Hamilton Jet Unit

Category
Engineering Plant (eg railway, locomotive, car, plane)

Description
Sir William Hamilton pioneered the development of the Hamilton Water Jet Marine Propulsion System in the 1950s.

First built at his Irishmans Creek workshop for boating on Canterbury’s shingle rivers in the 1950s, Sir William (C.W.F.) Hamilton’s development of the water jet propulsion unit was innovative in both design and manufacture and the Hamilton Jet is acknowledged as a world leader in its field.

The waterjet unit had been an on again/off again project of the late Bill Hamilton in a search for a craft that would give him access to the remote corners of his sheep station at Irishmans Creek in the Mackenzie country.

The first jet boat ran successfully upriver in 1953 and since then, the Hamilton Jet has enjoyed a high profile, both in New Zealand and overseas.

From its early beginnings, the product and its market have altered from river boats to high speed commercial craft. However the ability of the firm of C.W.F. Hamilton to adapt, plus their philosophy of continuous improvement, have maintained their market dominance.

The Hamilton 400 Series waterjet unit, developed from 1978 and commissioned in 1981, was the first, designed and built using CAD/CAM technology, for craft 15 to 30 m long with diesel engines to 1500 hp. Jet efficiencies were improved to be comparable with conventional propellers up to 25 knots and more efficient at boat speeds higher than that.

Today, there are more than 2 500 000 hp of jets in operation worldwide with the installation rate increasing all the time.

IPENZ “Engineering to 1990” project
This item of New Zealand’s engineering heritage was recognised as part of the IPENZ “Engineering to 1990” project which the Institution organised to help celebrate the country’s sesquicentenary in 1990. A plaque was unveiled to mark the significance of this power station as part of the development of the nation.

Location
THe Jet Boat units are in use around the world . The production facility is at Lunns Road, Middleton, Christchurch

Region/s
Canterbury

Access Info
The jet boat display is open to the public from 8.30a.m. to 5.00p.m. on weekdays

Nature of Engineering
Manufacturing and Industrial Processing, New Zealand Innovations