Kenneth Seymour Moorhead Davidson joined Stevens Institute of Technology in 1929 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
In the fall of 1932 asked Olin J. Stephens II for help in locating a high quality model yacht for experiments.
Another problem with the large scale models was they were expensive for small yacht designers to afford.
[citation needed] Davidson also held the belief that only small model could provide cost effectiveness to study all boats.
Davidson and two assistants constructed a dynamometer and a towing apparatus for more detailed and quantitative work.
Since the pool was so short in length and the model they were testing so small, the slow towing speeds.
Davidson received the funding necessary to build his full size test pool.
Davidson released his results from these test in his 1936 paper "Some Experimental Studies of the Sailing Yacht".
The yacht was designed and tested in the tank and Davidson navigated the Ranger to victory in the America's Cup.
The size of his team grew to 63, and Davidson hired women to help build the models.
This meant that Davidson did not have to go to Columbia to run tests on the turning abilities of boats.
In November 1942, Davidson started to run test on seaplane hulls for the Bureau of Aeronautics.