2001 High Torque Marine SS24

Testers Notebook: High Torque Marine SS24 Location: Lake Elsinore, California Test load: Driver, half fuel, safety gear. Test day conditions: Calm. Synopsis: Between custom-build engines that can be ordered with blowers and super-chargers, and an air-entrapment catamaran hull that's built to almost fly across the water, HTM has the recipe for high-speed performance.

By: Mark Rotharmel
      In a sea of high-profile performance boat companies, there's one custom builder on the west coast near Los Angeles that is quickly making a name for itself.
      High  Torque Marine, also known as HTM, based in California, builds a limited number of  extremely fast individually designed models. The SS24, a beautiful catamaran that I tested, epitomizes what HTM is all about. Big power, quality workmanship and a sophisticated design.
      I spoke to High-Torque's Steve Coulombe for some background on this boat.
      "I've been into boating my entire life," says Coulombe. "Had many boats, and did a lot of bottom modifications to other boats trying to get them to work they way we needed them to work. Put big power to them and they started chine-walking, porpoising, doing funny things on the big end, and I felt there was a need for a great change in the marine industry. And that's what we have done, we've created an actual wing design, air entrapment hull that has constant pressure on the deck of the boat here to allow the boat to fly stable through the air.
      "The front of the boat itself is narrower than the rear so it acts like  a dart going through the air. It's an actual flight system rather than a traditional flat bottom -- flat deck should I say -- tunnel boat. Our primary goal here is to manufacture a high performance boat for the family. We put a lot of creature comforts in the boat. We have stand-up bolster seats in this particular model. We have more storage than any boat in its size class. We've got a bed up in the front, we've got seats down the sponsons. It's good for overnighting as well as your average weekend day-use.
       "Our original bottom we've changed several times, trying to perfect it and make it what it is today, but as far as we're concerned it's definitely probably one of the fastest, best handling boats in it's size range," says Coulombe.
       High Torque Marine offers one-stop shopping for customized high performance packages. When it comes to motors, Ken Lane is an expert, responsible for HTM's in-house engine-building program. Ken's job is to make horsepower and lots of it.
       The SS 24, says Lane, can be ordered with "our standard 565-cubic-inch motors, all of them 565 base, a 502 derivative block. They will come with billet crankshafts, billet rods and the very best parts money can buy. Because we stand behind these things with a six month warranty. Everything we build runs on pump gas, 92 octane. We have our carbureted version, which is one of our most popular versions, it's rated at 650 horsepower, with a hydraulic roller cam, no drama with it, put gas and oil in it and enjoy yourself; comes with a six month warranty.
      The engines, says Lane, "are all very idle friendly; it's basically a user-friendly motor with decent performance. As far as supercharging goes, our aspirated motor is basically a vacuum-style motor, it basically makes its own wind or its own air. We send these out very conservative about seven pounds of boost  and they will produce 900 horsepower on 92 octane, which will get you right down the road in a quick hurry. As far as it being detrimental to the life of the motor, any time you get into the bigger horsepower area it's detrimental, but, we' re getting 280 to 300 hours out of these things without any major stuff happening to them. And usually it's just a ring bearing, some work on the valves and she's ready to go again." 
      HTM's most popular boats are the SR 24 and the sleeker, lower profile SS 24. Both are designed for family performance and are available in either open or closed deck configurations and, depending on the power, can run from mild to wild, mild being 90 miles per hour.
      The key to High Torque Marine's success is designing interiors that are both feature- and family-friendly. The popular SS 24 is functionally clean, spacious and laid out in a logical fashion. HTM maximizes limited space by carving out areas to accommodate beverage holders, mounting grab-handles for passenger safety, and placing a small glove compartment in the passenger console.
      Positioning of the pilot and co-pilot's bolsters is well thought-out, proportionally distant from the dash. The seats themselves are firmly mounted, supportive and comfortable. Rigging from these well-positioned Keikhaeffer controls, true to HTM's private label instruments and switches, has been methodically placed to control and monitor engine performance. And this is a feature you will need on a boat that accelerates like the wind, a built-in footrest with traction pads.
      What power a customer wants is what power they get, anything from standard MerCruiser motors to HTM's custom big-block supercharged engines that push over 1,000 horsepower; all are neatly installed and ready for action. Seat pads on this three person aft-bench remove for access to compartments like this, where battery switches and jumping terminals are cleverly placed.
       There's plenty of interior room in the 24-foot catamaran, and it's surprisingly comfortable.  Nooks and crannies throughout accommodate personal and general safety gear, with careful consideration placed on stowage compartments that are hidden from view. Firm and rugged upholstery works well on this interesting combination of hatch-cover and sunpad. This telescopic electric stern light emphasizes function within the flowing lines and shining gelcoat exterior of the SS 24.
       Our test today was performed on Lake Elsinore in California, a tiny lake.  It's only about three miles long and about a mile wide, but it gives us plenty of space to see how this boat will hang out and perform. We've got a mixed bag of weather out here, but it looks good for right now, so we will see what it will do on the hole shot: here we go! 
       Well it's up in 2.8 seconds and you don't have to give it any throttle at all. And basically you don't want the prop to ventilate on this boat  because there is so much horsepower, we've got 900 horsepower,  we've got a 540 cubic inch block, we've got a H71 blower attached: this boat is capable of probably of running over 140 miles an hour when conditions are ideal.
       You just trim it up a little bit, get the sponsons right out of the water. Does this boat ever have power! With just a quarter throttle I cranked it up to about 70 miles an hour.
       HTM specializes in putting entire packages together so they do a lot of their own engines of course. Ken Lane is their master engine-builder and Ken has built a 1,050-hp engine, being capable of producing 1,150 hp at  7,200 rpm; they tell me that boat will run at 150 miles per hour.
       As for the test boat, it had plenty of power. Cruising along at 80 miles an hour was a piece of cake!Going into a nice wide sweeping turn, you can feel the sponsons, they want to catch a little bit. You want to back off, but you don't want to back off too much. You can feel when they want to hook-up.
       There is absolutely zero porpoise, the boat does not move up and down at all. You really don't have to use much trim to make it turn properly.
        Finally I decided to give the boat a little burst of speed to see how fast it would run. Trimmed appropriately this boat can fly! You want to back off the throttle fairly quickly because the rpm just keep climbing. You get 7,200 rpm out of this boat and it's going 124 miles per hour at top speed. That is just incredible. 
        In short, the SS24 was some breathtaking ride. A 124-mile-an-hour pass, that's intoxicating. While HTM's real goal, of course, is to build family-friendly packages that will satisfy any normal person's need for speed, say at 80 miles per hour, at 120 to 140 mph, maybe even higher speeds, the ride is in a class by its self. And the boat can handle the speeds.
       HTM builds a lot of its own power and boat packages in-house; some call them customized works of art. I'd say, at those speeds, they are art that's awful hard to focus on for long.

Specs:

For the dealer nearest you contact:

HTM, High-Torque Marine,
P.O Box 6046, Aqua Dulce, California USA 91350
(661) 268-1309 Fax: (661) 268-8440
www.hightorquemarine.com