How old is the Batboat III ?

Now you might be excused for thinking you were in some time-warp with this motorboat which fetched EUR 57,176 (US$77,588 ) at auction recently. Known as the Batboat III, it is powered by a 10.5-liter twin overhead camshaft V8 engine and has caused quite a ripple of excitement among nautical types. Given the above information and the accompanying photograph, have a guess at how old it is.

“Batboat” motorboats were designed by sporting automobilist and sailor John Montague Batting between 1912 and 1914. The name derived from his surname and became a popular term given to hydroplane and flying-boat hulls of his own designs. The Batboat III was built in 1914, the massive engine is an Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine from the period and at the time of its manufacture, it was a state-of-the-art Racing Hydroplane. This particular craft was built to contest the Harmsworth British International Trophy race and was of unique, lightweight construction, creating a new advance in hydroplane development. Unfortunately, the advent of hostilities in 1914 postponed further racing for Batboat III, but it contributed to the war effort as a test bed for nautical engineering, including the construction of amphibian aeroplanes and torpedo boats. Later on, it was used for developments in the accuracy of torpedoes, fitted with two engines driving contra-rotating twin-screw propellers.

Its second owner, Commander Belleville RN acquired it in the early 1930s and mildly modified it during a long family ownership well into the 1980s, when it was purchased by the most recent owners prior to its sale at RM Auctions recent Sporting Classics of Monaco auction which broke all sorts of records.

Since then, it has undergone an extended restoration, and it was re-equipped with components more suited to its original conception. It is now powered by a water-cooled Hispano-Suiza V8 aero-engine of the type fitted to such aircraft as the RFC’s famous SE5-A and French SPAD. Of double-skin carvel construction with a curved turtle-back foredeck and a raised coaming to the center cockpit, the hull has been recently re-varnished, and the craft has had a period of commissioning on the water. It comes with a tailor-made dual-purpose wheeled cradle for either slipway launching or permanent storage when off the water.