Courtesy Boston Public Library-The Tichnor Brothers Collection
Before the advent of waterskiing, another sport took the nation’s waterways by storm. Aquaplaning first emerged around 1910, coinciding with the rising popularity of small recreational motorboats, which were just becoming powerful enough to tow riders. In this postcard, dated between 1930 and 1945, a wooden launch pulls three riders on aquaplanes in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
The aquaplane was a flat wooden board that resembled a toboggan. The board was affixed to the boat by a rope, allowing standing riders to “aquaplane” behind the vessel at speed. A second rope attached to the board acted like a set of reins that riders could use for balance and steering. Riders typically began by lying belly-down on the board while holding the rope. As the boat gained speed, the rider would move to a crouch and then to a standing position, leaning left and right to make turns.
While some companies manufactured aquaplanes for purchase, many participants built their own. They typically measured about 4 to 6 feet long and 2 to 2.5 feet wide. An article in Popular Mechanics recommended Philippine mahogany for construction, though cedar, spruce and cypress were also suitable. Corrugated rubber mats were tacked to the surface for added traction.
“The Aquaplane gives birth to an exhilaration not far short of speed intoxication,” read a 1911 advertisement for The Aquaplane Co. in Motor Boating magazine.
As aquaplaning grew in popularity in the following decades, techniques evolved and competitions emerged. Riders performed such stunts as standing on their heads or sitting on a partner’s shoulders while racing at high speeds. Boats often towed multiple boards at once. In 1935, an annual 44-mile aquaplane race between Santa Catalina Island and Hermosa Beach, California, was established. Endorsed by the American Power Boat Association, the event attracted competitors from around the world.
Aquaplaning is credited with inspiring waterskiing, which was invented in 1922 when Ralph Samuelson used a pair of boards as skis on Lake Pepin in Minnesota. Waterskiing did not immediately eclipse aquaplaning, which reached peak popularity in the 1920s and ’30s. However, the sport began to fade by the 1950s as waterskiing, and later kneeboarding, gained traction. The invention of personal watercraft such as the Power Ski, created in 1960 by Fort Lauderdale marina owner Fred Guiliano, further cemented aquaplan
