Some boats acquire a charm all their own over time, not only because of their technical features, performance, and design, but precisely because of their history and the exceptional men they involved. Here are three examples of illustrious and in their own way extraordinary boats.
3 boats out of the chorus
Boating is not just about new boats, and sometimes it is precisely by looking back at the past that one discovers true standouts, pioneering yachts in terms of design, performance and comfort. Some of them then have an added value, namely a crazy story about ingenuity, rebellion and human values that objectively one struggles to find today.
The three out-of-the-box models we see today:
Bluebird K7: the hydroplane for speed record hunting
Prominent in the history of yachts devoted to speed is that of the Bluebird K7 and its builder, Donald Campbell, who in life was a racer by trade. Campbell also began racing on the water in 1949, following in his father’s footsteps. He used his own boat, which he christened BlueBird K4. He managed to reach a top speed of 170 km/h at Coniston Water, Lancashire, but during the feat the Bluebird K4 crashed, being destroyed. Campbell then began work on its successor, the Bluebird K7, the world’s first jet-powered hydroplane. The Bluebird K7 was built with a steel frame and aluminum body painted blue. Powering it was a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl axial-flow turbojet engine that was capable of propelling it over water at a speed of 400 mph. Using the K7, Campbell managed to set seven world speed records on water between 1955 and 1964. The first was achieved at Ullswater in 1955 by touching 325.60 km/h. The same year, he broke the record again at Lake Mead, when he reached 347.94 km/h. Four more consecutive records were set from 1956 to 1959 at Coniston Water: 363.12 km/h, 384.75 km/h, 400.12 km/h and 418.99 km/h. The last record was set by Campbell on K7 was 444.71 km/h on Dumbleyung Lake in 1964.
The tragic denouement of the last record
There was another record attempt made by Campbell who had meanwhile managed to equip the K7 with a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engine capable of generating a thrust of 20 kN. Such a thruster was normally employed on the famous Harrier fighter planes. On January 4, 1967 on Lake Coniston, England, Campbell took the Bluebird K7 to a top speed of 501 km/h. Usually, after a run, water pilots wait a while to refuel or recover their energy. Instead, Campbell decided not to wait and set off on his second run with a half-empty tank, making him lighter. Vintage Boating. The Bluebird’s performance was outstanding, and the hydroplane reached 510 mph. But once it reached that speed, it jumped over the water until it became vertical and took flight, landing violently with its nose in the water. The force of the impact killed Campbell on impact and sent the hydroplane to the bottom of the lake. Both the wreckage and his body were not recovered until 2001 and were buried in Coniston Cemetery.
Bluebird K7 – Data Sheet
Overall length 8.04 m Overall width 3.23 m Length at waterline 3.74 Overall weight 2 t Light alloy “Birmabright” construction Vickers “Beryl”/Bristol Siddley Orpheus turbojet engine
Out-of-the-box boats. Wheeler 38, replica of Hernest Hemingway’s legendary “Pilar”
Another half-unknown yacht but with a crazy history is the Wheeler 38, a replica of the famous boat “Pilar (we told you about it here)” by Hernest Hemingway mass-produced with the same vintage charm, but with a much more advanced concept. The American writer purchased the yacht in 1934 for just under $7,500. It was a customized example of the famous Playmate 38, produced in a shipyard founded by Howard E. Wheeler in the early 1900s. As is well known, the future winner of the Pulitzer (1953) and Nobel (1954) prizes was a great trolling enthusiast and sailed the “Pilar” extensively between Key West, Bimini and Cuba. Hemingway later gave the yacht to Gregorio Fuentes, the sailor who inspired the figure of Santiago from the novel “The Old Man and the Sea,” who in turn gave it to the Cuban people. Today the original “Pilar” lies inland in Havana, preserved as a museum boat in Hemingway’s former estate at Finca Vigia. Vintage boating. Several years ago Wes Wheeler, a descendant of Howard E. Wheeler, traveled to Cuba with Hilary Hemingway (granddaughter of the writer) to inspect and measure Pilar. The idea was to build an exact replica of the boat and mass produce it, and they did. The new Wheeler 38 looks like an improved version in every respect, starting with the habitability that offers four berths. Performance, then, is markedly superior. The hull has been redesigned flatter to allow the boat to run at high speeds, while the interior is more comfortable and the equipment state-of-the-art. The boat smoothly exceeds 30 knots, more than double the speed of the old “Pilar.”
Vintage style and lots of fine woods on board
Christened “Legend” and registered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, headquarters of Wheeler Yacht Co. the first example of the Wheeler 38 was built in Brooklin, Maine. More examples would follow, but the only authorized builder is Brooklin Boat Yard, where the workmen handle and process with great skill such fine materials as Douglas fir, used for all structural elements; mahogany plywood, used for the hull; African mahogany for the superstructure; and finally teak for the deck.
Wheeler 38 – Data Sheet
Brooklin Boat Yard (Maine) Length 12.01 m Width 3.66 m Draught 1.07 m Displacement 9,344 kg Engines 2 x 370 hp Yanmar diesel (8LV370) Cruising speed 20 knots Maximum speed 30.4 knots Fuel consumption 74 l/h Range 400 miles
Dillinger P466, the superyacht that flew at 50 knots
You have to dig into the nautical world of the early 1990s to find a true ace yacht: the Dillinger P466 (we told you about it here), a 22.65-meter Kevlar and carbon yacht capable of flying at 50 knots. Built by the U.S.-based Derecktor Shipyards, designed by the Dutch firm Mulder Design, the Dillinger P466 was a small masterpiece of out-of-the-ordinary performance at cruising comfort. Not surprisingly, in 1991, as soon as she was launched, she immediately won the Superyacht Society Design Award. Vintage Boating. The secret of this ultra-fast sport boat lay in the hull design, which featured an evolution of a deep “V” that offered low drag and reduced the classic “hull-drag” that is typical of these shapes. In addition, the construction was carbon fiber and Kevlar sandwich with a balsa core, a state-of-the-art structure that gave great rigidity to the whole. The final touch was propulsion that was nothing short of monstrous: two MTU V12 TB93 (12V396) engines of an impressive 1440 kW each, or 1960 horsepower per engine, for a total output of 3920 horsepower at 2100 rpm. That’s enough power to launch this splendid yacht up to 50 knots, with ranges in excess of 600 nautical miles at speeds of 40 knots.
Extraordinary boats – Sporty lines and comfort-rich spaces
Vintage boats. The Dilinger P466 was sporty in look as well. Starting with the deep-slung bow, with an elongated bow section, strictly flush, and a “cabin” structure projected aft. In terms of habitability and comfort, however, the design is by no means to be underestimated. The exterior spaces remained protected and cozy, while the well-designed and well-lit interior volumes offered comfort galore for guests and crew.
Dillinger P466 – Data Sheet
Year of Launch 1991 Construction Material Carbon Fiber on Kevlar and Balsa sandwich Length Overall 22.65 m Length at Waterline 18.5 m Motorization 2x MTU 12V396 TB93 of1440 kW (1960 hp) Maximum Speed 50 kn (C) Range 600 mn at 40 kn Type of Hull Deep V Hull Design and Architecture Mulder Design, Netherlands Shipyard Builder Derecktor Shipyards, USA