Motorboat
Encyclopedia
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine
. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor
installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine
, the gearbox and the propeller
in one portable unit.
An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a powerplant and an outboard, where the internal combustion engine is installed inside the boat, and the gearbox and propeller are outside.
There are two configurations of an inboard, v-drive and direct drive. A direct drive has the powerplant mounted near the middle of the boat with the propeller shaft straight out the back, where a v-drive has the powerplant mounted in the back of the boat facing backwards having the shaft go towards the front of the boat then making a 'V' towards the rear. The v-drive has become increasingly popular due to the wakeboarding
and wakesurfing
sports.
Motorboats vary greatly in size and configuration, from the 4-meter, open center console type to the luxury mega-yacht
s capable of crossing an ocean.
river by Gottlieb Daimler
and Wilhelm Maybach
in 1886, when they tested their new "longcase clock" engine. It had been constructed in the former greenhouse (converted into a workshop) in Daimler's back yard. The first public display took place on the Waldsee in Cannstatt, today a suburb of Stuttgart
, at the end of that year.
had been added to an engine (steam engine
) as early as the 18th century in Birmingham
, England
by James Watt
, the petrol engine
only came about in the later part of the 19th century, at which point Frederick William Lanchester recognized the potential of combining the two components to create the first all British powerboat; tested in Oxford
, England, the powerboat was born. Late in that same period fishermen in San Francisco were transforming their felucca
s into early versions of the Monterey clipper
, also known locally as put-puts.
Lanchester began to find the conflict between his job as works manager and his research work irksome. Therefore, in 1893, he resigned his position in favour of his younger brother George. At about the same time, he produced a second engine similar in design to his previous one but running on benzene at 800 r.p.m. An important part of his new engine was the revolutionary carburettor, for mixing the fuel and air correctly. His invention was known as a wick carburettor, because fuel was drawn into a series of wicks, from where it was vapourized. He patented this invention in 1905.
Lanchester installed his new petrol engine in a flat-bottomed launch, which the engine drove via a stern paddle wheel. Lanchester built the launch in the garden of his home in Olton
, Warwickshire
. The boat was launched at Salter’s slipway in Oxford
in 1904, and was the first motorboat built in Britain.
. His pioneering work, including the invention of the 'v-hull' and the use of dedicated petrol engines revolutionised boat design from as early as 1908, when he founded the Hacker Boat Co
. In 1911, Hacker designed the ‘Kitty Hawk’, the first successful step hydroplane which exceeded the then-unthinkable speed of 50 mph and was at that time the fastest boat in the world.
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor
Outboard motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine
Internal combustion engine
The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...
, the gearbox and the propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
in one portable unit.
An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a powerplant and an outboard, where the internal combustion engine is installed inside the boat, and the gearbox and propeller are outside.
There are two configurations of an inboard, v-drive and direct drive. A direct drive has the powerplant mounted near the middle of the boat with the propeller shaft straight out the back, where a v-drive has the powerplant mounted in the back of the boat facing backwards having the shaft go towards the front of the boat then making a 'V' towards the rear. The v-drive has become increasingly popular due to the wakeboarding
Wakeboarding
Wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over the surface of a body of water. It was developed from a combination of water skiing, snow boarding and surfing techniques....
and wakesurfing
Wakesurfing
Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a surfer trails behind a wakeboard boat, surfing the boat's wake without being directly attached to the boat. The wake from the boat mimics the look and feel of an actual ocean wave...
sports.
Motorboats vary greatly in size and configuration, from the 4-meter, open center console type to the luxury mega-yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
s capable of crossing an ocean.
History
The first boat powered by a petrol engine was tested on the NeckarNeckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
river by Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler
Gottlieb Daimler was an engineer, industrial designer and industrialist born in Schorndorf , in what is now Germany. He was a pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development...
and Wilhelm Maybach
Wilhelm Maybach
Wilhelm Maybach was an early German engine designer and industrialist. During the 1890s he was hailed in France, then the world centre for car production, as the "King of constructors"....
in 1886, when they tested their new "longcase clock" engine. It had been constructed in the former greenhouse (converted into a workshop) in Daimler's back yard. The first public display took place on the Waldsee in Cannstatt, today a suburb of Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, at the end of that year.
In England
Although the screw propellerPropeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
had been added to an engine (steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
) as early as the 18th century in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by James Watt
James Watt
James Watt, FRS, FRSE was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer whose improvements to the Newcomen steam engine were fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.While working as an instrument maker at the...
, the petrol engine
Petrol engine
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
only came about in the later part of the 19th century, at which point Frederick William Lanchester recognized the potential of combining the two components to create the first all British powerboat; tested in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England, the powerboat was born. Late in that same period fishermen in San Francisco were transforming their felucca
Felucca
A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt, Sudan, and also in Iraq. Its rig consists of one or two lateen sails....
s into early versions of the Monterey clipper
Monterey clipper
The Monterey Clipper is a fishing boat common to the San Francisco Bay Area, the Monterey Bay Area and east to the Sacramento delta. It has a variety of alternative names. The history of this boat has swung with the fortunes of the local fish industry and the paces of industrialization. The...
, also known locally as put-puts.
Lanchester began to find the conflict between his job as works manager and his research work irksome. Therefore, in 1893, he resigned his position in favour of his younger brother George. At about the same time, he produced a second engine similar in design to his previous one but running on benzene at 800 r.p.m. An important part of his new engine was the revolutionary carburettor, for mixing the fuel and air correctly. His invention was known as a wick carburettor, because fuel was drawn into a series of wicks, from where it was vapourized. He patented this invention in 1905.
Lanchester installed his new petrol engine in a flat-bottomed launch, which the engine drove via a stern paddle wheel. Lanchester built the launch in the garden of his home in Olton
Olton
Olton is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. In the 13th century the Lords of the Manor moved their seat and formed a new settlement, in the junction of two major roads, that village has now grown into a big town called Solihull...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. The boat was launched at Salter’s slipway in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in 1904, and was the first motorboat built in Britain.
In the United States
The acknowledged genius of motor boat design was the American naval architect John L. HackerHacker-Craft
Hacker-Craft is the name given to boats built by The Hacker Boat Co., the oldest builder of wooden motorboats in the world. It is an American company, founded in Watervliet, New York in the early 1900s by John Ludwig Hacker...
. His pioneering work, including the invention of the 'v-hull' and the use of dedicated petrol engines revolutionised boat design from as early as 1908, when he founded the Hacker Boat Co
Hacker-Craft
Hacker-Craft is the name given to boats built by The Hacker Boat Co., the oldest builder of wooden motorboats in the world. It is an American company, founded in Watervliet, New York in the early 1900s by John Ludwig Hacker...
. In 1911, Hacker designed the ‘Kitty Hawk’, the first successful step hydroplane which exceeded the then-unthinkable speed of 50 mph and was at that time the fastest boat in the world.
See also
- Cabin cruiserCabin cruiserA cabin cruiser is a type of power boat that provides accommodation for its crew and passengers inside the structure of the craft.A cabin cruiser usually ranges in size from in length, with larger pleasure craft usually considered yachts. Many cabin cruisers can be recovered and towed with a...
- Go-fast boatGo-fast boatA go-fast boat, or cigarette boat, is a small, fast boat designed with a long narrow platform and a planing hull to enable it to reach high speeds....
- Launch (boat)Launch (boat)A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
- Motor launchMotor LaunchA Motor Launch is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue....
- Outboard motorOutboard motorAn outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom and are the most common motorized method of propelling small watercraft...
- PowerboatingPowerboatingPower boating describes activities performed in a motorized boat. Generally, a power boat has a high power-to-weight ratio and a hull design that allows for easy planing, which allows for higher speed and improved handling. Also, the shape of the actual boat is usually very streamlined, which...
- RunaboutRunabout (boat)A runabout is any small motorboat holding between four and eight people, well suited to moving about on the water. Runabouts can be used for racing, for pleasure activities like fishing and water skiing, or as a ship's tender for larger vessels...
- SterndriveSterndriveA sterndrive or inboard/outboard drive is a form of marine propulsion. The engine is located inboard just forward of the transom and provides power to the drive unit located outside the hull.-Operation:...