Another cool eBay Top Shared item caught our eye this week. As a reminder, the eBay Top Shared page highlights the most-shared listings on the site, including the most emailed, the most talked about on Twitter, and the most liked and shared on Facebook. Looks like our users are intrigued by a hydroplane boat that is up for auction. The boat, located in Florida, is described as the 1995 Miss Budweiser Unlimited Hydroplane.
The auction includes a hydraulic tilt trailer making it easy to carry your new motorboat home with you. The seller notes that the hydroplane does not include the turbine engine, electronics, or skid pads. It seems the auction is for the hull of the hydroplane, and not an actual working boat. The seller further notes:
Bud hull has a distinctive exhaust chamber and a single support fin that is placed identical where it should be. Bottom line is, this boat has one incredible hull that is new. Promotional uses or for a private collector of classic cars to utilize in his collection display. I personally know for a fact that you cannot buy a used Unlimited Hydroplane in the condition ours is in, which includes a full tilt trailer for our Buy it Now price.
The only time we ever heard the term hydroplaning before seeing this remarkable listing was in reference to cars skidding on a wet roadway. But hydroplane boats are different, although the principle is somewhat similar. Hydroplanes, also known as thunderboats, are very fast motorboats that reach speeds of 200 to 300 mph. Wikipedia explains the way they work: “A key aspect of hydroplanes is that they use the water they’re on for lift rather than buoyancy, as well as for propulsion and steering: when traveling at high speed water is forced downwards by the bottom of the boat’s hull. The water therefore exerts an equal and opposite force upwards, lifting the vast majority of the hull out of the water. This process, happening at the surface of the water, is known as ‘planing’.”
Sounds very similar to when we try to stop our car suddenly on a wet road with bald tires!
But the only way to admire the incredible speed of a hydroplane boat is to see it in action. We searched on YouTube to find the most viewed hydroplane video (that didn’t involve crashes) and found this one:
Our research indicates that the Miss Budweiser is quite famous in hydroplane boating circles. Boats carrying the Miss Budweiser moniker raced in the sport for 42 consecutive years, through 2004, when Anheuser-Busch stopped sponsoring the sport and the Miss Budweiser was retired. The brand was so dominant (its boats won the championship every year from 1998 to 2004) that a virtual handicapping system had to be implemented to give competitors a chance.
This is potentially the chance to win a bit of history. When buying a boat of any kind, especially one that may be a collectible, , thoroughly check the condition and verify statements from the seller before committing to buy. Take a look at our Watersports Boat Buying Guide for more information.
You don’t want to have any regrets.
Seriously, have someone who speaks English proof read your writings before you post.
@Fritz – Thanks for the comment. Just so you know, we do not correct the grammar of any of our sellers’ posts.
That flick is hard to get a feeling of speed. Bet it would be neat to be the pilot though.
Ugghh.. seriously, why is there always someone like Fritz on the internet?
The boat in the video is a Top Fuel drag boat. Much like Top Fuel dragsters, they share the same engine but they go over a liquid quarter mile vs an asphalt quarter mile. The Bud is an Unlimited Hydroplane and runs between an average 120-220mph around a course which ranges between 2-3 miles around depending on race venue.
Unlimiteds also deal with rougher water that would cripple/destroy a TopFuel Drag boat.
Check out this video from SeaFair in Seattle for proper coverage and perspective on what these boats can do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEG9y_PqsfU&playnext=1&list=PL04BEB553942D39D4
@James – thanks for the link to that video and the explanation! I just did a quick search on YouTube, and relied on what I found. The video you posted is much better. Cheers!
THAT MISS BUDWEISER HULL IS ONLY A DISPLAY HULL AND NOT A REAL MISS BUDWEISER HULL THEY USED OR RACED!!… MEANING THIS NEVER HAD A TURBINE ENGINE IN IT OR WONT HOLD ONE=FAKE….ALL THAT IS A DESPLAY ONLY NOT ATTENNED TO BE USED TO RUN!
Yes the REAL Miss Budweiser boats are awesome! This boat has NEVER raced as a Miss Budweiser. I have personally been on this boat. There is no real proof it was ever a real Miss Budweiser display boat. The paint under the red looks more like a Winston display boat. A nice clone but probably not the real deal. It would be less expensive to build a race boat from scratch than make this display boat race-worthy. It would look cool in your driveway whether it’s the real deal or not… Research before you bid.
Wow that is a crazy machine. Who cares if it is the complete real thing, just imagine having that sitting in the the front driveway! What a conversation starter it would be.
Love the Nitro Chicken video, I can just imagine what it would feel like ripping down the lake in that!
TJ your wright ,that was the winston eagle display boat…I’d was trying to say it in the first place.. that boat was never a budweiser hull in the first place..We discuss this at INTLWATERS.COM about that boat.. saw the red paint and concluded it was the team winstons display hull… At the same time this was up for bids,..There was the Miss Madison hull for sale with ATLASS paint scheam on it for tribute to Bill Muncy at the time…Think they was asking 15000.00.. needed alot of rework because of the rotted wood and sponsons removed to trailored it..