Key Figures · Tuner, parts maker and inventor

Bill Chapin

Signed R&D Racing Products' 1998 page as its President, and is described by trade press in 2008 and 2018 as the one who focused on its research, development and testing.

1. The early years, in print, 1981 to 1993 (this page's records)
2. The makers and their machines, 1985 to 2005 (this page's records)
3. Noise, safety and federal rules, 1996 to 2002
4. The rule book years, 2002 to 2018 (this page's records)
5. Three rule books, 2021 to 2026

1990200020102020

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Design and invention

1992, 1993 and 1994 · Likely

US patent 5,234,361, Foiled grating for jet watercraft, filed on 10 November 1992 and granted on 10 August 1993, names Glenn Dickinson and William D. Chapin as its inventors, and a second patent, 5,281,177, filed on 5 August 1993 with a related application of 10 November 1992 and granted on 25 January 1994, names the same two. Their claims cover an intake grating whose foil, carried on two lengthwise bars, divides the water intake channel into upper and lower parts. The patents name no company, so reading them as the work of the two R&D principals, from the same two names on R&D's 1998 page and from R&D making intake grates (Personal Watercraft's 2008 article names its Aqua Vein intake grate), is the archive's inference.

Sources: US patent 5234361; US patent 5281177; R&D Racing Products page 1998; Personal Watercraft on R&D 2008

Business

1998 and 2016 · Confirmed

R&D Racing Products' own web page, captured in May 1998, is signed by Bill Chapin as President and Glenn Dickinson as CEO. The company's entry in the 2016 Harris Southern California Business Directory lists Glenn Dickinson as President and Bill Chapin as Vice President.

Sources: R&D Racing Products page 1998; Harris directory 2016

Confirmed

Two trade articles give him R&D's research and development. Personal Watercraft in April 2008 says he focused on research and development while Dickinson ran manufacturing and marketing, and The Watercraft Journal in September 2018 says he mainly oversaw the testing and development of new products.

Sources: Personal Watercraft on R&D 2008; Watercraft Journal on R&D 2018

Contested

The documents read do not agree on how he came to R&D. A 2008 article has him joining the company by the end of 1987, years after it began making personal watercraft parts; a 2018 article says R&D came from a partnership between Dickinson and him; and R&D's own 1998 page dates the company to 1972 without naming a founder.

Personal Watercraft on R&D 2008 says

R&D began its personal watercraft work in 1982, and Chapin joined the company by the end of 1987.

Watercraft Journal on R&D 2018 says

R&D came from a partnership between Dickinson and Chapin, a former Performance Jet Ski technician.

R&D Racing Products page 1998 says

R&D was established in 1972; the page names no founder.

Sources: Personal Watercraft on R&D 2008; Watercraft Journal on R&D 2018; R&D Racing Products page 1998

Likely

The Watercraft Journal's 2018 report calls him a former Performance Jet Ski (PJS) technician, and a retrospective published by jetskiworld.gr describes him as a former Jet Ski racer and names PJS, Team Butch, MoTec and R&D among the personal watercraft companies he worked with.

Sources: Watercraft Journal on R&D 2018; jetskiworld.gr on Bill Chapin

Recognition

Likely

The IJSBA hall of fame roster lists Bill Chapin as one of its two Lifetime Achievers of 2007, and the association's announcement of that year's ceremony, as reposted by jetskiworld.gr, says the two were inducted as contributors to PWC racing rather than as competitors. Neither text says more about him, so reading the honour as that of the one who focused on research and development at R&D is the archive's inference from the name.

Sources: IJSBA hall of fame page; IJSBA 2007 hall announcement (repost)

Names as printed

William D. Chapin (US patent 5234361); William Chapin (US patent 5281177)

Elsewhere in the archive

• History chapter: The aftermarket: shops, dealers and the teams they ran
• History chapter: The aftermarket: pumps, plates, mats and the registers
• History chapter: The aftermarket: hulls, rule books and closures
• Organisation: International Jet Sports Boating Association
• Era: The early years, in print
• Era: The makers and their machines
• Era: The rule book years

What the archive has not read (3)

• Personal Watercraft Illustrated's volume 2 number 1 (1988), read only through archive.org's search highlights, reports a Bill Chapin winning the Expert Modified and Superstock closed course events at what its caption calls the finals, in a passage on the overall 1987 Expert crown. Further highlights of the same issue, read on 2026-10-07, show it naming, in a line the scan garbles, the 1987 IJSBA World Finals, and saying that the full World Finals results are in its Racing Review section, so the archive reads the event as the 1987 IJSBA World Finals; the caption itself prints only the finals. Nothing ties that rider to this page beyond the name, so the result is not used (checked 2026-10-05 and 2026-10-07).
• The hall of fame page publishes no citation for its Lifetime Achievers, and the association's own 2007 announcement was not found; only the repost is held (searched the archive's mirror and research cache, 2026-10-05).
• No document read dates when he became R&D's President or Vice President or when he left either post; the 2015 edition of the Harris directory prints its Vice President's name in a form the search text garbles, so it is not cited for him (searched the archive's mirror and research cache, 2026-10-05).

Documents cited on this page

• R&D Racing Products page 1998 (web.archive.org): About R&D, rd-performance.com (Wayback capture of 30 May 1998), R&D Racing Products, USA Inc.; manufacturer primary, medium. The company's welcome letter, signed Bill Chapin, President, and Glenn Dickinson/CEO. Medium for who signed for the company and with what title in 1998; its history (established in 1972) and its claims for its racing record are the company's own and no page relies on them.
• US patent 5234361 (patents.google.com): US patent 5,234,361, Foiled grating for jet watercraft (USPTO record), United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1993-08-10; government, high. Filed 10 November 1992, granted 10 August 1993, inventors printed as Dickinson; Glenn and Chapin; William D., no assignee. Seven claims for an intake grating whose foil, carried on two lengthwise bars, divides the intake channel. The held text is the USPTO Patent Public Search record read on the accessed date (street addresses removed from the held copy); the link is the public Google Patents page for the same patent. It names no company, so tying it to R&D is an inference.
• US patent 5281177 (patents.google.com): US patent 5,281,177, Foiled grating for jet watercraft (USPTO record), United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1994-01-25; government, high. Filed 5 August 1993 with a related application of 10 November 1992 (the filing date of 5,234,361), granted 25 January 1994, inventors printed as Dickinson; Glenn and Chapin; William, no assignee, five claims. Held as the USPTO Patent Public Search record; the link is the Google Patents page.
• Personal Watercraft on R&D 2008 (personalwatercraft.com): Catching up with R&D Performance Products, by Vasilis Moraitis (PersonalWatercraft.com, 21 April 2008), PersonalWatercraft.com, 2008-04-21; enthusiast media, medium. A trade visit to R&D. Dates its personal watercraft work from 1982, has Bill Chapin joining by the end of 1987 for research and development and Glenn Dickinson running manufacturing and marketing. The page also shows an update date of 29 April 2016. Its author also runs jetskiworld.gr, so the two are not independent of each other.
• Harris directory 2016 (archive.org): 2016 Harris Southern California Business Directory and Buyers Guide (Mergent; archive.org full-text search highlights), Mergent Business Press, item held by the Internet Archive, 2016; editorial, medium. The 2016 edition (ISBN 978-1-63053-834-7), read the same way. Entries for Skat-Trak Inc (Ken Stuart, President) and R & D Racing Products USA Inc (Glenn Dickinson, President; Bill Chapin, Vice President). Same publisher as the 2015 edition, so the two are not independent.
• Watercraft Journal on R&D 2018 (watercraftjournal.com): R&D Performance Products Closes Its Doors After 30 Years, by Kevin Shaw (The Watercraft Journal, 5 September 2018), The Watercraft Journal, 2018-09-05; enthusiast media, medium. Report of R&D's closing on 27 September 2018, calling Glenn Dickinson its President and Bill Chapin a former Performance Jet Ski technician and Dickinson's partner, and printing the closing statement signed by Dickinson. The news was first reported by jetskiworld.gr.
• jetskiworld.gr on Bill Chapin (jetskiworld.gr): Bill Chapin: In a class of his own (jetskiworld.gr), jetskiworld.gr; enthusiast media, medium. A retrospective on his career by the site's editor, undated in the held text. Used only for the companies it names him working with and for his having raced, never for anything else it says. Read, but not kept among the copies held here, because most of the text concerns matters the archive does not publish.
• IJSBA hall of fame page (ijsba.com): The Jacobsen-Stjernstrom IJSBA Hall of Fame (IJSBA page), International Jet Sports Boating Association; sanctioning body, high. The association's own roster, read on 22 September 2026, giving the hall's name, its creation and dedication in 2006, and inductees by year to 2014, names only. It publishes no selection criteria and no citation for anyone.
• IJSBA 2007 hall announcement (repost) (jetskiworld.gr): IJSBA announces 2nd Annual Hall of Fame Ceremony (jetskiworld.gr repost of the association's 2007 announcement), jetskiworld.gr, reposting the International Jet Sports Boating Association; enthusiast media, medium. The association's announcement of the 2007 hall of fame ceremony as reposted, naming fifteen competitor inductees and the two Lifetime Achievement inductees, Ken Stuart and Bill Chapin. Medium as a repost; the original was not found. One email address is removed from the held copy.

Changes to this page

• 2026-10-07: The first gap no longer says the magazine's highlights leave the event unnamed: further highlights of the same 1988 issue show it reporting the 1987 IJSBA World Finals and placing the full results in its Racing Review, so the gap now names that event as the archive's reading. The result is still not used, because nothing but the name ties that rider to this page.

Cite this page

“Bill Chapin”, BaddJet archive, https://baddjetarchive.com/key-figures/bill-chapin/

Add the date you read it.

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