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Lot Essay
A Brief History
Arthur Garfield Wood, known as the Grey Fox was arguably the top international boat driver the United States ever had, and with his line of Miss Americas defended the Harmsworth Trophy against all comers from 1920 until he retired.
Gar Wood went to the Isle of Wight, England in 1920 and with his first Miss America won the trophy for the United States. His Miss Americas, one through five, were powered by Liberty aircraft engines. Then in 1928 he purchased two Packard 3A-2500 aircraft engines and had them modified for marine use by Packards, whereby they became 1M-2500. They were fitted into his latest boat, Miss America VI. This boat broke up at speed while testing for the 1928 race against Miss Marion Carstairs with Estelle II. The race was only weeks away and the engines lay in 60ft of water. The engines, retrieved, were sent back to Packards to be rebuilt. Nap Lisee, Gar's boat builder was given orders to build a new boat. In two weeks the 7th was built and fitted with the renovated engines just in time for the race, which it won, so Gar Wood retained the trophy.
After the race the boat was taken over the measured mile at 92.838mph to set a new world record. Two new Packard 1M-2500 engines were purchased for his next boat, the 8th, to defend against Miss Marion Carstairs with Estelle IV for the 1929 race. The 8th won. After this race the 7th was shipped to Italy to compete in the Venice Regatta. In one heat it reportedly leaped out of the water at speed throwing out both driver and mechanic and crashed, once again sending the engines to the bottom. They were recovered and shipped back to the U.S.
Gar Wood built the 9th Miss America for the 1930 challenge from Miss England II. He had the Packards, now twice rebuilt, supercharged for more power. He successfully defended the trophy and in 1931 set a record of 102.256mph, the first boat to exceed 100mph. In 1932 the 9th increased the record to 111.712mph.
Kay Don challenged with Miss England III in 1932 and Gar Wood, worried at the power of the new Rolls Royce engines decided to build a new boat. This was to be Miss America X, his largest and most powerful boat. It was 38' long, 9'-6" wide and was to be powered by four Packard 1M-2500's: the two engines were taken out of the 8th and the two, twice rebuilt engines taken out of the 9th and these were shipped to Packards, who fitted them with new Schwitzer Cummins superchargers, this time mounted at the rear of the engine, which now produced 1,600hp. each. The engines were coupled 'solid', end to end by a gearbox which in effect turned the two 12 cyl. units into one 24 cyl. engine. The two from the 8th were placed in front linked to the two from the 9th which were placed in the rear to produce a total of 6,400hp.
Once again Gar Wood triumphed. Weeks later the 10th set a new water speed record of 124.86mph. Gar Wood had the engines uprated yet again and claims of 1,800 + hp. were made with totals as high as 7,600 hp! The challenger for 1933 was Hubert Scott Paine with his diminutive 24'-6" aluminium boat powered by one 1,375 hp Napier Lion engine. Scott Paine knew he could not win unless Gar Wood broke down. He had tried to acquire the new Rolls Royce engines but these were not made available to him. His boat performed well but was too small, so Gar Wood still retained the trophy.
This was the last time Gar Wood was to defend the trophy, there being no more challengers on the horizon.
The Replica by J.A.May
Before attempting to build this replica I first had to be sure that I could reproduce the engines accurately, as MA-X is virtually an open boat. All it's mechanicals were in full view. A library book on the Packard 1A-2500 was found. It was more of a mechanics' handbook and had some excellent dimensioned drawings which I was then able to redraw to 1/8 scale. Packard historian Robert Neal was then contacted. He supplied me with photos and details of the modifications that Packard had made to Gar Wood's engines. There were no dimensions of the superchargers etc., so these were proportionalized and added to the scale drawing. Masters were made of all engine components and rubber molds made from them. All parts were then cast in resin but after assembly many very small parts were made by hand, such as connecting linkages and control rods. The gear boxes could only be partially seen in photos but knowing the size of the internal gears it was possible to construct a reasonable replica. Some time after these were constructed I came across a photo of the actual gear box. Luckily the replica was so close no changes were required.
When building these racing boats, Napoleon Lisee drew them out full size on the floor of the lofting room. No blueprints were ever made. This made it difficult to replicate the boat accurately and much research had to be done. Bits of information: old books, photos and some old film footage was acquired and from this the replica evolved.
The original boat had ribs built in three pieces, bottom and sides, which were reinforced at the joints with plywood gussets and these ribs were set at 18" spacings from step to stern. Cradles for fuel and oil tanks were built into the frame of the boat. The sides were double planked with mahogany, the first layer being attached diagonally with the second layer running longditudinally. The engine bearers ran the full length of the boat and were reinforced at the engine mounts with aluminum plates. The boat also had a very deep keel, clamped in place by many long bolts. The bottom of the hull was cut away beneath the gear boxes to get them as low as possible to reduce the prop shaft angle. These holes were covered with 'bubble' plates. The planing surface was made adjustable and so was fitted with aluminum plates. For steering, a chain and sprocket connected the steering wheel to a drum. Cables wrapped around this drum were run forward to the rudder. In building the replica much effort was directed into reproducing all of the above details, in an attempt to recreate the boat as it was in 1933.
Miss America-X was rebuilt some time in the 1980's I am told, but it became quite a different boat. The original engines were missing and so were replaced by W.W.II PT boat units. This alone drastically changed it's appearance. The original engines had bifurcated exhausts - two cylinders per stack, whereas the PT boat engines had an exhaust stack per cylinder, which gave it a virtual forest of exhausts - 48 in all. It was given one large centrally located instrument panel, whereas the original had two smaller ones, one each side of the boat. The throttle control and steering gear were replaced with more up-to-date systems and I believe the tanks were also changed. All this apparently came about because the boat had been stripped of its interior many, many years ago. Many parts were lost and nobody knows what happened to the engines. There were only four engines of theis configuration and power and they were built specially for Gar Wood. No one knows what happened to them. One report has it, they were sent back to Packards. Some think they may have been used as 'test' engines to develop the PT boat engines for W.W.II, then being scrapped afterwards. Many people hope that all this is untrue and that one day at least one unit may be discovered, crated and stored in some dusty and forgotten warehouse. I hope so.
Arthur Garfield Wood, known as the Grey Fox was arguably the top international boat driver the United States ever had, and with his line of Miss Americas defended the Harmsworth Trophy against all comers from 1920 until he retired.
Gar Wood went to the Isle of Wight, England in 1920 and with his first Miss America won the trophy for the United States. His Miss Americas, one through five, were powered by Liberty aircraft engines. Then in 1928 he purchased two Packard 3A-2500 aircraft engines and had them modified for marine use by Packards, whereby they became 1M-2500. They were fitted into his latest boat, Miss America VI. This boat broke up at speed while testing for the 1928 race against Miss Marion Carstairs with Estelle II. The race was only weeks away and the engines lay in 60ft of water. The engines, retrieved, were sent back to Packards to be rebuilt. Nap Lisee, Gar's boat builder was given orders to build a new boat. In two weeks the 7th was built and fitted with the renovated engines just in time for the race, which it won, so Gar Wood retained the trophy.
After the race the boat was taken over the measured mile at 92.838mph to set a new world record. Two new Packard 1M-2500 engines were purchased for his next boat, the 8th, to defend against Miss Marion Carstairs with Estelle IV for the 1929 race. The 8th won. After this race the 7th was shipped to Italy to compete in the Venice Regatta. In one heat it reportedly leaped out of the water at speed throwing out both driver and mechanic and crashed, once again sending the engines to the bottom. They were recovered and shipped back to the U.S.
Gar Wood built the 9th Miss America for the 1930 challenge from Miss England II. He had the Packards, now twice rebuilt, supercharged for more power. He successfully defended the trophy and in 1931 set a record of 102.256mph, the first boat to exceed 100mph. In 1932 the 9th increased the record to 111.712mph.
Kay Don challenged with Miss England III in 1932 and Gar Wood, worried at the power of the new Rolls Royce engines decided to build a new boat. This was to be Miss America X, his largest and most powerful boat. It was 38' long, 9'-6" wide and was to be powered by four Packard 1M-2500's: the two engines were taken out of the 8th and the two, twice rebuilt engines taken out of the 9th and these were shipped to Packards, who fitted them with new Schwitzer Cummins superchargers, this time mounted at the rear of the engine, which now produced 1,600hp. each. The engines were coupled 'solid', end to end by a gearbox which in effect turned the two 12 cyl. units into one 24 cyl. engine. The two from the 8th were placed in front linked to the two from the 9th which were placed in the rear to produce a total of 6,400hp.
Once again Gar Wood triumphed. Weeks later the 10th set a new water speed record of 124.86mph. Gar Wood had the engines uprated yet again and claims of 1,800 + hp. were made with totals as high as 7,600 hp! The challenger for 1933 was Hubert Scott Paine with his diminutive 24'-6" aluminium boat powered by one 1,375 hp Napier Lion engine. Scott Paine knew he could not win unless Gar Wood broke down. He had tried to acquire the new Rolls Royce engines but these were not made available to him. His boat performed well but was too small, so Gar Wood still retained the trophy.
This was the last time Gar Wood was to defend the trophy, there being no more challengers on the horizon.
The Replica by J.A.May
Before attempting to build this replica I first had to be sure that I could reproduce the engines accurately, as MA-X is virtually an open boat. All it's mechanicals were in full view. A library book on the Packard 1A-2500 was found. It was more of a mechanics' handbook and had some excellent dimensioned drawings which I was then able to redraw to 1/8 scale. Packard historian Robert Neal was then contacted. He supplied me with photos and details of the modifications that Packard had made to Gar Wood's engines. There were no dimensions of the superchargers etc., so these were proportionalized and added to the scale drawing. Masters were made of all engine components and rubber molds made from them. All parts were then cast in resin but after assembly many very small parts were made by hand, such as connecting linkages and control rods. The gear boxes could only be partially seen in photos but knowing the size of the internal gears it was possible to construct a reasonable replica. Some time after these were constructed I came across a photo of the actual gear box. Luckily the replica was so close no changes were required.
When building these racing boats, Napoleon Lisee drew them out full size on the floor of the lofting room. No blueprints were ever made. This made it difficult to replicate the boat accurately and much research had to be done. Bits of information: old books, photos and some old film footage was acquired and from this the replica evolved.
The original boat had ribs built in three pieces, bottom and sides, which were reinforced at the joints with plywood gussets and these ribs were set at 18" spacings from step to stern. Cradles for fuel and oil tanks were built into the frame of the boat. The sides were double planked with mahogany, the first layer being attached diagonally with the second layer running longditudinally. The engine bearers ran the full length of the boat and were reinforced at the engine mounts with aluminum plates. The boat also had a very deep keel, clamped in place by many long bolts. The bottom of the hull was cut away beneath the gear boxes to get them as low as possible to reduce the prop shaft angle. These holes were covered with 'bubble' plates. The planing surface was made adjustable and so was fitted with aluminum plates. For steering, a chain and sprocket connected the steering wheel to a drum. Cables wrapped around this drum were run forward to the rudder. In building the replica much effort was directed into reproducing all of the above details, in an attempt to recreate the boat as it was in 1933.
Miss America-X was rebuilt some time in the 1980's I am told, but it became quite a different boat. The original engines were missing and so were replaced by W.W.II PT boat units. This alone drastically changed it's appearance. The original engines had bifurcated exhausts - two cylinders per stack, whereas the PT boat engines had an exhaust stack per cylinder, which gave it a virtual forest of exhausts - 48 in all. It was given one large centrally located instrument panel, whereas the original had two smaller ones, one each side of the boat. The throttle control and steering gear were replaced with more up-to-date systems and I believe the tanks were also changed. All this apparently came about because the boat had been stripped of its interior many, many years ago. Many parts were lost and nobody knows what happened to the engines. There were only four engines of theis configuration and power and they were built specially for Gar Wood. No one knows what happened to them. One report has it, they were sent back to Packards. Some think they may have been used as 'test' engines to develop the PT boat engines for W.W.II, then being scrapped afterwards. Many people hope that all this is untrue and that one day at least one unit may be discovered, crated and stored in some dusty and forgotten warehouse. I hope so.