John Palmer’s racing boats were built for speed – at times exceeding 100 miles per
hour! Introduced to speed boat racing at that age of 14, John was Canada’s
highest profile, hardest working race boat builder, designer and racer.

John created the infamous Slokum II race boat in 1947 and captured Canada’s
Hydroplane championship for the next 7 consecutive years.

He reached the pinnacle of his career in 1969 when he rebuilt a 280 cc class
inboard hydroplane, including the engine to take the Canadian championships on
Couchiching Bay by 20 seconds in front of 10,000 spectators.

In later years, he transferred his mechanical engineering knowledge into an “ice
racing” boat.

John and his wife Phyllis are the proud parents of Sue Palmer-Komar, a world class
cyclist.