D: For me, as a kid, it was seeing my Dad
take on the world. Progress for Dad was
sometimes slow. He didn’t have million-
dollar sponsorships to fund his efforts, but
what we did have was friends, family and
comradeship. Being in the backyard with
my Dad, tinkering on engines and watching
him work gave me a real sense of family,
purpose and pride. It didn’t matter that the
rest of the world doubted my Dad. I sat
and watched him build something out of
nothing with his own hands – what greater
inspiration is there? I still feel his hands in
the boat with me when I’m racing.
Is there any other sport you wanted
to do instead of this one?
K: I’ve built and raced dragsters and
cars. This was a real passion for me
and I stopped boat racing for a period
to pursue this. It was Dave who got me
back into boat racing. Dave, however,
has always been more interested in boats.
I tried to deter him because it’s much more
dangerous than land racing but it was in
his blood, there was nothing I could do
— he was determined.
What goes into building a machine
that needs to beat the world water
speed record?
K: The sketches of the Spirit of Australia
‘Project 300 – alteration expected’
suggest the changes required to make
to the vessel for my world speed record
attempt. The changes include moving the
engine forward by four feet, air scoops to
extend right to the transom, parallel and
down to three feet, vampire type wind
‘brakes’ (hydraulic), possible exhaust
steering and thrust plate angled down to
left of stern. These revisions were to be
tested in the wind tunnel at 300mph with
me in the cockpit where it would also be
decided if a plastic cockpit windscreen
would be required. The late Professor Tom
Fink of the University of New South Wales
tested Spirit of Australia for wind tunnel
testing. He was the one who suggested
a breakthrough change at the 11th hour,
involving a blowtorch at a farmer’s shed
near Blowering Dam. I cut 65mm off the
rudder leaving a rough edge. This gained
a vital increase in speed and saw me
achieve the record the following day.Where do you find parts such as an
ex-fighter jet engine to put this beast
of a boat together?
D: We trawl aircraft bone or scrap yards
globally – there’s plenty around. My
boat ‘Spirit of Australia II’ has an Italian
jet fighter engine in it. Dad and I found
this in an Italian scrap yard, shipped it to
Australia and stripped it back. The engines
need to be overhauled because they are
built for air. We don’t need the aircraft
generators, we need them to run on the
ground so there’s a process in recrafting
the engines to achieve this. They also need
to be the correct weight, with enough
thrust to power the boat. So, finding theright engine can be a fickle and laborious
exercise. Our boats are built with parts
from all over the world, from other vess
els and crafts each with their own
stories. Dad and I have such a personal
relationship with our boats – every nail,
every bolt, even the glue that holds them
together, is personal for us. When you
race at such speeds you almost become
a part of the hardware, there is an intimacy
in that. So, to reuse recycled parts feels
like we’re paying homage in a way to
other vessels and aircraft long forgotten.How do you prepare for an event/
world record attempt like this?
D: I have a gut instinct, a visceral
confidence and understanding of the
design of my boat, how it’s built, operates,
moves, functions. You almost become a
part of your machine – there’s a lot of truth
in the saying ‘driving by the seat of your
pants’. I feel every vibration and I know
how hard I can push the boat. This allows“ THERE’S
SOMETHING QUITE
HYPNOTIC AND
HF5B79ʔ@=?956CIH
RACING ALONE
ON THE WATER.”
- DAVE WARBY –
CLOCKWISE (FROM TOP LEFT): The sign erected by the Tumut community at Blowering Dam NSW to acknowledge Ken Warby's
two world water speed records; Building Spirit of Australia II; The sketches of the Spirit of Australia ‘Project 300 — alteration expected’
suggest the changes required to make to the vessel; Dave duirng construction of SOAII; Dave and Ken with SOA in the background