Jetboats were originally designed by Sir William Hamilton in 1954. His goal was a boat to run up the fast-flowing rivers of New Zealand that were too shallow for propellers.

It started as a sport in New Zealand and was soon taken up by Australia. Traditionally it took place on the many shallow braided rivers in New Zealand, adding the variable of current, natural island bars of gravel, and no run off area. Australia's artificial equivalent became the norm in both countries, no doubt for safety reasons.

6 time Australian champion navigator here raced with Phonsy Mullan in Ramjet and still crew for him. It's the best fun and yes there is an Australian series and a world series which includes Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America. You should deffs get to a race you'll love it 😊

When I owned my Speed Shop I was involved with the pioneers of Jet Boats in Australia, back in the early 90s it was a formula where everyone ran a carburetted small block Chevy, normally a 400 cubic inch engine. they made between 400-500HP but were still a major handful to steer around a course at full throttle. All of the courses are made to purpose, like a race track. Even back then this was an insane sport but to see how far it has come since then is truly impressive. One of my customers was very high up within the Jet Boat community and for publicity he hired V8 Supercar driver Greg Murphy to drive his boat at an event when Murph was between contracts and didn't have a V8 drive that year. Murphy, who had very limited to no experience in boats, took to the sport like a duck to water (no pun intended) and set a new course record. I am not aware of any video from the event but it's a true story as I was there to witness it.

You should also watch the "Dinghy Derby" another fantastic Aussie boat racing series... Not as fast but a lot more deadly

shotover jet boat tour is the kiwi one you're probably thinking of. those v8 superboats are insane when you see a flawless run, theyre so fast you almost can't process what you're watching you blink and they're on the other side of the course. it's amazing that the navigators can remember where to go and signal the driver.

Not sped up... I promise.... These guys are NUTS! That's why I love them.

I believe the original manufacturer of boat jets was Hamilton industries in New Zealand, also known as W.E. Smith industries.

Hey Ian, as one of your Kiwi viewers, yes this madness is popular here in New Zealand as well, and the jet boat ride you are thinking of is the shot over river jet boats in Queenstown NZ. That is something you can experience if you ever make it here as it is one of our most popular tourist activities. Then you can bungee jump off a bridge over the same river just for shits and giggles.

You know the world water speed record is still held by an Australian Ken Warby since around 1978 i think

There's also a New Zealand jet boat series here that's been going for ages. Some totally mental boat over the years.

It's called "JetSprints" in New Zealand, the propulsion system is called "Hamilton jets" invented in New Zealand. The actual props are on board not outboard, the water is taken in and pushed out at the back similar to a jet. That's why they can ride on less than 10 inches of water, and it's why they can accelerate faster than on wheels.

We used to have a jet boat course in our town. Absolutely loved it. Unfortunately it died due to lack of people prepared to put in the massive amount of time and effort to maintain the track and organize race meetings. Mind you we were thousands of km away for any major city. To their credit they did get boats coming from Sydney and even NZ..... All the way to the Pilbara for races.

These things are awesome. They race at my locality every year at Lake Wyangan N.S.W. An essential piece of kit to have as a spectator is a cheap disposable tarpaulan. As the boats go around a turn they send a plume of mud into the air which then turns into a fine mist. you need to keep the tarp in front of you and raise it high to avoid being saturated. you leave being covered in mud so old clothes are essential and there's a line up to get in the shower when we get home. My family loves it's a great day/night out. Thanks for the videos, keep em coming. Hope the see you at Bathurst one year. BTW also check out the Bathurst 12 hour. GT3 cars are super quick around the mountain. With international entries, multiple classes and a huge field. It's a fantastic weekend of racing.

Shotover jet boat tours in Queenstown NZ. My Sister and I had a great run. Canadian Driver. Chatting about the boats, and how close they go. I was helping range in his accuracy on river boulders. So as narrow as in inch if they can. I made a joke about soaking one of the other boats and how aggro will the other drivers go? A quick roster tail, Then it was on. 3 Boats swerving all over the river trying to get a spray on the other boats. My sister and I were cheering and helping with the spotting. Having a great time. When we docked we have completely forgotten the now wet and pale faced Japanese tourists in the back seat. So yeah, the tour boat divers go hard with the right prompt.

Australia usually takes all of New Zealand’s concepts and claims it as their own The sport is real big in NZ

Search NZ jet boat, the footage and backdrops are totally awesome, and then there’s the boats. Keep up the good work. Thanks Matt

Another great water race to check out, is the "Southern 80" waterski race held on the Murray river... My mate Nudge used to go and watch it every February until he passed away in 2020.... The unlimited class boats are absolute beasts....

One of the engine builders , who built a few engines for Australian title holders was based in my town and dealt with the auto parts shop I worked at

My Father raced a Jet Boat (O.G Hamilton setup, NZ invention) in the early 70's, Ford 289 V8 in it. Grew up around the sport in Blenheim NZ. It originally started on rivers racing around obstacles that where placed in certain areas or just ended up there from flooding. Then some genius decided to dredge canals to make it more interesting, horse power increased as did the degree of obstical. Then purpose built Aluyminium hulled boats started to be built (W.G.G Cuddon in Blenheim built a few) and by the late 80's a sport called "Jet Sprints" started which is what you see today. These machines are actually capable of out accelerate and our cornering Formula One cars today, if you ever have a chance to see them race I highly recommend it, just stay away from any CORNERS as if the come un glued (Jet unit sucks air) they're let loose and they're freaking Gone!!! Not sure which area in NZ can take credit for starting this sport however John Derry (Son of Blue Derry) is a family friend and he has raced Jet Boats his whole life, he currently has one of the Fastest Marathon Race Jet Boats in the world. I've attached a link to John Derry's Turbine Powered Jet Boat, you may want to look into more about the Marathon Boats, Insane Dude!! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/j7lga8SWzNXbnYk.html

Happened here in my little town and it’s crazy… can hear them for miles

I worked for a company in the early 90’s that were manufacturing their own brand of rotax engines for go karts and mini jet boats. We got all of our boating gear from New Zealand. That was the funnest job because testing was a prerequisite of the job.

my home town had this for years, my mum worked in the donut van. the oldguys still run their boats on the river near my house

You should do a reaction to NZ superstocks/superstock teams champs they crash hard and there screaming V8s

My uncle John B Smith brought jet boats to aus in the 60s. He eventuality set up a factory to make them at Boabee near Coffs Harbour NSW. As a young kid I was fortunate enough to be a crewman on the first ever jet surf rescue race at Sawtell NSW. We had a 16 ft Pride in Darwin that could go in 1 inch of flat water, you just had to remember to keep the throttle down.

It’s basically an overpowered version of Cletus’s jet boats lol

Crew for boat in new Zealand , 1400 hp supercharged superb oats, running on methanol. It insane the speed in boat ,camera not do it justice. The G's , noise , and speed , amazing. 2 laps of a short track about 45 seconds , approximately

this is no joke, my mum took me as a young kid to see these and i have permanent tinnitus from the sound of these engines

I've been watching your channel for a few months now and cheers for showing Australia to the world from an outside perspective 👍 I think you also have Australian quality internet now too with the dropouts 😂👍

BY THE WAY.. This sport was invented in NEW ZEALAND. And comes from NEW ZEALAND This is how we get around the rivers in the mountains.

I went on a shot over jetboat ride in New Zealand when I was about 12. It was nuts! Coming what felt like inches from rock walls and doing 360's in the middle of the river. I'll never forget it!

Hukafalls Jet Boats, Waikato River, North Island, New Zealand - amazing.

The sport of Jet Sprint Racing originated in New Zealand in 1981, and events were originally held in the river. When the sport was introduced to Australia in the mid-1980s, permanent courses were installed-and this is now the norm in New Zealand and the USA. Jetsprint or sprint boat racing in which a crew of two, a Driver and Navigator, race against the clock through a series of twisting, narrow channels in less than 4 feet of water. Driver and Navigator must memorize the “rotation,” or sequence of turns that must be executed in the correct order. The rotation is different for each day of racing.

What is cool is that any car race track with enough space in the middle can dig out a temporary course for the event. Cheers from New Zealand

Loving the content as always brother, despite only watching your videos I feel I’ve know you on a personal level for some time lol I think you’re true blue Aussie at heart maybe that’s why I’m so comfortable watching you 😂 Take care mate hope you get a chance to come down under and run a muck with us!

Well if its "international" you can have a real World Champion. NZ came up with the Hamilton jet

Watch the southern 80 next! Worlds biggest ski race they get up to 200ks an hour it’s set in my home town and goes into NSW, they try and cancel it every year because there are deaths every year but that’s just apart of the sport they know the danger. Its pretty intense.

They drive via impellers like a JetSki. The only way this type of craft can steer is by accelerating as you turn so the impeller pumps water out to push the craft to turn. No rudder so complete drift. Totally different feeling and feels very counter intuitive at first. Tricky for beginners.

The driver is on the left so more weight is on l;eft side to counteract that side of the boat when the motor rev's. They do the same with Drag cars too

As a driver of a jet sprint boat, they are just pure adrenaline machines. You noticed them being left hand drive, my opinion is every boat is left hand drive due to the simple fact of throttle control of the accelerator pedal, your right foot/leg is in the middle part of the boat with plenty of room, (remember your sitting in a wide V shape hull), compaired to if you were on the right side where you are limited for foot space and maneuverability.

Many years ago I was lucky enough to be taken for a ride in one of these beasts with a pro driver. I have never been so scared and excited in my life. The speed these things do in the rather tight courses is mind bending.

I’m from Canterbury New Zealand. My parents own and operated a jet boat and rafting tour company on the Rakaia River, when I was growing up. It’s one of the largest braided rivers in the country.

Boats, just like planes are piloted on the left, helicopters are on the right though, it's usually because when you dock or ramp it's on the port side, hence the term Port for left, Starboard for the right

Watched that on Foxtel one afternoon. It was awesome.

Ayyy brother appreciate the exposure. These things are crazy. America has a track in St John Washington called Webb Slough. It would be crazy if you pulled up to a race meeting one time.

hahahahahah that first pause was epic. perfect timing...

Now you need to watch ‘Extreme Dinghy Racing in Australia’ by Red Bull Motorsports channel.

Your reaction at the beginning when the boat flipped......priceless😊👍

Another GREAT Australian tradition, is the 'Bridge to Bridge'.

Jeremy Clarkson described these as a jet powered soap dish with a V8 bolted to it....gotta love those Aussies....

The Hamilton Water Jet propulsion unit started in New Zealand in the mid 50's. I don't think that Australia has ever used Aloomnumb.

its the shotover river which is a tourist ride on a jetboat through a mountain canyon river

That's Rally on water. Even the spotter is spot on.

Boats operate under International Maritime LawDrive on the right hand side and pass port side to port side.

Boats in Australia are required to keep to the Right (Starboard) side of the...err road/waterway. I think this is pretty much a worldwide maritime standard, unlike the highway code that reminds us to drive on the left hand side! Although, screaming around a flooded cow paddock in a supercharged V8 tin can suggests that the rules are pretty much out the window!

Found it funny that you pointed out that the steering wheel was on the left insinuating they drive like us when it came to boats...... but our boats (small pleasure crafts anyway) have the wheel on the right. So, they're still backwards. lol

You should see the sail boats they design and how fast those can go. Kiwi's and water, brilliant people in general.

The sport originated in New Zealand, and the jet boat was invented in NZ. They are LHD so that there is room on the floor for the foot throttle, due to the shape of the Hull.

I still remeber when the first BBC twin turbo hit the water in unlimited on speedweek on SBS channel when we still only had analogue TV here. He got out run buy a couple of N/A boats because he couldn't hit full throttle. With electronic boost controllers and bigger more responsive cams I'm sure a TT BBC would dominate. MBE big 9 heads with track car ports on a 600ci wide bore space and max bore with a 65mm cam and two 88's would light up the water.

The original rules in Australia limited the engine to a Holden 253 v8, the boys used 308 v8 made by Holden with 253 stamped on the block,my friend now is employed by Dubai offshore racing and has won many a world championship

A family friend used to race these, then when he "retired" he got a job driving one at the local water park with passengers paying $25 a go. Best $25 you could spend I recon. I was addicted. Never met a car that compared :) ...the brakes could do with some work though haha

Jet sprint boats are awesome, 0 to75mph in 2 seconds and guzzle about 4 gallons per minute and all in a 14 ft boat

The first part where the first crash I did a barrel roll in my bed watching him put its arms out like that is a NO NO!!

Pretty sure they’re Wass guy testing one of those things today when I was working. I was on the banks of The Hawksbury river today and this little boat was FLYING up and down for about 15 mins. Barely touching the water and was soooo fast lol 👍🏻

My mate has a WC superboat team. Kiwis invented it. Aussies perfected it

The jet boat was such an awesome new development in the world of boating that most Coast Guards around the world use them in their boats to enable fast speeds and ultra-manoeuvrability. Even in deeper waters and the ocean a jet boat has some insane advantages over a traditional propeller driven boat - like the ability with added "buckets" to brake insanely quickly, "drift" around a single point and even go sideways. And of course the insane level of acceleration they can achieve!! :D Oh yeah, and can't forget that thanks to this design the jet ski was invented ;)

I grew up around these Checkout “know your enemy” jetboat out, had 1200hp in it and I was in it at 12 years of age

May be a bit late, but yeah they basically race in a big puddle. Props to these guys and gals.

the New Zealand jet boats the most famous one is called the shotover

I went on one of those New Zealand jetboat tours when I was a kid. No joke they get so close to the rock walls at full speed that you feel like you could reach out and touch them

The New Zealand jet boat tours you where talking about is called shotgun jet boat tours in Queenstown. Definitely worth a look I can tell you from experience that it is insane flying through narrow water ways while the driver flings the front under overhanging rocks of the canyon walls. Definitely a must do if you visit the land of the sheep shagging

The original Jet boat designed and built by Bill Hamilton on Irishman's Creek in the South Islands McKenzie Country back in the 1950's. Bill stated "I do not claim to have invented marine jet propulsion. The honour belongs to a gentleman named Archimedes, who lived some years ago." What Bill did was refine the design enough to produce the first useful modern jet boat.

I discovered this motorsport in the late 1990's to early 2000's, they were called jet sprints back then. And yes, even back then there were Americans racing in this, fast forward 20 odd years and there are tracks in the Midwest and west coast here in the USA

The marine jet drive, like used in those boats & jet skis is a Kiwi invention.

Some of this footage was from the Keith Deisel and Dirt Derby where they also have a tractor pull and a combine harvester smash-up Derby. An awesome day for revheads.

You've got to see this in the flesh. In NZ there's an place in Wanganui with a naturally formed amphitheatre in an old river bed. They have steel wire rope fences to catch and stop the offs and you sit more or less 10m from the waters edge.. it's terrifying, but awesome. I prefer to sit 20m up the bank. Lol

There's two courses about an hour from where i live (in opposite directions). Both host rounds of the championship. Have been a couple of times. it is awesome. usually at the half way point of the meet they allow fans into the pit area and you can get up close and personal with the boats and talk to many of the drivers.

While you're looking up motorsport here in New Zealand, look into the cemetery circuit. It's a full day of motorcycle racing on a street circuit that runs in my hometown of Wanganui every boxing day. There's always plenty of thrills and even more spills

The driver's side in speedboats is determined by the direction in which the propeller turns. This is to counter the propeller moment.

check out the rotary turbo powered jetsprint boat!! You have not heard an engine scream untill you hear that badboy

I love the elevator music when the internet disconnected 😂 Great video bro

Travis Pastrana come to New Zealand with his Nitro Circus and had opportunity to go jet sprinting around the shelter view track in Whanganui. There is a video about it and his reaction. I am a former safety marshal for New Zealand Jet Sprinting and I can tell you, if you don't keep your eyes on the boat you will miss it.

Originally from NZ, now in Australia. I was doing jet sprints in 1992-1994. Had a 13ft 2in boat with a 400cuin chev engine called 'Whiplash'. Was a load of fun and the sport was in its infancy. Had people like Rodney Pohio who crushed everyone with his BP boats, Greg Tullet with a s/c alloy donovan, Peter Caughey who was world champ for many years running one of the first 500cuin engines I think, Bruce Street had a 496cuin big block and most of the were running methanol. Was a great day out on the water. My boat was in the modifed class so was bit slower than the big guys but still got around the courses pretty quick. 0-70mph was under 5 seconds and you could corner close to that speed as well. use to take my mates out for a blast on the waimakariri river just north of Christchurch. Now they all run all sorts of stuff. If you want to see Jet Sprintings big brother check out Jet Boat River Racing where some of them now have jet engines in there(US does a fair bit of this too). Awesome stuff and the most fun you can have on water all pretty safe.

They race these and have the huge international meets 5min from where I grew up in Perth. Insane, and use to be able to hear them from my house

Definitely have to get in to more F1, I’m an Aussie viewer and I’ve just started watching F1 in 2021. Recommend watching drive to survive on Netflix first to really sink your teeth in to the behind the scenes of the sport and then start watching it in the 2022 season! Fantastic sport

I don't know if you'Ve look into it yet, but the french Supermoto racing series could be something for you... They drive suped up crossmotorcycles over streetcourses withsome cross sections ... much like stadium supertrucks... but with motocycles... and occasional streetfighting ... its absolutly hillarious...

Very cool . Im lucky enough to live very close to a river and hear someone thrashing a V8 jet boat up the river pretty much everyday. weekends are even better

You can pay to go on big versions of these on Sydney harbour, they’re insane!

An old acquaintance and his wife raced jet boats until they had a serious accident involving a fire. She ended up with facial burns and years of surgerys. Ironically I live 10 kays away from a race course but I've never been. Hear them regular though.

It’s just a standard Aussie fishing boat. We just like putting v8s in everything.

Need to do the Riverland Dinghy Derby!

That run where he has a bad one.. that's Scotty Krause and the boat is kaos. Most of that footage was shot at lake centenary Temora NSW. Scottys home town . Just so happens I live there.. we get it two or three times a year, and video does not do it justice. You have to see it , hear it, and FEEL it, it's insane. Just nuts. They do it in America man, find an event and go to it. It's worth it.

Southern 80 is more dangerous by far . Definitely gotta check that out mate

In perth Western Australia we sit in our cars 20m from the water watching them and i can tell you videos dont do the speed these things do justice. When they are flying straight towards you you really hope they make the turn lol.

Started in New Zealand, called jetsprints here and also have twin turbo quad rotary engines in some

In the US, they are called jet sprint boats. They run on man made courses. The navigator guides the pilot around the course. They run an average speed of 80 MPH.

To give you an idea of how fast these boats are i helped build a jet boat course on the outskirts of Perth many years ago and to test the track once completed we had to use a jet ski as we didn't have a boat yet the jet ski ran the course in just over 3 minutes and when the first jet boat ran the course it did it in 54 seconds.

I'm a new zealander.. the river racing you are thinking of is the marathon boats we have. They used to do a inter island race from the north to the south island.

There is a full steel body with real glass 240z that can do a 8sec quarter mile and it's street legal, it was built by R.I.P.S. (Rotorua import performance shop) they specialise in RB's engines

Love your videos and your knowledge of Australia is impressive 👍🏼