats, at the time known as "aircraft rescue boats" or "air-sea rescue boats", were United States high speed boats built to rescue the crew of downed Allied aircraft during World War II. US boats came from the observation of British experience with high-speed launches (HSL) by the Royal Air Force Marine Branch during the Battle of Britain.