Following a 10-month restoration this super-charged swan boat can hit a top speed of 32 knots thanks to its Sea Doo engine
A nostalgic Canadian boater has revived his favourite childhood memory and given it an extra helping of speed, and the result is this super-charged swan boat.
Clark Waite grew up in the East Coast town of Kensington and had fond memories of the old swan boats, which were gently propelled around the local lakes by trolling motors.
So when he found a disused swan boat shell for sale, Clark jumped at the chance to give it a new lease of life.
The result was a 10-month restoration job that cost $10,000, including fitting a new Sea Doo hull and motor and replacing much of the fibreglass in the superstructure.
This gives the super-charged swan boat a top speed of 32 knots, up from its original top speed of just 1 knot.
When the time finally came to relaunch the vessel, named Birdy, there was a strong reaction from local residents, as Clark told CBC News:
“They were all laughing and yelling, especially all the people we see out on the boats. The first ride was scary – we didn’t know if it was going to nosedive into the water.”
As the video above shows, the handling does leave something to be desired, with more than a hint of porpoising, but it would take a mean heart to deny the childlike genius of this idea.