Arlington man teams up with Princeton, breaks world water speed record

John Peeters has been a part of a lot of water speed records.

The longtime Arlington resident and north Snohomish County native drove his first powerboat to a water speed record in 2006, and since then he’s gone on to set 61 records in boats of various classes.

But this one was different. This time he wasn’t emitting any exhaust, and this time he had a whole crowd of college students to share the celebrations with.

On Oct. 26 on Lake Townsend near Greensboro, North Carolina, Peeters became the fastest individual ever to pilot an electric-powered boat when he drove Princeton Electric Speedboating’s vessel to a new water speed record.

Peeters, driving a 14-foot Pro Stock class hydroplane fitted with a 200-horsepower three-phase AC motor, averaged 114.20 mph over two passes through a 1-kilometer course, shattering the previous record of 88.61 mph, which was set in 2018.

And he did it with the approximately 35 Princeton University students who make up Princeton Electric Speedboating cheering him on from the shore.

“I’m really happy about it, but it’s the team that deserved it,” Peeters said. “I was a minor part of the whole deal. This team from Princeton, none of them had ever raced cars or boats, none of them had ever set a record — one of them had set a high school swimming record. I’ve had the good fortune to feel this a few times, but to see the pure joy on their faces, that was the greatest accomplishment because their hard work paid dividends, and they were able to see their boat go so fast. That was the neatest part.”

So how did a 41-year-old print shop owner from Arlington end up driving to glory in an electric boat built by brainy students from a university in New Jersey?

It begins with two nodes. The first node is Princeton Electric Speedboating, a club started by Princeton engineering students in 2020 and dedicated to the creation and viability of electric boats. The students were the ones designing and building the boat, which they named Big Bird. The second node is Peeters, a lifelong boat racer who is a known commodity because of his long list of speed records — his 61 records are the second-most ever by a single person.

Connecting the nodes was J.W. Myers. Myers is a former unlimited hydroplane driver who Peeters befriended when Myers was based in the Pacific Northwest. Myers moved to New Jersey, and he hooked up with the Princeton team in 2021, aiding with the technical aspects of building the boat. So when it came time to find a driver, Myers knew who to call.

“Why wouldn’t I be interested?,” Peeters said. “It was a chance to work with friends, work with smart people and accomplish something.”

It also happened to align with Peeters’ goals. All of Peeters’ previous records were set in fuel-driven boats. But inspired by driving his Tesla automobile, Peeters had developed a plan for pursuing records in an electric boat. So Princeton’s team came along at a perfect time. Peeters went to a race Princeton entered on the east coast in late 2021 to check it out, and he was sold.

“I was able to be there and give them advice, but at the same time see the passion they had for electric boating, and I was able to help guide that,” Peeters said. “Ultimately they asked me to be the driver on their faster boats.”

On the day of the record attempt, the team arrived at Lake Townsend first thing in the morning. Testing had gone well the previous day, but the boat had never been pushed the way it would during the attempt. For a record to be sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association a boat must first complete one kilometer in one direction, then after a minimal break with no changes to the boat complete the same kilometer in the opposite direction. The average over the two kilometers is the official speed. The plan was to make three attempts, at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., which would give the team time to charge the batteries between runs.

“The weather was absolutely perfect,” Peeters said. “There was minimal wind and a flat course, and it wasn’t too hot, which was good for the batteries — temperature for the batteries is a big deal.

“The day before we’d tested at 112 mph, but we didn’t know, this would be the longest we’d ever pushed the battery system and we didn’t want to overheat the system or break anything mechanically,” Peeters added. “So we decided as a group to roll into the traps a little bit slower.

On the first pass Peeters entered the course at 106 mph and exited at 118 mph. The boat’s time of 20.138 seconds made for an average speed of 111.08 mph, which was well beyond the previous record.

“Holy cow, that run was perfect,” was Peeters’ reaction. “The boat handled great, the battery temperature was only up 10 degrees Celsius, that’s exactly where we wanted to be.”

Peeters called back to the team on shore, and the decision was made to ramp it up for the return leg. Peeters entered the course at 113 mph and exited at 121 mph. The time of 19.038 seconds was an average speed of 117.50 mph, giving them their total average speed of 114.20 and a new record. On the second leg the boat also broke the unofficial single-point speed record of 116 mph, which was set earlier this year.

The team was ecstatic, and they were all excited to try for faster speeds later in the day. Unfortunately, as the boat was about to enter the course for the first leg of its second attempt, the propeller shaft broke, and the team didn’t have a spare. So their day was done prematurely, but history was still made.

“I’m so lucky to be a part of this and to share in these accomplishments,” Peeters said. “When I set records before I had maybe one or two crew members with me, and they were just there to help out. This was a group effort, and that was so neat to me. They had a picture of a kid pumping his fist in pure joy, and you don’t get that every time. To capture it live was really special to see.”

And Peeters and the Princeton team aren’t done. Breaking the record was just Phase 1 of Princeton’s plan. Phase 2 is already in action, with the team building a new boat with a bigger electric motor with the goal of achieving 149 mph — at 150 mph new levels of safety equipment are required. The plan is for the Phase 2 attempt to happen in the spring on the west coast. Phase 3 is aiming for speed records regardless of engine type.

“People ask me what’s my favorite record,” Peeters said. “It’s the next one. I know there’s so much more potential in that boat, the second pass could have gone so much faster. The next boat, which they’re already building, will go 30 mph faster than this one. So while I’m thankful for this record, it’s incomplete. We can do more, we can be better, faster, stronger. This was a great stepping stone, and we’re on to the next one.”