2005 Dobbertin HydroCar (DHC)
Amphibious Craft - 572 All-Aluminum Chevy - 762hp
- SPECIFICATIONS -
BODY AND SPONSON SKINS
5086 Marine Grade Aluminum
MAIN FRAME
304 Stainless Steel
SPONSON FRAMES
6061-T6 aluminum
ENGINE
Chevrolet Merlin All-Aluminum 572 / 762
Horsepower - 762 @ 5,500 rpm
Torque - 650 @ 4,500 rpm
TRANSMISSION
PATC ‘Quadzilla’ 4-L80E with O/D
TRANSFER CASE
Atlas Gear Drive
LAND DRIVETRAIN
Currie Aluminum Dana 60 - Front
SUSPENSION
Adjustable air bags with 4-link suspension
BRAKES
4-wheel power disc
SEA DRIVETRAIN
Arneson Surface Drive with 4-Blade Stainless Steel Prop
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase 138 inches (11.5 feet)
Length - 240 inches (20.0 feet)
Width - 96 inches (8 feet)
Height - (Land) 58 inches (65” including the wing)
Height - (Water) 50 inches (57” including the wing)
Weight - (wet) 7,250 pounds
Ground clearance - Adjustable 6 to 10 inches
Draft - 14 inches
Weight distribution - (F – R) 47% – 53%
CAPACITIES
Fuel - 30 US gallons
Coolant - 6 gallons
Oil - 8 quarts
ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT
Full instrumentation including a Speedometer,
Tachometer, Water temp, Oil pressure and Air pressure gauges,
Tinted windows, AM/FM/CD Radio, Cassett Player, Heater, Defroster,
G P S, Depth finder, Cruise control, Heater, Defroster,
Power disc brakes, Power steering, Tilt steering wheel,
All-Season radial tires, Air adjustable suspension,
Hidden Headlights, Air conditioning, Intermittent wipers,
Security system, Auxiliary exterior lighting,
Additional seating for 6, Roof mounted wing,
Custom paint accents.
- PHOTO GALLERY -
- FACTS AND HISTORY -
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​To be blunt, the HydroCar never performed as I hoped it would.
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It's a good example of "You win a few... You lose a few."
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I think it was a combination of it being overweight along with
the design of the front end, which was too steep for the car to get up on plane.
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If you look at some of the pictures, you'll see that it acts more like a displacement hull - pushing a lot of water in front of it - rather than going up and over the 'hump' like a planing hull.
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I launched it three times and even after some pretty extensive modifications, it still wouldn't get 'up on plane'.
​
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We were thinking about towing it up to speed with another boat, getting it over the 'hump' then dropping the tow line and seeing what type of a top speed we could get out of it.
​
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I was ready to make a few more upgrades when I found a buyer for it.
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I was completely honest about its performance and found that he wanted it for more of a 'showpiece' than a performance craft.
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​Still, to this day I wonder if the last few changes might have made a difference.
​
