This came up in a meeting yesterday. It''s the ideal Christmas gift for the boat owner who has everything. The AquaJet was uilt by Boeing in the 1960s for research into high-speed hydrofoils this boat, designed after the "pickle-fork" hydroplanes of the era, was powered by a jet engine. The boat was in use for some time, and was later re-powered with an even bigger jet engine, the one in the photo.
The test structure between the sponsons was used to measure water pressures. This data was then used in the design of foils.
The boat was used only on Lake Washington and only under calm conditions. In it's final form it was capable of 150 mph.
It would make a great dinghy for those quick runs to town.
The boat was used only on Lake Washington and only under calm conditions.
Marin, you just reconnected a couple of loose wires in my temporal lobe that allowed me to go back to about 1960. I remember seeing that thing on TV, likely KVOS out of Bellingham at the time.
It inspired two of us kids to order up some plans and build one in the back yard. Like the one in the pic. Put a 10 horse Merc. on it and thought we were real speed demons.
Marin, was that boat turbine thrust powered or did it have a gearbox/prop? It is amazing how the size of turbines have downsized over the years. I presume that one had an centrifugal 1st stage compressor?
An interesting turbine for sure...looks like the majority of the combustion gases 'bypass' the hot turbine thus only a small percentage used to power the compressor section and the rest used for direct thrust?? Just a WAG from the pictures. I am familiar with the design on high bypass engines...but not bypassing the hot turbine section as shown. I will have to research that engine...pretty interesting to me.
I believe all the tubes coming out the back is a noise reduction system. This kind of thing was being used on some of the jet transports during this timeframe. Given that the boat was used on Lake Washington, a residential lake, it would not surprise me if the boat was equipped with something in an attempt to reduce the noise.
These kids have little means... great hope... good energy...and, intuitiveness galore. Saw them this weekend while we were getting ice with our runabout!