Runabout
The first runabouts date back to the 1920s
and were originally small, fast, powerful varnished wooden boats created
to take advantage of the power of outboard motors such as the first
Evinrude, introduced in 1909. A runabout is any small motorboat holding
between four and eight people, well suited to moving about on the water.
Runabouts can be used for racing, for pleasure activities like fishing
and water skiing, or as a ship's tender for larger vessels. Some common
runabout boats are bow rider, center console, cuddy and walk around.
In order to gain speed, the hull shape had to be designed to take advantage
of hydroplaning; a hydrofoil-like design would allow the boat to skim
atop the water's surface at high speed instead of needing to push aside
large quantities of water to move forward.
Another Runabout design
change which followed soon after was the replacement of the tiller and
rudder control with a rudder controlled by a steering wheel, allowing
the operator a comfortable forward-facing position. A remote lever to
allow the engines to be placed into a reverse gear was another early
innovation.
One 1920s runabout was the
Gar Wood, named for its creator Garfield Wood, a racing enthusiast who
had already made his fortune as an inventor developing hydraulics to
allow trucks to dump their loads.
The early varnished-wood
Chris-Craft runabouts were built by Christopher Smith, a former Gar
Wood employee. By 1930, the runabouts were available with windshields
to protect the cockpits and 125 horsepower (93 kW) engines built for
speed.
The runabouts by Italian builder Riva are considered by many to be premier
examples of the type.
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