A Little Typhoon Information
The Typhoon gets some real famous names involved. Edsel Ford, Howard Hughes, George Crouch. George who? Well, the first two names are more familiar but George Crouch was the designer of some pretty famous powerboats. He designed the Typhoon for Edsel Ford who wanted a boat that would be used for commuting between his home and the Ford plant on the Detroit River. The 40 foot runabout was constructed at the Henry B. Nevins Shipyard, City Island, New York, reportedly for over $70,000. The boat took her name from the original engine, a 600 hp, 12 cylinder Wright Typhoon aircraft engine, designed initially for a dirigible. This power plant was carried in a lacquered African mahogany hull which was double planked forward, single planked aft, had seven feet, eight inches of beam and was pointed at both stern and bow. She had three broad seats, two forward and one aft of the amidship engine well.
In 1941, Ford sold it to Howard Hughes who kept it running during the war years, but soon sold it after the war.
There's two stories floating around on the internet about the fate of this beautiful boat, and I can't prove or disprove either one.
One story goes that the boat was found by George Babcock and he restored it spending a fair bit of money and time to do it. The original engine was replaced with a Packard W-14 that developed 1500 HP and consumed about 125 gallons of gas per hour. The boat went on to be displayed at boat shows and regattas.
The other story is that in the late sixties, her current owners had her shipped from Kentucky to Seattle, Washington. In the late 1960's, at Bryants Marina in Washington, the boat that was docked next to the Typhoon caught fire. The fire raged out of control, and soon engulfed the Typhoon. The Typhoon was a total loss.
I know which story I want to believe. If you know the true fate of this classic motorboat, drop us a line and let us know but only if it's good news!
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