All News Posts (264)

By Jon Osterberg

What makes a boat great? Typically, four traits: a committed owner; a smart, talented crew; superb driving; and innovation.

In post-1950 hydroplane racing, dominant teams have raced boats named Slo-mo-shun, Thriftway, Budweiser, Pay 'n Pak, and Atlas Van Lines. Great boats driven by great drivers named Fageol. Taggart. Muncey. Chenoweth. Remund. Henley. Hanauer. Kropfeld. D'Eath.

From 1963…

The Hydroplane and Raceboat Musuem will be closed today, Febuary 24th due to snow. We will be open tomorrow Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th.

An all time great among drivers reads into 'Miss Thriftway's' triumph a victory for solid power over 'souped-up, hot rod engines'

By Lou Fageol

Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, August 26, 1957

To most of the people who saw Willard Rhodes's boat Miss Thriftway successfully defend her title in the Gold Cup at Seattle, the victory was one more score for Seattle in the bitter hydroplane rivalry with Detroit. But for me Miss Thriftway's…

We took the Miss Bardahl off her trailer Thursday night and put her on a roll around. This will make life much easier for repairs. Also the trailer can now be sent out for updates. I'll post some pictures  soon. We also took one cylinder bank to Peter Orton's shop and repositioned two cylinder liners that were bound up and out of round. Got both back to .002 out of round ...very acceptable.

We're still looking for volunteers to help with boat repairs. Experience isn't necessary, we'll…

After two decades of racing in thunderboats, it looks as if 1976 National Champion Bill Muncey will continue rewriting the record books forever.

By Coles Phinizy

Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, September 27, 1976

In 1950 Designer Ted Jones of the boat-mad city of Seattle revolutionized unlimited hydroplane racing with a nimble three-point monster named Slo-Mo-Shun IV. Driving her himself, Jones wrested the Gold Cup away from the equally…

Although August seems a long ways away, the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum's Auction Committee is already hard at work planning this summer's annual event. Hey, putting on a party for over 250 of our closest friends is a big task!

Did you know that it costs over $1,000 per day to keep the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum doors open? That's right, our annual budget is over $350,000 per year.  Last year, over one third of our income came from the…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

As a whole, automotive power in the Unlimited Class has so far failed to achieve competitive results. Only one auto-powered boat (MISS CHRYSLER CREW in 1967) has ever won a race.

There were quite a few attempts at automotive power in the late 1960s and early `70s. But all that were fast enough to qualify eventually took backward steps to proven principles with the traditional Allison or Rolls-Royce Merlin arrangement.

In 1948, Al…

Ron has a new girl this season, a 3-ton rear-engine beauty with sophisticated curves and a 170-mph yen to be '66 champion.

By Ron Musson, world champion driver, unlimited hydroplanes

Reprinted from Popular Mechanics, March 1966

Unlimited Hydroplanes are the world's fastest and largest competition powerboats, and this year I'm driving a  brand-new one of radical design.

Some people think the new Miss Bardahl is too far out,…

By Doug Ford

Reprinted from h1unlimited.com.

In the 1930's and 1940's, aerodynamics played little or no role in the performance of the Gold Cup boats and Unlimited Hydroplanes.  But, in 1955 the boat racing fraternity got a rude awakening as Lou Fageol and Slo-mo-shun V performed the first ever 360 degree blow-over while at high speed on the backstretch of his final lap of qualifying for the Gold Cup in Seattle. …

By Bill Ames

Reprinted from Science & Mechanics, August, 1974

The Unlimited Division of the American Power Boat Association is the smallest active racing class of that group. This elite coterie fields less than two dozen boats each year, to compete in about ten races. Yes these few regattas attract a total of more than two million spectators!

The universal appeal of these "thunderboats" is a product of roaring sound, flashing color, and the hovering dangers of…

An Interview with Ron Jones Sr.

By Anne McRayde

Reprinted from Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Vol 1, No. 1

How did you first begin building boats?

You could say I was born with it. My father was Ted Jones, who invented the three-point hydroplane, as we know it today. As a little boy, I was able to go with Dad, and my three sisters, and Mom to the lake and watch Dad test. When he was out testing my three sisters, who are…

A Seattle Hydro Roared Home First In The Gold Cup But Then Officials Stepped In, And The Affair Became A Detroit Debacle.

By Jim Atwater

Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, September 10, 1956

Covered with grime, Bill Muncey bounced out on the orange deck of Miss Thriftway and did a happy jig. "By golly," shouted the husky driver as his big hydroplane swung into its pit, "by golly, it's about time." On shore Owner…

By Thomas E. Stimson, Jr.

Reprinted from Popular Mechanics, July, 1951

If some steel-nerved power-boat driver has the courage to hold his throttle wide open for a full 30 seconds this year, there’s a chance that a brand new world record for a speed across the water will be made.

Today, half a dozen of America’s blue chip sportsmen have their eyes fixed on a terrific speed of 200 miles per hour, a figure that was fantastically out of a reach a few years ago. None…

The Hydroplane Museum Gift Shop is open from 10 AM to 8 PM today, December 23rd and will be open tomorrow Dec 24th from 10 AM to 2 PM for last minute holiday shopping. We still have a complete inventory of boat models, Tee shirts, books and DVDs for the hydro fan in your life. Stop in and mention that you saw this post and you will get $10 off any purchase of $50 or more!…

In his attempt to win still another racing trophy, defeated Champ Bill Muncey was frustrated by a wall of water and an oilman's boat.

By Hugh Wahll

Reprinted from Sports Illustrated, July 15, 1963

"Washing down" is an old tool in the lockers of most hydroplane racers. A tactical maneuver, now illegal under the racing rules, it consists of deliberately aiming the fierce fire-hose power of the towering rooster tail from the stern of your…