Building the Fastest Boats on Water

Perched on her side along a side street in industrial Seattle is Miss Elam, one of the fastest hydroplane boats in the world. She owes her existence in large part to some top-notch software and engineers, and a very lucky event March 15th 1960 when Sven Ellstrom and his bride were on their way from Sweden to Alaska. They ran out of money in Seattle and decided to stay.

Sven started making laminate panels. He made the first laminate flooring in the United States. Ellstrom Manufacturing still makes laminate wall panels used in airports all over the world, as well as host of other products. It’s the company’s proximity to water, however, that led Sven’s son Erick to build his first hydroplane boat out of wood when he was 12. Eventually, Erick and his brother Tom built a prototype that would become Miss Elam. As work on the boat progressed, the two brothers found they couldn’t find anyone to make many of the parts they wanted—and made to the exacting standards that would translate into the speed they wanted.

The answer was to build the parts themselves. Their company already used Mastercamâ software to machine parts. They stuck with it when they built Miss Elam. This time, the results were stunning. “The second time it was in the water, it won a race,” says Erick.

“We draw it all in Mastercam and we cut it in Mastercam using a 5-axis Mazak Variaxis 630 milling machine to cut the parts.” Two of their proudest innovations are their propeller and their T53 and T55 case halves used to house gas turbine compressors. “We like to make high precision stuff anyway,” says Erick. Still, they needed some help getting the tolerances to the 10^th of a thousandth. They turned to Steve Kidd and his staff at Cimtech Inc., their Mastercamâ dealer. Cimtech programmer Greg Thayer helped reverse engineer and design programs with the tight tolerances the brothers were looking for. “The better the tolerance, the better the miles per hour,” says Erick. When they tried out a new propeller a few months ago, the mph rate improved by 6. That’s phenomenal when you’re talking racing. Last year, Miss Elam was 2^nd in national high points and set records in 5 of the 6 courses she raced with speeds over 150 mph.

“We looked at all the CAM software out there,” says Erick. “We stayed with Mastercamâ because it does everything and it’s easy. Some people say if it’s easy to use, it must not be very sophisticated. That’s not true. Mastercam Version 9â does everything we want. Some people say no software could do all that we demand. I say the proof is in the pudding. What we chose is the best. We combined Mastercamâ with Vericutâ. We can see the piece and how it’s being cut, a real plus with 5-axis machining.”

Another plus is all the talent the brothers have to draw on. Ellstrom Manufacturing employs 175 people. They make everything from insulated glass to parts for the trucking, marine and aerospace industries. “We produce a half million parts a month every month,” Erick notes. Needless to say, Ellstrom employees love the opportunity to work on the boat projects.

The latest innovation is a strut the propeller attaches to. “When you blow a propeller, that’s usually the end of the strut, too. Our new strut has survived 4 propeller breaks. It has less drag and is more efficient.” Indeed, Ellstrom is building the same strut for six other hydroplane boat teams. Doesn’t Erick worry about selling his competitors his innovative parts? “If they beat us and they have the same equipment, we’re not good enough.” Erick and his employees will never settle for that.

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