Next steps
With a considerable number of objectives already achieved, the next major goal of the Quicksilver project is to undertake full-power static engine runs at the earliest opportunity (preparations are currently nearing completion). Initial trials on water will take place in the winter of next year, at a location yet to be decided, with the primary intention of proving the craft's planing capability and collecting test data. The ultimate aim is to make a record challenge on Coniston Water, in the Lake District in north-west England, subject to gaining the necessary approvals, within the January-March 2012 timeframe.
From the outset, the Quicksilver project has been research-led. The original craft concept work was led by Ken Norris - the only man in history to have designed both the world's fastest car and the world's fastest boat (working with his brother Lewis in the 1950s and '60s, Ken designed Donald Campbell's famous Bluebirds). That initial Quicksilver concept has since evolved into what is seen today. The most significant step in this evolutionary process was the decision to move the engine further forward to improve stability, and thus performance. This dictated that the sponsons (floats) would no longer be at the rear of the craft as Ken Norris envisaged, but at the front, in order to assure proper static and low-speed bouyancy, and high-speed stability.
Construction of the main hull structure recommenced in the spring of 2008, after a lengthy delay while these design changes were implemented. Integration of the engine-mounting structures, which add rigidity to the hull as well as bearing the engine, was the first new step in the construction process.
Structural design work and construction are the team's ongoing preoccupations. Throughout this year, work has also been underway to advance Quicksilver's on-board systems. In the middle of next year the rear hull section (stern module) will be added. Both sponsons will be added in the autumn of next year, during final preparations for the first trials on water. In this initial waterborne form, the craft will be known as Quicksilver Dash 1 and speeds will be limited to 200mph.
The craft will then be upgraded to its definitive Dash 2 standard and development during trials will facilitate ever-higher speeds, culminating in the record bid.
The boat's driver, Nigel Macknight, has devoted almost all of his professional life to promoting a wider interest in engineering. He raced cars and karts for seven years and has authored hundreds of magazine articles and ten books with subjects ranging from the Space Shuttle to Formula 1 racing cars and the Tomahawk cruise missile. He has also participated in many TV and radio broadcasts, and has undertaken over 200 public-speaking engagements.
With his well-developed communication skills, Nigel offers unique insights into life at the sharp end of a World Water Speed Record campaign.
Extensive media coverage has helped the Quicksilver project, including full-page features in the Sunday Times, the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Express and the Daily Star Sunday, an interview feature on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast, and coverage in documentaries shown on Discovery Channel, The History Channel, National Geographic Channel, and BBC2, BBC3 and BBC4.
The Quicksilver team operates as a voluntary group of individuals and companies focused on common aims. A proportion of the day-to-day administration of the Quicksilver project is undertaken by QWSR Ltd., which also holds some commercial rights in the Quicksilver World Water Speed Record Challenge.