Jim Wynn
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Jim Wynn, a powerboat racer and pleasure-boat designer who influenced both aspects of boating, died in Miami after an extended illness at the age of 60. Jim Wynn's engineering developments in creating and perfecting the deep-V hulls and the inboard/outboard powerboat drive engines known as stern drives not only made possible high-speed offshore racing but also proved a boon to millions of pleasure and military craft afloat worldwide. |
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In 1958, he and a fellow boat builder, Ole Botved, completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by outboard motor, going from Copenhagen to New York City in 11 days. In 1964, Wynne won the first World Open Class championship. He won the title again two years later. |
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Besides competing, Wynne often wrote on offshore powerboat racing. He was also an accomplished skin diver who appeared in the television series "Sea Hunt" with Lloyd Bridges. Jim Wynne, invented Volvo Penta’s aquamatic drive, and was named the most influential person in the motor boat industry in the 20th Century according to a ranking in the highly regarded Motor Boat & Yachting. The Volvo Penta "Aquamatic Drive", which was launched in 1959, is according to Motor Boat and Yachting, "the 20th Century’s single most important development in small-craft technology, which made the mass production of cheap, fast, inboard sports boats possible." |
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