Donald Campbell and his Bluebird K7 smashed the water speed record (202.32 mph) on July 1955. The two would keep raising the record seven more times into the 1960s. On January 4, 1967 Campbell was achieving speeds of 320 mph when Bluebird lifted off the water on Coniston, in the Lake District of the UK, somersaulted then cartwheeled before sinking. Campbell was killed in the impact.
Bluebird’s main hull and Campbell’s body, were recovered in May 2000. The jet hydroplane boat has been under reconstruction until it was unveiled yesterday. More
Video on the history of Bluebird K7 Here
That’s impressive they found his body and boat 33 years later, what took them so long?
If you like the sound of a diesel turbo and watching brown people wrestle an overpowered boat while barefoot, check out this video.
There’s a lot of speculation this is speed up. I doubt it, the damn thing hauls ass!
https://youtu.be/UmTIEJwkTm8
Ken Warby’s Son is attempting to Break the 317 MPH Record down in
Australia(Ken SR still has the record)…Fighting Greenies is worse
than the actual Danger of the feat.
Drag Boats are getting closer to the 300 MPH mark every Year.
I’ll post a Pic of Warby’s new Boat on the iotwr FB Story.
Let’s hope they worked out the bugs. TP
THEY KNEW THE BOATS EXACT POSTION BUT FAMILY MEMBERS WANTED IT TO STAY THERE , ONLY LATER DID HIS GRANDAUGHTER GIVE PERMISSION FOR THE BOAT AND HIS REMAINS TO BE RECOVERED BUT WHAT A MEN IN SHEDS RESTORATION PROJECT GREAT BRITH ENGINNERING TO SAVE 80% OF THE ORIGINAL [ ED UK ]
Oaks! Brilliant find! I’d take that open boat over a bazillion dollar enclosed jet boat anyday.
Plus, no brakes. Super tits times ten.
Oh yeah….. and Britain has no current accomplishments in anything except kicking their national sovereignty to the curb so they have to reach back 50 years in history to find their most notable failure and glorify that.
Classic sign of a nation on it’s knees.
Aaron, hell yeah. A bit of ingenuity and a dream is all it takes!
My “Old Man” raced a Class C boat in the 1933 World’s Fair. Took it out of “mothballs” and let me run it on the river that we lived on when I was a teenager. Was a “two step boat” and not the modern three point boats that were being run then. Still, fun times even though I didn’t have the money for a proper racing engine and only ran a stock Mercury outbaord. Cockpit and other trim was black walnut with gold leaf script “Floating Eagle” painted on either side of the deck. About eleven and a half feet long and at the time a modern Class C boat was capable of reaching about 100mph. Pretty awesome for a thirteen year old and could get some looks when you passed the big Chris Crafts with the bikinis riding inside. Would go over to their docking afterwards and give rides to them after. Boat rides that is, would have loved to try for more but heavily outclassed by the moneyed ass holes who had those mahogany inboards. Memories…
Old Oaks: That was awesome! Rollin’ coal, no muffler, no goggles, no common sense; what’s not to like!
Exactly Tony. Just picture it…
“Hey kid, what cha’ got there?”
“Diesel engine on a stick.”
“What cha gonna’ do with it?”
“Flop it on a flat bottom boat made of 1/4 plywood.”
Everything about is magnificent.
Oh, and if the front end starts riding up, just put some small children up on the bow for ballast.
Brilliant.
A buddy of mine in science club built and raced hydros.
The most fun you can have with 10 HP Mercurys.
Tuned exhaust stacks, open carbs, ethanol and oil, go fast shit.
Everybody’s gotta die sooner or later. Some people just like to choose the time, place,
and age.