However, hovercrafters must pay for public liability insurance ($10 million value) to be able to access these areas. “We especially like going around the islands from Coochiemudlo in the north, to as far south as Tipplers,” says Steve. One of the best places to go hovercrafting is the Southern Moreton Bay area. The disgraced businessman ran two large, four- engine, 40-seater hovercraft on shuttle runs between Brisbane Airport and the Gold Coast Spit between 19. When many Queenslanders think of hovercraft though, Christopher Skase comes to mind. There is also the famous Spirit of Broome which has been continuously providing daily tours from Broome to Roebuck Bay since 1988.” He built six-seater to 50-seater commercial hovercraft, which were exported to Africa, Asia and other overseas markets. Steve notes, “Ross McLeod had a factory on the Logan River. Still involved in the field today, Venn was the second person in Queensland to obtain an Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) Masters Certification of Competency. Queensland University also got into the act around the same time, followed by Peter Venn in the mid-1970s. In the late 1960s, Taylor Craft in Adelaide built some of the nation’s first hovercraft. According to Steve Stephens, the publicity officer for the Queensland Sporting Hovercraft Club (QSH), “there are about 300 small recreational hovercraft Australia-wide, and around 40 in Queensland.” In Australia, the industry is small but passionate. Cockerell’s hovercraft revolutionised sea travel, and in the 1960s a fleet of craft was regularly used. Launched in 1959, it crossed the English Channel in two hours, with the inventor onboard. He then fine- tuned his designs and secured funding.Īfter eight months working with boating firm Saunders Roe on the Isle of Wight, the result was an approximately six-metre craft. Aiming to create a cushion of air, Cockerell’s test was a success. He developed an experimental hovercraft after first testing out his idea by popping a tin of cat food inside a coffee tin and blowing a jet of air through the gap between the two. The hovercraft was invented more than 50 years ago in Britain by engineer inventor Sir Christopher Cockerell. The lift air is held under the hovercraft by a flexible “skirt” which lifts the craft clear of the surface. The thrust air propels the hovercraft forward direction is controlled with rudders. The vessels use fans or propellers to create two streams of air one provides forward thrust and the other, lift. Hovercraft (also known as air cushion vehicles or ACVs) are special vehicles that allow users to explore places usually inaccessible to other boats. If you are interested in buying your first vessel for fun days out on the water, or are keen to expand your boating collection, it might be time to consider becoming a hover enthusiast.
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