Hacker-Craft
Encyclopedia
Hacker-Craft is the name given to boats built by The Hacker Boat Co., the oldest builder of wooden motorboat
s in the world. It is an American company, founded in Watervliet, New York
in the early 1900s by John Ludwig Hacker (known as John L. Hacker or just "John L."). The company continues to produce hand-built boats in Silver Bay
, on the shores of Lake George (New York)
, the scene of many of Hacker's water speed records and racing triumphs.
John L. Hacker (1877–1961) was one of the world's pre-eminent naval architects and the greatest American motorboat designer of the 20th century. His major design and engineering accomplishments include the invention of the "V"-hull design and the floating biplane
for the Wright brothers
. Hacker built more successes in speed craft than all the other builders combined.
on May 24, 1877. For four years, while working at his fathers business as a book-keeper, he attended night school and took a correspondence course in order to become an accredited marine designer. Once qualified (at the age of 22) he set about solving a number of problems which inhibited speed and performance in motor boats. Pleasure boats of the 1900 era were narrow, round bottomed launches which plowed through the water instead of planing over it as boats do nowadays. Hacker's first major task in boat design was to try to solve the problem of "squatting", which occurred with all the canoe-stern shaped powerboats of the 1900s. His theory was that if his boats were going to go fast, they would have to "plane" rather than plow through the water, but the tendency to plane was considered a highly dangerous mode which was to be avoided. Nonetheless, he built a test craft to prove his new theories — a 30 feet (9.1 m) runabout — which incorporated a significant number of innovations: The boat had its propeller mounted under the transom as well as its rudder and a strut was used to position the shaft into place. The boat also featured Hacker's revolutionary "V"-hull design, which produced stunning speed and efficiency at low horsepower.
In 1904, he designed Au Revoir, the fastest boat in the world at the time, and on August 12, 1908, building on this success, he founded the Hacker Boat Company in Watervliet, New York. Coincidentally, this was the same day on which the first ever Model T
Ford automobile was produced by his great friend, Henry Ford
.
His designs led to many advances which today's boat owners take for granted, but Hackers' combination of design flair and engineering brilliance led him to create the shape and style which was to become the signature look of American speedboats. The list of his successes include: Pardon Me, the Minute Man, Thunderbird, El Lagarto, Bootlegger, Peerless, Dolphin, Kitty Hawk, Tempo VI, the Belle Isle Bear Cats, Lockpat II, My Sweetie.
' biplane so that it could take off and land on water. This was the first use of twin floats on an aircraft.
In the same year he designed the Kitty Hawk, the first successful step hydroplane that exceeded the then-unthinkable speed of over 50 mph and was then the fastest boat in the world. There followed a succession of Kitty Hawks, each building on the success of its predecessor and in the process breaking four sea-speed records.
In 1914, Hacker moved to Detroit and the Hacker Boat Company opened at 323 Crane Avenue. His runabout designs for Gregory's Belle Isle Boat & Engine Company were soon to bring success to the firm. The boats, called Belle Isle Bear Cats, proved popular with prominent owners like J.W. Packard and Henry Ford. The company was thriving and in 1921, John L. Hacker decided it was time to open a satellite facility in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Two years later, he moved the entire boat building operation from Detroit to Mount Clemens.
In 1930, HRH the King of Siam
ordered a custom-built 40 feet (12.2 m) Landau top runabout powered with an 800-horsepower Packard engine. Business was booming. Only four authorized dealers offered Hacker boats to the public during this period. The company did most of its business through factory-direct orders from the customer, and excelled in custom-built craft. A Hacker Craft in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the bigger models, could always be spotted by their long front decks, three-piece sectional windshield and shiny chrome.
In all, Hacker was responsible for over twenty water speed records, five Gold Cup winners, four President's Race winners and numerous other speed trials and racing victories.
In Mount Clemens, Hacker Boat Company rebounded from the Depression with popular "utility" Hacker-Craft runabouts priced for the ordinary consumer. In 1935, the 17 feet (5.2 m) utility could be had for $975.00 ($13,000 2009 USD).
In 1939 Hacker was commissioned by property tycoon George Whitell to build what was to be one of his masterpieces and is now a national historic treasure, a 55 ft (16.8 m) commuter called Thunderbird. Considered to be one of the most beautiful wooden vessels of the 20th century, no sister ship has ever been built, despite requests to do so. Such is its status and history that Thunderbird was commemorated in 2007 by the U.S. Postal Service on a postage stamp.
Business was strong, and in 1952, Hacker Boat was awarded a government contract for the construction of 25 ocean-going picket boats for the U.S. Navy and 112 40-foot-plus crash boats, 20 ft (6.1 m) sedan utility and target boats. Hacker's designs included patrol boats, air-sea rescue boats and cruisers.
Morgan Marine made significant structural and engineering modifications and the use of new technologies, unavailable to Hacker, allowed for improvements of the boats in a few subtle but important ways. First, engines were bigger. Where Hacker had used 110 hp engines, Morgan Marine was able to power these hulls with 350 hp or 454 hp Crusader engines that could eclipse 50 miles per hour. To accommodate these improved engines, Morgan Marine had to make the supports stronger than those used in the original designs. Morgan's biggest accomplishment, however, was improving the handling of the Hacker Crafts. If the old Hackers were run at top speeds, the bow could come out of the water and block the driver's view. By reworking the bottom design, Morgan insured that the nose would remain level in the water.
At this time many of the original jigs had been lost, so, where necessary, they made new sand castings for the chrome and hardware, but the craftsmanship was unaltered, albeit with significant improvements. In all, Morgan made several significant concessions to improved technology — dual exhausts, rather than the original single exhausts, for enhanced engine performance; the use of stainless steel fittings and hardware throughout so that pitting was no longer a problem; state-of-the-art epoxy encapsulating and bonding techniques; triple planked bottoms completely encased in epoxy; double planked sides and deck saturated in epoxy; 25% more frames; double the number of floor timbers; up to 18 coats of varnish; the use of renewable-resourced Honduras mahogany; new improved steering for more maneuverability; and laminated windshields with either blue or green tints. By the time John L. Hacker died in 1961 he knew his boats were flourishing.
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
s in the world. It is an American company, founded in Watervliet, New York
Watervliet, New York
Watervliet is a city in Albany County in the US state of New York. The population was 10,254 as of the 2010 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the town of Colonie. The city is also known as "the Arsenal City".- History...
in the early 1900s by John Ludwig Hacker (known as John L. Hacker or just "John L."). The company continues to produce hand-built boats in Silver Bay
Silver Bay, New York
Silver Bay is a hamlet in the town of Hague in Warren County, New York, United States. It lies on a small bay on Lake George and is the site of a YMCA conference center. The conference center is one of only a few of its type in the United States and is host to many large groups throughout the year....
, on the shores of Lake George (New York)
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
, the scene of many of Hacker's water speed records and racing triumphs.
John L. Hacker (1877–1961) was one of the world's pre-eminent naval architects and the greatest American motorboat designer of the 20th century. His major design and engineering accomplishments include the invention of the "V"-hull design and the floating biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
for the Wright brothers
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
. Hacker built more successes in speed craft than all the other builders combined.
John L. Hacker, the early years
Hacker was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
on May 24, 1877. For four years, while working at his fathers business as a book-keeper, he attended night school and took a correspondence course in order to become an accredited marine designer. Once qualified (at the age of 22) he set about solving a number of problems which inhibited speed and performance in motor boats. Pleasure boats of the 1900 era were narrow, round bottomed launches which plowed through the water instead of planing over it as boats do nowadays. Hacker's first major task in boat design was to try to solve the problem of "squatting", which occurred with all the canoe-stern shaped powerboats of the 1900s. His theory was that if his boats were going to go fast, they would have to "plane" rather than plow through the water, but the tendency to plane was considered a highly dangerous mode which was to be avoided. Nonetheless, he built a test craft to prove his new theories — a 30 feet (9.1 m) runabout — which incorporated a significant number of innovations: The boat had its propeller mounted under the transom as well as its rudder and a strut was used to position the shaft into place. The boat also featured Hacker's revolutionary "V"-hull design, which produced stunning speed and efficiency at low horsepower.
In 1904, he designed Au Revoir, the fastest boat in the world at the time, and on August 12, 1908, building on this success, he founded the Hacker Boat Company in Watervliet, New York. Coincidentally, this was the same day on which the first ever Model T
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
Ford automobile was produced by his great friend, Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
.
His designs led to many advances which today's boat owners take for granted, but Hackers' combination of design flair and engineering brilliance led him to create the shape and style which was to become the signature look of American speedboats. The list of his successes include: Pardon Me, the Minute Man, Thunderbird, El Lagarto, Bootlegger, Peerless, Dolphin, Kitty Hawk, Tempo VI, the Belle Isle Bear Cats, Lockpat II, My Sweetie.
The birth of speed
In 1911, Hacker designed and installed two floats to the Wright BrothersWright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur , were two Americans credited with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903...
' biplane so that it could take off and land on water. This was the first use of twin floats on an aircraft.
In the same year he designed the Kitty Hawk, the first successful step hydroplane that exceeded the then-unthinkable speed of over 50 mph and was then the fastest boat in the world. There followed a succession of Kitty Hawks, each building on the success of its predecessor and in the process breaking four sea-speed records.
In 1914, Hacker moved to Detroit and the Hacker Boat Company opened at 323 Crane Avenue. His runabout designs for Gregory's Belle Isle Boat & Engine Company were soon to bring success to the firm. The boats, called Belle Isle Bear Cats, proved popular with prominent owners like J.W. Packard and Henry Ford. The company was thriving and in 1921, John L. Hacker decided it was time to open a satellite facility in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Two years later, he moved the entire boat building operation from Detroit to Mount Clemens.
Hacker Boat Company flourishes
The boat works on the Clinton River in Mount Clemens continued to expand, and by 1928 they provided 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) of floor space for the handcrafting of fine mahogany runabouts. That year the influential "Pageant of Progress" reported that the Hacker Boat Company employed sixty-eight men with demand growing rapidly. Sales for that year were $450,000 (about $5,000,000 2009 USD). His gleaming mahogany runabouts captured the public imagination with their elegant design and record-breaking speed and in the process quickly became the must-have play thing for the rich and famous — a reputation which they continue to enjoy.In 1930, HRH the King of Siam
Prajadhipok
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Prajadhipok Phra Pok Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama VII was the seventh monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He was the last absolute monarch and the first constitutional monarch of the country. His reign was a turbulent time for Siam due to huge political...
ordered a custom-built 40 feet (12.2 m) Landau top runabout powered with an 800-horsepower Packard engine. Business was booming. Only four authorized dealers offered Hacker boats to the public during this period. The company did most of its business through factory-direct orders from the customer, and excelled in custom-built craft. A Hacker Craft in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the bigger models, could always be spotted by their long front decks, three-piece sectional windshield and shiny chrome.
1930–1960
The Great Depression had a devastating effect on the pleasure-boat market, but in 1935 Hacker took on a business partner, John Mcready, who quickly assumed day-to-day control of the company. Meanwhile, Hacker focused on designing boats in what was to become his golden period: he was responsible for a remarkable number of racing winners including El Lagarto (which won the Gold Cup in 1933, 1934 and 1935), Scotty, Scotty Too, My Sweetie, Miss Pepsi – all record breakers.In all, Hacker was responsible for over twenty water speed records, five Gold Cup winners, four President's Race winners and numerous other speed trials and racing victories.
In Mount Clemens, Hacker Boat Company rebounded from the Depression with popular "utility" Hacker-Craft runabouts priced for the ordinary consumer. In 1935, the 17 feet (5.2 m) utility could be had for $975.00 ($13,000 2009 USD).
In 1939 Hacker was commissioned by property tycoon George Whitell to build what was to be one of his masterpieces and is now a national historic treasure, a 55 ft (16.8 m) commuter called Thunderbird. Considered to be one of the most beautiful wooden vessels of the 20th century, no sister ship has ever been built, despite requests to do so. Such is its status and history that Thunderbird was commemorated in 2007 by the U.S. Postal Service on a postage stamp.
Business was strong, and in 1952, Hacker Boat was awarded a government contract for the construction of 25 ocean-going picket boats for the U.S. Navy and 112 40-foot-plus crash boats, 20 ft (6.1 m) sedan utility and target boats. Hacker's designs included patrol boats, air-sea rescue boats and cruisers.
Hacker Boat Company revitalized
In 1959 William Morgan of Morgan Marine, a boat-builder from Silver Bay, on Lake George, New York, acquired a controlling interest in Hacker Craft with the aim of revitalizing the company's historic legacy. Having completed 60 Hackers already on the order books, they decided to increase production considerably.Morgan Marine made significant structural and engineering modifications and the use of new technologies, unavailable to Hacker, allowed for improvements of the boats in a few subtle but important ways. First, engines were bigger. Where Hacker had used 110 hp engines, Morgan Marine was able to power these hulls with 350 hp or 454 hp Crusader engines that could eclipse 50 miles per hour. To accommodate these improved engines, Morgan Marine had to make the supports stronger than those used in the original designs. Morgan's biggest accomplishment, however, was improving the handling of the Hacker Crafts. If the old Hackers were run at top speeds, the bow could come out of the water and block the driver's view. By reworking the bottom design, Morgan insured that the nose would remain level in the water.
At this time many of the original jigs had been lost, so, where necessary, they made new sand castings for the chrome and hardware, but the craftsmanship was unaltered, albeit with significant improvements. In all, Morgan made several significant concessions to improved technology — dual exhausts, rather than the original single exhausts, for enhanced engine performance; the use of stainless steel fittings and hardware throughout so that pitting was no longer a problem; state-of-the-art epoxy encapsulating and bonding techniques; triple planked bottoms completely encased in epoxy; double planked sides and deck saturated in epoxy; 25% more frames; double the number of floor timbers; up to 18 coats of varnish; the use of renewable-resourced Honduras mahogany; new improved steering for more maneuverability; and laminated windshields with either blue or green tints. By the time John L. Hacker died in 1961 he knew his boats were flourishing.
Hacker Boat regains independence
In 2004 Morgan Marine sold the Hacker Boat Company to Lynn Wagemann. Hacker's existing master boat builders were kept on and the company has continued to build wooden motor boats in Silver Bay, on the shores of Lake George, New York — the scene of so many of Hacker's racing triumphs. In 2008 George Badcock’s Erin Investments acquired a majority interest in the company, attaining complete ownership in 2011. Subsequently, the company opened a 32000 square feet (2,972.9 m²) production facility in order to increase capacity. Standard Hacker-Craft models now range from Hacker's classic runabouts to their most recent boat, the Sterling, which was launched in 2010. Hacker also builds boats to order and all their boats can now house either fuel injected, diesel, electric or hybrid engines.Further reading
- Classic American runabouts: wood boats, 1915-1965 By Philip B. Ballantyne, Robert Bruce Duncan, MBI Pub. Co., 2001. ISBN 0760303754, 9780760303757
- "Hacker Craft-the "Steinway" of Runabouts," in Speltz, Robert. The Real Runabouts. Lake Mills, IA : Graphic Publishing, c1977, pp. 26–35.
- "John L. Hacker," in The City of Detroit Michigan, 1701-1922. Detroit : S.J. Clarke, 1922, v.5, pp. 659–660. Vincent, Maurice.
- "Sleek, Seaworthy "Cadet" Outboard Made in Mount Clemens Boat Works," Mount Clemens Daily Monitor-Leader, May 28, 1954, p. 2.
- "McCready Gets Contract for Navy Craft," Mount Clemens Daily Monitor-Leader, January 22, 1952, p. 1, col.5.
- "Hacker Boat Wins Coveted Army-Navy "E"," Mount Clemens Daily Monitor-Leader, February 15, 1944, p. 1, col.6.
- "Hacker Starts Work on Boat for a King," Mount Clemens Monitor, May 23, 1930, p. 2, col.6.
- "Hacker Company Was in Detroit, But Famous Boat Plant Came to This City in 1921," Mount Clemens Monitor, November 22, 1929, p. 7, col.7.
- "Hackercraft Boats Famous All Over World: Boat Company Spreads Name of Mt. Clemens," in Pageant of Progress. Mount Clemens, Mich. : Nellis Newspapers (1928), sec.3.
- "Hacker Has Built World Champs," in Pageant of Progress. Mount Clemens, Mich. : Nellis Newspapers (1928), sec.3.
- "Hacker Boat Works Expands: Will Employ 125," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, December 7, 1927, p. 1, col.8.
- "Hacker To Move Boat Works Here: Plant on the Clinton River to Be Enlarged," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, December 12, 1923, p. 1, col.1.
External links
- hackerboat.com — official site
- The Mariners' Museum, John L. Hacker Collection — the largest single archive of material relating to John Hacker and Hacker-Craft
- Hacker Boat Co. to expand production facilities — Boating Industry, May 12, 2008