H1 Unlimited is an American unlimited hydroplane racing league that is sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association (APBA). Until 2009, the series was known as ABRA Unlimited Hydroplane, in turn renamed from APBA Unlimited Hydroplane in 2004. The H1 Unlimited season typically runs from July through September, consisting of five races.

A hydroplane (or hydro, or thunderboat) is a type of motorboat used exclusively for racing. A unique characteristic of hydroplanes is that they only use the water they are on for propulsion and steering and not for flotation—when going at full speed they are primarily held aloft by a principle of fluid dynamics known as "planing," with only a fraction of their hull touching the water.

History

The unlimited hydroplane racing series was founded in 1946 when the unlimited class of boats was allowed to compete following World War II and the subsequent availability of surplus aircraft engines. It had been disbanded in 1922 in favor of the newly introduced "Gold Cup Class."

The world's first sanctioned unlimited hydroplane race was held in 1903 in Ireland at Queenstown, and was very modest by later race standards. That race was won by Dorothy Levitt, driving an boat, powered by a Napier engine, at an average speed of ."Thunderboats..the craft they call unlimited" Popular Mechanics, June 1976, pp. 61-63.

The boats were initially restricted to engines of a maximum of , later increased to . Hulls with "steps" or "shingles" on the underside were prohibited.

One reason for the rule change was to end the domination of its star driver, Gar Wood, who had won five consecutive Gold Cups from 1917. One win in 1920 in his twin Liberty L-12 powered Miss America, averaged in the race over an course and set a race record that stood until 1946. "King Gar" had entered fifteen Gold Cup heats during those pinnacle years. He finished first twelve times and second three times. Throughout the years, only two boats showed up to challenge Miss America; one of those was piloted by George Wood, Gar's younger brother, in Miss Chicago. Another reason for the rule change was to make racing more affordable.

In 1929, the Class was introduced by the Mississippi Valley Power Boat Association (MVPBA). The majority of these boats were powered by Hispano-Suiza 8 aircraft engines or Curtiss OX-5s. These boats were popular in the Southern and Midwestern US, but did not attract the media attention that the expensive and exotic-looking Gold Cup Class counterparts had.

In 1946 after the hiatus due to the war, the MVPBA was absorbed into the APBA, and as a result the 725s and the Gold Cups merged to become the APBA Unlimited Class.

Following the protest-ridden 1956 APBA Gold Cup at Detroit, which took 85 days to settle, the Unlimited Class severed all but nominal ties with the APBA. In 1957, the Unlimited Racing Commission (URC) was formed. In the 1990s, the URC was renamed the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association (UHRA). In 2001, HYDRO-PROP, Inc., bought the licensing rights to the Unlimited Class from the APBA and managed the unlimited class through the 2004 racing season. The American Boat Racing Association (ABRA) was formed in 2005 and was renamed H1 Unlimited in 2009.

The turbine engine was first used in competition by the U-95 "Whiz-per" in 1974, which sank that August at Seattle. The next entrant with turbine power was the Pay 'n Pak in 1980 on the Columbia River at Tri-Cities, but it flipped 2½ times in a test run prior to the Sunday heats. It was the sole turbine again the following year, but through the 1980s, the turbine gradually displaced piston power.

Over the years, the number of major historic teams have disappeared. Miss Budweiser was discontinued after the 2004 season, and after 12 championships following the end of the Little family operation.

Today

The H1 Unlimited class is sanctioned by APBA, its governing body in North America and UIM, its international body.

Unlimited Hydroplanes are fast boats capable of more than on the straights and running average lap speeds of . They are in length and weigh a minimum of .

The modern turbine-powered unlimited hydroplane is derived from the 3-point prop-riding hydroplanes of the 1950s. These were the first boats to ride on a cushion of air trapped between "sponsons" mounted on the sides of the front of the boat, and the bottom half of the propeller, which were all that touched the water.

They were called "Unlimited" because they were the only class of boat racing the APBA that had no restrictions on the displacement size of their piston engines. The designation Unlimited has stayed with the class in the turbine era, even though there are restrictions on the turbine engine and its fuel.

Almost all the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes are powered by Lycoming T55 turbine engines, originally used in Chinook helicopters. The U-440 of the Bucket List Racing Team runs a T-53 turbine. As of 2022, the U-3 Go3 Racing is the only piston powered boat in the fleet, powered by a twin turbocharged Allison V-12.

Past National High Point Champions Since 1946, the National High Point Championships are awarded to the team and to the driver with the most points at the end of the season. The Martini & Rossi National Champion Perpetual Trophy was first awarded in 1959, and the Bill Muncey Trophy was first awarded in 2007. Martini & Rossi National Champion Perpetual Trophy for Season High Point Team Year Team Engine Owner Wins 1946 G-13 Tempo VI16-cylinder Miller engine Guy Lombardo 1 1947 Miss Peps V Walt DossinRoy DossinRussell Dossin 3 1948 Such Crust Jack Schafer, Sr. 2 1949 My Sweetie Ed GregoryEd SchoenherrHorace Dodge, Jr. 4 1950 My Sweetie Horace Dodge, Jr. 2 1951 Miss Pepsi Walt DossinRoy Dossin 4 1952 Miss Pepsi Walt DossinRoy Dossin 3 1953 Gale II Joe Schoenith 1 1954 Gale V Joe Schoenith 4 1955 Gale V Joe Schoenith 1 1956 Shanty I Bill Waggoner 3 1957 Hawaii Kai III Edgar Kaiser 5 1958 Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 3 1959 Maverick Bill Waggoner 5 1960 Miss Thriftway Willard Rhodes 4 1961 Miss Century 21 Willard Rhodes 4 1962 Miss Century 21 Willard Rhodes 5 1963 Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 3 1964 Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 4 1965Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 4 1966 Tahoe Miss Bill Harrah 4 1967 Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 6 1968 Miss Bardahl Ole Bardahl 4 1969 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Merlin Bernie LittleTom Friedkin 4 1970 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Merlin Bernie LittleTom Friedkin 4 1971 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Merlin Bernie LittleTom Friedkin 2 1972 Atlas Van Lines Joe Schoenith 6 1973 Pay 'n Pak Rolls-Royce Merlin Dave Heerensperger 4 1974 Pay 'n Pak Rolls-Royce Merlin Dave Heerensperger 7 1975 Pay 'n Pak Rolls-Royce Merlin Dave Heerensperger 5 1976 Atlas Van Lines Rolls-Royce Merlin Bill Muncey 5 1977 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Merlin Bernie Little 3 1978 Atlas Van Lines Rolls-Royce Merlin Bill Muncey 6 1979 Atlas Van Lines Rolls-Royce Merlin Bill Muncey 7 1980 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Griffon Bernie Little 5 1981 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Griffon Bernie Little 6 1982 Atlas Van Lines Rolls-Royce Merlin Fran Muncey 5 1983 Atlas Van Lines Rolls-Royce Merlin Fran MunceyJim Lucero 3 1984 Miss Budweiser Rolls-Royce Griffon Bernie Little 6 1985 Miller American Lycoming T55 Fran MunceyJim Lucero 5 1986 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 3 1987 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 5 1988 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 4 1989 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 4 1990 Miss Circus Circus Lycoming T55 Bill Bennett 6 1991 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 4 1992 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 7 1993 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 7 1994 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 4 1995 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 5 1996 PICO American Dream Lycoming T55 Fred Leland 6 1997 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 6 1998 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 8 1999 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 8 2000 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55 Bernie Little 6 2001 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55-L7C Bernie Little 1 2002 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55-L7C Bernie Little 3 2003 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55-L7C Joe Little 2 2004 Miss Budweiser Lycoming T55-L7C Joe Little 5 2005 Miss Elam Plus Lycoming T55-L7C Erick Ellstrom 3 2006 Miss Formulaboats.com II Lycoming T55-L7C Ted Porter 1 2007 Miss Elam Plus Lycoming T55-L7C Erick Ellstrom4 2008 Oh Boy! Oberto (Miss Madison) Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison1 2009 Oh Boy! Oberto (Miss Madison) Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 1 2010 Oh Boy! Oberto (Miss Madison) Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 3 2011 Spirit of Qatar Lycoming T55-L7C Marine Technologies 3 2012 Oh Boy! Oberto (Miss Madison) Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 2 2013 Graham Trucking Lycoming T55-L7C Team Porter Racing 4 2014 Oberto Beef Jerky Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 2 2015 Oberto Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 3 2016 HomeStreet Bank Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 32017 HomeStreet Bank Lycoming T55-L7C City of Madison 32018 Jones Racing Lycoming T55-L7C Michael and Lori Jones52019HomeStreet BankLycoming T55-L7CCity of Madison22021HomeStreet BankLycoming T55-L7CCity of Madison12022HomeStreet BankLycoming T55-L7CCity of Madison52023Beacon ElectricLycoming T55-L7CStrong Racing22024Goodman Real EstateLycoming T55-L7CCity of Madison22025Goodman Real EstateLycoming T55-L7CBWR Racing4