William Albert Hickman (22 December 1878 in New Brunswick – 10 September 1957) was a Canadian designer and manufacturer of innovative fast boats. He is best known as the inventor of the Hickman Sea Sled.
Born in Dorchester, New Brunswick, Hickman grew up in Pictou, Nova Scotia, as part of a wealthy shipbuilding family. He earned a degree in marine engineering from Harvard University in 1899. He was later a Commissioner of New Brunswick, a lecturer for the Government, a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute and a successful novelist.[1]
He was highly intelligent but, openly, did not suffer fools gladly and was forever irritating his contemporaries in the marine business. This probably contributed to the low coverage of his ideas in the boating press.[2]
A 1940s promotional brochure which was in other respects conventional sales material included this banner heading which revealed the man: "Truth is like unto a star, appearing somewhat small, but bright and secure".[2]
Hickman sea sled
N9 and 32 foot Sea Sled NAS Pensacola, Jan 26, 1918. NARA collection.
He was the inventor of the inverted vee planing hull known as the Hickman sea sled.
A new type of vessel, which promises to revolutionize water craft and which takes the same place on the water that the automobile does on land - Scientific American 26 September 1914. In September 1914, a 54 foot Sea Sled design,[2] with an internal steel frame designed by Hickman's Chief Engineer E. F. Tomlinson, four surface piecing propellers, a single 18" torpedo, 3 pound Hotchkiss gun, and was proposed to the US Navy as the first high speed motor torpedo boat, the forerunner of the famous World War 2 PT boat. This vessel was later built in 1918 as US Navy vessel C-378 but was cancelled following the end of World War 1 after completing initial high speed trials recording a top speed of 37 knots at 1400 HP and a sustained speed of 34.5 knots in a winter northeaster storm with 12 to 14 foot seas.[3] Various version of these steel framed Sea Sleds were used by both the US Navy and Army as rescue boats starting in 1913 up through the Second World War.[2]
Along with the Sea Sled, a direct forefather of the modern high speed catamaran, or tunnel hull, he is credited with producing the first surface propellers, working out that they produced lift[4] and patenting ideas for lifting strakes, sponsons, anti-trip chines and prop-riding craft. These are all well known and widely used principles today.[5]
Selected works
Like the story-telling narrator of An Unofficial Love-Story, who admits at the beginning of his fiction, "I was but an onlooker on the far outside," Albert Hickman became a kind of literary bystander, observing literature from a distance and Canadian literature, in particular, from an American vantage point. But his fiction continues to stand, albeit in a small corner in need of more light.[6]
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
albert, hickman, william, albert, hickman, december, 1878, brunswick, september, 1957, canadian, designer, manufacturer, innovative, fast, boats, best, known, inventor, hickman, sled, hickman, sled, contents, biography, hickman, sled, selected, works, also, no. William Albert Hickman 22 December 1878 in New Brunswick 10 September 1957 was a Canadian designer and manufacturer of innovative fast boats He is best known as the inventor of the Hickman Sea Sled Hickman sea sled Contents 1 Biography 2 Hickman sea sled 3 Selected works 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksBiography EditBorn in Dorchester New Brunswick Hickman grew up in Pictou Nova Scotia as part of a wealthy shipbuilding family He earned a degree in marine engineering from Harvard University in 1899 He was later a Commissioner of New Brunswick a lecturer for the Government a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute and a successful novelist 1 He was highly intelligent but openly did not suffer fools gladly and was forever irritating his contemporaries in the marine business This probably contributed to the low coverage of his ideas in the boating press 2 A 1940s promotional brochure which was in other respects conventional sales material included this banner heading which revealed the man Truth is like unto a star appearing somewhat small but bright and secure 2 Hickman sea sled Edit N9 and 32 foot Sea Sled NAS Pensacola Jan 26 1918 NARA collection He was the inventor of the inverted vee planing hull known as the Hickman sea sled A new type of vessel which promises to revolutionize water craft and which takes the same place on the water that the automobile does on land Scientific American 26 September 1914 In September 1914 a 54 foot Sea Sled design 2 with an internal steel frame designed by Hickman s Chief Engineer E F Tomlinson four surface piecing propellers a single 18 torpedo 3 pound Hotchkiss gun and was proposed to the US Navy as the first high speed motor torpedo boat the forerunner of the famous World War 2 PT boat This vessel was later built in 1918 as US Navy vessel C 378 but was cancelled following the end of World War 1 after completing initial high speed trials recording a top speed of 37 knots at 1400 HP and a sustained speed of 34 5 knots in a winter northeaster storm with 12 to 14 foot seas 3 Various version of these steel framed Sea Sleds were used by both the US Navy and Army as rescue boats starting in 1913 up through the Second World War 2 Along with the Sea Sled a direct forefather of the modern high speed catamaran or tunnel hull he is credited with producing the first surface propellers working out that they produced lift 4 and patenting ideas for lifting strakes sponsons anti trip chines and prop riding craft These are all well known and widely used principles today 5 Selected works EditLike the story telling narrator of An Unofficial Love Story who admits at the beginning of his fiction I was but an onlooker on the far outside Albert Hickman became a kind of literary bystander observing literature from a distance and Canadian literature in particular from an American vantage point But his fiction continues to stand albeit in a small corner in need of more light 6 This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources 1900 Handbook of New Brunswick 1903 The Canadian West and Northwest 1903 The Sacrifice of the Shannon 2003 ISBN 978 0 88780 542 4 1909 An Unofficial Love Story 1914 Canadian NightsSee also EditSupercavitation propellerNotes Edit Howell Family Genealogy Pages a b c d Seidman David Damned by Faint Praise article Archived 2008 05 09 at the Wayback Machine 100th issue of Wooden Boat May June 1991 Bulletin No 214 The Beginnings of The High Speed Motor Torpedo Boat 1 US Patent 1204355 Filing Date Mar 12 1914 Innovation in Small Craft Design A Tribute The Royal Institute of Naval Architects Dictionary of Literary Biography on William Albert HickmanReferences EditCampbell Lorne Innovation in Small Craft Design A Tribute The Royal Institute of Naval Architects Web Site Gerr Dave The Hickman Sea Sled The Best High Speed Hull Ever article Boatbuilder Magazine Sept Oct 1998 Gerr Dave Sea Sled Slides Again article Boatbuilder Magazine Jan Feb 2003 Hall Charles H Manufacturing Sea Sleds article Motor Boat 10 Nov 1926 Nelson Curtis L Hunters in the Shallows A History of the PT Boat 2003 ISBN 978 1 57488 601 6 St Pierre Paul Matthew 2006 William Albert Hickman in Dictionary of Literary Biography Detroit Michigan Thomson Gale Seidman David Damned by Faint Praise article 100th issue of Wooden Boat May June 1991 External links EditMiss Lakeside Genius Comes Home to Roost a 1925 Hickman Sea Sled The sea sledge Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W Albert Hickman amp oldid 1093291018, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
