Volga Hydrofoil bought from Batumi

[Georg Weinstabl]

Hi,

I have posted a couple of months ago a bunch of photos to info@volga-hydrofoil.net regarding a boat I Volga from Batumi, Georgia, hoping they were going to be published in the gallery. Lacking time, there was no proper story behind to be attached ... So it is coming now:

Our company is ZF Marine Distributor for Turkey and we contracted 2 years ago with a turkish boat builder 10 propulsion packages consisting of gearboxes, surface drives and electronic controls for 10 Coastal Patrol Boats. We were then invited in March 2008 to make the commissioning of the ready boats and to do a seatrial in Batumi. The turkish patrol boats were brought to Batumi Shipyard and had to be made ready for operation. It was an old postwar shipyard with concrete walls, probably to withstand world war 3 or so. During the breaks in the commissioning process of the boats, we were allowed to take a glance on at the boats being stored and repaired there. Being in marine and naval business for many years and knowing all kind of systems i was somehow highly impressed. The boats and vessels we saw overthere were probably 10 – 60 years old but were equipped with everything the Warshow Pact had to offer against the Nato! There were fast patrol boats, torpedo boats, but also civil and commercial crafts, among them hydrofoils and even russian boats with waterjets ... But what was probably most surprising was them to be 30 or 60 years old ...! Wandering thru the yard seeing these 'ancient' boats seemed to be like visiting a Jurassic Park!

Among those I stumbled over a small craft that looked to me rather like somekind of LunaPark spacecraft of my childhood. There was infront of me somekind of bizzar stepped ChrisCraftlike boat with extreme stainless steel wings under it. No, Sir! I had never seen anything like this before!

Looks extremely fast ...

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I was quickly informed, that this was a special russian design which was driven only by Party Sekretaries or other HiRankings, among them even Nixon himself and somekind of craft, which was gathering experience of all available russian technology of the 50ties and the 60ties. Besides this, it was built in this particular shipyard (Batumi Shipyard). Me who never wanted to buy a boat, soon convinced myself, that if I should ever own one, this should be the only thing I would deserve.

Never seen anything like this before.

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First impressions ...

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(to be continued ...)

[Georg Weinstabl]

Here are some more photos. (This site does not allow me to enter more than 3 in a single post and limits to 250 kB.)

With seats and all kind of interior being gathered in the passenger compartment.

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The russian answer to the ''Flying Dutchman''

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A typical cockpit with the USSR flair of the 70ties (Our's where not much nicer either!)

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[Georg Weinstabl]

Some more photos of the interior while boat was in storage in another workshop in Batumi this year, as they have torn down Batumi Shipyard for making place to somekind of residential and touristic complexes. So you have understood right: Batumi Shipyard which has built so many Volgas in the past is no more existing.

The interior was not complete and I have atleast two missing seats or was it a bench in the back?

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The engine found inside is the legendary GAZ 53 L with 4,3 l gasoline and only 90 HP at 2800 rpm. The lack of power reimburses you with
a considerably nice sound and with a outragious fuel consumption of minimum 25 litres/hour at 26 knots and probably more than 30 at full speed

Big, massive and underpowered for it's size.

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[warren prins]

george, my hydrofoil is of the diesel type,which as you kno was equiped for export. i am thinkinfg of selling my volga trailer and all as this might be my last last chance of getting out of dept.....this boat has been a dream come true from the first day! warren

[warren prins]

george.looking

i forgot to tell you that my boat came in on the same crate. my brother and i hung it from the cedar trees untill the trailer was built so we could take it out on the water asap.warren

[Georg Weinstabl]

Hi,

When I brought my Volga from Batumi with a container, we had to unload it directly to the sea as per custom papers.

The statement of the Georgians that the boat was seaworthy must have been a joke.

. The engine was working but soon overheating. We decided to have the boat towed into a Fishermens dwarf.

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On the kay the deck of the Volga was smashed several times and altough the workshop was able to mend most impacts but they did not want to stress the hull too much fearing that rivvets will tear. So it was decided to fill the rest with mastic and then paint it.

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[Georg Weinstabl]

Hi everybody,

Long time no read! I am surprised that nobody gives some info about their process with the boat. Either nobody has time or everbody is busy ... probably with something else...

Here are some news about a boat primed ....

[Georg Weinstabl]

Summer is over and the boat has not been finished! Here are the last taken photos: