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Hamilton   Victoria   3300
 (03) 5571 2115 bob@precisionmarine.net.au

Hydrofoiling History

Hydrofoils have been used on different watercraft for nearly 100 years. They have been used on engine driven watercraft both large and small, sailboats, human powered boats, windsurfers,wakeboards, and our favorite waterski(s).

1906

The first hydrofoil boat dates back to 1906 designed and built by the Italian Inventor, Enrico Forlanini(1848-1930). The foil design was made from the classic "Ladder" type construction which has multiple struts coming down with multiple wings between them. It had a 60 hp engine driving two counter-rotating air props and during testing in 1906, the craft reached a top speed of 42.5 mph.

1919

Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin developed a boat based on Floranini's Ladder style foil in 1919. Bell was the primary designer and Baldwin built the boat based on their designs. The boat was called the Hydrodrome 4 (HD-4) and set the record for the fastest hydrofoil boat speed at 60 knots which stood until the 1960's.

Clickon image to see HD-4 video (667k)

1960

In the 1960's, many countries developed their own version of a hydrofoil ship for their militaries. The US Navy and Boeing developed the first Jetfoil, the Patrol Hydrofoil Missile ship(PHM), which was the predecessor to the Jetski. They also developed a commercial passenger version.