Faster & Faster

On the drawing board in Seattle months ago, Stanley Sayres's two-ton, 29-ft. hydroplane, Slo-Mo-Shun IV, looked to him like the fastest boat in the world. When he got it onto Lake Washington this summer for its first official run, Owner Sayres rocketed to a world record 160 m.p.h. (TIME, July 10).

A month later, with Designer Ted Jones at the wheel, Slo-Mo-Shun IV won motor-boating's famed Gold Cup. Last week on the Detroit River Slo-Mo-Shun took the last big prize within reach. It ran away with the international Harmsworth Trophy and, in the doing, pretty well established itself as the greatest speed boat ever built.

With Designer Jones out of action with a broken hand, Sayres turned the wheel over to steely little Lou Fageol (rhymes with gauge all). Lou, 43, a racedriver since 1928, had never competed for the Harmsworth, but in the first of two 40-mile heats he hit the starting line almost at the crack of the gun, was never headed. Slo-Mo-Shun's 30-ft. rooster-tail wake steadily drew away from Horace Dodge's My Sweetie, Jack Schafer's Stick Crust II, and Harold Wilson's Miss Canada IV. Slo-Mo-Shun's speed over the windswept course was 91.127 m.p.h., a shade under the old record, but fast enough. The winning margin: three miles.

In the second heat next day, with the Canadian entry out of the running because of broken plankings, Slo-Mo-Shun gave up dawdling. With a look at the smooth water, Sayres told Driver Fageol: "Try one lap at 100 m.p.h. or better." Lou opened the throttle of his 1,800-h.p. Allison engine, tried for one lap, then another and another ("She ran so smoothly I just decided to keep my foot down"). By the end of the second lap, My Sweetie had dropped out with a broken oil line. By the sixth lap, Slo-Mo-Shun was a full five miles ahead of Such Crust. To the 150,000 spectators crammed along the banks of the Detroit River it was obvious that lead-footed Lou Fageol was after a new record. He got it.

Slo-Mo-Shtin's average speed for the second heat: 100.68 m.p.h. Old record: 94.285 m.p.h., set last year by Stanley Dollar's Skip-a-Long. Jubilant Auto Dealer Sayres was delighted over his boat's performance, but he was already taking a look ahead. Said Sayres: "We have a faster boat on the drafting board now . . . 200 m.p.h. is not impossible."

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