Fastest Boats on the Water – Malcomb Campbell
Gar Wood’s speed records would be the last ones for big single keel boats using multiple engines and steel propellers. The next era of new speed records saw much smaller, single engine boats with new hull designs that reduced drag thus producing higher speeds.
Malcolm Campbell From England beat Wood’s 1932 124.86 mph.record five years later on September 1 1937 with a speed of 126.32 mph. in his Blue Bird K3 boat that had a step hull, single engine and boat propeller. He increased the record the next day to 129.50 mph. His boat was only twenty three feet long compared to Wood’s huge thirty eight foot four engine Miss America X boat.
Malcolm Campbell was already world famous before this for having set the land speed record nine times between 1924 and 1935. His last record was the first time a car and driver went faster than 300 mph. with a speed of 301.337 mph. After that he retired from land record breaking attemps. He then started to concentrate on the water speed record. After his first record holding venture he decided to use a hydroplane style hull boat for his next attempts. This hull resign eliminates a lot of drag in the water because the boat skips on top of the water on only three small contact points, two floats in the front and just the back end of a center hull at the back the boat. The down side to this design is that it can be become very unstable at higher speeds with a tendency to either to become airborne if too much air gets underneath the front end or it could also nose dive into the water if the boat starts bouncing back to front. With his new style hydroplane boat the Blue Bird K4 he set his last record of 141.74mph. on August 19 1939. This record stood until 1950.
The Fastest boat propellers used today on family pleasure boats are stainless steel propellers. Here at Dans Discount propellers we sell these performance props at the lowest prices.
Fastest Boats on the Water – The British
It seems like all the records and fame that the American Gar Wood was creating in the 1920’s with his four engine and twin boat propellers Miss America boats made some British guys jealous of all that. So an Englishman Lord Wakefield, Castrol Oil Company chairman decided he wanted to bring the record to England with a British boat. He funded a project that produced a new boat called the Miss England. He then hired a famous English car racing driver Sir Henry Segrave to pilot the boat. This boat did not break the speed record but with the experience gained with it they made an new and improved boat called the Miss England II. Powered by two Rolls-Royce airplane engines on Friday the 13th. June 1930 the boat broke Wood’s world speed record with a top run speed of 98.76 mph. But tragically Sir Henry and his co-driver were killed attempting to go faster on a third run that day when their boat struck an underwater object and flipped over. Maybe they should have picked another date.
Gar Wood got the record back soon after with a faster speed of 102.16mph. A month later using the salvaged and refitted Miss England II and driven by Kaye Don another famous British car driver the British broke Wood’s record again with a speed of 110.223mph. In February 1932 Wood bested that record by 1mph.
The British then designed and built a totally new boat using twin boat propellers instead of a single boat prop and named it Miss England III. This boat brought the speed record back to England once again in July 1932 with a top speed of 119.810mph. Gar Wood responded with his totally new and improved boat called the Miss America X in September 1932 recapturing the record setting the mark at 124.860mph. This proved to be the last of the competition between the two groups. The British driver Kaye Don decided not to attempt anymore record runs, Lord Wakefield did not replace him and Wood returned to running his own Business.
For your boat Dan’s Discount Propellers offers performance stainless steel boat propellers at the lowest prices so you can go faster.
Fastest Boats on the Water – Gar Wood
In 1920 the legendary Gar Wood broke the water speed record with his racing boat Miss America using twin boat propellers with a top speed of 74.87 miles per hour on the Detroit river. Wood was by far the most successful boat racer of his time. Starting in 1917 he won the Gold Cup race which was back then the most prestigious boat race in the world, five years in a row 1917 – 1921. Between 1920 and 1932 Wood broke the water speed record a total of five times with the last record of 124.86 miles per hour set in 1932. His last record holding boat the Miss America X had four huge Packard engines that is said to have produced a total of 7,000 horsepower.
Mister Wood was the Babe Ruth of the boat racing world in the early part of the twentieth century. He was born in 1880 in Iowa and was one of thirteen children his parents had. His father was a ferry boat operator and Wood used to go with his dad on the boats starting at an early age and became very familiar with them. He was a true mechanical genius but did not have any formal mechanical engineer schooling. He invented a hydraulic coal unloader for railroad cars in 1911 and then started the Wood Hoist Company soon after which became very successful. He later changed his company to Gar Wood Industries and made racing boats and boat props along with other things such as truck bodies and his business flourished for many years. Gar Wood lived to be ninety years old and is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame Of America.
Dan’s Discount Propellers has the lowest prices on hundreds of twin boat propellers for all modern marine engine brands. For advice on what boat props that would work best on your boat please call us at 1-800-573-5533
Fastest Boats on the Water – The Hydrofoil Boat
The first gasoline engine powered watercraft to hold the water speed record using under water boat propellers was the forty foot boat named the Dixie IV designed by Clinton Crane. It set the record on September 9th. 1911 with a speed of 45.21 mph. The record then started to change hands many times in the next eight years by long and narrow sporty racing type gas engine boats.
A totally different kind of watercraft came on the seen and set the record at 70.86 mph on September 9th. 1919. This boat was the HD 4 and was a hydrofoil boat that had the hull out of the water with underwater “pontoons”. This was such a radical and amazing craft compared to the other boats at the time. The famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell contributed to the design and development of this boat along with his chief engineer. They got the Idea of making a hyrdofoil boat after reading an article about them in 1906 and visiting with Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini around 1910-1911 and riding in Forlanini’s hydrofoil boat. They were very impressed with it and stated the ride was as smooth as flying. Bell and his team came home and started work on thier boat and in 1913 finalized the design and began production of the HD 4. For many years improvements were made on it. It was powered by two 350 hp. Liberty engines on either side of the cockpit and utilized airplane style propellers pushing the air, unlike under water boat props, something like an Everglades air boat you see today. How it operated was from a dead start the hull would be in the water and as it got underway and speed was gained, the hull would be lifted out of the water because of the under water pontoons creating the lift. The hull was totally out of the water so just the pontoons and attached bracing had contact in the water. Less drag creates faster speeds. What a sight it must have been to see this boat flying accross the water at 70 mph!
We don’t sell airplane propellers but we do sell hundreds of boat popellers at the lowest cost for all modern boat engines. Please look around our boat propeller website or call us at 1-800-573-5533.
Fastest Vessel on the Water – Steam Powered Boat Propellers
Part One: Steam Powered Boat Propellers
The world’s fastest water vessels down through the years is an interesting history of man’s never ending quest of constantly trying to be better and to do better.The earliest recognized record holders before 1910 were all steam powered vessels using boat propellers for propulsion. The first gasoline powered craft to take the water speed record did not come along until the year 1911.
In 1885 Nathaneal Herreshoff’s 94 foot yacht then sold to the US navy as a re-fitted torpedo boat “Stiletto” held the record with a top speed of 26.2 mph. In 1893, it is believed that William Cogswell’s seventy nine foot yacht “Feiseen” achieved the top speed of 31.6 mph to hold the record. Charles Parson invented the first steam powered turbine in 1894 and soon held the record in 1897 with his 104 foot ship called the Turbinia with a maximum speed of 39.1 mph. Amazingly this ship still exists and is a museum display in Britain. In 1903 Charles Flint held the record with his navel designed 130 foot long twin boat prop torpedo boat named the “Arrow” with a top speed of 45.06 mph. Mr. Flint is also known for founding the company “Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company” that later became a company called IBM.
All these water vessels were really small ships that were not specifically designed to break any water speed record. Their main purpose was either for military, pleasure or business use. They just attained the added benefit of being the fastest of their time. But surely they had to be proud for being the fastest of their time.
If you are looking for a little more speed out of your watercraft check out our website and call us at 1-800-573-5533 for advice on what boat propellers improve your speed.
Acme Propellers – Inboard Boat Propellers
Acme Propellers is an American company that started out in 1996 by a group of talented people with many years of experience in boat propellers. Their goal has been to create the most advanced boat props using the best precision machining and engineering techniques possible. Only the highest grade of metals are used in their propellers so Acme makes the best inboard propellers you can get for your inboard boat. Made in the USA and is based in Big Rapids Michigan.
Starting with advanced computer designing by highly trained and experienced boat propulsion engineers and then using computer numerically controlled ( CNC ) milling machines that provide the best accuracy and consistency possible the end product is ready for use without having to make adjustments by hand which is not as accurate. Acme claims they make the best performing boat props that have offer quicker planing and the fastest speeds in the industry. They are so confident in their boat propellers you can use the prop for thirty days and if you are not satisfied it is returnable for a full refund.
Acme Propellers makes a wide variety of boat props for all kinds of inboard engine boats with up to forty eight inch diameters and all usable pitches.
Dan’ Discount Propellers sells Acme Propellers at super discount prices with all sizes available. For all your boat propeller purchases for all modern marine engines please check out our website for the best prices our call us for expert advice at 1-800-573-5533.
OJ Props – Inboard Boat Propellers
OJ Props produce inboard boat propellers for various boats. They have been around for almost eighty years since starting out in 1936 by it’s founder Oscar Johnson along with his son Ivar. They make the highest quality and performance boat props you can buy for your up to about twenty five foot inboard ski or pleasure boat. These props are made out of a combination of nickel, bronze and aluminum that is commonly called Nibral. They are stronger than the old bronze or brass propellers.
The propeller models are the Legend Three blade boat prop, Force Four 4 blade, XMP Edge three blade, XMP Edge four blade and the XMP Wakeboard four blade props.
The Legend three blade has been a great performer for many years and is still a great propeller choice. This prop is an original design by Oscar Johnson.
The Force four blade has the same basic blade design of the Legend three blade and was the first four blade propeller used in waterski tournaments around the world for better pulling power over the three bladed props used on the tow boats.
The XMP Edge three and four blade boat props are newer props that are the first boat propellers designed to be used specifically on wakeboard boats for pulling wakeboarders and surfers. They offer the exceptional performance for this kind of use that other brands in the industry cannot match . They have larger diameters and lower pitch options.
The XMP Wakeboard is the new and improved version of the XMP Edge four blade that has a little better speed and pulling power.
You can buy these inboard propellers along with boat props for most boats at the best prices here at Dan’s Discount Propellers.
Dan’s Discount Propellers sells boat propellers for all modern engines and boats at super discount prices. You can order propellers online or by phone . 1-800-573-5533
Composite Boat Propellers: Piranha Propellers
Claiming the tensile strength is fifteen percent stronger than an aluminum propeller, Piranha boat props have been around for about twenty years now and are made out of their own composite material using fiberglass and nylon. . It is not an all composite prop, the hub is a solid hub made out of aluminum that is covered with their composite material. It will not break away like boat propellers made out of aluminum or stainless steel do.
composite boat propellers
The blades on the Piranha propeller will be sacrificed first before damage to your lower unit can occur. The Piranha hub is so strong it actually has a life time free replacement guarantee on ever being damaged from an impact.
The Piranha propeller blades are made with so much precision that vibration from being out of balance is eliminated which can be a problem with metal propellers. The key feature to the Piranha prop system is that the blades are replaceable. They be be easily removed from the central hub if damaged and new blades can be bought and put in. This is a fast and easy way to get you back on the water because the boat owner does this themselves on the spot instead of having to send a metal propeller to a prop repair shop for a repair that can take many days to get back. The composite propeller blades are not repairable but they can cost less than a metal prop repair does in a lot of cases. The boat propeller hub from Piranha is so strong that it is guaranteed for life, “you damage it, we will replace it.” they claim on their site.
You can get Piranha propellers that fit 6 horsepower to 280 horsepower outboard motors and sterndrive systems with a wide range of pitch sizes.They are an very affordable alternative to metal boat props.
Dan’s Discount Propellers sells boat propellers for all modern engines at super discount prices. You can order propellers online or by phone . 1-800-573-5533
Composite Boat Propellers – Comprops
Composite Boat Propellers are boat propellers made out of a composite material consisting of plastics, resins and high tech fibers. They first came out in the 1990’s as a three blade boat propeller with the intent of being a less expensive alternative to an aluminum boat prop to be used as a spare. They were not as good performance wise as the aluminum propellers.
Since then Comprop has improved their performance with a better designed four bladed boat prop that can be used as primary use boat propellers. So today they claim they are as good as the metal props. They have even been the standard propeller on some new models of Wellcraft, Regal and Corona boats.
Comprop propellers are a solid hub prop that are designed to break away on hard impacts so the engines lower unit drive train does not sustain damage. They weigh less than aluminum propellers, about 2.5 lbs compared to 4 lbs.for aluminum props.You can get Comprops in various pitch sizes that fit 3 1/2, 4 1/4 and 4 3/4 inch gearcases with horsepower ranges of 35 hp up to 200 hp. They can be used on both outboard motors and sterndrives.
Comprop claims the performance comparison to aluminum props is just as good with better turning and higher top end speeds in many cases. The retail price on the comprops is about 30% less than aluminum props so you might want to consider one for your boat as your main boat propeller or for a spare prop.
We sell the Comprops at great discount prices along with aluminum and stainless steel propellers for all modern outboards and sterndrives.
Largest Outboard Motors Part Five: Honda BF 250
Honda’s largest outboard motor is the BFT250. 250 horsepower V-6 3.6 liter 4 stroke engine. Large fourteen to sixteen inch diameter boat propeller can be used in pitch sizes ranging from 13 to 25. They claim it has excellent performance with great fuel economy and rugged durability. Honda has one big advantage over it’s competitors when it comes to engineering motors because they also have been making automobiles for decades and they can use much of that same advanced technology in the outboard motors that they produce. For an example the valve timing and lift follows what they use in their Acura NXS performance car. Honda has a system to increase hole shot called “Blast” that is short for boosted low speed torque, it advances the spark timing and optimizes the air fuel mixture for the best take off. A cool air induction system is used to feed cooler denser air to the engine that draws air from outside the cowling for better over all performance.
Engine specs are: 219 cubic inches, 60 degree 24 valve four stroke, RPM WOT range of 5300 to 6300, 250 hp. at 5800 rpm’s, wieght is 600lbs. to 622lbs.
Honda makes these same motors for Tohatsu now called the BFT 250 Tohatsu plus six other outboards for them ranging down to 115 hp. This unique arrangement seems strange at first but it is probably going to be a great deal for both companies because Honda sells alot more engines now and Tohatsu all of a sudden has a whole new line of high horsepower top rated engines for sale. The dealer networks for both companies around the country do not conflict with each other location wise much so lost sales is not going to be big problem. Interesting.
The same boat props can be used obviously for both engines. We can offer you the best boat propeller prices for these motors and for all modern boat prop applications. Ordering can be done on-line or by phone at 1-800-573-5533.
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