1980s. Super tough monohull. Not like the pansy cats of of today that won't run in a sea above 1'. Apache was founded by Don Aronow, whom also founded a host of other off shore power boat teams and manufacturers, including Cigarette. Worth searching his name for the fascinating story of his life. Here it is in action, 2:20 shows how tough the hull is:
That's a big fly at 2:20. Did they have auto rev limiters or does the throttle man have to predict the over rev?
PP. You should start a thread on aircraft your family have owned and then another BTC can tell us all about his. I remember you telling me your family owned one of the earliest Boeing 747s and had a sporty SR71 as a fast run about.
The rev limiter back then was when the engine threw a leg out of bed. Three people at the helm. Throttleman (If you look closely, you can see him on the throttle levers constantly and there is one lever per engine). The navigator and the fellow that actually steers the thing. It's a real team effort, especially between the throttleman and the driver. The skill is not just winding the engines back as the boat become airborne, but also to apply the power at the precise moment it comes down to maintain speed.
All whilst getting battered and violently thrown around. Tough and skillful guys. Like us I guess?? Maybe not
You are amongst other big BTCs here. I'm confident there is at least one whose family had an even bigger plane than the 747, and a faster one than the SR71. Maybe a Mercury or Gemini perhaps? So don't be shy telling us all about your famous or infamous family and their possessions.
Not sure if I saw that exact boat but I saw the offshore power boat championships in Miami in the mid 80's and Abu Dhabi in maybe the early 90's. Couldn't see anything as they were way off shore but it was great to see them when they got them on the trailers. They sat on the trailers at maybe 45 degrees. Big boats and you could shave with the props. It amazed me that they were pretty small (maybe 200mm diameter) but were really thick on the trailing edge (Maybe 10mm thick.) and super sharp. I think a mechanic or driver said they spun at 30,000 rpm, so had a big step up gearbox. So I'm a little BTC but unfortunately my family never owned one.