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Designed by George W. Crouch, whose three-point suspension hydroplane, Cinderella revolutionized early speedboat racing, and whose ideas for a motor torpedo boat were later incorporated into H. Scott-Paine's PT boat designs, Typhoon was built for Edsel Ford to be used for commuting between his home and the Ford plant on the Detroit River.
The 40 foot runabout was constructed at the Henry B. Nevins Shipyard, City Island, New York, where Crouch, who died in 1959 was design consultant, reportedly for over $70,000.
Estimates of her replacement cost today run upward of $100,000.
Typhoon took her name from the original engine, a 600 hp, 12 cylinder Wright Typhoon aircraft engine, designed initially for a dirigible. This power plant was carried in a lacquered African mahogany hull which was double planked forward, single planked aft, had seven feet, eight inches of beam and was pointed at both stern and bow.
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