November 2010 News Posts (27)

Future Hall of Fame driver Dave Villwock will be the guest speaker at Saturday Nights Annual dinner meeting.

Villwock is currently tied will Bill Muncey for all time unlimited wins with 62!…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

The Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered MISS BUDWEISER of 1980 is one of the sport's legendary champions. Nicknamed the "Juggernaut," the Griffon BUD won 22 races and defined the state of the art in Unlimited racing between 1980 and 1984.

There were actually three Griffon MISS BUDWEISERs. The first appeared in 1979 and the last in 1985. But it is the "Juggernaut" that inspires awe.…

A historical look at skid fins and how they help hydroplanes turn left.

By Doug Ford

Reprinted from h1unlimited.com.

Everyone that has watched modern Unlimited Hydroplanes race has seen the so called "second roostertail" of spray that comes off the skid fins in a corner. That spray is very indicative of the tremendous loads these fins carry when the big boats enter a turn. It…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

Future Unlimited Class luminary Dan Arena made his first impression in the California Gold Cup Class of the 1930s with a series of boats named MISS GOLDEN GATE. Dan drove the first of these, a step hydroplane, to victory in the Pacific Motorboat Trophy at Newport Harbor in 1936 and 1937.

The three-point hull design of racing hydroplane caught on in a big way in the years just prior to World War II. Most of the early three-pointers were…

The Hydroplane Museum will be closed Tuesday November the 23rd due to snow.

It is too early to make a call for Wednesday the 24th.

We will also be closed on Thursday November 25th and Friday the 26th for Thanksgiving.

We plan to be open for normal operation on Saturday November the 27th.

David Williams

On our last full day in Doha, as planned, we went down to the pits and did the final prep on the boat for shipment. Hatches were given a final dry-out where needed, covers put in place, hatch screw plates and internal hardware was sprayed down with rust inhibitor, and we placed the big plastic cover on the trip to keep it clean on journey home. Last word is that the boats won’t head out…

After going down to the pits this morning to finish packing up the truck and grabbing some pieces off the Gearbox to send home, we high-tailed it back to the Mariott, changed into some clean clothes, and went off on the “Safari”. Safari can mean a couple different things, but this particular connotation involved a 4-wheeling caravan out into the Qatar desert and sand dunes, about a 45 minute ride from Doha.



We had a caravan of about 8 vehicles, mostly Toyota Landcruisers, Nissan…

Hi friends,

Your obedient correspondent is a little woofed tonight, so I don’t have a ton of piffle for you. The U-17 struggling with some overheating and fuel issues, so it was another late night in the pits while we pulled the motor, pulled the PT wheel out, changed a fuel control and got…

At 1pm Thursday the 18th of November, Don Mock and the talented Atlas Van Lines crew reattached the left sponson. Both air traps have been replace, the bottom has been repaired and the original sponson frames are back in place, the old Blue Blaster is beginning to look like a race boat again. There is still lots more work to do so don’t be shy, come on down and lend a hand.…

Day one of the Oryx Cup Experience is in the books. We started off with the breakfast at the hotel, which wasn’t too bad, although “Veal Bacon” is NOT Bacon. Make no mistake about that. There was a lot of setup to do on the boat today, so much of the morning was spent heads down, getting electrical systems back in the boat (we removed the boards after San Diego), getting the skid fin bolted on, mounting props, and doing all of that “first day at the race site” stuff.



Getting the…

Today turned out to be nothing short of amazing. Every day I spend working with the team on the 'Blaster is special, but some days are better than others. Like today.

I knew we were going to attempt to reattach the right side sponson to the new airtrap. Don and our team spent a great many hours making sure everything was ready. I believe the sponsons are the only major sub-assemblies we removed intact (more or less) from the original hull, yet every part to which the…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

In a few days and for the second year in a row, the H1 Unlimited hydroplanes will be be competing in the Oryx Cup/UIM World Championship Race in Doha, Qatar.

Sanctioned by the Union of International Motorboating, the 2009 Qatar race marked the first time in their history that the Unlimiteds had ventured beyond the environs of the United States, Canada, or Mexico. Driver J. Michael Kelly and his GRAHAM TRUCKING entry emerged victorious in…

Made it to Houston, and am waiting to get on the flight to Doha. We board in about an hour. Word is there's free internet in the pit area, so GAME ON as far as blogging, time permitting. There's not much down time when you go racing with Nate.

Hopefully there will be a few less caterwauling infants on the international segment of this journey. I swear that there is an IBWC (International Babies with Colic) Convention going on Houston. They were all on the flight…

Should be a interesting week coming up as we mount the sponson assemblies on both sides of the boat. The airtraps are all prepped so it should be a fairly easy job. We should be able to lift the frames with a strap wrapped around them hooked up to the gantry. So how about Weds for the right side and Thursday for the left. We’ll start mixing Hysol around 1pm both days.

I want to thank everyone for all the great work this past week getting the left airtrap mounted. And thanks to the…

A tense rivalry between Detroit and Seattle and a challenge for the Harmsworth Trophy have meant a busy year for the man who makes the Hell-Bent hydroplanes.

By Jim Atwater

Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, April 23, 1956

In past summers, the calm of the thumb of water called Saginaw Bay that juts down into the mainland of Michigan has been shattered by the guttural roar of sleek, skittish hydroplanes. At the wheel of these bellowing…

After spending more than a year on loan to the Foss Waterway Museum in Tacoma, the 1958 Miss Bardahl returned to the Hydroplane Museum Wednesday Nov 10th. The boat needs some minor work to get ready for her 2011 return to Lake Coeur d' Alene and the Diamond Cup this coming July. Work is being led by vetran crew chief Glenn Raymond and will begin on Thursday November 11th at…

An ill-starred love affair

By David Tremayne

The date was set for Tuesday, October 23 1979, on Lake Washington. Like Bill Muncey, who had been a lot less than enthusiastic back in 1960 when Miss Thriftway owner Willard Rhodes wanted a shot at the propeller-driven water speed record, Dean Chenoweth didn't really want to have a go. But, like Muncey, he was a pro who was…