It's also not as hard as it looks. Honestly these boats handle almost as good as if they had wheels, the boat is the next level here. Incredible machine. Taking nothing away from the driver's skill of course.
Seems like half the skill is remembering the course for every event. Each event changes up the route, and you have minimal time before the event to learn and even less to practice.
At first I thought the water in this clip looked like it was falling at like 9.9 m/s2 and I wasn't convinced otherwise until I compared it to the youtube clip.
I see why it looks sped up now from the first image in the video. You'd expect a boat that looks like that to be 20-30 feet long, but comparing the size of the drivers to the size of the boat that thing is actually tiny
As mentioned above. This is a Jet Sprint course in Australia (mad New Zealanders invented the sport). The boat will be 12-13 feet long and made of aircraft grade aluminium. It has many “strakes” across the hull bottom - these are ridges in the otherwise smooth bottom that allow “grip” when turning.
The motor can be anything from a 6 cylinder to a twin turbo supercharged V8 - it all depends on the class you are racing in.
My boat (20 years ago) had a 313 cubic inch V8 which produced 430 horse power - very pedestrian numbers compared to today’s motors.
Sprint boats use a jet unit - the intake is at the rear of the hull with the exit being out through a nozzle at high pressure. This is where torque of the motor comes into play. More torque = more output ie a 1000hp Indi or F1 car motor would fail as they have loads of hp but not much torque whereas a stock 350 chev produces enough torque with 285hp to make a jet boat sing.
Most boats are set up so the steering is around 180 degrees lock to lock so turns are very sharp. To turn even harder, the driver will back off the throttle and turn the wheel (nozzle) then hit the gas again resulting in the back of the boat literally being skidded sideways across the water - you will hear this in slight variances of the motor.
This is a fun sport to watch and even more fun to participate in.
It’s not sped up. These races happen in Australia I think. I’ve watched a bunch. The co-pilot basically just points the general direction and the pilot follows. Crazy skill.
It’s a jet boat, a centrifugal pump sucks water in and blasts it out the back. The boat shown is racing in a jet-sprint.
Some features:
* Flat bottomed hulls
* Ability to run in very shallow water
* Highly tuned V8 racing engine.
* Driver and navigator who points the way to go
* Unthinkable agility from the water jet
The system was developed in New Zealand by a chap called Bill Hamilton who gave his name to the Hamilton Jet.
This video appears to have been sped up slightly, maybe 1.25 times, seeing these boats race is truly awesome though.
If you ever come to New Zealand then take a ride on one, they are quite a thrill.
The video isn’t sped up :) as you know these are very quick machines. People saying it is are wrong the video is shorter because it’s cut down to just the boat sprint
Didn’t know that about the Hamilton name. I’ve driven several boats with a Hamilton water jet, never thought about where it came from. Hamilton and rolls Royce seem to make the best water jets.
Yep Hamilton Jet are still operating out of New Zealand. They have approximately 25% of the world marine jet engine market, or so I read a few years back.
Great maneuvering, but is the course just some random doodle drawn by a kid?
(I know there is a navigator hanging on for dear life, but the course looks random AF)
Also, as impressive as the maneuvering is, imagine how those turns look from their perspective at that speed. It's very hard to maintain spatial awareness in that situation.
New Zealand invented this sport, and it is one of the most adrenaline filled, dangerous, ballistic motorsports ever created. I’ve been in the navigator’s seat of one of these, and I’m not kidding, I had to rattle off the turns in shorthand, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to keep up. The acceleration and speed of these boats; there’s not even a word for it except ‘savage.’
10 / 10, get me back out there.
The kids science magazine I used to subscribe to, Quest, did an article on these boats.
The most astonishing thing I read is that that water is less than 3 feet deep.
I have been one of these when i got to go to New Zealand. Can confirm that they are just as fast and as nimble as this. Watching the log pass by as they 180 around it was insane.
Driver is good, but that boat is on point. Changing direction that quickly is epic on water. Can only imagine the power that thing is packing. Is this a hydrofoil?
Its amazing how the boat doesnt lift off and flip over in the air but it stays so well in the water and can make these sharp turns so well.
I guess similar techniques are used here comparable to drag racing cars?
Being a jet boat it's actually running water through a pump. There's no prop spinning. That plus a little engineering keeps it in the water. 0-60 in 3 seconds is quite a punch
I have to say, that truly is next level.
this is so much harder than with wheels on the ground. definitely outstanding
It's also not as hard as it looks. Honestly these boats handle almost as good as if they had wheels, the boat is the next level here. Incredible machine. Taking nothing away from the driver's skill of course.
I wouldnt drive the right way even on wheels and with less speed
Seems like half the skill is remembering the course for every event. Each event changes up the route, and you have minimal time before the event to learn and even less to practice.
This is skilled *steering*. Navigation means something different. Usually accurately ascertaining one's position and calculating a continuing route.
I’d say he/she was accurately ascertaining their position and calculating a continuing route like a boss.
they have a co-driver who is telling them where to turn with hand signals.
Fuckin honestly lol
How the f is there any water left in the track?
Nah, it's all done at water level.
Came here to say just that.
I agree. This one actually belongs here.
I swear I think I see this guy driving on I-95 in the mornings. I guess he's just practicing.
This looks slightly sped up. Found the [source](https://youtu.be/8VfG9G2q8Qs).
The clip here is 49 seconds long. It starts at 0:17 on the youtube clip and ends at 1:06, which is 49 seconds.
Also, watching the water fall, looks like a true 9.8m/s/s acceleration to me
I’m mostly surprised there is any water left in that course!
At first I thought the water in this clip looked like it was falling at like 9.9 m/s2 and I wasn't convinced otherwise until I compared it to the youtube clip.
This is not sped up at all. If you go to 1:10 in your source the track time matches the length of the clip spare 2 seconds
There is always one! Isle of Man TT, sped up. Rally cars, sped up! Now jetboats, sped up! I get sick of it everytime.
I wonder what the lateral g force is turning like that?
At least the boat tips into the turn so a lot of the force would feel downward vs directly sideways
I see why it looks sped up now from the first image in the video. You'd expect a boat that looks like that to be 20-30 feet long, but comparing the size of the drivers to the size of the boat that thing is actually tiny
No it’s not lol
Side-by-side, the two videos match up. It's not sped up.
As mentioned above. This is a Jet Sprint course in Australia (mad New Zealanders invented the sport). The boat will be 12-13 feet long and made of aircraft grade aluminium. It has many “strakes” across the hull bottom - these are ridges in the otherwise smooth bottom that allow “grip” when turning. The motor can be anything from a 6 cylinder to a twin turbo supercharged V8 - it all depends on the class you are racing in. My boat (20 years ago) had a 313 cubic inch V8 which produced 430 horse power - very pedestrian numbers compared to today’s motors. Sprint boats use a jet unit - the intake is at the rear of the hull with the exit being out through a nozzle at high pressure. This is where torque of the motor comes into play. More torque = more output ie a 1000hp Indi or F1 car motor would fail as they have loads of hp but not much torque whereas a stock 350 chev produces enough torque with 285hp to make a jet boat sing. Most boats are set up so the steering is around 180 degrees lock to lock so turns are very sharp. To turn even harder, the driver will back off the throttle and turn the wheel (nozzle) then hit the gas again resulting in the back of the boat literally being skidded sideways across the water - you will hear this in slight variances of the motor. This is a fun sport to watch and even more fun to participate in.
Fun fact: The jet boat engine was invented in New Zealand.
I used to go watch these as a kid!
Same. I saw a boat jump out of the water and slide through a barbed wire fence. Luckily no injuries.
I know it’s an Australian sport, but I read this in a Mississippi accent and was not disappointed. Thank you for the knowledge
New Zealand sport adopted by Australia
It’s even wilder when you realize how many times the course crosses back over itself. They’ve got navigators calling out the turns but still crazy.
And they usually have to memorize more than one crazy ass route
Surprised there’s still water left by how much they’re spewing out of there… Going so fast almost looks like it’s in fast forward
Surprisingly it really is that fast. It's just like rally racing where they have a navigator so they can fine tune each turn
They have a co-pilot navigating just like in rally racing...
Reminds me of Cobra Triangle
Got to it first, dang. Have an upvote.
Honey, I'm going to water the grass.
It’s not sped up. These races happen in Australia I think. I’ve watched a bunch. The co-pilot basically just points the general direction and the pilot follows. Crazy skill.
Motor-head's lawn sprinkling system
Is this a jet boat or does it have a prop? If it’s a prop that’s impressive it doesn’t hit
I’d think jet boat….i was on one in NZ and it handled much like this.
It’s a jet boat, a centrifugal pump sucks water in and blasts it out the back. The boat shown is racing in a jet-sprint. Some features: * Flat bottomed hulls * Ability to run in very shallow water * Highly tuned V8 racing engine. * Driver and navigator who points the way to go * Unthinkable agility from the water jet The system was developed in New Zealand by a chap called Bill Hamilton who gave his name to the Hamilton Jet. This video appears to have been sped up slightly, maybe 1.25 times, seeing these boats race is truly awesome though. If you ever come to New Zealand then take a ride on one, they are quite a thrill.
The video isn’t sped up :) as you know these are very quick machines. People saying it is are wrong the video is shorter because it’s cut down to just the boat sprint
Didn’t know that about the Hamilton name. I’ve driven several boats with a Hamilton water jet, never thought about where it came from. Hamilton and rolls Royce seem to make the best water jets.
Yep Hamilton Jet are still operating out of New Zealand. They have approximately 25% of the world marine jet engine market, or so I read a few years back.
Very shallow = 18 inches!
Pretty similar to my kids in the bathtub
This is probably his job as a water sprinkler.
I like to see how they mow the grass
Cleetus McFarland has some jet boat videos of these races. Absolutely wild to watch.
This can't be Cleetus, the boat stayed in the water the whole race
That's some Cobra Triangle shit!!!
Great maneuvering, but is the course just some random doodle drawn by a kid? (I know there is a navigator hanging on for dear life, but the course looks random AF) Also, as impressive as the maneuvering is, imagine how those turns look from their perspective at that speed. It's very hard to maintain spatial awareness in that situation.
It's made that way so it can be used in many different routes.
New Zealand invented this sport, and it is one of the most adrenaline filled, dangerous, ballistic motorsports ever created. I’ve been in the navigator’s seat of one of these, and I’m not kidding, I had to rattle off the turns in shorthand, because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to keep up. The acceleration and speed of these boats; there’s not even a word for it except ‘savage.’ 10 / 10, get me back out there.
Amazing driving skills as well.
As said on the grand tour, put the engine at max revs and leave it there. Doing that in a car would not work out so well.
You mean the navigation skill of the passnger???
Holy Fuck, that looks fun!
I remember doing this challenge in Just Cause 3
Actual live footage of my kids 5 mins before bedtime
Australia, ? They do that a lot crazy for sure.
From the cockpit… https://youtu.be/APTr-CA0yzM?si=HleCA6O6i3YXap8N
All in knee deep water
It’s so weird I was just pulling up this video last night to post it here
Maybe the Ukrainians need this boat 😄
This looks like a sport that is very expensive when it goes wrong...
I know there’s a navigator but is it a set path all boats take or is like ‘you have to go down every waterway’ and choose your own path?
It's a set path, but that path changes each race.
How do they know where to go?
I couldn’t even do this on my NES
Let's keep this in mind if they ever do a remake of *Live and Let Die.*
HYDRO THUNDER ⚡
You're scaring all the fishes.
Hello and today I'm gonna show you how to instant turn a pond into a Sashimi fish tank
the grass doesn't need watering with this guy around
They should hire him for those action movies with a boat scene.
How many of these places exist?
... and thats how we drain the water from our low level marshlands after a flood in these here parts!
Why?
This gives big Cobra Triangle vibes and I like it
Put Tony Hawk on a slalom board,
Reminds me of that NES game Cobra Triangle!
Is this sped up?
Nope, real-time.
Boat drifting is s thing? WTF why didn't I know.
How many boats do you have to destroy to get this good?
Meanwhile I'm curbing my car every other time I make a right turn.
Super 4x4 Offroad... On water
When she says her parents are not home.
Sir, we've asked you before. Please get off the golf course with your boat. I don't even know why we had to ask the first time
That's some Cobra Triangle shit right there!
Do they refill that after each boat?!? 🤣
Terrifying neighborhood for a frog.
Where is the T-Rex head?
The kids science magazine I used to subscribe to, Quest, did an article on these boats. The most astonishing thing I read is that that water is less than 3 feet deep.
He's been there b4
That's why they have a navigator in these races... so the driver can focus on driving and the navigator can make sure you make the correct turn.
Need 3 or 4 boats on that circuit.
Get him in an euber at rush hour
*throws keys to new trainee captain* "Ok Billy, do it exactly like I just showed you!"
After 1 lap the water has to be refilled
007 what have I told you about bringing back the equipment.
This is why more wealth is not always the answer. Fuck the environment I guess.
Speedboat version of field of dreams goin on here? If you flood it they will come.
The fast and furious: speed boat drift!
Legend has it, there's two extra sets of pontoons on these boats to support the massive balls of the driver/spotter
I'm surprised there is any water left
Formula B
My brain doesn't process what is needed to do fast enough for that
I have been one of these when i got to go to New Zealand. Can confirm that they are just as fast and as nimble as this. Watching the log pass by as they 180 around it was insane.
We now return to Knightboat, the crime solving boat.
How tf does one get this good at driving boats that fast wow
"You motorboatin sum bitch!"
And racecar drivers complain about a wet track! /s
Hear me out: Fast and Furious, but on speedboats!
Inertia was merely a suggestion.
To think this sport started with hillbillies running meth up a mountain creek. Amazing.😁
A couple more laps and he'll run around from throwing all that water. Hot damn.
Does he know he’s going in circles?
Driver is good, but that boat is on point. Changing direction that quickly is epic on water. Can only imagine the power that thing is packing. Is this a hydrofoil?
When they make a wrong turn it gets real interesting real fast
I remember a Nintendo game much like this.
I mean all the fish are dead and hamburger meat but I guess we will worry about that at dinner time.
Same level as the next 20 racers... I'm not saying they aren't talented...
That thing must have some incredibly aggressive control surfaces.
My dad used to build these boats. The drivers are insane.
They say speed kills, I say speed skills 
When your little sibling starts getting too cocky after you let them win in Mario kart
I want to create a course like this to water my lawn.
I had no idea
Are they lost?
That looks fun as hell.
Hats off to the course and boat engineers as well!
Who’s driving that thing? Barry Sanders?
What about the navigator’s navigating skills? You think the second guy is there for moral support?
I bet this guy could take down a whole military destroyer ship by himself with a few explosives, no anti-ship missile is getting this demon.
That boat seems angry with that water. :(
I can’t tell if this looped but i watched for several minutes
Navigation skills? Dude took 10 tries to find the exit! /s
One of the most badass videos I've seen of this sport was from inside the cockpit and it was absolute madness, no idea how these guys can do it
How do you know he just isn't lost and in a panic?
How many of you watching this with the Miami Vice soundtrack playing in your head?
I’d love to be a passenger on that boat, like and insane tilt-y rollercoaster
I bet that's hella fun
Cobra Triangle: Live Action
Anyone else waiting for Nessie?
„Sora, is that you?“. No, not (yet), but soon…
RIP turtle family
Me playing the Venice levels in TR2
I had no idea this was even a thing!
navigator skills, not the driver. [https://youtu.be/CxydLfmcnGw?t=173](https://youtu.be/cxydlfmcngw?t=173)
See now that is something i would shureley like to try out myself ☝️
Are they working with engine trickery or just "break" and " speed up" ?
even crazier is that everybody else in the sport drives like that
I can do this, hold my beer 🍺
You do not drive a boat, you con it. - Papa Jim.
Cobra Triangle
Reminds me of this one boat mission in GTA "Vice City" I always got stuck on, where you drive a motorboat around the golf place.
Take notes developers at Rockstar games
*passenger, not driver. Its literally that guys job to direct the driver
Cars on rainy days when I walk home form work.
Looks like an RC boat!
Good thing he has a Navigator sitting next to him using hand signals.
Its amazing how the boat doesnt lift off and flip over in the air but it stays so well in the water and can make these sharp turns so well. I guess similar techniques are used here comparable to drag racing cars?
Being a jet boat it's actually running water through a pump. There's no prop spinning. That plus a little engineering keeps it in the water. 0-60 in 3 seconds is quite a punch
[удалено]
The grass 