The Glider SS18 was first introduced on 2015 and even a decade later the boat still looks to be a radical futuristic marvel
When we first saw a rendering for the Glider SS18 in 2015, it simply looked too outlandish to be true. Nonetheless, two years later the first working prototype was launched at Griffon Hoverworks in Southampton, and MBY editor Hugo secured a world exclusive drive of it.
The idea was as simple as it was wacky. By mounting the craft on long blade-like aluminium hulls, it would reduce water drag to almost zero (think of the rowing eights used in the Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race). And when you consider that water is 800 times denser than air, that is significant.
The futuristic helm had four throttles and two gear levers
The hulls were also neutral buoyancy, meaning that rather than bouncing over waves like a planing sportsboat, they’d blast straight through them like a torpedo. This also explains why the body of the vessel was mounted a good six feet above the hulls, allowing any waves to pass underneath it. The result was a claimed cruising speed of 40 knots and a magic carpet ride, almost irrespective of conditions.
The concept was the brainchild of superyacht captain Rob McCall, who’d enjoyed a spell skippering a wave-piercing fast cat ferry and, realising how smooth and stable it was, decided to adopt the same principles for a leisure boat.
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The initial plan was for an (even more) ambitious 50-metre transatlantic superyacht but budgetary restraints meant that the prototype was scaled down to an 18-metre long dayboat. And it wasn’t just the design that was radical, the drive system was too. Four 300hp supercharged waterjet engines from Yamaha jetskis were installed, two in each hull, along with fuel tanks and water ballast. The cockpit itself featured five Corbeau racing seats and four throttles – one for each of the engines.
A faulty fuel pressure regulator on the day of our test meant that we only managed a top speed of 30 knots, a long way short of the claimed 56-knot maximum. However, cutting through a container ship’s wash at pace did confirm its uncannily smooth ride and wave-piercing ability – although we never got to try it in bigger seas.
Blade-like aluminium hulls cut drag to near zero
Ultimately, lack of demand for a 60ft-long £1 million boat with just five seats and no accommodation meant the investment needed to develop bigger production versions never materialised. But the SS18 shone brightly in its brief tenure and remains one of the coolest boats ever built.
To submit your suggestion for the world’s coolest boat, head over to the MBY forum.
Glider SS18 specifications
YEAR: 2017
LOA: 18m
BEAM: 5.3m
POWER: 4 x Yamaha SVHO 300hp supercharged waterjets
SPEED: 56 knots (claimed)
PRICE: £1 million
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