item details
NameHamilton Jet Boat
ProductionMahan Boatbuilders; boatbuilder; circa 1954; New Zealand
Sir Bill Hamilton OBE; designer
Sir Bill Hamilton OBE; designer
Classificationboats
Materialswood, vinyl, plastic, metal
Materials Summarywood, vinyl, plastic, metal
DimensionsOverall: 1650mm (width), 1420mm (height), 4710mm (length)
Registration NumberGH005665
Credit linePurchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds
Overview
This is an early model Hamilton jet boat made by Mahan Boatbuilders of Sumner, Christchurch, around 1954.
The inventor, Bill Hamilton (1899-1978), grew up on a high country sheep farm in South Canterbury and developed a love of water with the numerous mountain-fed streams and rivers. In the 1920s he ran his own sheep station in the Mackenzie Country of the South Island. He was passionate about innovation and engineering, and fulfilled a long-held ambition to design a boat which could travel upstream on shallow, shingle-bottomed rivers. He experimented by adapting jet propulsion to boat propulsion. His invention changed the face of river recreation throughout the world.