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Worlds fastest boat spirit of australia
Spirit of Australia is a wooden speed boat built in a Sydney backyard, by Ken Warby, that broke and set the world water speed record on 8 October 1978.
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The Record and Boat
On 8 October 1978, Ken Warby drove the Spirit of Australia on the Tumut River near the Blowering Dam in Australia to a speed of 317.596 mph (511.11 km/h). It was powered by a Westinghouse J34 jet engine. The engine was developed by the Westinghouse Electric Company in the late 1940s and was used for jet fighters and other aircraft. The Spirit of Australia is displayed permanently at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney, New South Wales.
Starting in the early 1990s, Warby built a second jet boat, Aussie Spirit powered with a fresh Westinghouse J34, but he never made a record attempt with it. As of 2013 Warby and his son Dave are working on a new boat Spirit of Australia II with plans for an attempt at the water speed record. This time they acquired two Rolls-Royce Orpheus 803 jet engines which are both lighter and more powerful.
