World Water Speed Record

[Dr. X]

Dan Ellison drag boat hull. Drag boats these days are twin props, so would this count as a four-pointer or a six-pointer?

[Dr. X]

This photo gives a good idea of how violently the Lee Taylor rocket boat reacted to waves.

[Dr. X]

How the Lee Taylor rocket boat looked in smooth water.

[Dr. X]

Lee Taylor's team originally tried to make Hustler, his jet hydroplane, work using only thrust deflectors with no planing shoe, fin, or rudder under the stern. The idea was the elevator (the horizontal deflector) would lift the stern while the rudder (the vertical deflector) would provide steering. The problem was with nothing under the stern to stabilize the boat when turned it would keep on turning unless there was another steering input to counteract the turn. Eventually, a skeg and water rudder were installed.

[Ratickle]

Dan Ellison drag boat hull. Drag boats these days are twin props, so would this count as a four-pointer or a six-pointer?

Well, I guess the "Six Point" would be the correct ruling, kind of. But, I've also never heard a four point actually called a five point........

Almost every one of my rc record riggers were three point........

[RaceConcepts]

It a four point, it rides on the two front sponsons and two propellers. The rear sponsons are a safety feature and also so it will float properly.

[Dr. X]

Mario Verga - 124 mph class record, 1953. Great little boat.

[Dr. X]

In 1954, Verga's gorgeous Laura 3 boat blew over in a fatal crash after clocking 186.6 mph.

[Bobcat]

Laura 3 is a work of art.

[Dr. X]

Laura 3 was as fast as the big American unlimiteds. Below is a video of Slo-Mo-Shun V blowing over at Seattle.

[Dr. X]

Slo-Mo-Shun IV - last prop-driven boat so far to hold the outright water speed record (in 1950 a mile record of 160.3235 mph and 178.497 mph in 1952)

[Dr. X]

In the June 1985 issue of Popular Mechanics, Lee Mize discussed plans to go after the record with a rocket drag boat. However, the Popular Mechanics article remains the only thing I've ever seen about the project.

[Dr. X]

Hydrofoil boat built back in the thirties for an attempt on the record.

[Hellbent]

The stuff these guys were doing that long ago is really amazing. They make us look pretty stupid given the advancements in technology but stagnation of the record.

[Dr. X]

The stuff these guys were doing that long ago is really amazing. They make us look pretty stupid given the advancements in technology but stagnation of the record.

Lee Taylor's rocket boat, despite its flaws, was the last time anyone has attempted to apply fundamentally new technology to the record.

[T2x]

The stuff these guys were doing that long ago is really amazing. They make us look pretty stupid given the advancements in technology but stagnation of the record.

yep......

[Offshore Ginger]

Hydrofoil boat built back in the thirties for an attempt on the record.

Very cool !

[Ratickle]

Hydrofoil boat built back in the thirties for an attempt on the record.

Is there any record of it ever running?

[Dr. X]

Is there any record of it ever running?

Apparently, it was run but the account I found doesn't provide any details. International Hydrofoil Society

"Brennan, Walter X., "The Newest Hydrofoil Boat," Yachting, Jan 1936, pp. 55 & 88. Contemporary news and background on the U.S. 3 hydrofoil racing boat (incl. 3 small B&W photos). Excerpts from the article: "The launching and first trials at Detroit of the new Evans hydrofoil boat aroused considerable interest in the subject... The hull, which was designed by P. L. Rhodes with F. W. (Casey) Baldwin as consultant, and built by John L. Hacker, is double planked and is extremely light... The weight of the entire hull is said not to exceed 850 pounds... A Packard Gold Cup motor is used, and aeronautical engineers who are working on the boat estimate a speed of over 150 miles per hour... Using the data they obtain in tests, they plan to build a larger boat with 50 percent more power if the plan appears practicable... More tests are to be made in Detroit waters until it becomes too cold, when the boat will be shipped to Florida for further experiments."

[Ratickle]