From the Shelbyville Daily Union:
From the pier at Niagara-on-the-Lake, the resting sleek jet boats look like innocent pleasure craft.
But the 24,000-pound powerhouses are capable of carrying 42 passengers weighing up to a total of 7,000 pounds through a stretch of Class Five whitewater currents found at Devil’s Hole Rapids, just below the Niagara Whirlpool.
Pittsburgh resident John Kinney decided to take his love of whitewater adventures to a whole new level when he did his own research and development and came up with the concept of the jet boat. The vessels are able to carry six passengers in each of seven rows at up to 60 mph through the Niagara Gorge to the infamous Niagara Whirlpool, a feature created below the world famous falls, where the river makes an abrupt right hand turn to fashion a massive vortex.
Starting in 1992, Kinney eventually built a fleet of four â€Ŕwet boats†as well as a â€Ŕdome boat†covered with Plexiglas that have safely run about 1.5 million passengers up the gorge to the whirlpool and back. In the process, the hour-long, mid-April through mid-October trips have provided passengers with endless thrills and water-soaking adventures.