Before airplanes took over public imagination, it used to be that going fast for the purpose of going fast was best accomplished on the water. The hydroplane design on speedboats allowed the boat to skim atop the surface of the water as if in flight, gliding at unheard-of speeds of around 50 miles an hour in something that was essentially a modified canoe.

These were the 1920s, the glory days of boating, which few companies care to remember in this fiberglass age. But a real boat – the kind Hacker Boat Company builds – is hand-made of old fashioned mahogany and over 24,000 screws, nuts, and bolts and is itself a thing of beauty. Today, when all of your lakeside neigbours have their own white plastic water ski accessories, how do you impress them? By reminding them that speed isn’t garish, it’s classy. By bringing them back to the glory days of boating.

Hacker Boats has been around for more than a hundred years, and they specialize in making boats in the traditional way that John Hacker did. Hacker was one of the most important naval architects of all time, the pioneer of hydroplane technology on speed boats and subsequently the “father of powerboats,” as a proud Robert Lynn Wagemann, President of Hacker Boats, says. Their race boats are handcrafted from mahogany using the same blueprints they used in the 1920s – only updated with the newest and best in marine engineering technologies.

With such strict reverence for the past, Hacker Boats only manages to make about 20 boats every year. This is because they put a lot of effort into every one, whether it’s a stock model or a custom order. Every boat is built collectively by 10 or 11 skilled craftsmen who individually perform specialized jobs and who, in total, contribute anywhere from 1,600 to 2,100 man hours. It’s little wonder that these boats start at around $100,000 US.

For the look, the ride, and the overall feel, nothing beats a mahogany boat. People like Jon Bon Jovi and Donald Sutherland, we’ve heard, agree with this, and have purchased their own Hacker Boats. With classic looks and construction and the newest engines, these boats prove that style and performance really can go hand in hand.

For more information, visit hackerboat.com.