Question:   Tell us a little about your boat racing experience?

Knowlen:   I began designing and building race boats in late 1950s and drove my first limited hydros.   In 1973 I concentrated just on boat design and have since designed over sixty race boats including two record setting unlimited hydroplanes.   Norm Berg and I have collaborated for more than thirty years on boat design and building.

Question:   What persuaded you to join American Challenge?

Knowlen:   I was fascinated by the technical direction and commitment of the American Challenge Team.   I also learned that these are people that dream big dreams and work hard to make them reality.   Also, Russ does not believe in the thought that this cannot be accomplished.   This was especially intriguing and so I agreed to help with the effort.   The most important thing is that there is a lot of "passion" for realizing this dream and achieving the mark of setting the WSR, and for this reason alone I came onboard.

Question:   What do you consider your most important contribution to the project?

Knowlen:   My most valued involvement to date was to create the initial design concept of the record boat.   It has many exotic features including the computerized active flight controls including the variable camber leading-edge dynamic control devices.   I also brought to the team my many years of experience with large scale, high performance boat design/development.

Question:   Is there anything else you would like to add?

Knowlen:   This team has a fundamental belief that everything we envision is completely possible and that the Water Speed Record should be returned to the United States at a level that is well beyond the previous record, and that Russ Wicks is the person to accomplish this mission.