Testing of a fully restored 47-foot Apache V-bottom, the former INXS offshore race boat, could begin as early as tomorrow morning if all goes to plan. That’s the word from Gary Stray of AMF Offshore Rigging in West Palm Beach, Fla. Stray handled all the rigging for the twin Lycoming T-53 gas-turbine engines—each making approximately 1,500 hp—with Arneson ASD-8 drives, as well as the restoration and refitting for the entire boat.
Arneson ASD-8 drives will handle the power from the 1,500-hp turbine engines. All photos courtesy Gary Stray/AMF Offshore Rigging. (For a full view of the drives, click the the image.)
“I imagine it will run 115 to 120 mph,” said Stray, who will test the boat with Scott Begovich, the throttleman for the Miss GEICO offshore racing catamaran. “We’re hoping to go out tomorrow, but if not the day after tomorrow.”
In the AMF Offshore Rigging shop for about a year, the 47-footer is owned by a private party who prefers to keep his name out of the media. But even for a client who Stray describes as owning “a lot of boats,” the turbine-powered vintage V-bottom with a pair of five-blade forged propellers from Hering Propellers is an extraordinary project.