Tudor Owen ("Ted") Jones (died January 9, 2000) was a
hydroplane designer and builder.
Biography
According to
Tex Johnston, "Seattleite Ted Jones, a keen marine engineer, designed a revolutionary speedboat, the
hydroplane, supported at high speed by two
sponson
Sponsons are projections extending from the sides of land vehicles, aircraft or watercraft to provide protection, stability, storage locations, mounting points for weapons or other devices, or equipment housing.
Watercraft
On watercraft, a spo ...
s - streamlined, buoyant, lateral extensions - attached to the forward sides of the boat's wide, flat body. The hydroplane was powered by an
Allison aircraft engine identical to the one I modified for
Cobra II."
One of his boats, the
Slo-Mo-Shun IV, won the 1950
Gold Cup, and set a
water speed record (160.323 mph) in
Lake Washington
Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle.
It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west ...
, off
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
(USA)'s
Sand Point, on June 26, 1950, breaking the previous (10+ year-old) record (141.740 mph) by almost 20 mph. He also designed several other unlimited hydroplanes that won the
APBA Challenge Cup.
Legacy
His son,
Ron Jones, Sr., and grandson
Ron Jones, Jr. both also had distinguished careers with unlimited
hydroplane racing.
Award
He was inducted in the
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...
in 2003.
[Ted Jones]
at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...
References
2000 deaths
American motorboat racers
Hydroplanes
H1 Unlimited
Racing motorboats
APBA Challenge Cup
Year of birth missing
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