My Skeeter Hydroplane

Photo courtesy of Craig Svenson

During the summer of either 1950 or 1951, I saw the plans in Science and Mechanics magazine for building a small speed boat which they called a hydroplane. At the time (I was either 12 or 13), this magazine was one of my favorites. After reading the article, I decided that I had to have this boat, so I immediately started purchasing the material specified in the plans. The plans called for an all wooden frame with a plywood bottom and sides. The large deck was covered with stretched canvas as depicted on the magazine cover to the left.

Photo courtesy of Craig Svenson 

I remember starting construction under our beach house at Pawleys Island next to the shower. Back then, I possessed zero power tools, so I had to use an old handsaw to cut out the curved frame members as well as all other wood components. I remember the article specifically stated that the “Skeeter” could be constructed at very low cost and completed in about a week. Well, that proved to be a slight exaggeration, because I had to transport the frame from Pawleys Island to Georgetown in the back of my Father’s pick-up after school started in the fall. Fortunately, the boat was slightly less than 8 feet long with a very light frame (See photo on right). I finished it in the backyard of my parents’ home it Georgetown. My oldest brother, Clyde, who was 10 years older than me, helped me with the final steps of construction.

The following photos taken in the backyard in Georgetown are the only photos that I have of my Skeeter. The photo on the left shows my sister-in-law, Julia Ann with her son and my nephew "Chip". That's Chip and me in the photo on the right. Notice my brother's Studebaker in the background.

I used my 5 HP Scott-Atwater outboard motor to power it. My Father, who sold Scott-Atwater outboard motors, had given me the used motor the previous year for use on my 12 foot flat-bottom cypress boat which I used exclusively in the creek at Pawleys Island.

Obviously, the Skeeter wasn’t blindly fast with a 5 HP motor, but it felt pretty fast. I usually left the boat on our dock, which was on the north end of Pawleys Island creek behind our house. One day, this guy came by in a boat powered by a 10 HP Mercury. Now everyone knew back then that Mercury outboard motors were much more powerful than the advertised HP would indicate. Anyway, this guy saw the Skeeter and stopped to look at it. He then asked me if he could mount his Mercury on it and give it a try. I figured that this was probably the only chance that I would ever get to see how fast it would go when properly powered because I knew my parents weren’t going to give me any big motor.

After launching the Skeeter off the dock and into the creek, this guy disconnected the Mercury from his boat and mounted it on the back of the Skeeter. I figured that the guy would start off slowly and gradually get up to speed, but to my surprise, he must have twisted the Mercury’s twist grip throttle on its steering arm to what had to be full throttle. The Skeeter suddenly jumped out of the water and took off like a “bat out of hell”. I thought to myself that this guy was nuts and I may never see my boat in one piece again.

It was about a quarter of a mile from our dock to the north end of the island which was the direction he was heading, so it took a few minutes before I saw him barreling back toward me. He was flying when he passed our dock going south and circled around the big sandbar near the causeway bridge and made his way back to the dock with the Skeeter gradually coming down off of a plane and settling into the water. He pulled up to the dock, shut down the Mercury and calmly said, “That was fun, but I don’t think it was much faster than my boat”. Well, I’m not sure about that because it looked pretty darn fast to me. The guy then transferred the Mercury back to his boat, thanked me and sped away. He must have been a visitor to the island, because I never saw him again.

Building the Skeeter was a very good experience for me. It gave me confidence in my ability to create something with my own hands. Thinking back on those times, I realize how lucky I was to have parents that would allow me to pursue this kind of endeavor. Obviously, I didn’t have many resources of my own, so my parents must have helped me buy the material and the time spent with my older brother putting the finishing touches on the Skeeter was pretty neat too.

Incidentally, Science and Mechanics magazine continued to be published into the 1980's with its last issue coming out in 1984. Another great magazine bit the dust.