Speed On The Water

Since Phenomenon, the 55-foot-long turbine-powered catamaran that was to attempt to break the propeller-driven-water-speed record of 220 mph today, made its debut in November 2009 I have written 11 stories about it for speedonthewater.com/Boatermouth.com. That does not count one I wrote for Boats.com/Yachworld.com and another I wrote for the site’s print publication, Yachtworld magazine.

My coverage plan was simple: I would check in at least once a month with the Phenomenon crew and report whatever news there was. No news, no report. In the two weeks leading up to the July 2 Super Boat International Kilo Runs in which the Phenomenon team hoped to break the record, I would check in frequently. That was my plan, and I stuck to it.

But I have to admit that as the Kilo Runs drew closer, I saw Phenomenon’s chances of actually setting a new record getting farther away. With a combined 12,000 hp behind them, the boat’s drives moved enough to crack the stern bustle, break propeller shafts and allow the props to destroy one another. If that weren’t enough, as the Phenomenon crew worked to solve those problems new headaches—in the form of issues with one of the boat’s turbine engines—emerged.

As anyone involved in any water speed-record attempt can tell you, that’s how it works. When it comes to preparing to set an on-water speed mark, stuff happens. You fix it. Then more stuff happens. You fix it, and the cycle continues. And if you’re diligent and very lucky, it all comes together on the day you go after the record. All that’s left is having the stones to take on one of the most deadly pursuits in all of motorsports.

Yesterday, they called it quits. That was a smart move. A very smart move.

Did the Phenomenon team make mistakes? Undoubtedly. But from where I sit, the biggest one was setting out a sign in front of their display at the 2010 Miami International Boat Show in February that read, “World’s Fastest Powerboat.” That was a little over the top but, more important, it implied more than a little overconfidence given the task at hand.

So maybe they were a little cocky, or maybe—and this what I believe—they were doing a little internal cheer-leading, a form of self-motivation as in, “We put it out there. Now we have to back it up.”

Regardless, the entire Phenomenon story has been, well, fun to follow. Without question, the effort was completely homegrown. There was big Louisiana money—meaning Copeland—behind the project. Most of the team hailed from the state, and the team was based in Metairie, not far from New Orleans.

With their financial resources, they easily could have hired John Cosker of Mystic to build and throttle the cat. After all, Cosker has more seat time at 200 mph than just about anyone alive. And he’s just one example of the available talent, from Jerry Gilbreath to John Tomlinson, that could have helped with the project.

But that’s not what they wanted and that’s not what they did. They stuck with homegrown, as in Scott Barnhart, who managed the project and throttled the boat and Al Copeland, Jr., who drove and, without flinching, wrote one huge check after the next.

In the end, they failed—at least when it came to today’s Kilo Runs. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. They talked big in the beginning, toned it down in the middle and displayed sincere humility in the end.

My response to the final chapter—at least for the time being—of this story? Cheers and applause to the entire Phenomenon team. It was fun. It was intriguing. It was something to look forward to.

It was Phenomenal.

Related Stories

Kilo Runs out for Phenomenon

Phenomenon Testing Today

Phenomenon on the Road for Sarasota Kilo Runs

Phenomenon Update: Waiting on Propellers

Crunch Time for Phenomenon

Inside Phenomenon: First Look

Speed Record Attempt Boat Waiting for New Props

Boats.com Gets Turbine-Boat Interior Images

First Look: Inside Copeland’s Speed-Record Rocket

Copeland Group Shooting to Set Speed Record Before Miami Show

Record-Attempt Catamaran Unveiled at Key West Worlds

It’s been a rough day for Scott Barnhart, Al Copeland, Jr., and the rest of the team behind Phenomenon, the 55-foot-long catamaran with 12,000-hp worth of turbine engines that was slated to try to break the 220-mph propeller-driven water-speed record tomorrow in Sarasota, Fla. First, they started today’s tests on Sarasota Bay later than they wanted to because the boat didn’t arrive until early this morning.

Second, they hit a seawall when Barnhart forgot to kill one of the catamaran’s engines—taking off the tip of one of the cat’s sponsons.

Last, one of the turbine engines is, in the words of Barnhart, “all locked up” and cannot—at present—be started.

“The best we saw out there today was 185 mph, and we were in the process of turning up our motors from 2,600 hp to 3,200 hp,” said Barnhart. “But this boat cannot run on three motors.”

What that means is that unless Phenomenon’s engine issue miraculously resolves itself, the catamaran is out for tomorrow’s Super Boat International Kilo Runs.

“I think we were really close, we just needed more time,” said Barnhart. “We’ve boat has only been in the water eight times. It’s discouraging, but we needed more time.

“We went over a long learning curve,” he added. “We had propeller problems, we had shaft problems, we had engine problems. We did our best, but needed more time.”

If all goes to plan, the 55-foot-long Phenomenon catamaran powered by four 3,000-hp turbine engines should be testing on Sarasota Bay (Fla.) in the next couple of hours according to Scott Barnhart, the throttleman for the cat. The boat will attempt to break the propeller-driven water-speed record of 220 mph tomorrow during the Super Boat International Kilo Runs on the bay.

“We should be out there in the next hour or so,” Barnhart said.

Phenomenon arrived in Sarasota early this morning. The crew had hoped the boat would get there last night, but they ran out of daylight.

“It’s a wide load and we can’t legally tow it after dark,” said Barnhart, who arrived in Sarasota at 1 a.m. today. “We’re looking forward to getting out on the water.”

For observers onshore or on boats holding a safe distance, the catamaran shouldn’t be hard to spot while underway. First, it’s big. Second, it should produce a large rooster-tail. Third, the whine of four turbine engines should be easy to distinguish.

Look for an update on Phenomenon’s test session on speedonthewater.com and boatermouth.com this afternoon.

Talk about cutting it close.

At this moment, Scott Barnhart is getting into the truck that will tow the quad-turbine engine Phenomenon catamaran to Sarasota, Fla., for the Super Boat International Kilo Runs on Friday, July 2. A few hours earlier, Barnhart, the boat’s throttleman, and driver Al Copeland, Jr., had just finished running the cat, which will attempt to break the propeller-driven water-speed record of 220 mph during the Kilo Runs, with its brand-new set of Five Axis propellers.

“We ran it at 5:30 this morning—we sat on the ramp it was black,  and we actually waited for first light,” he said. “We ran it to 130 mph and we were still dodging pilings, so we headed back and put it on the trailer.

When I spoke with Barnhart five days ago, he wasn’t sure the 50-plus-foot, 12,000-hp catamaran would make it to the kilos. He didn’t even have all four of the boat’s propellers until yesterday morning. To make things worse, during a test-run yesterday afternoon, one of the cat’s 3,000-hp engines appeared to have mechanical issues. And in the past few months, movement of the boat's drives had damaged its propellers and stern.

“We’ve got four motors running and the back of the boat is sound,” said Barnhart. “There are no problems whatsoever back there. I’m very happy.”

Barnhart said he called John Carbonell, the head of SBI, to see if they can do a few more test runs in the catamaran tomorrow. The cat will not arrive in Sarasota, roughly 750 miles from Phenomenon’s team’s home base near New Orleans, until late this evening.

“He said he’s going to do what he can,” said Barnhart. “We have a big parade tomorrow night with members of the Copeland family. I think there are like 43 Copelands going.

“I am so happy,” he added. “I finally have the feeling that the boat is going to be what it is. It’s a bad-ass.”