Few gatherings in New Zealand boating history carry quite the weight of what is coming to the lower Waimakariri River in the summer of 2026.
It was 1954 when Sir William Hamilton, working on the banks of a Canterbury river, set out to crack a problem that had beaten river travellers for generations. Fast, shallow water brought propeller-driven boats to a dead stop. Hamilton's solution was deceptively modest: a thirteen foot hull, a 30 horsepower E93A Ford side valve engine, and an experimental jet unit known as the Quinnett unit. The boat he built around that combination was Saucy Jane, and she would quietly reshape the entire course of jet boating.
What made Saucy Jane so significant was what she lacked. With nothing hanging below the keel, she ran across gravel shallows and punched upstream through turbulent white water that would have stopped any conventional design cold. Hamilton's success with that small, spare hull gave him the foundation for the jet units the world uses today, and it earned him recognition as the father of modern jet boating. A Canterbury farmer and engineer had rewritten the rulebook, and the boat that proved it possible looked like almost nothing at all.
The original Saucy Jane is now preserved as an icon of New Zealand ingenuity. In early 2024, boatbuilder Jim Lapsley completed a faithful replica, ensuring the design can still be demonstrated on moving water rather than simply admired from behind a rope. The replica stays true to the compact dimensions and light construction that made Hamilton's early trials so convincing, and it ranks among the most significant heritage builds the country has seen in recent years.
All of this history will be brought back to life at the Saucy Jane Historic Weekend, running from 6 to 8 February 2026 on the lower Waimakariri River. Jet Boating New Zealand and the JBNZ Heritage Trust are organising the event, drawing together classic boats, early jet units, and the people whose work defined the sport. River runs, static displays, a car boot sale, and a Saturday night function at the Racecourse Hotel all feature across the three days.
Come expecting old engines, tall stories, and river craft that reward a second and third look. More than seventy years after Saucy Jane first showed what a small Kiwi boat could do, her spirit will be very much alive on the water.
