Frequently Asked Questions:
How fast does the U-2.25 go?
Dr. Ken Muscatel will drive the U-2.25 hydroplane at speeds nearing
200 miles per hour in the straightaways. When he goes through the
turns, he'll normally slow to around 100 mph.
Why does the U-2.25 look so different from the other boats?
The boat was built in 2003 by Jim Harvey Motorsports in Renton ,
Wash. , and was designed by Ron Brown (a former Miss Budweiser crew
chief and technology specialist), who wanted to build a boat that
was on the cutting edge of design. This is the end product, and while
there have admittedly been adjustments to the boat over the last
three years, it is showing promise as a design that might lead the
sport into the future.
How do you become a driver of one of these boats?
Like anything else, you have to pay your dues to get a chance to
drive the world's fastest raceboats. Dr. Ken Muscatel started at
a young age in the limited classes, racing outboards. Eventually,
he was very successful in the fastest classes of the limiteds and
in 1991, moved into the unlimited class. All ABRA drivers must complete
15 laps of more than 130 miles per hour (lap average) in order to
be qualified to compete in the unlimited division of hydroplane racing.
What do you guys mean by “The World's Fastest Forensic Psychologist”?
Dr. Ken Muscatel is a forensic psychologist by trade. He is nationally
recognized in his field, and has been involved in several murder
cases as an expert who testifies in court on the psychological state
of a criminal's mind. He is not only an expert witness, but an expert
that the media can turn to for explanations about how a criminal's
mind might work. To our knowledge, Dr. Ken is the only forensic psychologist
in the world who competes in motorsports, thus, he's the “World's
Fastest Forensic Psychologist”.
I thought the Miss Budweiser set the world speed record
for a propeller-driven boat. Why do you say you have the record?
Actually, it's true on both accounts. The Miss Budweiser did set
a world speed record, for the kilometer , a couple of years
ago near Sacramento , Calif. Our record is the one-statute mile record.
Just like the Miss Budweiser, we had to make two passes through a
surveyed straightaway course, and the average of the two passes through
the speed trap was the speed for the run. We set the record at 205.494
miles per hour, and it hasn't even been challenged since.
If you run jet engines, how come you use propellers, too?
The engines we use really aren't jet engines, exactly. They're turbine
engines, but they sound a lot like jets. In very simple terms, the
turbines spin a shaft that goes into a gearbox where the RPMs are
adjusted to the appropriate speed for spinning the prop shaft, which
goes through the bottom of the boat and turns the propeller. Sometimes
you'll see fire come out the back of the turbine exhaust stack, and
that's normal. It's usually just unspent fuel combusting on a hot
surface. It's almost always inconsequential, and extinguishes itself
pretty quickly.
How does the big wall of water behind the boat happen?
Believe it or not, that's the water being displaced by essentially
just one blade of the three-blade prop these race boats use. It goes
to show the power these boats produce, and the power of the little
(a relative term, considering how big the boats are) propeller. There's
also another big wall of water these boats put up, when they go around
the turns and the skid fin digs in to help the boat hold its arc.
The skid fin is a big flat metal fin that hangs off the back of the
left sponson and holds the boat in the turns. When it digs in, it
kicks up a huge wall of water.
