The Brief History of Dee-Jay V

By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian

DEE-JAY V was a 1950 product of the famed Ventnor Boat Works of Ventnor, New Jersey. Ventnor had been in the boat building business since 1902 and had patented the three-point concept (two sponsons and a propeller) in 1938.

In the years immediately prior to World War II, Ventnor-designed hulls were considered to be the state of the art and won many trophies. Unfortunately, by the time DEE-JAY V was built, the firm had seen its better days.

With the dawn of the 1950s, propriding three-pointers were all the rage in the larger inboard classes. Most of the post-war Ventnor products (including DEE-JAY V) were taildraggers.

DEE-JAY V (G-66) was owned by Daniel J. Murphy of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, and appeared at a total of nine Unlimited races between 1950 and 1952. Designer Norman Lauterbach was the driver in all but one of her races.

A conventional rear-cockpit/forward-engine craft, DEE-JAY V measured 27 feet 6 inches by 11 feet 10 inches. This is now considered to be rather short for anything with a V-12 Allison aircraft engine. (Most post-war Unlimiteds measure in the 28 to 32-foot range.) The racing colors were light green and yellow.

Six of the nine races that DEE-JAY V entered were multi-class affairs with fewer than the required number of four Unlimited Class entries making a legal start. These races did not count for APBA National High Points.

The boat's first appearance in competition was the 1950 Fite Memorial Marathon at Ocean City, New Jersey. Ventnor employees Lauterbach and George Miller literally finished building the G-66 two hours before race time. Although utterly untried, DEE-JAY V went on to win the race at a record 81 miles per hour with Miller at the wheel and Lauterbach along side as riding mechanic.

Finishing second to DEE-JAY V at Ocean City was the Allison-powered ETTA, the only other Unlimited hydroplane in attendance, with George Sarant in the cockpit.

The G-66's first appearance in major competition--the 1950 APBA Gold Cup at Detroit--was most inauspicious. It failed to finish any heats and flipped in Heat Two, just as it was about to be lapped by Ted Jones and SLO-MO-SHUN IV, the overall winners.

Jones told a horrific story about the DEE-JAY V's flip. It happened right in front of him. He saw four objects floating in the water adjacent to the boat. He couldn't tell if these were seat cushions or people. Jones couldn't avoid running over two of the objects. Fortunately, the two that he ran over turned out to be seat cushions. If he had run over the other two objects, the driver and mechanic undoubtedly would have been killed.

Truth to tell, DEE-JAY V simply lacked the speed to keep up with the top boats of her day. This was especially obvious at the 1950 President's Cup in Washington, D.C., where she finished seventh and was thoroughly outclassed by the victorious MISS PEPSI and driver Chuck Thompson. DEE-JAY V’s best heat was only 65.562, compared to 88.725 for MISS PEPSI.

Owner Dan Murphy must have recognized his boat’s lack of competitiveness. Following the 1950 President's Cup, DEE JAY V made only two more race appearances: the 1951 APBA Gold Cup in Seattle--where it failed to qualify--and the 1952 Imperial Gold Cup in New Martinsville, West Virginia.

Because of the small number of entries at New Martinsville in both the Unlimited and 7-Litre categories, the two classes were combined with the committee awarding a first-place prize in each division.

The overall Imperial Gold Cup victory went to Oliver Elam in the 7-Litre Fageol-powered MERCURY, which ran second and first at speeds of 63.828 and 70.950. Norman Lauterbach and DEE-JAY V won the First Heat at 69.912 but didn’t finish the Second. Elam was declared the 7-Litre winner; Lauterbach won the Unlimited prize. (Two other Unlimiteds--MISS PEPSI and MISS GREAT LAKES II--were in attendance but scored no points due to mechanical difficulties.)

Although the Murphy team retired from racing after 1952, driver/designer Lauterbach continued in the sport for many years. A brother of famed boat builder Henry Lauterbach, Norman owned the 1977 Grand Prix Class National Champion UNCLE NORMAN’S LAUTERBACH SPECIAL that Terry Turner drove.

In 1959, an advertisement appeared in the APBA PROPELLER magazine announcing DEE-JAY V as being available for sale. The ad read in part, “Unlimited hydroplane, late model, custom built by Ventnor Boat, appraised at $5,000.”