Mystery Boats Question

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

QUESTION:

Fred, I recently came across a list that someone compiled of boats that have been identified as post-war Unlimited or Gold Cup Class hydroplanes. I consider myself to be a fairly knowledgeable fan of Unlimited racing. But I've never heard of some of these boats.

Did the following really exist? LET'S FACE IT, BOBBIE BOY, HONEY MOON, MISS WOLVERINE, TRIUMPH II, HERE'S WHAT, LOTUS II, DELPHINE XI, SCAT, HELVIN, FLEUR DU LAC, CHESAPEAKE CAT, and IT'L DO. - Rick Daniel

ANSWER:

LET'S FACE IT (U-72) was merely Jack Bartlow's 7-Litre hydro that was registered as an Unlimited for the 1956 Buffalo Launch Club Regatta so that the race could count for National High Points.

BOBBIE BOY (U-24) was the former 725 Cubic Inch Class HERMES V. After being sold in 1948, it was supposedly entered in the New Martinsville, WV, race in the early 1950s. But I have no record of the boat ever making an appearance as BOBBIE BOY.

HONEY MOON (U-9) was the former MISS GOLDEN GATE, an early three- pointer, which placed second in the 1938 Gold Cup with Dan Arena driving. Renamed HONEY MOON, it finished fourth in the 1953 Lake Tahoe Mapes Trophy with Richard Davis driving. This was its only post- war appearance.

As far as I'm concerned, MISS WOLVERINE (G-28), TRIUMPH II (U-5), and HERE'S WHAT (G-91) are completely fictitious. I've searched for these boats for 40 years and haven't turned up a single clue. They were supposedly from the 1940s. But no one ever heard of them. They were registered with the APBA. But that's the end of the story. Somebody probably just wanted a pit pass.

I have the same feeling about LOTUS II (U-18) and DELPHINE XI (U-14). They were supposedly owned by Horace Dodge, Jr., of the automotive family. LOTUS I and DELPHINE X definitely existed. But they were less than successful. For this reason, I don't believe that their proposed sequels ever materialized. This is confirmed by every Dodge employee that I've ever interviewed, including Al D'Eath, Walt Kade, Doc Terry, and Wally Columbo. LOTUS II and DELPHINE XI were obviously figments of Horace's imagination.

The existence of SCAT (U-21) is confirmed by Norman Lauterbach. A no- show at the 1954 Seattle Gold Cup, SCAT was one of the final efforts of the Ventnor Boat Works, which went out of business shortly thereafter. According to Lauterbach, SCAT was owned by Joel Thorne and was built somewhat along the lines of HOT METAL and ALUMINUM FIRST, a couple of Ventnor products of the late 1940s. SCAT vanished into obscurity after Thorne, a stunt pilot for Paramount Pictures, crashed an airplane into a building and was fatally injured.

HELVIN (G-7) was the former MISS CINCINNATI IV, the only Gold Cupper known to have been built (by Cam Fischer) while World War II was in progress. A step hydroplane, it flipped at the 1946 Detroit Gold Cup. Renamed HELVIN by new owner Vince Turner, the boat showed up a few times in 1949 but never finished a heat. I once saw a film of HELVIN running in the Detroit 100-Mile Marathon. It was a terrible riding boat! No wonder it had such a short career.

FLEUR DU LAC (G-19) was the former MISS ALUMINUM III from 1933. It was owned by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, who ran it in local races on Lake Tahoe before the war. Powered by an Allison engine, FLEUR DU LAC showed up at the 1948 President's Cup in Washington, D.C., but failed to finish. It took third-place in the Lake Tahoe Yacht Club free-for-all of 1953.

CHESAPEAKE CAT (G-32) was another example of a Limited boat that stepped up to fill out an Unlimited field. It made a start in the 1951 President's Cup in Washington, D.C., where it failed to finish. I once saw a film of the 1951 President's Cup. But the narration provided no clue as to CHESAPEAKE CAT's origin. It was a green boat with some kind of V-8 engine. The hull was probably intended as either a 225 or a 7-Litre. CHESAPEAKE CAT is one of history's mysteries.

IT'L DO existed...but not as a race boat. My old friend George Davis, "The Hisso Man" from Vine Grove, KY, campaigned the 725 Class IT'S A WONDER in the 1950s and the 280 Class MY TENNESSEE GAL in the 1960s. He had a name in mind for his next competition rig: IT'L DO. But George retired from racing before this plan could be realized. So he applied the name to a small fishing craft that he built by hand. If George had lived long enough, his next fishing boat would have been named IT'L DO TOO.