Runabout (boat)

A runabout is any small motorboat holding between four and eight people, well suited to moving about on the water. Runabouts can be used for racing, for pleasure activities like fishing and water skiing, or as a ship's tender for larger vessels. Some common runabout boats are bow rider, center console, cuddy boat and walkaround.

The first runabouts date back to the 1920s and were originally small, fast, powerful varnished wooden boats created to take advantage of the power of outboard motors such as the first Evinrude, introduced in 1909.

In order to gain speed, the hull shape had to be designed to take advantage of hydroplaning; a hydrofoil-like design would allow the boat to skim atop the water's surface at high speed instead of needing to push aside large quantities of water to move forward. Another design change which followed soon after was the replacement of the tiller and rudder control with a rudder controlled by a steering wheel, allowing the operator a comfortable forward-facing position. A remote lever to allow the engines to be placed into a reverse gear was another early innovation.

The leading builder of 1920s runabouts was John L. Hacker, who founded the Hacker Boat Company in 1908. Hacker was a pioneering naval architect who developed many design innovations, like the 'V-bottom'. His designs became the model upon which virtually all subsequent runabouts were based. By 1930, runabouts were available with windshields to protect the cockpits and 125 horsepower (93 kW) engines built for speed.

Other early builders of varnished-wood runabouts include Chris-Craft and Gar Wood, but by the late 1940s Gar Wood had stopped producing boats and by the 1960s Chris-Craft was moving to the more modern materials of plastic and fiberglass.

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