Log in:
Username
Password
Keep me logged in (help)

Forgot username or password?

Create new login

You can change the width of the story text shown below:
Use how much percent of the screen width?

[ default ] [ 10% ] [ 20% ] [ 30% ] [ 40% ] [ 50% ] [ 60% ] [ 70% ] [ 80% ] [ 90% ] [ 100% ]

Options: Plain text or PDF (fanclub only!) version  |  Mark story  |  Mark author

Don't forget to vote for this story, in the yellow voting box below the story!

Hannah stepped into the Atlantic City Convention Center, a huge building of steel and glass that hummed with activity, with the annual boat show being in full swing. As she moved inside, she was suddenly surrounded by a host of bright banners, polished hulls, and men in navy blazers.

She didn't hesitate for a moment, as she knew exactly where she was headed. She had studied the show map and knew exactly where to find Meyer Marine's booth. She just hoped that plans hadn't changed and that Mark Parker was in attendance, as his LinkedIn profile had promised.

She needn't have been concerned, as when she approached the booth she spotted him immediately. Disappointingly, he was sitting down at the back, with the rest of the Meyer representatives standing at the front. It was impossible at that moment to make a casual approach.

She decided to circle around the exhibition hall and try again. This time she found him at the front, deep in conversation with a visitor to the booth, and she stopped and listened to what was being said, pretending to be interested in the technical points he was explaining. Eventually the visitor moved on and she had her chance.

"Could you explain that again? I missed the beginning." She smiled at him.

"The torque optimization?"

"Yes," Hannah said, stepping closer to the gleaming engine display. "Particularly how Meyer handles cavitation at high RPMs. We had persistent issues with that on our sixty-five footer." She had prepared for this moment, smoothly asking a valid technical question and inventing a yacht to go with it.

Mark brightened immediately, shoulders relaxing as he shifted into expert mode. "Oh, sure - that's one of the things we're most proud of," he said. "At high RPM, most midrange marine engines start to lose efficiency because the pressure differential around the prop blades drops too fast. That's where the cavitation kicks in."

Hannah nodded attentively, absorbing the cadence of his speech - the pride of an engineer relieved to discuss real mechanics.

He tapped the cutaway model in front of them, his voice warming. "We redesigned the impeller geometry last year - see the curvature here? - so the back-pressure stays stable even when you really open her up. It means you get the same thrust at thirty-eight knots that you'd normally lose after thirty-three."

He paused, giving her a moment to take it in. "If you were having cavitation on a sixty-five footer, that must've been a nightmare. What setup were you running?"

Hannah leaned over the cutaway display, tracing a finger lightly along the impeller blade, trying to remember her research. "Triple Volvo Penta IPS900s. Bow heavy when we pushed past thirty-five knots - water foaming like champagne." She met his eyes, letting frustration edge her tone. "The yard blamed the props, but I suspected the mounts weren't dampening resonance." She didn't have any real understanding of what she was talking about, but was hoping it sounded plausible.

Mark's gaze sharpened with professional interest. "Resonance? That's critical. Did they run spectral analysis?"

The conversation had gone beyond Hannah's ability to bluff and she had to find a way out. "We sold the boat before diagnostics. Too many headaches."

He nodded, but was still keen to pursue the topic and tapped the side of the engine mock-up. "This bit here is what really changed the cavitation profile. We've got a teardown video that shows it better, actually."

"Really? I'd love to see it - and hear more about how you solved the high RPM issues."

Mark pulled out his phone, scrolling. "Have you got a minute? We can

Click here to read the rest of this story (607 more lines)

Options: Plain text or PDF (fanclub only!) version for easy saving or printing

ESmail: Click here to send a private message to jackmarlowe (with ESmail, the site's internal message system)

Authors appreciate feedback! Please vote, and write to the authors to tell them what you liked or didn't like about the story!

Profile for jackmarlowe, incl. 1 stories Email: jmarlowe@camsvillage.com Add this author to your favorite author list Add this story to your favorite story list Send this story to me through email

Give your opinion about this part: (You can vote for each part separately) select here 1 (terrible) 2 .. 3 .. 4 .. 5 (reasonable) 6 .. 7 .. 8 .. 9 .. 10 (excellent)

Send feedback to this author: Your name: Your message to jackmarlowe:     (You are not logged in, so you can't send private messages) Public: post this message in the public feedback below