Very Slender Vessels - Skinny Military Boats Become Luxury Yachts (GALLERY)

Motor Boat & Yachting of July 2007 features the maiden trip of MarySlim, the first VSV that is built as a motor yacht and gives it a thumbs up especially as to the unexpected smoothness of riding the waves. Cruising speeds of 28 - 35 knots are fabulous in waves without having to re swallow your kidneys!

Very Slender Vessels are developed for use by military and special forces.  The hulls are unique because they enable the boats to ‘pierce’ through large waves instead of skipping over top of each wave. 

According to Global security (edited by Happy Hotelier):

It can go faster than any other ocean-going fast pursuit vessel in the world. It is capable of speeds of more than 60 knots, is 53 feet long and cylindrical, with a 10 foot cross-section so it can punch straight through waves rather than go through the top of them…

Basically a VSV is a wave piercer. It is not completely novel as designers have been developing slim sharp fronted boats for years that are encouraged to cut through the waves rather than bouncing over them. The VSV™ applies these principles to high-speed patrol vessels. This has enabled crews to travel at high speeds in adverse sea conditions in relative comfort and safety.

Posted here are some photos, credit Neils Obee, from the press release preceding the maiden trip:

The front view shows clearly the difference with fast wave piercing motor yacht designs thus far: They all have as a common factor the more or less trimaran form. The VSV has no out rigging parts. It only has very wide chines and a very high length : beam ratio.

The last photo is of the Vosper Thornycroft VT Halmatic VSV, 16 m long that they (hush hush) built for the British Marine Special Boat Services (the marine counterpart of the more well known SAS).