Vintage Unlimiteds are Alive and Well

[Timothy Ramsey]

 By, Timothy Ramsey / HaRM

This past weekend, August 24^th – 26^th, many witnessed a lot of activity within the vintage unlimited scene as there were events stretching from Kent Washington all the way to Detroit Michigan that involved unlimited class race boats of all shapes and sizes. Below are just four events that we were aware of and there were probably others too.

Gull Lake Classic at Bar Harbor Minnesota – August 24^th-26^th, 2018

The Gull Lake Classis is attended annually by thousands and this year’s event was no exception, among those classic hulls in attendance was Dr. Ken Muscatel’s “Miss Detroit III” that Peter Kreissle was kind enough to bring from Clayton while Dr. Muscatel and crew brought the “My Sweetie” out from Seattle.

Among others in attendance was the “The Tempo VI” owned by Lee and Penny Anderson out of Nisswa, Minnesota. Lee and Penny also own the 1924 Nevins “Baby Bootlegger”. Mark Mason also brought the “Curtiss Wilgold III” out from New Hampshire for this show as well.

APBA “Gold Cup” Detroit Michigan – August 24^th-26^th, 2018

The 2018 running of the APBA Gold Cup was once again held in Detroit Michigan and contested on the Detroit River, among the vintage unlimiteds in attendance was the “Miss U.S.” from Omaha Nebraska driven by Jack Schafer Jr., the “Blue Chip” from Chelan Washington driven by Mitch Evans, the replica “Miss Thriftway” from Vashon Island Washington driven by Steve Compton, and the replica “Gale V” from Henderson Arkansas driven by William “Bill” Black.

Museum of North Idaho 50th Anniversary Coeur d'Alene, ID - August 24^th-26^th, 2018

As part of the promotions supporting the Museum of North Idaho’s 50^th anniversary, David William’s brought “Bruce McCaw’s 1958 Bardahl that Mira Slovak drove over for display, the Bardahl is celebrating its 60^th anniversary.

David William’s started the “Mighty” 1710 ci Allison engine a number of times and it quickly drew lots of attention, Sunday mornings local newspaper featured a nice picture and article of the “Miss Bardahl”.

Squire Shop Restoration / HaRM Kent Washington - Ongoing

The 1979 “Squire Shop” restoration is just completing its 22^nd month of restoration and looks to be turning right side up on Tuesday the 4^th of September at 5:00pm. As of this writing the boat is scheduled to be on the water by early summer and hopefully to be running at next years Seafair events. The Squire Shop was originally driven by Chip Hanauer and we hope to see Chip back in this fan favorite next year too.

These great vintage unlimiteds are growing by the numbers and the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is actively right in the middle of the more modern three-point classic restorations. In the past three years HaRM has completed the following restorations.

1. The 1958 “Miss Bardahl”
2. The 1973 “Winged Wonder”, “Pay-n-Pak”

As of this writing the “Squire Shop” is 10 months away from completion and then the shop will go very quiet, or will it?

There are currently five additional unlimited restorations being considered, of these five three will happen within the next three years for certain. The other two will depend on funding and volunteers, there are other restorations outside of HaRM being considered as well.

The next ten years are going to be an exciting time for the vintage unlimited scene and as a fan you have to be thankful for the efforts and the work being accomplished to support these restorations. If your level of excitement is over the top and you’d like to be more involved keep reading.

There are a couple of ways that you can help and depending on your interest and talents maybe even both opportunities?

1. Become a member or if you are a member please remember to keep your membership current. These memberships are so vital to supporting us, we thank you all for considering and supporting this option.
2. Are you at all interested in helping? We welcome any and all levels of experience, if you know how to use hand tools great as we’d love to have you. Are you just a fan that has always wanted to know more about these great boats, we’d love to teach you. The vintage hydroplanes are still going strong but we desperately need some younger people involved to continue to carry this torch going forward.

Drop by and let’s chat about how you can become a member or help us with the next restoration, we have lots of opportunities and would love to meet you.

Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum

5917 S 196th St, Kent, WA 98032

 

Tuesday: 10:00am – 8:00pm

Wednesday: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Thursday: 10:00am – 8:00pm

Friday: 10:00am – 4:00pm

Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm