Thanks to propeller modifications from BBLADES, a 46-foot Black Thunder has been tamed.
You don’t generally think of Black Thunder V-bottoms as “fast.” There are exceptions, of course—the 43-footer that Dennis Parvey and his son, Jason, piloted to 145 mph late last month at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Central Missouri being chief among them. Still, in the current world of low-profile, cut-down deck V-bottoms with sit-down cockpits, a Black Thunder stands out not as sore thumb but frankly as a small building. And as comfortable a high-sided, deep-cockpit mono-hull with baller headroom in its cabin may be, it’s not ideally suited for speed.
Yet thanks in large part to BBLADES Professional Propellers of Princeton, Wis., there’s another Black Thunder laying down impressive speeds these days. Owned by Ryan Ward of Clio, Michigan, and powered by twin supercharged and electronically fuel-injected 1,022-hp engines, the 46-footer that weighs more than 12,000 pounds reportedly has topped 96 mph—and has more in it.
“I’ve still got to find the sweet spot,” said Ward. “It should get close to 100 mph.”
and then