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Kayleigh Perkins to Test
Unlimited Hydro
Twenty-two-year-old Kayleigh Perkins hadn’t
even been born the last time a woman took an
unlimited hydroplane onto the waters of Lake
Washington. That was back in 1981, but Perkins is
more than ready to get behind the wheel.
“I spent all of this last winter lifting
weights to get ready for this,” she said.
With the blessing of pilot Steve David, Perkins
was given the chance to take out the famous Oh Boy
Oberto hydro for its test run.
The petite Perkins handled the 31-foot-long boat
that skims across the water at up to 200 miles an
hour.
“It’s really hard, it’s going
into the corners really easy, these boats want to
turn and you can take it in with a couple fingers
but pulling it out takes full body briefing so it
was challenging, and I’m excited, I’ve
got to do a little more weightlifting to be able to
handle a heat in one of those. I’m not quite
ready for that yet,” she said.
At the end of the ride, a jubilant Perkins had a
big hug for her partner – the Oh Boy
Oberto.
“The way that I look at is if you show the
boat love the boat will show you love back,”
she said.
Perkins has spent her life in and around hydros.
She began racing unlimited light hydroplanes at the
age of 16 and has become a winner despite her shy
nature.
“Normally actually I’m a pretty timid
person I didn’t go on roller coasters until I
was 19 years old I mean I’m a timid person and
when I’m driving boats I feel fearless,”
she said.
The next step will someday be competing in the
full hydroplanes, and by the looks of her latest
accomplishment – she hit 147 miles an hour
during the test – she’s well on her
way.
After the test run, Perkins went back to race
her boat, the unlimited light hydroplane Foster
Care/Triad Racing Technologies.
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