Great Machines: Boats - Windy 25 Mirage
June 2, 2003
A particularly impressive journey into the firmament lifted me off
my feet and deposited me straight into the chair. A gas shock absorber mounted in the seat’s supporting pillar cushioned my fall—yet another example of Norwegian common sense. Thus educated, I found that my subsequent flights from the chair were much more comfortable. And fun.
Of course, most sportboats can take wing. Some will even land without shaking the boat to pieces or rattling the fillings in your teeth. To test the Mirage’s handling abilities in less straightforward circumstances, I throttled back and turned her slightly to port. The chop hit us at a three-quarter angle, with no appreciable loss of control or comfort. So I put the hammer back down, and the Mirage delivered nothing but more speed and sideways spray.
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A windy 25 Mirage looks docile enough when maneuvering in a harbor—open up the throttle, though, and it will fly across the water's surface. (Click image to enlarge)Emboldened, I turned the wheel hard over. The Mirage dug into the sea with ferocious tenacity, generating more lateral g’s than a Porsche C4 blasting around a racetrack. Like the car, the Windy offered all its performance with a huge safety margin. I simply could not find a way to upset her. Trim tabs? No need. Even an excursion into the confused wake of another sportboat could not unsettle her equilibrium. I have never piloted a boat as effortlessly capable as the Windy 25 Mirage.
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