THE JET

THE JET Powered by a 50 c.i. renault engine

September 2007 : After many headaches, cursing & swearing, lots of trial and error, The Jet finally came good yesterday. It was a wild ride at first, after the shock of that I calmed down and handled it a bit better. Unfortunately could only give it a couple of runs in the end as we ran out of Methanol. A very exciting day!! Frank Wicks


The Jet was built by Jack Kenner in the late 1950s, is of timber construction and is still in excellent original un-restored running condition. The Jet holds at least 27 records, 18 of which were set in one season. Copies of the certificates are attached below. A copy of an article from a magazine called "Water Sportsman", printed July 1959, gives a detailed history of The Jet and the records it created. This is also shown below. The highly modified Renault 50 c.i. 750 cc 4 cylinder engine, running with compression ratio 13 to 1, has twin Amal carburettors and a homemade progressive fuel injection system which allows the engine to peak just under 7000 R.P.M. This boat was built, owned and raced by Jack Kenner. In 1958 a boat by the name of Atom running a 75 c.i. Austin A40 engine held many of the records that The Jet broke with its 50 c.i. motor in 1959 through to the early 1960's. (The Atom is now on display at the Science Works Museum, Melbourne) The Jet also set speed records in 1970. Many of these records are current and unlikely to ever be broken.






Title - Australasian Cubic Inch - 75 Hull - Displacement Date - 4/4/59 58.03 miles per hour Title - Australian Cubic Inch - 75 Hull - Displacement Date - 4/4/59 58.03 miles per hour Title - Australasian Cubic Inch - 50 Hull - Displacement Date - 4/4/59 58.03 miles per hour Title - Australian Cubic Inch - 50 Hull - Displacement Date - 4/4/59 58.03 miles per hour Title - Australasian Cubic Inch - 50 Hull - Displacement Date - 1/5/60 58.893 miles per hour Title - Australian Cubic Inch - 50 Hull - Displacement Date - 1/5/60 58.893 miles per hour Title - Australian Cubic Inch - 75 Hull - Displacement Date - 1/5/60 58.893 miles per hour Title - Australian Cubic Inch - 95 Hull - Displacement Date - 1/5/60 58.893 miles per hour A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 58.03 miles per hour in the 225 Cubic Inch Class 19th April 1959 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 58.03 miles per hour in the 140 Cubic Inch Class 19th April 1959 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 58.03 miles per hour in the 95 Cubic Inch Class 19th April 1959 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 58.03 miles per hour in the 75 Cubic Inch Class 19th April 1959 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 58.03 miles per hour in the 50 Cubic Inch Class 19th April 1959 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 225 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 155 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 140 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 95 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 75 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Certificate of Speed Record 59.893 miles per hour in the 50 Cubic Inch Class 1st May 1960 A.P.B.A. Special Quarter Mile Trials 10/9/1970 time 15.13 seconds
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