In Our Wake: Dawn of the Jet Age

Back in 1969, Mike Sandeman was an eager young engineer and adrenaline junkie test pilot for Hamilton Marine of New Zealand. When the company wanted to show what their new 15-foot Hamilton Jet 52 boat was capable of, Mike volunteered. Today a spry 81-year-old who still jets around with his son Tim on Washington state waters, Mike recalls the fateful day this iconic photo—which still hangs in New Zealand’s factory—was taken:

“Hamilton marine developed fiberglass river boats with the right bottom shape to run in shallow water and handle well in whitewater. The boat was a Jet 52 unit with a Ford V6 that we marinized at the shop.

One of the one of the promotions that was suggested was to tow a water skier—with a ramp in the background—with the water skier supposedly going over the ramp. But we switched it around, so the boat went over the ramp and the water skier skied around it. That’s what that photo was—a promotion to say wow, you can do that with a boat and not hurt anything.

So, we went to a model agency. We hired this gal: We’re going to go out with a ski boat and we’re going to ski around and you’re gonna get your photograph taken. We didn’t tell her we were going over the ramp. We were thinking she would have chickened out.

The ramp was wooden and had been made in the shop. We sort of towed it out there and had anchored it in very shallow water. The first time we hit the ramp, we really didn’t know what it was gonna be, we just knew we needed plenty of speed. I would say we were going 35 mph. The boat nosed down a little bit and went in with sort of, the V of the bow. It didn’t really land flat. I think when the boat went on the ramp, the ramp actually touched the bottom. That boat would run in four inches of water.

The model, she was a little shocked, and I think there was a little scream. But then, frankly, she enjoyed it. She was a trooper. We went over that ramp, I think, three times. And it all went off very well.”

This article originally appeared in the December 2023 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.

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Source: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/column/in-our-wake-dawn-of-the-jet-age