HISTORY
(source. vintageraceboatshop)
Miss Severn was completed in
1994 from a set of plans developed by John Hacker to meet the new
rules for Gold cup racing in 1922. The original boat was built from
the same set of plans in 1922 and was called Arab VI . She raced in
the 1922 Gold cup races and came in second to Packard Chris Craft.
Arab VI raced for a number of years in the Gold Cup class but was
subsequently purchased by Edgar Dobson of Annapolis Md. Dobson raced
the boat for a year, powered by a Hispano Suiza engine, but with
little luck. He then decided to re-power the boat, which he renamed
Miss Severn, with a Curtis Conqueror V12 aero engine, and change the
classification to K class ( Unlimited Runabout ). Dobson then
proceeded to win many K class races in the Maryland area. Winning
races at Baltimore, Chester, Havre de Grace and at ST. Michaels
where he set a new world speed record for K class.
The present Miss Severn is 26ft long, 6ft wide and weighs 4300 lbs.
She is powered with a World War II Rolls Royce Meteor V12 engine of
1650 cubic inch displacement. This engine puts out about 650 hp at
2700 rpms and will drive the boat at about 60 miles per hour. This
combination of hull and power closely matches the original Miss
Severn. The marine conversion for this engine was done by New
England Boat and Motor, Inc. of Laconia, N.H. |