Hosted by the Navy League, the Sea, Air, Space 2024 exposition gave America’s maritime leadership the chance to talk about where their branches are and where they’re headed. The gathering was also an opportunity for companies to build relationships with potential government buyers — including one boat-making company called Ghostworks Marine.
Ghostworks Marine, based in Holland, Michigan, is hoping to bring its extensive history in high performance yacht racing into the military space. The company thinks its latest products, the GT-34 Power Cat and the GT-24, could be an asset for America’s special forces.
On the outside, the GT-34 looks like a modern center console boat. However, the vessel has an “M-Hull,” which Ghostworks says increased the boat’s speed and fuel efficiency.
“Both our M-Line and our GT Line look to capture bow wave energy as opposed to fight it,” Ghostworks Director of Operations Patrick Coughlin said. “So when our boats push through the water, we actually push the water up and back, and it spins in the tunnels underneath. So it creates hydrodynamic lift across the entire hull form. And we lift out of the water and we go for a run. So we’re not fighting the water, we’re using it to actually lift us up, which drastically reduces drag, which gives us much higher speeds.”
Coughlin said the M-Hull design reduces the wave slap impact on operators by as much as 60%.
“What we’ve seen is when we talk to operators — small boat guys especially — is [they] hurt their lower backs, hurt or damaged their knees or their ankles are tired,” Coughlin said. “And if you go out on a two-, three-hour patroller insertion, then you’re expected to do your mission. Then you got to do another two or three hours home on something that’s effectively a workout in itself. They’re just exhausting. ”
Host Ryan Robertson took a ride on the GT-34 Power Cat on the Potomac River with the Ghostworks crew. According to the crew, the unique application of racing technology could meet immediate military needs.
“I think people are resistant to change, and their stuff is tried and true,” Ghostworks demo pilot Todd Meyer said. “And you really know how it works and this is developmental. So it takes a certain person or a certain application where they’re like, ‘we want to go that way, we want to see,’ because there’s some some inherent learning curves that you’re gonna have to assume.”
Other selling points for Ghostworks’ GT-34 are the ability to customize the vessel and the time saved. According to the company, most builds only take six to nine months to complete.
“You can build whatever type of cabin you need on it, we can carry lots of weight and payloads, but you’re gonna have the exact same ride principles and the exact same control capabilities,” Coughlin said. “And in the smooth ride that you’re experiencing out on the water today, you’re going to have regardless of how you want to [configure] the top.”
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