Human Powered Boats

By Warren Beauchamp
HPB Projects   HPB Racing   HPB Miscellaneous    HPB Links

Yes I know, a rowboat is a human powered boat, and so are canoes and those clunky pedal powered paddle boats. What I'm talking about is speed, the kind you can only get from some skinny hulls and a propeller.

I became interested in human powered boats shortly after joining the WISIL HPVer's in the winter of 1995. Though I had never been in a boat race before of any kind, or even seen a human powered boat race, avid HPBer Bob Buerger  made it sound like fun. Since then I have been busily improving on the design of the drive train and hulls, as well as racing in a couple of HPB races per year. And Bob did not lie, it is a lot of fun! These pages chronicle my boat building and racing adventures and will be updated periodically. 

HPB Projects

bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1995 - The Hammerhead
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1996 - The Enterprise
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1997 - The Enterprise II
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1998 - The Sidewinder
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1999 - The Sidewinder - a slight reprise
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2000 - The Sidewinder II
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2001 - The Sidewinder III
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2002 - The Sidewinder IIIB
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2003 - The Sidewinder IIIC - Short movie of SideWinder at Hydrobowl 2004
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2005 - No changes! Sidewinder is complete.
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2005 - Necky Kayak HPB
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2006 - Necky Kayak HPB tweaking
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2007 - Necky Kayak outriggers
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2008 - Motion-Tech Needle HPB

HPB Miscellaneous

bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) HPB Building Frequently Asked Questions
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) The compact twisted chain HPB drive train 
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Prop Fabrication - by Rick Willoughby
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Building an HPB prop
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) HPB driveshaft tachometer
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) HPB Concept Page
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) HPB Calculator page - hull speed and sprint speed
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Human Powered boats forum & HPB list on the IHPVA site

HPB Racing & Events

The WISIL HPVers sponsor the longest running yearly HPB event in the USA! 
Check here for event scheduling.

bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Description of the WISIL Hydrobowl course and races
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Top 10 Hydrobowl HPB Racing list
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1997 Hydrobowl race results
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1998 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 1999 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2000 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2001 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2002 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2003 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2004 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2005 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2006 St. Joseph HPV Boat Meet
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2006 Hydrobowl race results and pictures
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) 2007 Hydrobowl race results and pictures

HPB Links

bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) www.HumanPoweredBoats.com - Ron Drynan's HPB site (now maintained by Mike Lampi)
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Free Enterprises - Jake Free's HPB site. Jake makes carbon fiber HPB parts.
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Mike Lampi's boating page - Mike's adventures in HPBing.
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Human Powered Hydrofoil site
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Peter Heal's HPB projects (Australia)
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Rick Willoughby's HPB projects (Australia)
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Greg Kolodziejzyk's ocean crossing HPB pages (Canada)
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) Trìmali Waterbike Team (Italy)
bullet1.gif (1048 bytes) JavaProp Propeller design online software

Back to the HPV projects page