A feature-length documentary following seven Canadian engineering students who built a high-performance jet boat from scratch – despite none having ever seen one in person – is now streaming in New Zealand, following its theatrical run in Canada.
RAMBOAT traces the University of Sherbrooke team's capstone project from initial concept to the 2025 World Jet Boat Championship in western Canada. The aluminium hull, designed around a 6.2 litre, 533hp GM LS3 V8, was engineered to reach approximately 180km/h across water as shallow as three inches.
The students approached the build from first principles, working through lift, drag and aerodynamics rather than copying existing designs. Their mentors in the tight-knit river racing community deliberately withheld complete solutions, wanting to see what the team would invent rather than reproduce.
By the time the boat was ready to race, only two of the original seven remained involved. The project had consumed roughly C$80,000, funded partly through industry sponsorship and partly through personal student debt. Getting RAMBOAT to the championship required another C$30,000 for transport, accommodation, entry fees and spares across 4,200km. A crowdfunding campaign raised C$12,310, with rewards ranging from a ride aboard the boat to a T-shirt.
Director Réjean Lavoie, a mechanical engineer and filmmaker with years of experience documenting Peace River boating, began filming after the students contacted him for advice. His team accumulated roughly 20 hours of footage using helicopters, onboard cameras, riverside rigs and FPV drones. The documentary captures the uncertainty of the undertaking – Jeremy Ducharme noted during fundraising that "if we are not able to make it to the race, our story won't have a proper ending."
The film's New Zealand release carries particular resonance. Bill Hamilton developed the first practical shallow water jet boat in the 1950s, entering one in an 80km race from Mercer to Hamilton along the Waikato River in 1956. River racing and rallies followed through the 1960s, with New Zealand's first three-day jet boat marathon held in 1970. When the inaugural World Jet Boat Championship took place in Alberta, Canada, in 1978, New Zealander Reg Benton won.
RAMBOAT is streaming now at ramboatfilm.vhx.tv.
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