Why An Albatross?

By Geoff Cunliffe

_{Why is it that some people talk in hushed tones about the Albatross speed boat?}

_{Perhaps it is simply because it was a true icon of water sport fifty years ago.}

_{At a time when people were beginning to appreciate relatively fast speedboats and the new craze of water skiing was beginning to spread, the Albatross was the right product at the right time. It was a speedboat designed for water skiing, racing and fun. It was reasonably affordable (it cost about £600, the same as a Mini at the time), had beautiful looks, good performance, the convenience of a proven, inboard engine when outboards were notoriously fickle, and it was readily available.}

_{The product caught on immediately. They were exported to France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Holland, Germany, Greece, the USA and the Middle East – and probably elsewhere. Famous owners included Prince Philip,- presented to him as a tender for the Royal Yacht – Prince Rainier of Monaco, Aristotle Onassis, Brigitte Bardot, George Formby, Sir Bernand & Lady Docker, actor Jon Pertwee, the Rothschilds and the Prince of Greece.}

_{Where did the story begin? By the end of 1950, an aluminium prototype 2-seater speedboat had been built by a couple of former Fleet Air Arm Pilots, the Honourable Peter Hives, son of Rolls-Royce chairman Lord Hives, and Archie Peace, who had set up a boatbuilding concern near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.}

_{At first, they used the Ford 93A 1172cc side valve engine, quickly moving on to the Ford Anglia 100E when it became available, with a few special modifications.}

_{Although they were capable of achieving about 33mph, inevitably more speed and more power were demanded and 1100, 1300 and eventually 1500 Ford Cortina engines were used to power the popular two-seaters from the late 1950s onwards.}

_{4-seaters were built as well and there were also limited editions, such as the Alpine, with a twin-carburetter Sunbeam Rapier Rootes engine and capable of achieving 40mph.  Then some were fitted with a Coventry Climax engine with 82bhp output, the power unit for the early Lotus Elite car, and it is also rumoured that some had a Shorrocks blower although they may have been retro-fitted.}

_{Another legendary name associated with Albatross is that of Ray Wright. He had joined in 1954 as a draughtsman.}

_{Unfortunately Archie Peace contracted multiple sclerosis at the age of 40; he gave up Albatross Marine which closed down in 1966. His last ventures were a Mk.V to be built in GRP, and an 18ft design to be powered by a 4·2litre Jaguar engine. The latter never got beyond the drawing board.}

_{Ray Wright had already left the firm and started anew with fellow employee Neville Colman. They had seen that the writing was on the wall – Peace wouldn’t let go – so they started building the Delta in 1963. It was an improvement on the Mk.II two-seater Albatross and slightly bigger. They produced them until about 1969 and then went over to GRP.}

_{Possibly as many as 1,200 Albatrosses were built, about 800 were two-seaters (600 of them Mk.Is) and 400 four-seaters. The Gold dust boat is the Climax because only 164 were built as both 2- and 4-seaters.}