Hickman sea sled

The Hickman Sea Sled is an inverted vee planing hull invented by Albert Hickman. The Sea Sled is a direct forerunner of the modern high speed catamaran or tunnel hull. The reduced friction is due to a "trapped" gas film between the hull surface and water. A similar effect is seen in super-cavitating torpedoes where a gas generator creates a film separation to water friction.

<blockquote>"A new type of vessel, which promises to revolutionize water craft and which takes the same place on the water that the automobile does on land" - Scientific American 26 September 1914</blockquote>

See also

• Cathedral hull
• Boston Whaler
• Supercavitation propeller

References

• Campbell, Lorne. Innovation in Small Craft Design - A Tribute. The Royal Institute of Naval Architects Web Site.
• Gerr, Dave. "The Hickman Sea Sled: The Best High Speed Hull Ever? (article)" Boatbuilder Magazine Sept/Oct 1998.
• Gerr, Dave. "Sea Sled Slides Again (article)." Boatbuilder Magazine Jan/Feb 2003
• Hall, Charles H. "Manufacturing Sea Sleds (article)." Motor Boat. 10 Nov 1926
• Nelson, Curtis L. Hunters in the Shallows: A History of the PT Boat. 2003
• Seidman, David. "Damned by Faint Praise (article)." 100th issue of Wooden Boat, May/June 1991.

External links

• Miss Lakeside - Genius Comes Home to Roost, a 1925 Hickman Sea Sled
• The sea sledge
• The Sea Sled Story circa 1985
• Original Design and Conception of the 13-foot Whaler Hull
• Records of the Mystic Shipyard
• John S. Barry Papers
• Inverted Vee bottom boats ~ the start of a revolution