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I think this would be fairly straightforward to build. You could build a buck for the metalwork. The hull is not a complicated shape. I would power it with a Viper V10 since I can't afford a Ferrari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Onlgc_hj4
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Malcolm,
There's a local builder who has done this type of boat, I was at his shop once, I believe this was being installed into one of his boats.
http://falconerengines.com/falconer_v12.php
Give er a whirl,
Mac
WOW!!!! “Please call for price.” That means I can’t afford it. My grandfather built wooden race boats in the ‘30’s and built one with a Hispano-Suiza V12. It had 12 straight pipes. Imagine how loud that was! Nobody could beat him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac McQuinn
Malcolm,Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer
I can only imagine how a Hispano-Suiza V12 sounds through straight pipes!!
When the builder I know gets a boat of this caliber in for restoration, it takes two trucks to get it there....one to pull the boat and one to haul the money required for a project like that.
Mac
My friends Father built him a small hydroplane when we were kids. It was 4 by 8 round nose with a near flat bottom and it had a small aluminum fin. The hull was about 4" deep in the middle and fared to a sharp edge. It was designed for a 12hp outboard and it would scoot right along with two of us onboard. Every now and then we would borrow his Aunt's 25hp Johnson and we could get up to almost 60 mph. On the water that was an amazing feeling, a bit dangerous though :)
I was always impressed with my friends hydroplane, the best ride on the water until I rode the Pegasus Hydrofoil at Little Creek Amphibious Base...it was insane.
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I remember watching hydroplanes race on the Ohio River in Paducah KY one year back in the '60s or '70s. Very exciting stuff for a kid. Fun to watch but I don't think I would want to be in one at race speeds.
I remember while watching one boat with binoculars when its nose dipped into a small wave. The boat didn't fair too well as you can imagine. Luckily the driver was okay.
Keith, I lived in Tidewater for a few years. I married a Pungo girl, but we met here on the island. Funny how life works like that.
I found this overhead shot. I like how they mitered the butt joins on the deck, although it seems you could go with longer pieces and joints only behind the wings." I assume they wanted the look.
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I have considered offering an advanced boatbuilding class and we build this boat and then race it in the carnival races. We could have a metalwork class to build the above deck cockpit and cowling. I have long considered it. I volunteer teaching at a workshop that teaches woodworking to at risk youth.
I would love to build a hydroplane, there were plans for a three point design in Popular Mechanics decades ago that I really liked but never had the time or a place for the project.
Malcolm, the overhead shot of the boat is very cool but like Marshall I wouldn't want to be in one of the racing hydroplanes at high speed.
YAHOOOOOOOO! Now THAT would be a ride!Quote:
Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer
Back in my youth, tried to catch at least one boat drag each summer. Let’s just say watching from the shore was close enough for me. Saw quite a few go air borne. The driver had two tethers...one cut the ignition, and the other opened a parachute attached to his back to (hopefully) slow him down some and orient him so feet hit the water first. 200+mph on the water is crazy. Fortunately never saw a major injury. A lot of busted up boats though. Loud and fast, these were fun to watch.
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You know Malcolm, there’s no time like the present ;)
There was an episode of FantomWorks where they built a replica of that Ferrari Timossi.
I miss watching hydroplane races. I lived in Madison, IN for 5 years, home of Indiana Governor's Cup Regatta, and the Miss Madison hydroplane. Moved away almost 30 years ago, and I think by the time we moved, just about all the boats had moved from V12 airplane-engine power to Lycoming helicopter turbines. The turbine-powered boats are far faster, but you could FEEL the piston boats going by on the river.
I had an Uncle that raced v12 hydroplanes. He had a machine shop that worked on the engines in Newport News in the 1950's. His Son, my Cousin, raced in the A class with a highly modified Buick engine for some years, but went from that to racing Sprint cars.
They used to have races here on the lake in the 1960's, but there was not a good viewing place without closing down the main bridge crossing the lake.
The only hydroplane I ever drove was a little outboard, when I was about 13, and weighed next to nothing. It had a modified Mercury with pipes. The guy was trying to sell it to my Dad, for me, but we didn't get into boat racing.