Quote Originally Posted by douglasm View Post
Interesting and informative thread.

Would these Packard Merlins be the same "Packard" engines that Freddie Leyland tried to stuff into the U-100 about 25 years ago?
Yes, according to this website:
http://thunderthebridge.blogspot.com...n-powered.html

U-100 Miss Rock Fred Leland campaigned with a number of hulls throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s. These hulls raced under a variety of names and numbers but always used piston power, usually a Packard Rolls Royce Merlin. Leland’s boats were usually campaigned on the West Coast, but never met with much success in those early years. In 1992 the team built its first turbine powered hydroplane that it raced nationally, marking a vast improvement for the program that culminated in the 1996 championship.