I met Ken Warby a few years back..as far as I know, he is still the holder of the Speed record in this discipline since 1978......318 mph in the Spirit of Australia...Unbroken to this day!
He slapped that boat together out of lumberyard plywood and various bullcrappery, army surplus aircraft jet engines!...BUT, he had some sort of mental concept on how to balance the power to the Hull design just perfectly right! It was a natural gift or something...no other reason His water speed record still stands to this day?
He will admit..damn perfect day with just a bit of small chop to break the surface tension, and that damn thing FLEW flat and straight! A perfect balance/power ratio and conditions...
Still, to build a boat back then with no computer design and no test tunnel prototype or anything? No lifesaving devices or 5 pt harness? Out of furring strips and 1/4" paneling and elmers glue and drywall screws? A guy has only got one chance to get it right the first time..and Ken Warby did!
He made a big impression on me when considering Hull design/power ratios...
Speed on the water is deadly as hell! Unbelievable theres guys running 300hp bassboats on nasty loggy river systems!...them with no prior boat experience either..damn jet skis doing 70mph with a kid at the throttle....
I really prefer building low hp wooden boats...the most efficient hull designs per powerplant/fuel economy maintenance etc...Safe, cheap and prudent... Like Me!!
..But I bet I could do a real bullet boat if I wanted to!...I got some paneling sitting around here, and a guy can get a jet engine and any old youtube wannabee jackass dummy to run the throttle nowadays pretty easy!......Plus, I got some new technology items Ken didnt have access to back when he built his boat! Gorilla Glue, Bubble wrap, and Flex Tape! Should be easy!
