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Author Topic:   THE SMIRK--What It Does For You

jimh posted 08-13-2008 11:11 PM ET (US)
THE SMIRK is a familiar feature of the classic Boston Whaler boat. It is the chine line at the bow formed when the outer keels of the runners are continued forward and upward and join under the bow. What does THE SMIRK do for you?
Recently I made a motion picture recording of GAMBLER, a classic Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 18, jumping over the wake of my boat. After looking at the sequence in slow motion, frame by frame, I could see the effect of the smirk. It really deflects a lot of spray. The motion picture recording is too large to be easily present, but I extracted a series of frames from it that show the smirk in action.
In this first frame, GAMBLER has jumped the first wave in the wake and has come down hard with the bow into the back of main wave of the wake. You see the smirk throwing off a lot of spray. The smirk deflects the spray downward. I think this adds some lift to the bow, too, which helps keep it from burying itself. Of course, the entry of the bow is not extremely fine, and there is a lot of reserve buoyancy in the hull form, so it does not cut too deeply into the wave.
In the next frame GAMBLER has rebounded and is climbing up the wave. The boat has 180-HP on the transom, so it is not difficult for it to run up the back of this wave. The boat speed is not much more than about 25- to 30-MPH. Note that water is still pouring off the smirk, even as the hull is rising.
GAMBLER has cleared the wave, and, as you can see, there is a lot of air under the hull. Really only the aft few feet of the hull are in the water. The bow is coming down and will impact shortly.
This frame is about the deepest immersion of the bow. Again, plenty of spray is being redirected by the smirk. Notice that the spray is directed downward or outward. No spray is going up to be blown onto the boat.
Just a few frames later GAMBLER's bow is rising again, and water is pouring off the smirk. Also notice how there was no sudden change in course or "bow steer" when the boat came down hard. GAMBLER has not veered off course at all, she is tracking beautifully.
That's the classic Boston Whaler hull in action. The smirk keeps spray down. The boat tracks beautifully when running over waves with no bow steer. And for coming down with as much air under the hull as happened here, the bow immersion is very modest.
Buckda posted 08-13-2008 11:57 PM ET (US)
Don't forget too that there are 37 gallons of fuel on the deck in front of the console, a 5KG anchor and 20 feet of chain, an additional 6 lb danforth, 400 feet of line (combined for both anchors, in addition to the chain rode), a cast iron camp grate, about 60 lbs of teak decking, a Coleman Anniversary Edition SS Cooler full of ice and liquid refreshments, all my dry food and all of my clothes, sleeping gear and rain gear, two folding chairs, a tool box and extra fenders up there in the bow as well. GAMBLER was pretty heavily loaded that day....
Nice screen captures!
Dave
erik selis posted 08-14-2008 03:51 AM ET (US)
Jim, great pictures of Gambler. You can clearly see that Gambler has a heavy load up front when it comes back down off the wave.
I have often wondered about the exact function of the Smirk of a Boston Whaler boat. I agree that it deflects water somewhat and to a certain level will also keep the boat from cutting too deep into a wave. Looking at your pictures however it is clear that it's not actually the Smirk surface as such that is deflecting the water downward. It is in fact the reverse chines that is doing most of the job.
According to the definition of a "Smirk" one would be able to say that i.e. a post classic Whaler has almost no Smirk left. This is true if you look at the following picture:

Here you will see a 1987, 18-ft Outrage, a 170 Montauk and a 17-ft Alert, side by side. I colored the "Smirk" orange on each boat according to the definition as I understand it.
You will see that the 170 Montauk has only a very tiny smirk left over. It does have large reversed chines (all the way to the stern) and a huge surface under the bow that resembles the distinctive smirk of a classic Whaler.
It looks like Boston Whaler tried to capture the look of the classics but used the functionality of the reverse chines in a more outspoken way on the post-classic 170 Montauk. It is the reversed chine that deflects the water back down and adds stability to the boat IMO. The large surface under the bow has been created in a different way.
To me the "Smirk" is this large surface under the bow and it is typical of a Boston Whaler boat. New or Classic, you recognize a Whaler from far away.
Erik
Tohsgib posted 08-14-2008 11:46 AM ET (US)
The smirk is used to reroute spray on a more conventional tri-hull. This obviously keeps it from "sneezing" and throwing the srapy up and over the bow, common on pre-smirked whalers. The newer hulls are no longer a tri-hull design and as you can tell from the above pics the sponsons start much more aft than the classics. This coupled with a deeper v makes little reason to have the smirk and is probably more cosmetic.
A flare is designed to redirect sppray from a v hull out to the sides instead of over the bow. When your sides almost meet the bow a smirk does the same thing as a flare but directs it more downward.
RJG posted 08-14-2008 01:22 PM ET (US)
A few years ago we were coming in from an offshore fishing trip on my 18 Outrage. Seas were 2 to 3 with an afternoon seabreeze. We were following a 25' Hydra-Sport CC. Those guys were in full rain gear getting soaked. My little ole' 18 barely took in a drop.
crabby posted 08-14-2008 06:04 PM ET (US)
Back in 1985 before I purchased my Montauk (which I still own) I had many reservations about a Whaler due to the wet nature of an older (pre-smirk) hull. After my test ride on a neighbor's newer Montauk I was convinced that the smirk did it's job. Nowadays I would barely consider a pre-smirked Montauk unless I was only looking for a very old classic BW.
jimh posted 08-15-2008 09:23 AM ET (US)
Don't be confused by the freeze frames: in the motion picture recording the OUTRAGE slices through this wake like it isn't there. It does not slam down hard. I extracted the frames that show the most water on the SMIRK or show the boat as much in the air as it got.
chopbuster posted 08-15-2008 11:15 PM ET (US)
Smirks and sneezes eh.
Could other Mfgs. have snorts, snarls or sneers ?
Couldn't resist.
chopbuster posted 08-16-2008 09:52 PM ET (US)
I believe it can be argued that the alleged, "Post Classic" BW boats, specifically the Sport and Montauk series with their reverse chine hull design, also have incorporated within that reverse chine design, "the smirk".
I acknowledge that the "classic" smirk is a seperate design element in the older boats.
However, the smirk design element does in fact still exist in the noted newer models. One can clearly see where it begins just above the center of the stem as it dove-tails left and right and down into the reverse chine.
I have wake jumped numerous boats both large and very large at the correct entry angle and never have I shipped water over the bow or the sides of my 150 Sport.
I contribute this, not only to my own seamanship skills, but to the existing smirk, combined with, the reverse chine design element.
However, since the general membership does not have access to the posting of images, one does not have the ability to post empirical pictorial data to support this premise, eh?
swist posted 08-17-2008 07:13 AM ET (US)
That's what a Whaler does - gives you an amazingly dry ride for a boat with such low freeboard (170 Montauk, e.g.). But to pay you back, it jars your teeth loose In serious chop, I've learned to drive in a half-sitting position so my knees can act as shock absorbers. But I never get wet.
kwik_wurk posted 08-18-2008 01:07 PM ET (US)
In most cases the "smirk" is intended to deflect spray. However on some boats the spray deflectors are mounted closer to the waterline as to provide some lift. So in the picture of GAMBLER dropping the bow, I would suggest the "smirk" is providing quite a bit of lift.
jimh posted 08-18-2008 06:04 PM ET (US)
Trivia: What model and year introduced THE SMIRK?
Fishmore posted 08-18-2008 06:12 PM ET (US)
I think it was the 75 Montauk.
2manyboats posted 08-18-2008 06:51 PM ET (US)
It would have to be 1973 or earlier as both our 1973 21 Revenge and our 1973 13 are smirked and I believe the 71 and 72 banana boats were smirked.
erik selis posted 08-19-2008 04:15 AM ET (US)
I think it was the 1972 Outrage that had the first Smirk.
Erik
L H G posted 08-19-2008 08:19 PM ET (US)
As for the bow smirk, 1971 Ribside 21 Outrage was the first, followed by the 1972 13'.
The spray deflecting feature Jim is actually talking about is the Reverse Chine. It might be on the 1972 13, but was definitely on the 1973 19' and 21' Outrages. The ribside 21 has the bow Smirk, but not the reverse chine.
L H G posted 08-19-2008 08:24 PM ET (US)
Further to the above, you can see the Smirk but lack of hard reverse chine on the ribside 21 (on the left) in this photo if you enlarge to full size. Compare it to the hard chine on the 25 Outrage to the right. And sure enough, you can get a lot more spray in the ribside, and very rarely in the 25.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v429/lgoltz/Outrage%2021/?action=view& current=DSCN1398.jpg .

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Author	Topic: THE SMIRK--What It Does For You
jimh	posted 08-13-2008 11:11 PM ET (US) THE SMIRK is a familiar feature of the classic Boston Whaler boat. It is the chine line at the bow formed when the outer keels of the runners are continued forward and upward and join under the bow. What does THE SMIRK do for you? Recently I made a motion picture recording of GAMBLER, a classic Boston Whaler OUTRAGE 18, jumping over the wake of my boat. After looking at the sequence in slow motion, frame by frame, I could see the effect of the smirk. It really deflects a lot of spray. The motion picture recording is too large to be easily present, but I extracted a series of frames from it that show the smirk in action. In this first frame, GAMBLER has jumped the first wave in the wake and has come down hard with the bow into the back of main wave of the wake. You see the smirk throwing off a lot of spray. The smirk deflects the spray downward. I think this adds some lift to the bow, too, which helps keep it from burying itself. Of course, the entry of the bow is not extremely fine, and there is a lot of reserve buoyancy in the hull form, so it does not cut too deeply into the wave. In the next frame GAMBLER has rebounded and is climbing up the wave. The boat has 180-HP on the transom, so it is not difficult for it to run up the back of this wave. The boat speed is not much more than about 25- to 30-MPH. Note that water is still pouring off the smirk, even as the hull is rising. GAMBLER has cleared the wave, and, as you can see, there is a lot of air under the hull. Really only the aft few feet of the hull are in the water. The bow is coming down and will impact shortly. This frame is about the deepest immersion of the bow. Again, plenty of spray is being redirected by the smirk. Notice that the spray is directed downward or outward. No spray is going up to be blown onto the boat. Just a few frames later GAMBLER's bow is rising again, and water is pouring off the smirk. Also notice how there was no sudden change in course or "bow steer" when the boat came down hard. GAMBLER has not veered off course at all, she is tracking beautifully. That's the classic Boston Whaler hull in action. The smirk keeps spray down. The boat tracks beautifully when running over waves with no bow steer. And for coming down with as much air under the hull as happened here, the bow immersion is very modest.
Buckda	posted 08-13-2008 11:57 PM ET (US) Don't forget too that there are 37 gallons of fuel on the deck in front of the console, a 5KG anchor and 20 feet of chain, an additional 6 lb danforth, 400 feet of line (combined for both anchors, in addition to the chain rode), a cast iron camp grate, about 60 lbs of teak decking, a Coleman Anniversary Edition SS Cooler full of ice and liquid refreshments, all my dry food and all of my clothes, sleeping gear and rain gear, two folding chairs, a tool box and extra fenders up there in the bow as well. GAMBLER was pretty heavily loaded that day.... Nice screen captures! Dave
erik selis	posted 08-14-2008 03:51 AM ET (US) Jim, great pictures of Gambler. You can clearly see that Gambler has a heavy load up front when it comes back down off the wave. I have often wondered about the exact function of the Smirk of a Boston Whaler boat. I agree that it deflects water somewhat and to a certain level will also keep the boat from cutting too deep into a wave. Looking at your pictures however it is clear that it's not actually the Smirk surface as such that is deflecting the water downward. It is in fact the reverse chines that is doing most of the job. According to the definition of a "Smirk" one would be able to say that i.e. a post classic Whaler has almost no Smirk left. This is true if you look at the following picture: Here you will see a 1987, 18-ft Outrage, a 170 Montauk and a 17-ft Alert, side by side. I colored the "Smirk" orange on each boat according to the definition as I understand it. You will see that the 170 Montauk has only a very tiny smirk left over. It does have large reversed chines (all the way to the stern) and a huge surface under the bow that resembles the distinctive smirk of a classic Whaler. It looks like Boston Whaler tried to capture the look of the classics but used the functionality of the reverse chines in a more outspoken way on the post-classic 170 Montauk. It is the reversed chine that deflects the water back down and adds stability to the boat IMO. The large surface under the bow has been created in a different way. To me the "Smirk" is this large surface under the bow and it is typical of a Boston Whaler boat. New or Classic, you recognize a Whaler from far away. Erik
Tohsgib	posted 08-14-2008 11:46 AM ET (US) The smirk is used to reroute spray on a more conventional tri-hull. This obviously keeps it from "sneezing" and throwing the srapy up and over the bow, common on pre-smirked whalers. The newer hulls are no longer a tri-hull design and as you can tell from the above pics the sponsons start much more aft than the classics. This coupled with a deeper v makes little reason to have the smirk and is probably more cosmetic. A flare is designed to redirect sppray from a v hull out to the sides instead of over the bow. When your sides almost meet the bow a smirk does the same thing as a flare but directs it more downward.
RJG	posted 08-14-2008 01:22 PM ET (US) A few years ago we were coming in from an offshore fishing trip on my 18 Outrage. Seas were 2 to 3 with an afternoon seabreeze. We were following a 25' Hydra-Sport CC. Those guys were in full rain gear getting soaked. My little ole' 18 barely took in a drop.
crabby	posted 08-14-2008 06:04 PM ET (US) Back in 1985 before I purchased my Montauk (which I still own) I had many reservations about a Whaler due to the wet nature of an older (pre-smirk) hull. After my test ride on a neighbor's newer Montauk I was convinced that the smirk did it's job. Nowadays I would barely consider a pre-smirked Montauk unless I was only looking for a very old classic BW.
jimh	posted 08-15-2008 09:23 AM ET (US) Don't be confused by the freeze frames: in the motion picture recording the OUTRAGE slices through this wake like it isn't there. It does not slam down hard. I extracted the frames that show the most water on the SMIRK or show the boat as much in the air as it got.
chopbuster	posted 08-15-2008 11:15 PM ET (US) Smirks and sneezes eh. Could other Mfgs. have snorts, snarls or sneers ? Couldn't resist.
chopbuster	posted 08-16-2008 09:52 PM ET (US) I believe it can be argued that the alleged, "Post Classic" BW boats, specifically the Sport and Montauk series with their reverse chine hull design, also have incorporated within that reverse chine design, "the smirk". I acknowledge that the "classic" smirk is a seperate design element in the older boats. However, the smirk design element does in fact still exist in the noted newer models. One can clearly see where it begins just above the center of the stem as it dove-tails left and right and down into the reverse chine. I have wake jumped numerous boats both large and very large at the correct entry angle and never have I shipped water over the bow or the sides of my 150 Sport. I contribute this, not only to my own seamanship skills, but to the existing smirk, combined with, the reverse chine design element. However, since the general membership does not have access to the posting of images, one does not have the ability to post empirical pictorial data to support this premise, eh?
swist	posted 08-17-2008 07:13 AM ET (US) That's what a Whaler does - gives you an amazingly dry ride for a boat with such low freeboard (170 Montauk, e.g.). But to pay you back, it jars your teeth loose In serious chop, I've learned to drive in a half-sitting position so my knees can act as shock absorbers. But I never get wet.
kwik_wurk	posted 08-18-2008 01:07 PM ET (US) In most cases the "smirk" is intended to deflect spray. However on some boats the spray deflectors are mounted closer to the waterline as to provide some lift. So in the picture of GAMBLER dropping the bow, I would suggest the "smirk" is providing quite a bit of lift.
jimh	posted 08-18-2008 06:04 PM ET (US) Trivia: What model and year introduced THE SMIRK?
Fishmore	posted 08-18-2008 06:12 PM ET (US) I think it was the 75 Montauk.
2manyboats	posted 08-18-2008 06:51 PM ET (US) It would have to be 1973 or earlier as both our 1973 21 Revenge and our 1973 13 are smirked and I believe the 71 and 72 banana boats were smirked.
erik selis	posted 08-19-2008 04:15 AM ET (US) I think it was the 1972 Outrage that had the first Smirk. Erik
L H G	posted 08-19-2008 08:19 PM ET (US) As for the bow smirk, 1971 Ribside 21 Outrage was the first, followed by the 1972 13'. The spray deflecting feature Jim is actually talking about is the Reverse Chine. It might be on the 1972 13, but was definitely on the 1973 19' and 21' Outrages. The ribside 21 has the bow Smirk, but not the reverse chine.
L H G	posted 08-19-2008 08:24 PM ET (US) Further to the above, you can see the Smirk but lack of hard reverse chine on the ribside 21 (on the left) in this photo if you enlarge to full size. Compare it to the hard chine on the 25 Outrage to the right. And sure enough, you can get a lot more spray in the ribside, and very rarely in the 25. http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v429/lgoltz/Outrage%2021/?action=view& current=DSCN1398.jpg .