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18 footer "taipan"


phil_taipan117

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I saw an article on 7:30 report the other night on the refurbishment of Ben Lexen's (Bob Miller) old 18 footer, "Taipan". Built in the 1950's this was a revolutionary boat for its time, as it was super light, had enclosed decks and only 3 crew. What took my eye were the winglets on the rudder, a set in the middle and another set at the bottom. The wings are a lot smaller than on the F16 Stealth or F14 AO. What it indicates that even back then this brilliant designer had worked out the hydrodynamic benefits of wings.

Apparently "taipan" was so fast they wanted to outlaw it. It made all other 18 footers redundant overnight.

It is stored in the Maritime Museum.

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