The Outboard Power Boat, Has been around since the 1920. In recent years outboards have begun to be very powerful and can attain speeds around the 250kph mark

Apart from the obvious differences of engine size,outboards have 2 distinct types. The mono hull and the hydroplane. In practice most non mono outboards are tunnel boats, which unlike inboard hydroplanes have full length spnsons. Under APBA rules they are still classed as hydroplanes

Mono Hulls These hulls are generally V bottom boats much like your average outboard ski boat. 20 years ago that was what they were, regular ski type hulls. Nowdays there are specialist V Bottom hulls built just for racing and fast skiing. With the outboards ability to be trimmed by using hydraulics on the motor, they can be "jacked out: for maximum speed, and jacked in for better cornering.

At speed the modern mono hull rides on only the very last few inches of the hull, with the boat well out of the water. They are called mono meaning one hull

Hydroplane Boats (Tunnels) I can only recall seeing a few actual hydroplane hulls in my time in the sport. Like their inboard counterparts, they are very fast, but lack cornering abilities. Tunnel hulls are classed as hydroplanes under APBA rules. At race events you will hardly ever hear anyone call them a hydroplane, they are just called tunnels. Tunnel boats are the best and hardest cornering of any boat type inboard or outboard

Tunnel boats have been in racing since the mid 1960's however development took some years to get them right, being refined all the time, until they have reached the level they are today. From being made out of heavy plywood to the very light ply and exotic materials used today, weighing a fraction of their ancestors 25 years ago. Overseas they are also called catamarans.

Hydrofoils These are boats that ride on foils that stick down below the boat, and ride on those foils. Hydrofoils are prohibited from power boat competition