Notwithstanding adve isi g hyp the con trary, the p-ped hul i really new. The idea of using uneven hull surfaces to introduce air to th e hull bottom, creating turbulence and breaking th e na tural bond be twee n hu ll a nd wa te r has been around in one form or another for a couple of decades. But recently, the design has enjoyed something of a renaissance, as a number of builde rs introduced variations on the basic concept. Yet while the stepped hu ll is a proven suc­cess in raceboats, results in consumer craft have been mixed .

No mass-marke t builde r has em­braced the stepped hu ll with more fer­vor than Regal. It introduced its first uch mode l, a 2 I-foo t runabout, in

1997. This year, the company d idn 't ste p , it jumped , with 11 models fea­turing its FasTrac stepped hull.

FasTrac e ncompasses four bas ic elements. Lamin ar-fl ow interrupters are basica lly bridges be tween forward lifting strake de igned to break up water fl ow early. About midship , the tunne l indu c tion system captures high-sp ee d air at the chine and di­rec ts i t into the running surface, where it mixes with water. The actual stepped running surface begins im­mediate ly abaft this , and it is upon this 2I-degre surface that the boat rid es in a ll but pe rfect conditions . Final ly, all the way aft and on the cen­terline are two slightly flatter pads on which the hull rides in optimum con­dition , when th e drives a re fu lly trimm d and tile water is flat.

With distinctive "communications towers" and FasTrac stepped hull, Regal's 2760 offers out­standing space and economical performance.

footer achieves me same speed as me nearly identi cal bu t u n stepped V-8 powered model she rep laces . And tha t's what Regal is after- no t more p eed but equ ivalent perform ance

with maller, less expensive, more eco­nomical engines.

But a lightweight runabout is one thing. What happens when you try to apply me concept to a less-than-svelte midcabin family cruiser? Say Regal's 2760 Commodore. She has enonnous volume inside her 28'9/1 LOA and 9'11/1 beam. Headroom is 6'5/1 almost all the way LO the V-b rtll (whi h explains that we ll-ro und ed foredeck) . Th is 6'2/1 benh is angled , leavin g room for a sma ll sea l to port, and in a novel approach to the problem of midn ight nacking, me standard I 2-voll refriger­

ator is ben am, on ly a couple of st p from the starboard ga lley. ot only doe a curtain close off the area so you can sleep (or munch) in privacy, this and all hatches have built-in stillshades.

Like tile rest of tile boat, me galley packs a lot into a small space. There 's plenty of beige Corian work pace, a one-burn r Princes electric stove wi til matching Corian cover, deep ingle sink, and a bui ll-in microwave. With tile r frigerator out of tile way, mere's also extra stowage, including plenty of overhead cabinets, a small hatch, and, as everywhere else inside, a gaggle of well-directed halogen spotligh ts en­hanced by indirect lighting.

Directly to port of th e galley i th e dinette, with seating for five but a rel­atively small (1' 4/1x3' 4/1) Vi tacore table

trimmed in Corian. Another ha lch

Can a race-bred stepped hull find happiness married to a midcabin family cruiser?

By Richard Thiel

WH

1.11. I hglll all I air, and a small hang-111,101 " ' 1' e1ir L1 y aft provides space

~_t.IIl "'''' -~--'-III I ( Io thin g. T he three-piece head , . lh.dl th e ga lley, offe rs virtually the ,.lItl C headroom as the saloon, even J 11sicl its roomy shower compartment.

he midcabin, under the elevated bridge d eck, is th e bonus room . Its

IIIIIIl._I .. .,. ... lUW-,JC<Ull queen-size berth offers plen­ty of comfort and 3'6" of vertical space, about average for the type. It has two ports, halogen reading lights, and backrests that tilt up to support

...... A .... you while you 're reading. • I'"'IMII'- Two steps up and you're on the

bridge, where you realize how Regal SVELTE got so much inside this boat. Sitting at the wheel, you ' re well above the water,

MIDC~ A BIN and the foredeck slopes dramatically MU to create all that headroom. Still, visi-

r A •• 1. ~ybili ty and driving position are fine, the r~Y.... la tte r partly thanks to a seat bottom

tha t flips up to create a comfortable

CRUISER?bolster plus a well-placed footrest. • Three pane ls are avai lable for flush-

mounting elec tronics (none were installed) , but it seemed as ifunits placed in the two lower panels might be difficult to read. A 10- by 20-inch

chart ho lder is a nice touch, and both the Falia gauges and Volvo Penta con­trols are correctly positioned .

In keeping with the rest of the boat, tllere's lots of room in the cockpit: It's about 3'8" fore to aft. Passengers can chose from a big, L-sh ape lounge across from the helm or a removable, three-pe rson transom seat. In a nifty piece of engineering, this seat raises with the engine hatch , making main­tenance checks a lot easier. Better yet, swivel the helm bench 90 degrees, in­sert the cockpit table (which stows on the underside of the engine hatch) , and you have a cozy entertaining area.

Shorepower ties are to starboard­the white cord is ha rd-wired so yo u won't forget it-while th e transom d oor, hot and cold shower, fuel and water fills , and waste port are all to port, as is the standard wetbar.

And then there 's the arch. Well, not an arch, since there 's no center sec­ti o n . Regal prefers to call the two uprights "communications towers," and they' re so confi gured because a solid arch with suffic ient headroom would be an aes th e ti c disaster . The

Left: With the table removed, the saloon couch makes a comfortable place to nap. Note the mid-cabin at left. Right: The galley offers loads of counter space, a deep sink, and a one-burner electric stove.

84 POWER & MOTORYACHT JANUAR 19911

Placing the refrigerator under the V-berth frees

up a lot of stowage space in the starboanl galley.

so lution is innovative, to say the least. By now you sh o uld h ave the p ic­

tu re : This is a lot of boat. So what does the FasTrac do fo r it? Well, in case you haven 't guessed , th is is no sportboat.

Her high center of gravity and consid­e ra b le d isp lace m ent m ake a run thro ugh th e pylo ns impracti ca l. But given her bulk, the boat pe lfo nns sur­prisinglywell. (I tested her on a lake in flat wate r. ) Sh e plan es in only seve n seconds a nd tops o ut a t just under 45 mph . Th ose a re about ave rage n um­bers fo r a boat of this size power d by twin V-8 tern drives. Considering our test boa t o n ly had twin 190-h p V-6 ste rn drives, they' re rema rkable.

Achi eving perfo rm a n ce like lh at wiLl1 smaller engines should reduce tl1e boat's base price, but tl1ere's also a pay­off in fuel effi cie n cy. Despite twin engi nes, our 2760 managed to get bet­ter Lllan a mile and a half per gallon at

any speed between 3000 and 4000 rpm. As for d riving impressions, the Ix in­

cipal one is how fl at she runs. In fact, Lll is boat runs so consistently fl at, drive trim is almost superfluous. T his is char­actelistic of tile stepped hu ll , and wh ile in itia lly d isconcerting, it. rea lly has no

nega tive effect I cou ld d e tect un der our test conditions.

If yo u ca n r id yourse lf" of the idea that Ll1 e stepped hu ll turns every boat in to a hi g h-performance boa t (as

many bui lders cla im ) and instead sub­scribe to Regal's more realisti c aim of lowering Llle horsepower nece sary to

achieve a given level of performance, you've go t to con cl ude tha t FasTrac and tl1is midcabin cruiser make a pret­ty happy co up le. And if that mea ns yo u ' ll have to spe nd less to buy and run the 2760, a test ride sho uld defi ­

nitely be your next step. 0 FOT mOTe info'rrnation, contact Regal

Marine Industries, Dept. PMY, 2300 I et­partDr., Orlando, FL 32809. "Ir (800) US REGAL aT (407) 851-4360. Fax: (407) 857-1256. (OT ciTcle ReadeT Service No. 248)

PMY TESTED: REGAL 2760 COMMODORE Base price: $69,824 with 1/310·hp MerCruiser 7.4t MPI gasoline stern drive Optional power: $78,135 with 2/190·hp Volvo Penta 4.3GL SX gasoline stern drives Standard equipment: microwave; Princess electric stove; 12·volt refri gerator; cockpit refreshment center; compass; depthsounder; Kenwood AM/FM stereo/cassette w/4 speakers; bow pu lpit; cockpit carpeting; hot and cold transom shower; Morna wheel

Construction: hand·laid fiberglass

SPECIFICATIONS LOA: 28'9" Beam: 9'11" Draft: 3'3" (to keel) Maximum headroom: 6'5" Weight: 7,500 Ibs. (dry) Fuel capacity: 110 gal. Water capacity: 27 gal.

PMY TEST RESULTS Engines: 2/190·hp Volvo Penta 4.3GL gasoline V·6s; Drives: Volvo Penta SX; Props: 14 'I· x 21 sis; Steering: Teleflex; Controls: Volvo Penta; Trim tabs: Bennett; Optional equipment on test boat: reverse· cycle A/C; bimini and camper canvas; remote· control led spotlight; foredeck sunpad; Kenwood AM/ FM stereo/cassette w/CD and remote control

RPM MPH KNOTS CPH MPC RANCE DECIBELS

1000 5.7 4.9 1.6 3.06 303 61 1500 7.6 6.6 2.8 2.04 202 62 2000 8.9 7.7 7.6 1.17 116 64 2500 11.1 9.6 11.8 0.94 93 69 3000 22.9 19.6 13.8 1.66 164 70 3500 28.4 24.5 17.0 1.67 165 71 4000 38.6 33.3 25.0 1.54 153 72 4450 44.7 38.6 35.4 1.26 125 73

Conditions: temperature: 79°; humidity: 88 %; wind: calm; seas: nat: load: full fuel, no water. 2 persons, minimal gcaf. Speeds are two-way averages. measured w/radar gun. GPH measured w/ Ro-Scan meter. Range: 90% of advenised fuel capacity. Decibels measured on A scale. 68 dB is the level of normal conversation.

JANUARY 1998 POWER & MOTORYACHT 85