Hydroplane Museum's Posts - Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum2024-03-19T09:36:34ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbohttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/66498179?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://thunderboats.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=246tk6zdw9cbo&xn_auth=noThe hydroplane connectiontag:thunderboats.ning.com,2019-04-03:6315479:BlogPost:1142022019-04-03T17:18:17.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
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<p>In the ‘50s, males 18 and older had three choices: Be drafted for two years, enlist three to four years or try to find work. In spite of the impending draft I landed a job that offered excitement like meeting well-known personalities and becoming part of hydroplane racing at Stan Sayres Inc. Stan Sayres Inc. was a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Desoto…</p>
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<p>In the ‘50s, males 18 and older had three choices: Be drafted for two years, enlist three to four years or try to find work. In spite of the impending draft I landed a job that offered excitement like meeting well-known personalities and becoming part of hydroplane racing at Stan Sayres Inc. Stan Sayres Inc. was a Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth/Desoto dealership on Broadway and Madison (recently demolished to make way for a much needed high-rise).</p>
<p>The lot had a high demand for sales reps but my draft status left that route closed to me. The employees were friendly but one guy stood head and shoulders above the rest, working on the grease rack, changing oil and lubing cars. Phil Namma had a real gift for gab, which made him prime for a sales position. What a salesman he was! One month his commission was $4,800! He was a force to be reckoned with.</p>
<p>My job entailed new and used car inventory and running parts for hydros. Several times during the race season parts and equipment were shuttled to Hunts Point where we witnessed our racer, Slo-mo-shun IV, being raised from the water under covered moorage. Grinning ear-to-ear, I chatted with the Mopar Parts hydro crew and drivers. Some visitors were able to catch a ride on a “Thunder Boat” and, try as I might, I never got one. But I sure did get drafted. TV personalities and other celebs got their ride of a lifetime.</p>
<p>Stan Sayres bought the Slo-mo-shun IV from Anchor Jensen (Jensen Boat Repair at Portage Bay) who built and drove it winning the Detroit River race in 1950 bringing the Gold Cup to Seattle. Other hydroplane builders were Ron Jones who made boats safer while his brother Ted Jones made them faster.</p>
<p>A Sayres master mechanic named Wayne and I were sent to 10th and Union to Davis and Hoffman Auto Repair. There in the basement were several large engines in crates Stan had purchased as military surplus after WWII. Some of the engines had powered tanks, PT boats and airplanes. Allison was the name on the engines so we found one matching serial number, loaded it up on a pickup and drove it to the service department.</p>
<p>Wayne, like a surgeon, laid several shop towels on a long bench where he dismantled the roller bearings assembly atop the huge engine and removed the packing grease. Each part was carefully cleaned.</p>
<p>Several days later Stan invited all employees to the second story to view and hear the results of Wayne’s artistry. Standing a safe distance away from what would be the heart of Slo-mo-shun IV the exhaust vented through the ceiling. He fired the big engine just at idle speed and we all felt the vibes in our chests.</p>
<p>Days later I drove the engine to Mr. Sayres house on Hunts Point where the crew worked on Slo-Mo IV around the clock readying for the big race. Crew members were found sleeping on Stan’s carpet.</p>
<p>Mr. Sayres handed me a heavy block of brass about the size of a brick. He gave me instructions to take it to Lake Union to Anchor Jensen’s Boat Repair, where Mr. Jensen carved a propeller for the Slo-mos. It was nothing short of magic. I tried my best to remember the crew’s names, even writing them down on my hands for future reference.</p>
<p>There was to be a test run and so, when it was announced that the Slo-mos would be running on Lake Washington, many people lined the shores! Hydro fever was everywhere, much like Seahawks fever today. There were buttons, t-shirts, pins, posters, sun visors and postcards. Kids pulled wooden hydros behind their bikes and some tried pulling them on the water behind them to get a rooster effect to no avail.</p>
<p>The day of the races people lined the Interstate 90 bridge and, as the boats jockeyed for the best position for the starting gun, the Slo-mo left Hunts Point. Under the west end of the I-90 bridge everyone started cheering. The noise from the hydros and the cheering are forever embedded in my brain.</p>
<p>Slo-mo won first of four races. The boats barely touched the water at top speed with the small window between water conditions and speed. People held portable radios to their ears trying to hear the races. On one occasion, Bill Muncy ran into Coast Guard cutters. Another time Slo-mo sped under the I-90 bridge, rooster-tailing the Seafair judges’ barge and soaking everyone. On a sad note, the Quick Silver flipped and sank taking the driver and co-driver with it. Bill Omara, TV broadcaster and newsman, fell to his knees and said a heartfelt prayer on live TV.</p>
<p>I met Bill Muncy while working for Sayres, driving him and other members of the pit crew to critical meetings. There were some great conversations. Bill owned the Mercer Island Roostertail Grocery store — I told him I really wanted to ride in a hydro. He laughed, saying simply, “You should have asked!”</p>
<p>On one of those perfect summer days in Seattle I motored my boat to where Keith Jacobsen (owner of Muffler City on Rainer) sat on his 20-foot boat with its full-blown supercharged Pontiac Bonneville engine. Keith and his girlfriend invited me aboard and, traveling at more than 95 mph, we screamed from Seward Park to the I-90 bridge! Now that’s boating!</p>
<p></p>
<p>By Richard Carl Lehman, Columnist</p>
<p>Reprinted from <em><a href="https://madisonparktimes.com/Content/Opinion/Opinion/Article/The-hydroplane-connection/9/9/30641" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Madison Park Times</a></em></p>Hydro fever blends nostalgia with competition for die-hardstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2018-04-24:6315479:BlogPost:1094202018-04-24T01:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">David Williams left his real-world job to live his dream. He occasionally drives hydros </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">and works as executive director of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.</span></p>
<p>Seafair's hydroplane races don't hold the same place in Seattle's…</p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;">David Williams left his real-world job to live his dream. He occasionally drives hydros </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">and works as executive director of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.</span></p>
<p>Seafair's hydroplane races don't hold the same place in Seattle's heart that they did in the 1950s and '60s when they were the only sport in town besides Husky football.</p>
<p>The city has grown up, but Seafair is still here as a reminder of the way the Emerald City used to be.</p>
<p>To most, it's a weekend when Seattle revels in summer fun, with the Blue Angels streaking into the sky, and traffic is usually the worse for it. But to a handful of diehards, it's a lasting way of life, an event that achieves holiday-like status, the defining point of the whole year -- year after year.</p>
<p>These are the people who keep the Seafair torch alive.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Lifelong dream of Seafair</strong></p>
<p>For David Williams, racing hydroplanes was a lifelong dream. He was born in the late 1950s, when the sport was in its glory years, and when Seattle didn't have a lot else to offer a sports fan.</p>
<p>"I fell in love with it when I was 5 years old," Williams said. "The dreams that we form as kids are probably the strongest dreams we have. They're probably also the most unrealistic."</p>
<p>But Williams was lucky. It took a while, but his dream came true.</p>
<p>Williams is now the executive director for the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, and he does some driving on the side, including competing in this year's Gold Cup in Detroit.</p>
<p>"I am kind of the cliché jack of all trades, master of none," said Williams.</p>
<p>But among the restored boats at the museum, Williams is the ultimate authority, even authoring the book "Hydroplane Racing in Seattle," released in June.</p>
<p>Ten years ago, Williams was on the fast track to success working in the import and export business. But the death of his father made him realize the fast track wasn't necessarily the right track, Williams said.</p>
<p>When he went to visit, his father was in the intensive care unit. Williams noticed every bed contained the same sad story.</p>
<p>"Some 60-year-old, middle-aged white guy, a wife hovering over him and the obligatory flowers from the company," he said. "The people in the rooms changed, but the scene was always the same."</p>
<p>Williams quit his job and started volunteering at the museum. A lot of hard work and fundraising later, he's working in a sport he loves, which he says is in Seattle to stay.</p>
<p>"It's very unique, it's something that is Seattle," he said. "You don't see this in Portland or San Francisco or Los Angeles."</p>
<p>Williams will be on hand at the Seafair festivities this weekend, keeping an eye on the museum's display of the 1968 Miss Budweiser and 1982 Atlas Van Lines, and signing copies of his book.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Seafair family tradition</strong></p>
<p>The sight of the Miss Madison is familiar to most hydroplane fans. Painted green, red and white, the hydroplane looks something like a package of Oh Boy! Oberto beef jerky streaking across Lake Washington every year at Seafair.</p>
<p>The hydroplane is obviously painted to advertise, but to Seattle's Oberto family, sponsorship in the Seafair event is more than brand exposure; it's a tradition.</p>
<p>"I'm actually a second-generation hydro fan," said Larry Oberto, whose father, Art Oberto, began sponsoring hydroplanes in 1975. "I grew up in a house two blocks up from Lake Washington by the (I-90) bridge."</p>
<p>One of the reasons the Oberto family purchased the house was the large deck, well suited for throwing the Seafair parties they have earned a reputation for over the years.</p>
<p>Lately, the weekend parties have been thrown at Art Oberto's new house along the Lake Washington shoreline in Mount Baker. The house earned some notoriety when the raceboat Gale IV wound up beached in its rose garden in 1954, a commonly told story among hydroplane buffs.</p>
<p>It was a little later that Larry Oberto remembers the races of his childhood.</p>
<p>"As a kid, it was a chance to call up all your friends and go to the lake and swim and play," he said. "Then at the end of the day, you'd jump off the bridge."</p>
<p>The city has changed, and Seafair has changed with it, but the Obertos have maintained their annual ritual. Friends and family from around the country and world return to Lake Washington for the hydroplane races.</p>
<p>"It's something we do just out of sheer tradition," Larry Oberto said. "I think in a time of all the changes in Seattle ... people appreciate it. It would be missed if it were gone."</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Not just a man's world</strong></p>
<p>Hydroplane racing is often perceived as a male-dominated sport. But it's not an old boy's club. The 1981 departure of driver Brenda Jones might have looked like the end of women in hydroplane racing, but there still are a handful of women instrumental in running the sport from the sidelines.</p>
<p>One of those women is Lori Jones, who owns the U-9 Miss Car Pros with her husband, Mike Jones, a former driver.</p>
<p>The couple won the Gold Cup in 2001.</p>
<p>Jones said there's plenty of room for women in the sport if they have the right mentality.</p>
<p>"It isn't just a man's sport," she said. "Not at all. I mean, we have two female crew members, and they really love it."</p>
<p>If her husband didn't have such a history with the sport, or if she were single, Jones said would probably still try to carve out a career working in public relations or with sponsors in hydroplane racing.</p>
<p>"It would be a good career," she said. "I don't know if I could run a race team entirely on my own -- that would be a challenge."</p>
<p>The Joneses, who own an accounting business, took a break from racing after their Gold Cup win, but they returned to the water this year.</p>
<p>Lori Jones said it feels good to be back.</p>
<p>"It is kind of fun to be involved in a male-dominated sport," she said. "It's a challenge."</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>The Voice of Seafair</strong></p>
<p>He's been the voice of Seafair for 40 years, a constant presence in a sport some said had too many fatalities and too few races to last.</p>
<p>Hydroplane announcer Pat O'Day, currently with KIRO, started his broadcasting reign in 1966, the same year three drivers were killed in a Washington, D.C., race. It's taken a long time, but O'Day says the sport, like himself, has made it through the good and the bad to secure a place in the hearts of sports fans.</p>
<p>O'Day, a disc jockey with KJR at the time, recalls he was in Dallas in the late 1960s with Jimi Hendrix when he got a call from a local station asking him to be the sole announcer for the hydro races.</p>
<p>"I said, 'I can't do seven hours by myself,' " he said.</p>
<p>Luckily, O'Day had friends in high places. Singer Wayne Newton owed him a favor -- O'Day was airing Newton's music long before other stations -- and he agreed to co-host the races.</p>
<p>"He did great," said O'Day. "Since then, some station has always picked me up, and that's how 40 years go by."</p>
<p>Since driver capsules and canopies have made the sport safer, O'Day said hydroplane racing has been slowly reclaiming a spot at the forefront of American sports.</p>
<p>"It's still a spine-tingling thrill, but we've eliminated fatality as the constant companion to the sport," said O'Day.</p>
<p>Hydroplane racing has been good to him over the years. He describes the sport as "just a lot of fun."</p>
<p>"I'm not alone -- there's a few thousand people who agree with me," he said.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Reprinted from the <em>Seattle PI</em>, August 4, 2006</p>A Ron Jones Introduction - A Century of Gold Cup Racingtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2017-01-20:6315479:BlogPost:1020212017-01-20T03:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>The recently published book, <em>A CENTURY OF GOLD CUP RACING</em> by Fred Farley and Ron Harsin, is dedicated to two extraordinary men: Ted Jones and his son Ron Jones, Sr., whose trend-setting designs defined state-of-the-art in Gold Cup racing in the second half of the 20th Century.</p>
<p>Ron was asked to write the introduction to <em>A CENTURY OF GOLD CUP RACING</em>. It contains a moving tribute to his late father. Due to space limitations, Ron's preface had to be shortened for…</p>
<p>The recently published book, <em>A CENTURY OF GOLD CUP RACING</em> by Fred Farley and Ron Harsin, is dedicated to two extraordinary men: Ted Jones and his son Ron Jones, Sr., whose trend-setting designs defined state-of-the-art in Gold Cup racing in the second half of the 20th Century.</p>
<p>Ron was asked to write the introduction to <em>A CENTURY OF GOLD CUP RACING</em>. It contains a moving tribute to his late father. Due to space limitations, Ron's preface had to be shortened for publication. The full unedited introduction to <em>A CENTURY OF GOLD CUP RACING</em> is presented here.</p>
<p>Read and enjoy!</p>
<p><em>PREFACE, by Ron Jones, Sr.</em></p>
<p>I gratefully acknowledge the privilege to contribute a few lines in preface to a book which reveals the drama, thrill, excitement, heartache and joy felt by those participants competing for hydroplane racing’s pinnacle of achievement, the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup. My thanks also goes to Fred Farley, the unlimited hydroplane historian and co-author of this book, for his unflagging loyalty to the truth and his uncanny memory for the details and events covering many years of unlimited racing. Without Fred, a lot of our past would fade away, soon to be forgotten.</p>
<p>Remembering back as a young boy, my dad was always either designing, building or driving a race boat ~ or helping a friend get their boat going to make sure the race to be held on the following weekend would have enough participants. Hydroplane racing became his whole life, his dream, and most of his energy was spent building a better boat or fixing the one he had. He might be building a new engine or somehow figuring out how it would go faster.</p>
<p>Pre-WW2, he started a Seattle hydro club to establish and promote race sites and boat racing, and in so doing – helping his favorite sport to take hold in the Pacific Northwest. The reason I can remember the racing club meetings is because they were held in our home. My mom served homemade chili, doughnuts, ice cream and coffee to the members. Of course, when they left, my sisters and I got the remaining ice cream. Dad often spoke of the “Gold Cup” in those days, but at that time I didn’t understand its meaning.</p>
<p>By 1946, WW2 was past and life began to return to normal. Not long after my 14th birthday, Dad called me into his bedroom and I could tell by the look on his face that whatever it was that I was about to hear, it was serious. From a drawer full of t-shirts, he pulled out a drawing, which by that time was a number of years old and he handled it almost reverently. He looked me in the eye and laid a real trip on me. “Son, you are now at an age where you may have to become the man of the family.” Gulp! “Something may happen to me and if it does, your mom and three sisters are going to need direction, help and money.” Gulp again! “I want you to know that this drawing is for an unlimited hydroplane that I believe can win the Gold Cup, the Harmsworth (British International Challenge Cup Trophy) and set a new prop-driven straightaway record. You will have to find the right person, but it will be worth a great deal of money to someone ~ enough to keep the family going.”</p>
<p>I didn’t know whether to salute, pass out or run! But I did know he was serious and meant every word because his entire life was on that drawing. Those three events were what had driven him on for all those years – building, designing, racing, starting clubs – all directed towards winning the Gold Cup, bring the world’s water speed record back to America from England and win the British Harmsworth Trophy.</p>
<p>Why the Gold Cup? Because it was the oldest water sports racing trophy on the planet and it was the top event of the hydroplane world. It’s the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby, Daytona 500 or whatever turns your crank. There is nothing higher, more challenging or more noteworthy to the hydro racer than the Gold Cup!</p>
<p>It would take another book to recite all the events that had to fall into place for Dad to meet another man to whom boat racing meant enough to put his money where his mouth was. Suffice it is to say, that a chance meeting between Mr. Stanley S. Sayres and Ted Jones ended up rewriting all the hydroplane record books. Moreover, it was paramount in establishing an entire new era for hydroplane racing.</p>
<p>That drawing Dad showed me when I was 14 became the design of a 3-point hydroplane for Mr. Sayres, and it was built at the facility of Anchor Jensen of Jensen Motor Boat Co. in Seattle. In early June of 1950, “Slo-mo-shun IV” established a world straightaway mark for propeller driven boats of 160+ mph, eclipsing the former record by nearly 20 mph. Subsequently, Mr. Sayres filed an entry to challenge for the Gold Cup, which had been held in Detroit, Michigan for many years.</p>
<p>Upon arrival in Detroit, the local newspapers began their evaluation of this boat, which “supposedly” had established a straightaway record. They seemed to feel their local “armada” would have no difficulty dispatching this backyard creation from somewhere out west. They even admitted it may have been fast in the straightaway, but would be a “worm in the turns.”</p>
<p>In the 1940’s and ‘50’s, a winning God Cup driver became an instant hero, a folk-hero of sorts and Dad finally realized his dream. He not only won the God Cup, he won all three 30 mile heats, settting heat and race records. In one heat, he lapped the entire field. The winning driver also received the privilege of determining the location of the next race, and of course, he chose Seattle.</p>
<p>For a man who had to drop out of high school to get a job to help support his family, this was the fulfillment of a lifetime of effort and dreams. It had all become worthwhile as he received the Gold Cup, a symbol of boat racing’s very best.</p>
<p>In my own case, you would think such a successful father would encourage his young son to continue on in the family tradition. But that was not to be the case here. In fact, during all those years he spent building boats in our basement, he used to lock the basement door and take the key with him to keep me out. When I graduated from high school, he made a final attempt to discourage me from building boats with another of those past feelings – should I salute, pass out or run speeches. I recall him saying that I would be better off in real estate or some business that offered a good living. He warned me that if I did become successful, people would copy my designs, while others would take credit for all my efforts and I would end up not making a dime out of it.</p>
<p>I did it anyway an! d even though he was painfully accurate, I can look back and be thankf ul for a lifetime of friends won, a lot of successful ‘firsts,’ inventions and designs. I can truly say that it was worth it all. Although I didn’t have Dad’s lifetime dream of winning the Gold Cup, I had thought to myself that if I could just be one-half as good as he, I could probably make it.</p>
<p>But reality has a way of bringing you up short In 1963, I redesigned and rebuilt one of Dad’s boats and really got it to go. The ’63, ’64, and ’65 “Miss Bardahl” was virtually unbeatable, winning three Gold Cups, establishing numerous records and winning the points championship three years in a row. So for the 1966 season, Mr. Bardahl and driver Ron Musson had enough confidence in me to enable me to build them a new boat which at that time was termed “radical.”</p>
<p>In 1966, I came close to abandoning it all when my new rear-engine low profile wide transom “Miss Bardahl” sheared off a propeller during the second heat of the Presidents’ Cup on the Potomac River and crashed, destroying the boat and costing Ron Musson his life. I was devastated, and it took a long time to decide to keep going.</p>
<p>So during those following years, the Gold Cup was far away from my mind. I turned my attention to drag boats, world record holders, Mercury factory racing tunnel hulls, ocean racing tunnels and a lot of limited inboard hulls. From 1966 on, most unlimited people wouldn’t even speak to me.</p>
<p>But in late 1969, Seattle business tycoon Dave Heerensperger came to my shop with world renown engine builder Keith Black in tow. Together, they convinced me that I should build him a rear-engine boat for two KB Chryslers. We built the boat and unfortunately it didn’t do well. I had designed it after many of my very successful limiteds of that day and I had anticipated that it would be run with a three-blade propeller. But someone told Mr. Heerensperger that a three-blade prop was a Jones crutch for a bad design so it never raced with a three-blade. However one time, after much carping from me, Mr. Heerensperger allowed a t est run at the San Diego race with a borrowed three-blade from Bill Muncey. On that one run, the boat ran extremely well, making a timing lap faster than Muncey had gone, and riding very well. But Muncey wanted his prop back, so it was all over.</p>
<p>The boat was sold and even though it won the gold cup in 1973 and it had the driver in back with the engine in front ~ a Rolls Merlin, the Gold Cup ‘shine’ was gone for me. Apparently, Dave Heerensperger had enough confidence in me to try it again. So in 1973, the “Pride of Pay ‘n Pak,” unlimited hydroplane’s first winged boat came out smoking. It won races in 1973, but not the Gold Cup. That was for 1974 and 1975 when my brother-in-law at the time George Henley won back to back Gold Cups, and those cups really had a lot of ‘shine.’</p>
<p>Perhaps the most meaningful Gold Cup for me was in 1980 at Madison, Indiana. I had built a rear-engine boat in 1979 for Bernie Little and the “Miss Budweiser” team, but although it won some heats, they did not have a really successful year. In an attempt to set a new straightaway record late in 1979, the propeller broke, causing a crash which destroyed the boat and hurt driver Dean Chenoweth quite badly. It is likely the boat was in the 220 mph range when the accident happened.</p>
<p>So we built a new hull for 1980 and it was a winner, big time. “Miss Budweiser” won the first 20 heats of the season, including the Gold Cup in Madison. I was able to get Jerry Schoenith on the telephone after each heat at Madison. Jerry, who was from a family of hydro racers, gave me a blow by blow account of “Budweiser” winning all four heats of the Gold Cup. I must admit that after hearing the results, I really lost it. There is no way to describe the happiness one experiences at a moment like that. All the years of heartache and frustration melt away with the energy of such great news. A boat you designed and built actually won the Gold Cup!</p>
<p>I hope you have been able to realize as you read these stories that the Gold Cup is difficult to attain. You may have the right boat at the right time but somehow that beautiful trophy can slip away so easily! I am the first to admit that a winning boat has to be the result of a winning team. It takes an owner willing to pay the expense, a dedicated, really talented crew, a heads up driver, hull, engine, propeller, support equipment and so on. If any of those items are out of sync, success may slip away. I just feel fortunate to have been a part of a number of winning teams.</p>
<p>Well, Dad passed away early in 2000, at age 90. But even in his final years, he was always good for another race boat story. Oh yes, some of the stories got better and better each time but you didn’t care because you knew he did it – he was there! He designed the boat and he drove it to win the Gold Cup. Writing these few pages has caused me to think a great deal about Dad, and I look forward to seeing him some day in heaven. No, it’s not because he won the Gold Cup or was a really great guy who deserved heaven, that I believe I’ll see him ~ but because before he passed away, he established a personal relationship with God by accepting His Son, Jesus, as his Savior and received eternal life. I’ll see him because I’ve done the same thing and I trust my reader will also.</p>
<p>Who knows – maybe we will compare Gold Cup stories together!</p>The Master Speaks - An Interview with Ron Jones Sr.tag:thunderboats.ning.com,2017-01-20:6315479:BlogPost:1020182017-01-20T03:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Anne McRayde. Reprinted from Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Vol 1, No. 1</em></p>
<p><strong>How did you first begin building boats?</strong></p>
<p>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 marvelous people, screamed and hollered. I stood there very stoically…</p>
<p><em>By Anne McRayde. Reprinted from Skid Fin Magazine, 2003, Vol 1, No. 1</em></p>
<p><strong>How did you first begin building boats?</strong></p>
<p>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 marvelous people, screamed and hollered. I stood there very stoically and quietly. At the end of the dad my Mother would tell my Father, “I don’t think Ron’s interested in those boats, you know the girls just scream, but Ron just stands there.” Well I was just dying inside to be a part of it, but didn’t know how to say it. My Dad was insistent that I not do this that he locked the basement door where he kept his hydroplanes and wouldn’t let me in there. Of course I figured out a way to get in on my own. When he was at work I would go in and study what was going on. I was born with it and made it a part of my life ever since. This is my 53rd year; I’ve been building hydroplanes a long time.</p>
<p><strong>Did your father encourage you once he saw how interested you were?</strong></p>
<p>Actually no. He did his best to stop me from getting involved. My Dad had a lot of heart-breaking experiences in the business realm of hydroplane racing. He warned me that if I did this there would be a lot of heartbreak and little pay. He believed that when all was said and done I would look back and say, “Why did I do that?” Well, mostly he was right, but I am very thankful that I did it. I have lots and lots of wonderful friends and family as a result of hydroplane racing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.</p>
<p><strong>You mentioned that your father discouraged you from building hydroplanes. Your son, Ron Jones, Jr., is a boat builder as well. Did you encourage your son or take the same approach as your father?</strong></p>
<p>I did what I hoped was right. I encouraged him in the sense that when he was very young, we made sure that he and his two sisters went with us to the races. I noticed at the races a lot of times Ron, Jr., was over on the swings or on the slide. I wasn’t sure about his interest, just as my Mom wasn’t sure about mine because I didn’t yell and scream. But, Ron Jr., did have an interest, which he developed throughout his high school years. When he was in high school he worked in my shop a few hours. He developed into a marvelous boat builder. Today he has his own facility where he builds things out of composite. He builds airplane parts and hydroplanes. To be very honest, business-wise he’s far more successful than I. He’s constructed a wonderful business that’s very profitable and growing. Not only does he build great hydroplanes, but he has a contract to build doors for airplane cockpits. I admire him greatly; he has wonderful abilities and he is a very, very bright young man. Can you explain the process you take when building a boat?</p>
<p>I usually start with a piece of blank white paper. I draw one line and that’s the baseline. From there I construct the hydroplane in my head as I am drawing. As I begin to draw the boat all the things I’ve done in the past go through my mind. I remember the things that did and didn’t work. I try to think of new things that will be better. Eventually I have a drawing on a piece of paper. I let the paper sit for three or four days. I come back, look at it and say, “Oh no, that can’t be right.” It takes quite a while just to draw it. Then the actual construction begins. We build hydroplanes today of composite material, which is very much like aerospace material. Due to that, we have a lot of molds and tooling already prepared. Even so, with two good men working hard, it takes about six months to prepare an Unlimited Light from start to finish and get it ready to go into the water.</p>
<p>If you recall the days of the Slo-mo-shun and the old boats powered by airplane engines, we think of those as the “glory days.” The Unlimited Lights, that are built today, run with much smaller engines. As a result, the Unlimited Light is a very complex, fast, difficult piece of equipment. It’s easy to build a hydroplane; lots of people do it. The secret is to keep the propeller hooked up to the water and the boat stable on the water so bad things won’t happen and ruin your afternoon.</p>
<p><strong>What inspiration do you have as you begin to design a boat?</strong></p>
<p>When I sit down with that white piece of paper, before I draw the baseline, I pray. Because I know the extent of what’s going to happen, so I ask the Lord to help me put down the right lines and not the wrong ones. I would say that it’s the grace of God, if there is any success, it would be because of him. Now people obviously say, if every boat builder asked him for help, how can one boat win and not the other? I didn’t say that I ask him to win, I don’t. I ask him to let me do my best and to have the safest boat that I can possibly produce. I’m thankful for that because he has been faithful to help me.</p>
<p><strong>Is each component specialized for every hydroplane you build?</strong></p>
<p>Yes that is the secret for not making money. Don’t ever build the same boat twice, build everything differently. I have been criticized for that a good deal. But you see for me, after I build a boat, I am very proud of it. For example, after building Barbara Michael’s 5-Liter boat, I went to the races and watched it. I was very excited about it. In my mind I was thinking of all the things I would do to make the next boat better.</p>
<p>Every boat is a custom boat in the most intense sense of the word. Rudder shapes, propellers, shafts, skid fins, all the components of a boat are each unique. Eventually, the parts become unique to that boat. You don’t call up the hydroplane store and order parts. There is no hydroplane store, you’re it. Therefore you get to design all the pieces and build them one at a time. Because you had something fail ten years ago, this sticks in your mind and you never want to do it again, so you make this part a little better than you have ever made it before. Automatically you become a metallurgist because you have to learn what this metal will or won’t do. Then you have to learn about heat treatment of metal. You learn about paint, sub-painting, sanding, and wood.</p>
<p>In the old days we learned all about wood and what it could and could not do. Then once I decided that hydroplanes should be made out of composites we had to learn a whole new discipline. That was a whole new world to learn. We love composite because in the old days with the wood boats, if it crashed it was usually finished for the season. With the composite boat, they turn it upside down and sometimes race in the next heat. The structure is wonderful so you learn composite. You learn how to make the boat comfortable and user-friendly for the driver.</p>
<p><strong>All the parts of a boat then, work together as one.</strong></p>
<p>That is absolutely right. It takes a lot of pieces, a lot of thought. I love the sport, but I get the biggest kick out of designing a boat with this blank piece of paper and seeing it come to life. The boat becomes this living entity. Then I get to go see it run and I tell myself, “ I am going to make the next one better.” That’s what keeps me going.</p>
<p><strong>You mentioned boats moved from being built with wood to composite materials. What do you see as the future material for boats?</strong></p>
<p>Right now everybody is familiar with Tupperware, which is a wonderfully modern plastic, but you surely could not build a boat out of it; it wouldn’t take the abuse. However, there are people in the plastics industry working on a material like Tupperware. They take a big sheet of flat plastic, already made, put it on a form and place it in an oven in a vacuum. As the heat rises the sheet of plastic takes the shape it was around. You pull it and the end result is the final shape. That sounds far-fetched, but it is being worked on right now. That would be marvelous because you could mold a boat in a few hours, instead of a few weeks. Maybe in two or three days you would have a bare hull. That is a goal, which will hopefully be achieved.</p>
<p>There are many other wonderful products available to improve even on our composite structure, but composites generally take a long time to put together. Let’s say that Unlimited Light racing became so popular that 20 people came to me and all wanted a boat for next season. Short of a miracle, that won’t happen. But in the method I previously described, it’s possible that production could be set up to do something that well.</p>
<p><strong>From the time you built your first hull to now, technology has dramatically advanced. Was it more fun back in the old days when you were building boats in your garage out of wood?</strong></p>
<p>Not really, I have just as much fun today, 53 years later, as I did in my Dad’s basement at home. I built my first hydroplane based on some little drawings and a few numbers my Dad sketched on the back of an old envelope. I was 16 years old when I looked at that envelope; I didn’t have a clue what was going on. My Dad left then to go to Detroit and race the Slo-mo-shun. He was gone for a number of months. In that basement I built a little 48 c.i. hydroplane or what we call today a 1.5-Litre. I built that little boat all by myself out of wood. I was nearly done when a local fellow racing in that class heard about it and came to see it. The fellow looked and the boat and said, “I’d like to buy that.” I replied that I was building the boat for myself and was naming it Pop’s Chip, for chip off the old block. He said he would give me $300 for it. As a 16-year-old in 1948 this sounded like a really good idea.</p>
<p>I had a lot of fun with that boat, but it launched me into building other boats for people. I am 69 years old and having a ball building Barbara Michael’s Unlimited Light hull. I started with a piece of white paper. I put a baseline on it and all the lines are new, not like ones I’ve built before. It’s not radically different and most people won’t notice a difference, but I notice. There is a lot of difference. It’s a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get the boat in the water and have Barbara drive it.</p>
<p><strong>How did you keep up with the rapidly changing technology?</strong></p>
<p>I learned to build the first few boats by observing through a peephole in the basement while my Dad was working. While I wasn’t able to look firsthand, he did, like I said, drew a little boat on the back of an envelope. He did that a number of times.</p>
<p>I built the 1958 Miss Bardahl Unlimited hydroplane, my first Unlimited, under those exact circumstances. My Dad had a contract with Mercury Marine; he was a close friend of the owner. My Dad got a big contract to go back east for a number of months. He was just getting ready to go to the airport, I was driving him, when the phone rang. It was Ole Bardahl and he said, “Mr. Jones, I’d like you to build me a boat.” My father replied that he was just leaving to go back east on a big contract. Ole persisted; he wanted an Unlimited hydroplane. My Dad said he would fix him up. Meanwhile, I was standing outside waiting and becoming worried because we were late. On the way to the airport I drove and on an envelope he pulled from his pocket, my Dad drew some lines and numbers that became the Miss Bardahl.</p>
<p>You either learn or you aren’t going to make it. I learned technology by doing. My education is limited; I’m a high-school graduate. For a time, I attended Seattle Pacific University during the day, and because I had a family I also worked nights at Boeing. On my way to school after working all night at Boeing I woke up driving down Rainier Avenue. I was driving down the avenue and cars were honking and swerving on both sides of me. I realized this was not the way to live. I chose boats rather than education.</p>
<p>While I’m not formally educated I made it a goal of mine to study aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. I am layman when it comes to those topics. I understand pretty well what goes on in the water and the air. That turns out to be the most difficult technological discipline on the face of this planet.</p>
<p>For instance, the Russians when it was the Soviet Union, spent billions of dollars and years of testing technology and wind tunneling trying to build a boat that would fly and thus reduce the cost of transportation. After the Cold War was over they invited Americans of a similar discipline to come and see what they had done. Seven Americans went over and got a ride in this boat. It was a 325 mph part boat and part airplane. The pilot of this boat/airplane seated the American and Russian passengers and away they went. Once they hit 250 mph, the pilot took his hands off the wheel, turned around and said, “What do you think boys?” As he had turned around, the boat suddenly ran over a big wave and it pitched them up into the air. The pilot panicked, turned around and shoved the yoke forward as you would with an airplane. The boat/airplane nosed in at 250 mph. Fortunately, only one person died and several others had injuries. I say fortunately because it could have been much worse. The Russians lost this multi-million dollar craft. Why did I tell this story?</p>
<p>Because the discipline of building a boat that’s really an airplane and having it maintain both hydrodynamic and aerodynamic contact in one phase, is the most difficult thing to learn. We have a long way to go, but we’ve learned a lot. I suspect the next leap forward in technology will be a hydroplane that goes very fast, does all the things we want it to do and cannot blow over. One of my goals before I die is to make that happen.</p>
<p><strong>When you build a boat for somebody, how closely do you work with the customer?</strong></p>
<p>We try to make that a valid part of every boat. First of all, in boat racing my customer’s end up being my friends. Immediately, I am concerned about them. I become concerned about the owner if they should not happen to be the driver, because obviously he is invested a great deal of money. He chose me because he thinks I can do what it is that he wants done. If he has a driver or even if he is the driver, I become doubly concerned about their safety.</p>
<p>In the case of Gary and Barbara Michael, they have placed their confidence in me, which I appreciate more than anyone would ever know, but I want to reciprocate. I want to a part of that boat. As I said, I want that boat to become a living entity. I want to be a part of that entity all the time. Occasionally, I do get a customer who will buy a boat and then disappear and not consult with me. Usually what ends up happening is that they are not successful and sell the boat. The new owner calls me and says, “What should I do?” They become successful, set world records or whatever. Consequently, we like to be part of the boat all the time.</p>
<p><strong>You were a major force behind developing safety concepts in hydroplane racing. Can you explain some of the concepts you developed?</strong></p>
<p>The sport, unfortunately, has had a dangerous and difficult path. Many people lost their lives in hydroplanes. I did not want to attend any more funerals; it was too tragic. There was one day when three drivers died in Unlimited hydroplane racing. I made up my mind that somehow there has to be a better way. At the moment, I didn’t know what that was, but I kept looking into things that could work better.</p>
<p>It was safety that drove me my whole life to change things the way I do. I have been pushing the canopy idea since the mid-or-late ‘60s. It was hard for that to be accepted. People thought they would be like a marble in a glass jar, and when the boat crashed they would be rattled around and pulverized. They didn’t want any part of it. They assumed that they would drown in a canopy. I received all kinds of resistance, but I become so concerned for the people, that we developed things we think are better and safer, and make the sport better for everyone.</p>
<p>I have tried to make the boats safer, aerodynamically, which is a big problem. These boats like to be airplanes and fly away at unspoken moments. We have made safety features to prevent that from happening. But I think the biggest thing we have done is develop an environment in which the driver can survive a vicious crash. We chose to call it the enclosed safety canopy. It looks very much like a fighter plane canopy, which is where I got the idea. I bought a book on all the world’s fighter planes and I looked at every one carefully to see which one had something that we could utilize in the race boats. At that time I was doing this for Unlimited hydroplanes. I saw the F-16 fighter plane; the Air Force calls it the “Flying Falcon.”</p>
<p>The F-16’s canopy was a marvelous shape for us because it had a one-piece all plastic canopy with no structure. I knew that was what we had to have. I used that idea as my basis for developing the Unlimited canopy. Originally, I put F-16 canopies directly onto Unlimiteds. I made a structure that would hold it on the boat.</p>
<p>It was a while before we learned how it worked. We learned accidentally in a boat called the 7-Eleven. Steve Reynolds, a local driver, was testing in Pasco. He made a hard turn as he was supposed to do. The skid fin, which is a big piece of steel that hangs down on the left side of the boat preventing slides in the turns, broke off. The boat did an inside roll. It went clean over and lit right side up. The crew had radio contact with Steve and once it settled down he said to them, “Hey fellas I think I just spun out, I saw a lot of water.” He didn’t even realize what had happened. Meanwhile, the crew told him to sit there and they came right over.</p>
<p>That event started it, it set the program in motion. Everybody realized that the canopy was a good concept and we had better do it. I’ve graduated from putting a one-piece F-16 canopy to building an all-composite structure. I don’t put F-16 canopies directly on boats anymore because they are subject to deterioration by ultraviolet rays. We build a composite canopy with a minimum number of windows in it and they have been very successful. The windows are made like the F-16 itself, but these windows, the windshield and two side windows, are just large enough to see out of.</p>
<p>For once in my life, after building canopies I can attend a race and semi-relax instead of standing there with my fists clenched wondering if someone is going to be hurt. It’s a good feeling to know that the canopies have saved a number of lives.</p>
<p><strong>Throughout your career, approximately how many boats have you built?</strong></p>
<p>I don’t have an exact number, but it is over 500. Maybe 65 to 70 percent of those were built in the “old days” when we used wood. I love working with wood. It is a marvelous material and it has wonderful qualities. However, wood won’t take the constant abuse that hydroplanes give it. If you crash one it’s usually kindling. These days, by graduating to composite material, the boats last indefinitely. We really don’t know how long they will last, some of them have been around for 15 years and are still running. They can take crashes and be re-built very quickly. The most important aspect is that the structure is safe. Drivers can live through horrible crashes. The composite material is very wonderful for what we do.</p>
<p>So even though we have built many boats, we haven’t built that many composite boats yet. In 1974 I realized composite was the way we must go. It was 1984 before I could convince anyone and even then people called it the “Tupperware boat.” But the Tupperware boats are now the boats of today’s standards.</p>
<p><strong>Out of the 500 boats or so you have built, do you have one in particular that is your favorite?</strong></p>
<p>I knew you would ask that! You know, every year I have a favorite boat and then next year I have a new favorite boat. I will say this, there was a time when the Unlimited hydroplane, Miss US, stood out in my mind as on of my all-time favorites. For many years, it remained a favorite.</p>
<p>Then I built a boat called the Miss Madison. It was a piston-engine boat when the turbines became popular. In its first race it beat the turbines and the Miss Madison became a real favorite. My little girl, who is 21 months old, is named Madison; perhaps there is some connection there.</p>
<p>When I built the Wildflower Unlimited Light, I thought I had achieved everything; then we built one that was better. They are all my favorites. All the people are lovely people and my friends. I admire the owners and sponsors for putting up the money, but most of all I admire all the drivers. I wish I could do what they do, but I am happy and content to do the part I do.</p>
<p>I do have many favorites. Unfortunately, I can’t really stop at one, there are so many.</p>
<p><strong>How many world records have the boats you’ve built held?</strong></p>
<p>Well, I haven’t kept score. My father died just two years ago in January. At his memorial service the Hydroplane Museum presented part of the program. In a beautiful video they presented, they said between Ted Jones and his son they hold over 3,000 world records. I know my Dad was somewhere in the 700 to 800 figure, which means mine is between 2,200 to 3,000.</p>
<p>I am probably the only boat builder that I know who builds such a variety boats. For example, I have built inboard and outboard drag boats. I built the first outboard drag boat to ever go over 100 mph in a quarter-mile. I built the first successful tunnel boat in the world and the first ocean-racing tunnel hull. Besides Unlimiteds, Unlimited Lights and hydroplanes like the 5-Litre, I built boats in many other classes. Consequently, this allowed me the opportunity to hold many world records.</p>
<p><strong>Can you talk about a special moment that stands out in your mind?</strong></p>
<p>I would have to say that the day the Miss Madison Unlimited boat ran for the first time was a memorable moment. The reason is the Miss Madison team is poorly funded. The citizens of Madison, Ind., love their hydroplane, but they have to scrape to keep the boat together. Well, they came to me to buy a new boat and I knew that was a tough nut to crack. I was very enthusiastic about doing a good job for them, but the lighter turbine boats were already successful and the Miss Madison was stuck with an old airplane engine, which weighed 2,500 pounds (a turbine engine weighs just 600 pounds), so right away we had a big disadvantage.</p>
<p>When I sat down with a white piece of paper and drew the baseline all these thoughts passed through my mind. This little town, the owner was a businessman himself, but I knew it was costing him dearly to build this, and the team couldn’t really afford to pay a driver. So while I was building the boat I had all these thoughts in my mind. I’ll tell you we worked hard to make that boat come out as light as it could possibly be, because that was the only chance we had. Of course, I had a deal with them. They agreed not to race the boat until we tested it, because no matter how much experience you’ve had building boats you wonder if it’s even going to float. Well guess what? They didn’t follow through on their end of the bargain. The first time it was ever shown to the public was at the Pasco Race Event. I was a wreck. I shook for three days waiting for race day wondering what this boat was going to do. I didn’t even know if it would get up into a plane. Well the Miss Madison not only got up into a plane on its first heat, it beat the turbines and this old man broke down into lots of tears. So I’d have to say that was a real memorable moment, which I’ll remember for a long time.</p>
<p><strong>Did you ever want to drive?</strong></p>
<p>I used to drive almost every boat I built. I wonder how in the world, except for the grace of God, I am even here today. I would build a boat, put the engine in it, and take it to Lake Washington alone to ran and test it. Then I would call the customer and tell him his boat was ready to go. Today you wouldn’t dare test a hydroplane without a bunch a support crew including a rescue team and boat.</p>
<p>I used to do that all the time however and thought nothing of it, but I’ll be honest and say I discovered very soon that driving wasn’t my bag. I watched other people drive and they were much better than I was. I wrestled with myself for quite a while before I decided I didn’t want to be a driver. I wanted to build the boat and learn from the driver. I used to drive the boats on purpose so I could feel with the seat of my pants what was going on. I’ll have to say, without the seat of your pants; it’s pretty hard to know what’s going on. Now I can watch a boat and observe it and see what’s happening. The seat of the pants had much to do with my success, if there is any, and what I am doing today.</p>
<p><strong>Do you have more aspirations to build and develop?</strong></p>
<p>I have thought about hydroplanes so much that they consume a majority of my thinking time. The concept of blowing over wears so heavily on me it’s hard to explain. I want to build a boat that’s even faster, yet safer and no matter what the driver does, the boat won’t blow over. Now that’s asking a lot, but if you were to have asked me when I built Pop’s Chip would I see what I do today, I would have said no way. But we’ve gotten here, so I believe it’s going happen.</p>
<p><strong>What are your hopes for the future of hydroplane racing?</strong></p>
<p>Honestly, hydroplane racing in general, is on a decline. There are a number of reasons for that. In the ’50s when my Dad was popular and hydroplanes were “the thing” in Seattle, there were no Sonics, nor Mariners, or Seahawks. There were very few, if any, professional sports to attend. As a result, hydroplane racing became a very big, important event. They were big worldwide.</p>
<p>Now we have a lot of competition for entertainment dollars. We have people who say the boats are too noisy. We have all kinds of problems with hydroplanes.</p>
<p>My hope for the future is that the public will see what I see. They will be excited, as I am excited. They will realize, yes this is a sport. It has been said</p>
<p>by some vindictive sports writers in newspapers, “Oh hydroplane racing isn’t a sport, it’s just a big promotion event.” When you put a driver in the boat, place the seatbelt around them, close the canopy lid, and push them away; they are all alone. If the fans could learn how much of a sport this really is and how much depends on the driver’s ability that would help. If we as a sport begin to promote our drivers as entities and let the public know who they are, I think we will improve.</p>
<p>The Unlimited Light class to me is the most exciting things I have seen and this is my 53rd year. The Unlimited Light class shows me that it can be done. The people behind it are doing the right thing. The people involved as participants are so excited they can’t wait to get to the races. That excitement is going to pay-off. The little light boats have small Chevrolet engines, but they are going 150 mph; that’s exciting! I believe the future is in Unlimited Light hydroplane racing.</p>
<p><strong>What type of legacy, do you think, you will have on hydroplane racing?</strong></p>
<p>That is difficult for me to answer, but I hope that people will remember me as someone that was not only serious about his work, but sincere, and when I talked about safety, I mean I am really concerned about safety. When I talk about advancing hull design, it’s usually with the driver in mind, to make the boat easier and safer to handle. Obviously boats have to go through all types of difficulties. I want to be remembered as one who planned each one of those difficulties, tried to plan the boat around them, and make the boat get through things that other boats couldn’t. That makes the boat more successful. I would like to be remembered as one who built quality boats, that were meant to last, meant to be safe, handle well and meant to do the job they were called upon to do.</p>
<p><strong>How do you feel when you hear people call you a master builder?</strong></p>
<p>Obviously, it’s a wonderful thing to hear, but being the person that I am, I immediately think of all the other boat builders who are very good. There are some fellows who are just excellent. My son is a boat builder and he is really, really good at it. There are many other folks around that build boats and do it well. So when you say, “He’s the master,” maybe, but I have trouble with that. I can’t even answer your question.</p>The Man Who Builds The Thunderboatstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2017-01-20:6315479:BlogPost:1017202017-01-20T03:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Bill Ames. Reprinted from Science & Mechanics, August, 1974.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366326?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366326?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350"></img></a></p>
<p>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…</p>
<p><em>By Bill Ames. Reprinted from Science & Mechanics, August, 1974.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366326?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366326?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>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!</p>
<p>The universal appeal of these “thunderboats” is a product of roaring sound, flashing color, and the hovering dangers of high speed. Powerful motors generating close to 2500 horsepower hurtle the giant hydroplanes around 2 ½ mile ovals at average speeds of 125 mph, in some of boat racing’s roughest water. Straightaway speeds reach 160 and the record for the measured mile stands at 200.419 mph!</p>
<p>Today’s typical unlimited hydro is about 30 feet long, has a 13 foot beam and weights nearly 3 ½ tons. It uses a 12-cylinder aircraft engine for power, either an Allison or a Rolls Royce. These supercharged engines run on various blends of aviation gasoline and methanol. Turning at 4200 rpm (nearly twice their design speed), these brute engines are geared to spin tiny, 13 inch diameter propellers at 13,000 rpm. The supercharger rotors turn at 35,000 rpm, faster than the speed of sound! To withstand this terrible torque, prop shafts are of high tensile steel, 1 ¾ inches in diameter.</p>
<p>The stresses imposed on a hull in these conditions create design and construction problems that are unique to Unlimited hydroplanes. Only a few builders have successfully met the criteria. Premier to this select group is Ron Jones of Costa Mesa, California.</p>
<p>From the drawing table to the trailer, an Unlimited requires about 2000 man hours of highly skilled labor. The classic construction uses hardwood stringers (Jones prefers white oak or Northern Appalachian ash). The gussets, or bulkheads, are of African mahogany plywood. The “skin” is of the same material, with 6061 T-6 aluminum bonded to the entire bottom.</p>
<p>The aluminum epidermis of an Unlimited is vital to its survival. At 160 mph, water becomes concrete-hard and can actually pick the soft grain right out of the plywood, de-laminating it. As Jones observes: “Peeling the bottom off at that speed can ruin your entire afternoon.”</p>
<p>Last year, Ron Jones scored another construction coup with Pride of Pay ‘N Pak, the first Unlimited hydroplane to be build entirely of honeycomb aluminum. Thus material consists of two thin sheets of aluminum, bonded to an aluminum honeycomb core. The cellular construction has tremendous strength and represents an important weight saving. The 1973 Pay ‘N Pak weighted in at 6,250 pounds, lighter than the previous version by fully 850 pounds.</p>
<p>The performance of the innovative boat has been astounding. Mickey Remund drove it to the most emphatic national championship ever recorded, setting new records in 90 percent of the available categories. (Miss Budweiser, also a Jones hull, took the remainder.)</p>
<p>During the 1973 season, Pay ‘N Pak won 20 of 28 heats it entered; set new qualifying records at seven races; set new competition lap records at six races; set new head records at seven races; set new world records for a single lap and a complete race; won four of the nice races run; and was the first boat to exceed 126 mph on a closed course.</p>
<p>In a business that relies almost entirely on word-of-mouth advertising, Ron Jones Marine Engineering has grown from a tiny, $35 a month building in Seattle to a 12,000 square foot plant on two high prices California acres. His 21 full time specialists produce hydroplanes for nearly all of the APBA racing classes.</p>
<p>Although Ron’s expertise is clearly established, he must still endure the bane of custom boat builders – an owner’s bright ideas. Racers are notorious experimenters, but sometimes have strange theories on what will improve a boat’s performance. Often, their efforts to discover a winning boat’s speed secrets become laughable.</p>
<p>Some years ago, Bill Muncey (one of today’s most successful Unlimited drivers) was campaigning a Jones 266 cubic inch hydroplane. A top seeded driver even then, he won 42 straight events, an incredible performance. As might be expected, curious competitors inspected his boat closely at every opportunity. On the vertical rear ends (transoms) of the two sponsons, they found something not on their boats, two small inverted grooves. Some of them approached Ron Jones, demanding to know the purpose of the grooves, and why their Jones 266 hydro did not have them.</p>
<p>As puzzled as they were, Ron checked with Muncey and got the answer. Bill’s trailer tires, which has no fenders, has come into contact with the sponson transoms and worn the grooves in route to the race site. Most of the owners accepted the explanation, but a few remained convinced that Bill Muncey’s boat had some secret advantage over theirs.</p>
<p>The needs of a high speed hydroplane combine to create a designer’s nightmare. Hull shape and size is controlled by the motor to be used. Weight and placement of the motor help to achieve the proper center of gravity and center of balance, but are limited by the drive system to be used. Since hydroplanes are affected by aerodynamic forces as well as hydrodynamic forces, every boat is, in Jones’ words, “a designer’s compromise.”</p>
<p>The individuality of each Unlimited hydroplane is demonstrated clearly in the four Jones has recently completed. One uses Roll Royce power, another has two supercharged automotive engines, the third uses an Allison with a V-drive, and the fourth is a Z-driven Allison. Although all owners opted for aluminum honeycomb construction, each boat is a separate entity and called for a different design.</p>
<p>Hydrodynamic considerations require a boat that can come on a plane easily without taxing the engine. It must run over constantly changing, but always rough, water with the smoothest possible ride. It must turn flat, high speed corners with no banking or skidding.</p>
<p>As an aerodynamic vehicle, a hydroplane demands perfect balance. Ideally proportioned, it would “fly” in such a way that, passing over an imaginary scale, it would produce a zero reading. It must accomplish this “flying” both upwind and downwind.</p>
<p>It is quite possible to design a hydroplane that will fly beautifully at 200 mph, but cannot come up on plane at all. The need for compromise is obvious.</p>
<p>For years the greatest worry of hydroplane drivers has been the danger of “kiting.” When air pressure under the bow becomes too great, the high speed boats can blow over backwards with sudden and disastrous results. Jones’ creative and much-copied solution to this problem is the now famous “pickle fork” bow. By moving the center, airfoil section of his boats a few feet aft and allowing the sponsons to protrude, he effectively moved the center of lift aft, too. This feature has proved so successful, it now appears on virtually every type of air-riding hull, including catamarans and tunnel boats. Every Jones design includes a pick forked bow, which as become as synonymous to Jones’ boats as fins to the Cadillac.</p>
<p>The problem with maintaining the proper “flying” attitude on an Unlimited has been inhibited for years by an APBA regulation. This rule allowed airfoil surfaces which could be adjusted, but not from the cockpit. In other words, not while underway. A 1974 ruling has amended that rule to permit controllable airfoils.</p>
<p>Although Ron prefers to build the proper flying attitude into his boats, he was typically quick to recognize the safety advantage of the new rule. The ability to alter trim quickly in a danger situation is too appealing to ignore.</p>
<p>On the radical, turbine driven U-95 which will debut this year, Ron provided a controllable horizontal stabilizer. Created by aerodynamicist Jim Larson, the bearing-mounted airfoil pivots at the ¼ chord (25 percent of the width of the wing). Using a rocker switch mounted on the steering wheel, the driver can adjust the stabilizer through a 16 degree range while the boat is in motion. Pre-season testing has shown it to be workable, and beneficial in varying wind conditions.</p>
<p>The continuing demand for Unlimited hydroplanes that can accept more and more of the tremendous power available compels Jones to play the role of innovator. He admits the impossibility of designing a 100 percent safe boat but, in the same breath, cites that as his goal. Some of the possibilities he is considering are: a stern-driven Unlimited; electronic stabilizers that sense attitude changes and correct automatically; a honeycomb aluminum boat that is molded, rather than built with laminated sheets. To achieve the latter, he is installing an oven which will be capable of molding an entire 40 foot boat.</p>
<p>Jones is an avid fan of racing and attends all events his busy schedule will permit. He admits to fatherly concern for every boat he builds, and for the welfare of the drivers.</p>
<p>“I guess I shouldn’t, but I worry about it until I’m sick. Last year, in Seattle, I watched Mickey Remund in Pay ‘N Pak and Dean Chenoweth in Miss Budweiser run 15 side by side. They averaged 123 mph for six laps, not more than three feet apart. I was speechless and petrified. That had to be the most thrilling thing I have ever seen in my life. Both boats were mine, so I guess you know how I felt.”</p>
<p>It is a safe bet that both drivers felt much better, knowing they were aboard Jones boats.</p>The Saga of Ron Jonestag:thunderboats.ning.com,2017-01-20:6315479:BlogPost:1020162017-01-20T02:55:53.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian</em></p>
<p>Unlimited hydroplane racing owes a lot to Ron Jones, the Seattle area boat builder, who has revolutionized the sport so dramatically over the years.</p>
<p>If anyone has any doubts about the contribution of Ron Jones, Sr., to big-time boat racing, the outward appearance of the hydroplanes themselves should suffice. The boats of yesteryear were, for the most part, rather narrow, quite box-shaped, and less streamlined. They had…</p>
<p><em>By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian</em></p>
<p>Unlimited hydroplane racing owes a lot to Ron Jones, the Seattle area boat builder, who has revolutionized the sport so dramatically over the years.</p>
<p>If anyone has any doubts about the contribution of Ron Jones, Sr., to big-time boat racing, the outward appearance of the hydroplanes themselves should suffice. The boats of yesteryear were, for the most part, rather narrow, quite box-shaped, and less streamlined. They had forward engines and rear cockpits and rode awfully rough through the turns. Today, thanks to Ron, the boats are generally wider, flatter, have forward-mounted (or cabover) cockpits, and corner a whole lot better.</p>
<p>"I went through fifteen years of rejection on that particular design," Jones recalls. "But the cabover, I feel, is safer. The weight placement is more helpful in getting the boat around the corner."</p>
<p>Ron grew up in a racing-oriented family. His equally renowned father, Ted Jones, designed such famous contenders as SLO-MO-SHUN IV, SHANTY I, MAVERICK, HAWAII KAI III, MISS WAHOO, and MISS THRIFTWAY. The younger Jones started building Limited hydroplanes in 1950 while still in high school.</p>
<p>His first race boat was a 48 Cubic Inch Class rig, which he sold for a few hundred dollars. The 48s were the smallest of the APBA inboard hydro classes.</p>
<p>Ron attempted his first 7-Litre boat in 1956. This was the WHIZSKI, powered by a Packard V-8. WHIZSKI is the craft that owner Wally Pannebaker tried to pass off as an Unlimited by extending the tailfin 4 feet 2 inches in order to meet the minimum Unlimited hull length of 25 feet. Ron had nothing to do with the tailfin extension and didn't want to have anything to do with it. WHIZSKI entered the 1957 Gold Cup at Seattle but couldn't reach the qualification minimum of 95 miles per hour.</p>
<p>Jones made a few starts in the late fifties as a 280 Cubic Inch Class pilot. But he gave that up rather quickly, because "I found that I was a rotten driver."</p>
<p>Ron built his first Unlimited, the MISS BARDAHL, which his dad had designed, in 1958. The boat won its first race, the Lake Chelan Apple Cup, and went on to win the Season High Point Championship with Norm Evans and Mira Slovak as drivers.</p>
<p>Five years later, Ron was called in to perform modifications on another MISS BARDAHL that the elder Jones had designed and built. Ron installed an entirely new set of sponsons and changed the length of the afterplane among other things. In 1963-64-65, the rebuilt boat won three straight Gold Cups and National Championships with Ron Musson driving.</p>
<p>"I like to feel that I was responsible for helping my Dad in that it was basically a good boat, an excellent boat, that needed a little help in the sponson department."</p>
<p>After having worked with the BARDAHL people on two previous hulls, Ron accepted his first major Unlimited Class assignment: the design and construction of a new and innovative MISS BARDAHL for the 1966 campaign.</p>
<p>Jones had built a popular 225 Cubic Inch Class hydroplane, the TIGER TOO, in 1961. The boat was a cabover, and Ron could hardly give it away. But once it entered competition, TIGER TOO was highly successful. Jones was anxious to try the cabover concept on an Unlimited hydroplane.</p>
<p>"We knew that Unlimiteds basically were not as aerodynamically supported as many perhaps thought. They were really kind of careening around on two sponsons, reacting to the water. We attempted to build a boat that would be more aerodynamically supported than previously. That was our first consideration.</p>
<p>"Second, we moved the weight aft in an effort to help the handling and cornering of the boat. We made the transom wide which, today, is very well accepted. At the time, it was not accepted at all. We also did some things in the area of the strut and the sponsons which, perhaps, were ahead of their time.</p>
<p>"All these things put together were in an effort toward making the boat go faster with the same horsepower as before. Or, if the driver didn't care to go faster, he could work the engine--in this instance, a Rolls-Royce Merlin--a lot less and go into the corner much faster. This would increase lap times because of less elapsed time in the turn.</p>
<p>"So, the whole effort of the 1966 Miss Bardahl was to support the boat aerodynamically and, through improved hydrodynamics and weight placement, make it corner and accelerate faster."</p>
<p>Ron's brainchild created quite a sensation when it appeared on the Unlimited scene at Tampa, Florida. Not since Ted Jones introduced THRIFTWAY TOO, which raced between 1957 and 1960, had a Thunderboat cockpit been located ahead of the engine.</p>
<p>After withdrawing from the Tampa event with a gearbox problem, MISS BARDAHL made her competitive debut a week later at the ill-fated 1966 President's Cup in Washington, D.C. Pilot Musson waxed the field in the first heat. In so doing, MISS BARDAHL posted the fastest heat speed of the race and dramatically served notice that she had what it took to be competitive. The much-maligned cabover concept of Ron Jones suddenly had credibility.</p>
<p>Then, disaster struck. While dueling for the lead in Heat Two with Rex Manchester in NOTRE DAME, MISS BARDAHL lost her propeller. The craft became airborne and took a nosedive to the bottom of the Potomac River, shattering the hull and fatally injuring the driver.</p>
<p>Jones was shaken to the core by the tragedy, even though his design and construction could not be faulted. Ron Musson was a close personal friend. And the accident served to perpetuate the now-debunked myth about forward-cockpit hulls being unduly hazardous.</p>
<p>"There were accidents that had nothing to do with the fact that the boats were cabovers," Ron recalls, "but they were associated with cabovers. And, therefore, it was difficult to sell the concept."</p>
<p>Not for four years did Jones attempt another Unlimited. In the mean time, Ron introduced RECORD-7, which dominated the 7-Litre Class in 1969 with his good friend George Babcock driving. RECORD-7 was the first Limited inboard to average better than 100 miles per hour in a heat of competition.</p>
<p>Jones is quick to point out, however, that a lot of factors contributed to RECORD-7's phenomenal success and no one thing was responsible for clearing 100 MPH. Wide afterplanes, pickleforks, and cabovers were all ideas that he had been exploring for over a decade.</p>
<p>"Although we did a lot of new tricks to that boat, including a few that perhaps went unnoticed. And we had a much better shaped deck aerodynamically."</p>
<p>RECORD-7's performance proved to be a wake-up call for the Unlimited fraternity. "Up until that point, we had been successful with a lot of Limited classes. But, for some reason, the Unlimited hydroplane owner is not impressed by the so-called 'little boats.' Yet, RECORD-7 was impressive enough to get their attention."</p>
<p>The first Unlimited boat to follow RECORD-7's lead was the 1970 vintage PRIDE OF PAY 'n PAK that Ron built for Seattle's Dave Heerensperger. The PRIDE used a pair of hemispherical engines built up by the highly regarded Keith Black.</p>
<p>"I was 90 percent right with many of the concepts of that boat. It did show some bursts of straightaway speed on occasion. But the boat was a little too heavy for two Chryslers. We didn't have the propeller technology that we have today. I wish that I had had the propeller and gear ratio combinations in 1970 that we are able to enjoy today. We might have been a great deal more successful."</p>
<p>PRIDE OF PAY 'n PAK nevertheless emerged, the following year, as an enormously competitive machine. Repowered with a single Rolls-Royce Merlin, prepared by crew chief Jim Lucero, and with the cockpit relocated from forward to aft, she dominated the second half of the 1971 season and handed Ron his first three Unlimited Class victories (at Seattle, Eugene, and Dallas). With Billy Schumacher driving, the PRIDE also became the first boat to qualify at 121 miles per hour around a 3-mile course (on Lake Washington).</p>
<p>Although not significantly faster on the straightaway than the traditional post-1950 Ted Jones-style hulls, PRIDE OF PAY 'n PAK could outcorner anything on the water.</p>
<p>By 1974, Ron Jones boats were finally recognized as the state-of-the-art. Between 1971 and 1974, Ron constructed a staggering total of eight Unlimited hulls: the 1971 COUNTRY BOY, the 1972 NOTRE DAME, the 1973 PAY 'n PAK and the U-95 turbine entry, and the 1974 COUNTRY BOY, VALU-MART, MISS U.S., and LINCOLN THRIFT.</p>
<p>By far the most successful of these was the famed "Winged Wonder" PAY 'n PAK, which ranks among the all-time great Thunderboats with 22 race victories. It stands with Ron's other big winner, the 1980 Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered MISS BUDWEISER, which likewise captured 22 first-place trophies.</p>
<p>The 1973 PAY 'n PAK, which became Bill Muncey's ATLAS VAN LINES in 1976, was the first hydroplane of any shape or size to be built of aluminum honeycomb, rather than marine plywood.</p>
<p>"I had originally thought that I would use a honeycomb bottom. But after talking with the people from the Hexcel Company, I was very impressed and decided to use it everywhere in the boat that I possibly could for a weight saving of about a thousand pounds."</p>
<p>In planning the new PAK, Jones wanted very much to build a cabover. But Heerensperger insisted on a rear-cockpit hull and won out. Ron nevertheless utilized many of the cabover hull characteristics while still seating the driver behind the engine.</p>
<p>"But I did insist on the use of a horizontal stabilizer. Heerensperger agreed because it would give him a lot of publicity. And it did. Perhaps, by today's standards, the stabilizer was not everything it could have been. It was, however, a good running start on the widespread use of the concept.</p>
<p>"And in all fairness to Jim Lucero, he certainly added to the boat's ultimate performance by preparing excellent engines, good gearbox/propeller combinations, and probably some fine-tuning on the sponsons."</p>
<p>Perhaps the most eloquent showcase of the talents of Ron Jones occurred at the 1973 World's Championship Race in Seattle. Despite mist and rain, the competition was superb and unforgettable.</p>
<p>The honeycomb PAY 'n PAK and its 1970 predecessor (renamed MISS BUDWEISER) ran side-by-side. Drivers Mickey Remund and Dean Chenoweth shared the same roostertail en route to becoming the first boats in history to average better than 120 miles per hour in a heat of competition. A local newspaper labeled the PAK and the BUD as "the champion fogcutters of the world."</p>
<p>That 1973 campaign was the first season in which hulls designed by Ron won the majority of Unlimited races (eight out of nine). PAY 'n PAK and MISS BUDWEISER both had four wins and finished one-two in National High Points.</p>
<p>In spite of being three years older and a thousand pounds heavier than PAY 'n PAK, MISS BUDWEISER was able to achieve parity with the PAK. This was due to driver Chenoweth consistently securing the inside lane in heat confrontations between the two entries.</p>
<p>The famous PAK/BUD rivalry continued into 1974. PAY 'n PAK won seven races and MISS BUDWEISER won four to sweep the eleven-race campaign.</p>
<p>The 1975 season was another banner year for the Ron Jones hulls. That's when the Billy Schumacher-chauffeured WEISFIELD'S (former VALU-MART) had the defending National Champion PAY 'n PAK on the ropes in the first three races. But PAY 'n PAK driver George Henley overcame an almost insurmountable point lead by winning five of the last six races of the season to retain the championship. Never before or since has the momentum of one boat been so surely halted by the performance of another challenger.</p>
<p>And in 1976, Jones had the satisfaction of seeing his MISS U.S. win the APBA Gold Cup at Detroit for owner George Simon and driver Tom D'Eath. This was the first time that a cabover three-pointer had ever won the sport's most coveted trophy. Since 1976, every Gold Cup winner has steered from the front.</p>
<p>In assessing the total contribution of Ron Jones to Unlimited hydroplane racing, the many race victories, speed records, and forward-thinking innovations speak for themselves. He was the first to install an F-16 safety canopy on an Unlimited, starting with the MISS BUDWEISER and the MISS 7-ELEVEN in 1986.</p>
<p>His main concern has always been the safety factor for the drivers. This concern shows in all of his work, because Ron is more than just a talented boat designer and builder. He's also a good friend.</p>The Famous Bill Muncey Dunking of 1979tag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-12-09:6315479:BlogPost:1010272016-12-09T01:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>By <a href="http://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/DonMock" target="_self">Don Mock</a></p>
<p>t was the 1979 Jack-in-the-Box Regatta on San Diego’s Mission Bay where an interesting, yet little known event took place. But it wasn’t until 35 years later that the story became even more interesting thanks to a photo that surfaced from photographer Bill Osborne. Besides a few lousy shots I took with a little cheap camera, this is the only other photo I’ve ever seen of Bill Muncey and the Atlas Van…</p>
<p>By <a href="http://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/DonMock" target="_self">Don Mock</a></p>
<p>t was the 1979 Jack-in-the-Box Regatta on San Diego’s Mission Bay where an interesting, yet little known event took place. But it wasn’t until 35 years later that the story became even more interesting thanks to a photo that surfaced from photographer Bill Osborne. Besides a few lousy shots I took with a little cheap camera, this is the only other photo I’ve ever seen of Bill Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines "Blue Blaster" at the end of the race in San Diego in 1979.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366294?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366294?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a><em>Bill Muncey and the Atlas on Mission Bay</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366466?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366466?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Famous promo photo taken the day before the race.</em></p>
<p>My wife to be Kathy and I had driven down from LA where we were living, and went onto Fiesta Island to the start/finish line to watch the race, one of the best places on the planet to witness and unlimited hydro race. In those days spectators could wade into the water to experience racing up-close.....real close......to the point of getting wet from roostertails.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366478?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366478?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Part of the large crowd on Fiesta Island watching the racing action.</em> <br/> <em>(Squire Shop, Tri-City Tile and Masonry and Atlas heading for a start)</em></p>
<p>After going dead in his first preliminary heat, Muncey won his second and made it into the final with 400 points. In the final heat the Atlas again had engine problems and died right in front of us on the second lap. As the final heat continued the wind and wakes from the other boats began nudging the Atlas toward us and the beach. Drifting within 50 feet from the beach, Bill clapped for Steve Reynolds in the Circus Circus as he roared by and took the checkered flag for the win. As the Atlas drifted even closer, in only about 4 ft of water, several excited fans rushed out and surrounded the boat to keep it from hitting bottom.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366398?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366398?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Steve Reynolds waves to the crowd in a preliminary heat.</em></p>
<p>Bill must have been disappointed after loosing the race, but climbed out of the cockpit and walked around the deck leaning over shaking hands with what probably grew to 30-40 fans hanging on to the boat. I was standing just at the water’s edge thinking about wading in myself to shake hands with the legend. But just then a clearly over-zealous fan, who appeared to have made sure he didn’t have to pack any beers home with him, climbed up on the boat and jumped up and down waving like an idiot. Bill had his back to him leaning over shaking someone's hand when the drunk idiot ran over and pushed Bill head-first into Mission Bay. I was shocked and furious at the idiot and basically embarrassed to be part of the rowdy crowd. I wanted to do something but several good Samaritans helped Bill scramble back up on the boat. Soaking wet, still wearing his helmet, he waved for the tow-boat to get him the heck out of there. That’s about the time the Osborne photo was taken. I had run out of film in my camera. Soon after the tow-boat got the Atlas headed back towards the pits, Kathy and I headed to the car and back to LA.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366445?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366445?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a><em>Start of the Final Heat.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366664?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366664?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a><em>Atlas slows on lap two with an engine problem.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366711?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366711?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Muncey and the Atlas float helplessly in the middle of the front stretch<br/> near the start/finish line. Ron Armstrong zooms by in the Miss Van's PX.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366715?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366715?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Bill waves his arms to alert drivers as Chip Hanauer in the Squire Shop finishes lap 4.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366587?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366587?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Muncey watches the Dr. Toyota, the last boat to finish the final heat.</em></p>
<p>I’ve told this story hundreds of times but have never met anyone else, among the thousands of fans, who witnessed this infamous incident. And have never seen another photo besides my own.</p>
<p>The next photo is from Bill Osborne’s new book <em>Fifty Years: A Personal History Of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.</em> Bill gave me a rough in-progress PDF copy a few years ago to check out. It’s a great book filled with many of Bill’s amazing photographs.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366718?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366718?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Moments after being pushed in the water by a drunk fan,<br/> Bill Muncey is surrounded by the excited crowd.</em></p>
<p>Another person I’ve told this story to many times is Chip Hanauer. Chip and the Squire Shop finished 2nd in the race but he didn’t hear much about Bill getting dunked, just that the Atlas went dead over by the start/finish line. He does remember having to avoid the Blaster every lap. When I saw the Osborne photo, I immediately sent it to Chip and reminded him of the story.</p>
<p>A few years earlier, Chip had become involved in NASCAR, mentoring young Seattle driver Tayler Malsam in the Camping World Truck Series. Chip traveled to all the races and met several old acquaintances from his car racing years. One was Keith Koldsbaek, who worked for Hendrick Motorsports. Keith even visited Seattle in 2014. Chip brought him to the museum to see the 82 Atlas and Blue Blaster. Chip gave him a tour of the museum and a copy of the DVD about the Blaster restoration. Several crew members and drivers at Hendrick know of Chip including Kasey Kahne, so many were interested to see the video and hear about Chip driving the newly restored boat.</p>
<p>When the subject about Chip and the Atlas reached Jimmie Johnson, he told Keith that he knew all about Bill Muncey and the Atlas Van Lines. Jimmie had grown up in San Diego and was taken to races on Mission Bay by his dad. He also raced motorcycles with Edward Muncey as a teenager. Then Jimmie recounted one time when he was about 4-5 years old, he sat on the deck of the Atlas when it was floating in the water. He remembered that the boat had gone dead right in front of them on Fiesta Island and drifted close to the beach where his dad carried young Jimmie out to the boat and sat him on the deck.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366685?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366685?profile=original" width="361" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Four-year old NASCAR Champ Jimmie Johnson in the yellow cap.</em></p>
<p>Keith relayed Jimmie’s story back to Chip who immediately sent the famous photo to Keith. When Jimmie saw the photo he was shocked to see he and his dad sitting near the back of the boat by the tail. Chip called me when he heard from Jimmie and I was blown away. I’m standing right outside the frame of the photo and after 37 years, the only person I found who remembers Muncey’s soaking was none other than Mr. Seven-Time Champ Jimmie Johnson. Chip has talked to Jimmie about going for a ride in the boat sometime, or even driving it. Jimmie loves the idea but no plans finalized yet.</p>Steve LaCava passes awaytag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-12-06:6315479:BlogPost:1011252016-12-06T05:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum has learned of the passing in late November of Steve LaCava, the sport’s Rookie of the Year in 1980. An experienced 7-litre driver, LaCava purchased the former Valu-Mart from Bill Wurster early in the 1980 season and entered the boat in three races as the Oh Boy! Oberto. His best performance was a fifth-place finish in the Tri-Cities event. He sold the boat the following year, but drove it at two events as the Miss Kawaguichi Travel Service. The Museum…</p>
<p>The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum has learned of the passing in late November of Steve LaCava, the sport’s Rookie of the Year in 1980. An experienced 7-litre driver, LaCava purchased the former Valu-Mart from Bill Wurster early in the 1980 season and entered the boat in three races as the Oh Boy! Oberto. His best performance was a fifth-place finish in the Tri-Cities event. He sold the boat the following year, but drove it at two events as the Miss Kawaguichi Travel Service. The Museum wishes to extend our condolences and prayers for his family and friends.</p>Battle of the engines: Piston vs. Turbinetag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-12-04:6315479:BlogPost:1011182016-12-04T02:40:43.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><strong>Piston</strong></p>
<p>Today, there is only one piston-powered unlimited hydroplane — Ed Cooper's U-3. It uses a turbocharged Allison engine developed for World War II fighter planes. The U-3 team builds most of its own engines, but it is estimated an engine like the one in the U-3 would cost $70,000-$80,000 to buy new. Allison engines run on methanol fuel and burn much more than a turbine. The U-3 burns 18 gallons of methanol a minute while the turbine burns 4.3 gallons of kerosene…</p>
<p><strong>Piston</strong></p>
<p>Today, there is only one piston-powered unlimited hydroplane — Ed Cooper's U-3. It uses a turbocharged Allison engine developed for World War II fighter planes. The U-3 team builds most of its own engines, but it is estimated an engine like the one in the U-3 would cost $70,000-$80,000 to buy new. Allison engines run on methanol fuel and burn much more than a turbine. The U-3 burns 18 gallons of methanol a minute while the turbine burns 4.3 gallons of kerosene a minute. Allisons became widely used in power boats shortly after WWII — the first victory by a hydroplane using an Allison engine came in 1946 by the Miss Great Lakes in Washington, D.C. Along with the Rolls-Royce Griffins, they were the engine of choice from the 1950s through the mid-1980s. Their main disadvantage is their lack of dependability, largely because of all the parts involved. They are prone to breaking down. Also, since the piston engines are heavier, boats using them don't accelerate as well out of turns.</p>
<p><strong>Turbine</strong></p>
<p>Most of the turbine engines used by hydroplanes are Lycoming T-55 L-7 from Chinook helicopters built for the Vietnam War. There are said to be about 840 of them available, and they can be purchased for roughly $50,000. The biggest reason they became the motor of choice among hydroplane owners is their dependability. They have fewer parts than a piston engine, and many of the parts are welded together. One owner said he has used the same three engines for the past five years. They also weigh about half as much as piston engines, coming in at around 900 pounds. Turbine engines run on kerosene fuel and need much less than piston engines, saving on expense and weight of the boat. A turbine was first used in a hydroplane competitively in 1974. The first victory by a turbine boat came in the Pay 'N Pak in 1982 in Syracuse, N.Y. By the mid-1980s, they were being used regularly. Since the early 1990s, all but one boat has used turbine engines.</p>Thunderboats are impressive, even without the thundertag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-08-25:6315479:BlogPost:1000772016-08-25T01:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>Reprinted from <em>The Seattle Times</em>, August 5, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366372?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366372?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450"></img></a></p>
<p><em><strong>Sketched Aug. 3, 2016</strong></em></p>
<p>The thunderous hydros are meant to be watched as they glide over Lake Washington during Seafair. But, for a quieter experience, you may want to see them up close at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.</p>
<p>The exhibit grew from a private…</p>
<p>Reprinted from <em>The Seattle Times</em>, August 5, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366372?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366372?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><em><strong>Sketched Aug. 3, 2016</strong></em></p>
<p>The thunderous hydros are meant to be watched as they glide over Lake Washington during Seafair. But, for a quieter experience, you may want to see them up close at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent.</p>
<p>The exhibit grew from a private collection of memorabilia into a warehouse jampacked with hydroplanes that have been restored to sailing condition. Nine were on display when I visited, including the historic 1975 Oh Boy! Oberto, the first one to be sponsored by the local brand.</p>
<p>Years before we had Sounders, Seahawks or Mariners to root for, hydroplane races put Seattle on the map of professional sports. I often hear these words when people talk about them: “Quintessential Seattle.”</p>
<p>Here are more sketches from my visit to the museum:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366436?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366436?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Modern-era hydroplanes use enclosed cockpits to protect the pilots in case of crashes. The cockpit of this Boeing hydro came from an F-16 aircraft.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366442?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366442?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Back in the day, it was normal for towns to have their own mascot hydros. The 1960 Miss Burien was sponsored by a group of Burien merchants.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366510?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366510?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The 1957 Miss Wahoo belonged to Bill Boeing Jr. With its wooden finish, it stands as the most elegant in the collection.</p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/author/gabriel-campanario-seattle-sketcher/" target="_blank">Seattle Sketcher Gabriel Campanario</a>: 206.464.8795 or gcampanario@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @seattlesketcher. Gabriel Campanario illustrates life in the Puget Sound region. He has been living and drawing in Seattle since 2006. He's a Seattle Times artist, founder of Urban Sketchers nonprofit, Spaniard, husband and father.</em></p>Bill Wurster - Then and Nowtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-08-06:6315479:BlogPost:1000092016-08-06T05:10:49.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian</p>
<p>As the story goes, Bill Wurster was sitting in his pleasure boat tied to the log boom at Lake Washington in 1967, watching the Seattle Seafair hydroplane race. He made a bet with his brother that one day he would pilot one of those awesome machines--an Unlimited hydroplane.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366280?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366280?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350"></img></a> <em>Bill…</em></p>
<p>By Fred Farley - Unlimited Hydroplane Historian</p>
<p>As the story goes, Bill Wurster was sitting in his pleasure boat tied to the log boom at Lake Washington in 1967, watching the Seattle Seafair hydroplane race. He made a bet with his brother that one day he would pilot one of those awesome machines--an Unlimited hydroplane.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366280?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366280?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-center"/></a><em>Bill Wurster</em></p>
<p>That didn't happen for another five years. Wurster initially raced outboards. Then, in 1972, he realized his ambition by qualifying as the rookie driver of Bob Gilliam's VALU-MART (U-21).</p>
<p>Bill captured his first trophy as an Unlimited competitor when he won the Consolation Heat at the 1972 Seafair Regatta. He and the Allison-powered VALU-MART defeated the likes of Jim McCormick in MISS TIMEX and Chuck Hickling in THE SMOOTHER MOVER at 101.887 miles per hour--a respectable speed for an old-style rear-cockpit/forward-engine design of race boat.</p>
<p>A master of the clock start, Wurster's best finish as a Thunderboat driver was his third-place in the 1977 San Diego race with OH BOY! OBERTO.</p>
<p>Bill parted company with Gilliam after 1973 and joined forces with owner Bob Murphy. He went on to see competitive action with KIRBY CLASSIC in 1974 and SUNNY JIM JAM in 1975.</p>
<p>Wurster's Unlimited box score includes a fifth-place in the 1974 APBA Gold Cup at Sand Point in Seattle, a race widely regarded as one of the most destructive in history. Despite the extremely rough water, Bill managed to finish all four 15-mile heats.</p>
<p>An Unlimited owner since 1976, Bill combined forces with Doug McIntosh in 1977. Under the banner of Wurmac Racing, they campaigned three different low-budget Unlimiteds on the Thunderboat tour.</p>
<p>After retiring as a driver, Wurster hired Offshore racer Bob Maschmedt to take his place in the cockpit. In 1979, he and Bob traveled the circuit with DR. TOYOTA--the former 1972 VALU-MART hull--and finished fifth in National High Points.<br/> Bill's team was not a top-dollar operation in the late 1970s. Indeed, Wurster often had to double as his own truck driver as he transported his boat from race to race across the country in those days.</p>
<p>Inactive in 1980, Bill upgraded his program and purchased the former turbine-powered U-95--a state-of-the-art hydroplane designed by Ron Jones. In 1981, with rookie Scott Pierce at the wheel, Wurster's reconstituted team finished fourth in National Points and took second in the Silver Cup at Detroit as MISS NORTH TOOL with Rolls-Royce Merlin power.</p>
<p>A sales executive with the Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Company, Bill diversified his business interests in the early 1980s. He operated a tavern in north Seattle that was known as BILL WURSTER'S ROOSTERTAIL. A fashionable nightspot, which featured a hydroplane motif, the establishment was also known by its nickname as "Bill Rooster's Woostertail."</p>
<p>Bill accumulated eight victories as an Unlimited owner. Perhaps the most popular of these is the 1992 Rainier Cup in Seattle--his hometown. Driver George Woods powered THE TIDE to a "come-from-behind" triumph in the Final Heat on that memorable day. This occurred only a month after suffering major damage at the Madison Regatta where the right sponson ripped off.</p>
<p>n addition to the victory in Seattle, Wurster and Woods took second-place at Miami, Detroit, the Tri-Cities, and Kansas City en route to placing runner-up to MISS BUDWEISER in National High Points in 1992.</p>
<p>Wurster's other wins include: Miami, Florida (1985) with EXECUTONE; Detroit, Michigan (1987) with MR. PRINGLE'S; Madison, Indiana (1988) with MR. PRINGLE'S; and Miami, Florida (1989) with MR. PRINGLE'S--all with driver Pierce.</p>
<p>He also has a first-place finish in the 2003 Tri-Cities, Washington, Columbia Cup with LLUMAR WINDOW FILM and pilot Mark Evans. At age 80, this victory made Wurster one of the oldest owners in Unlimited history to ever win a race. (Ed Cooper. Sr., was 84.)</p>
<p>For 2005, his final year of competition, Bill Wurster went "North of the Border" and hired Jean Theoret as his driver. The French-Canadian Theoret had for years dominated the Grand Prix Class of hydroplane racing but, at age 43, had never driven an Unlimited hydro.</p>
<p>Theoret justified Wurster's faith by winning two consecutive races for Bill with LLUMAR WINDOW FILM in 2005: the Chevrolet Cup in Seattle and the Music City Hydrofest in Nashville</p>
<p>Bill Wurster now had eight wins in the Unlimited Class since 1985. This was the first time that he had ever won two races back-to-back. He had come a long way since that day on the Seafair logboom when he dreamed of being a major player in "Water Racing's Greatest Show."</p>
<p>After nearly four decades of power boat racing, the inimitable Mr. Wurster decided to call it a career. He sold his equipment inventory in a package deal to Billy and Jane Schumacher of Seattle.</p>
<p>The Schumachers raced the boat in 2006 as MISS SEATTLE and as MISS BEACON PLUMBING. Most of the LLUMAR WINDOW FILM crew accompanied the boat in the transition from Bill to Billy.</p>
<p>As a spectator during the 2006 season, Wurster had the satisfaction of watching his former boat and team win three races--the APBA Gold Cup at Detroit, the Chevrolet Cup at Seattle, and the UIM World Championship at San Diego--with Jean Theoret driving.</p>
<p><em>Our dear friend Bill Wurster passed away on August 1, 2016.</em></p>Speed King – Meeting Chip Hanauertag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-05-29:6315479:BlogPost:972332016-05-29T16:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366283?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366283?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450"></img></a> <span>August, 1982 – Hanauer brings home the gold at the Emerald Cup on Lake Washington less than a year after Bill Muncey’s death. Photo by Bob Greenhow.</span></p>
<p>Words & New Photos: Ozzie Wiese<br></br> Reprinted from <em>Northwest Yaching Magazone</em></p>
<p>The chance of anybody beating Chip Hanauer’s record-setting seven consecutive Gold…</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366283?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366283?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a><span>August, 1982 – Hanauer brings home the gold at the Emerald Cup on Lake Washington less than a year after Bill Muncey’s death. Photo by Bob Greenhow.</span></p>
<p>Words & New Photos: Ozzie Wiese<br/> Reprinted from <em>Northwest Yaching Magazone</em></p>
<p>The chance of anybody beating Chip Hanauer’s record-setting seven consecutive Gold Cup wins is slim. Could you imagine any pro team winning seven world championships in row, say seven consecutive Super Bowls (even the Seahawks)?</p>
<p>So how did Hanuaer become so fast? Of all the stories you may have heard where a person was born with the need for speed, Hanauer’s story stands out. Hanauer was born on July 1, 1954, in Seattle, and it only took the young Hanauer six or seven years before he confided with his farther that he wanted to be a race driver when he grew tall. While the young Hanauer couldn’t exactly specify what kind of race driver he wanted to be, his need for speed was already there, but this clarity would come with a few additional years and formative experiences.</p>
<p><em><strong>Continue reading on <a href="http://www.nwyachting.com/articles/speed-king-meeting-chip-hanauer/" target="_blank">Northwest yachting Magazine</a>.</strong></em></p>Aronow Introducing Unlimited Catamarantag:thunderboats.ning.com,2016-01-04:6315479:BlogPost:938662016-01-04T05:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366310?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366310?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450"></img></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Buck Thornton was the driver of the Aronow Unlimited in this photo published on Aug. 1, 1982.</em></p>
<p>By Joanne A. Fishman</p>
<p>Reprinted from <em>The New York Times</em>, June 28, 1981</p>
<p>For 17 years, Don Aronow has been the biggest kid on the block. And why not? It's his block, after all, the swampy stretch of 188th Street in…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366310?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366310?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Buck Thornton was the driver of the Aronow Unlimited in this photo published on Aug. 1, 1982.</em></p>
<p>By Joanne A. Fishman</p>
<p>Reprinted from <em>The New York Times</em>, June 28, 1981</p>
<p>For 17 years, Don Aronow has been the biggest kid on the block. And why not? It's his block, after all, the swampy stretch of 188th Street in Florida's North Miami Beach. With his fortune made in real estate, Aronow returned to the first love of his youth -fast boats. And he started on 188th Street by creating a Formula boat company.</p>
<p>Since then, Aronow has formed a string of high-performance boat companies - Donzi, Magnum, Cigarette and Squadron XII - all on the same block. No matter that he stopped racing offshore power boats 11 years ago after capturing two world and three national titles. Aronow's influence in the sport dominates. But now, the 53-year-old designer and builder has merged his Squadron boats with his recently reacquired Cigarette Racing Team, and he's preparing to invade new territory - the unlimited hydroplane circuit.</p>
<p>Aronow, in conjunction with Gary Garbrecht, the former head of Mercury Marine's racing program, has created an unlimited hydroplane that is revolution in design as well as power. Tests are scheduled to begin on Lake Havasu, in Arizona, this week with the craft, called the Aronow Unlimited, expected to make its debut on the thunderbolt circuit by the end of July. Buck Thornton, a tunnel boat driver from Richmond, VA., has been named the driver.</p>
<p>The unlimited hydroplanes are the fastest boats afloat. Riding on the tips of two sponsons and half a propeller, they are capable of reaching speeds over 200 miles an hour. Traditionally they are powered by a single, massive World War II airplane engine capable of generating 3,000-horsepower.</p>
<p>The Aronow Unlimited is the first unlimited of the catamaran design. It is considerably lighter than the traditional unlimiteds and is powered by two engines, supercharged Keith Black Chryslers producing 1,170-horsepower each, and connected to MerCruiser sterndrives. In test runs last year with smaller Cosworth engines, according to Aronow, the 30-foot-long craft reached 175 miles an hour on the straightaway but was sluggish on the turns. Now with the larger engines and the sterndrives, for greater low-end torque, the new craft is expected to roar around the ovals with a lap speed of 140 m.p.h. This would be fast enough to upset the unlimited establishment, because the fastest recorded lap is the 140.6 m.p.h. set by Bill Muncey in Atlas Van Lines last year.</p>
<p>To change from offshore powerboats to the unlimiteds, Aronow said, ''is like changing from Formula One to stockcar racing. And to master both is very difficult.'' Part of the impetus for the shift is that the deep V hull, which Aronow had developed to perfection in offshore competition, has reached its maximum potential.</p>
<p>''You can't grow anymore with the deep V because we're limited to the power we have,'' he explained. Instead, Aronow sees the offshore circuit evolving into two-boat teams, with a deep V craft used in rough water and a catamaran in calm water.</p>
<p>''I love the rough water,'' Aronow said. ''There is a thrill about going out in water as rough as possible and racing. To me that was offshore racing. Now they call the races off if it's rough, and they race in lakes. If they want to go calm-water racing, let's go to unlimiteds. And that's what I'm doing.''</p>
<p>For Aronow, who began racing Jersey speed skiffs as a teen-ager growing up on the New Jersey Shore, the challenge with the unlimiteds is to find new ways of adapting power to hull shape. As he points out, super-charged engines, sterndrives and catamaran designs have been around for quite a while, ''but no one has been able to put them together before and make it work.''</p>
<p>From 188th Street, production versions of the Cigarette race boats are shipped to kings and Presidents. Vice-Presidents, too. George Bush just had his re-powered. Owners include the rich and famous (such as Ringo Starr, Vitas Gerulaitis and H. Ross Perot) as well as drug smugglers. The sale of Cigarette T-shirts and jackets alone is bringing in $100,000 a year.</p>
<p>But for the biggest kid on the block, the fun isn't in the ledgers. It's on the race course. And that's where he's headed once more.</p>Marion Cooper Inducted Into Kentucky Motorsports HOFtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-11-29:6315479:BlogPost:937472015-11-29T19:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>By Fred Farley – APBA UNLIMITED HISTORIAN</p>
<p>The late Marion Cooper of Louisville, Kentucky, was inducted into the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame, on October 24, 2015, in ceremonies at Owensboro, Kentucky.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366296?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366296?profile=original" width="320"></img></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Marion Cooper</strong></p>
<p>Among other honors, Mr. Cooper was the original winner of the Indiana Governor’s Cup…</p>
<p>By Fred Farley – APBA UNLIMITED HISTORIAN</p>
<p>The late Marion Cooper of Louisville, Kentucky, was inducted into the Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame, on October 24, 2015, in ceremonies at Owensboro, Kentucky.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366296?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366296?profile=original" width="320" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Marion Cooper</strong></p>
<p>Among other honors, Mr. Cooper was the original winner of the Indiana Governor’s Cup at Madison in 1951 with the 225 Cubic Inch Class HORNET and the first pilot of the community-owned MISS MADISON in 1961 and 1962. And few drivers have longer career spans where participation in the APBA Gold Cup is concerned. (His first ride in the Gold Cup was the 1939 event at Detroit with MERCURY and his last was the 1962 affair at Seattle with MISS MADISON.)</p>
<p>Marion was also a three-time winning chauffeur of the Calvert Trophy, the premier award at the annual Marine Derby Regatta in Louisville, with victories in 1938 with HERMES III, and in 1954 and 1955 with HORNET. He won the 1966 Calvert Trophy as the owner of LOUISVILLE KID, piloted by Bill Cousins.</p>
<p>APBA Unlimited Historian Fred Farley conducted an interview with Marion Cooper in 1973.</p>
<p>Cooper’s first competitive performance behind the wheel of a race boat occurred in 1937 at Cincinnati with the 510 Cubic Inch Class HERMES, a craft in which he had served an apprenticeship as riding mechanic for several years.</p>
<p>“I rode with my brother, George Cooper, back in the days when there were two-man boats. Turley Carman and George Davis had built the boat, which used an OX-5 aircraft engine. The rocker arms were on the outside with no cover over them. I think the top rpm on the engine was about 1400. It turned through a gear box and got up to speeds of 60 to 65 miles an hour–maybe 70.</p>
<p>“Back in the pre-World War II days, you didn’t have such things as fuel pumps. You had to have someone to operate the hand pressure pump. The riding mechanic had to watch the gauge and keep the right amount of pressure in the fuel tank to keep from flooding the thing. He had to keep the pressure up to as much as five pounds and not over six. That went on for years because the pumps they had up to that time wouldn’t supply enough fuel.</p>
<p>“For instance, the Hisso-powered MERCURY that I had, at one time, used eight dual Stromberg carburetors and it took a lot of fuel to supply those things. Of course, in one sense of the word, it was a dangerous proposition running pressure on the tank because it resulted in fires occasionally, on account of the pressure on the tank would sometimes break loose. But we were always able to put it out before it got too bad.”</p>
<p>Cooper’s next boat was the HERMES III, a highly successful 725 Cubic Inch Class step hydroplane, which campaigned during 1937 and 1938 with a V-8 Hispano-Suiza (“Hisso”) engine.</p>
<p>With George Davis along side in the mechanic’s seat, Marion won the 725 Class event at the 1937 Gold Cup Regatta in Detroit and posted a First Heat average speed of 54.800 miles per hour over contenders such as Bill Cantrell in WHY WORRY, Jim Anderson in WARNIE, and Cam Fischer in MISS CINCINNATI, JR.</p>
<p>“In that race,” Marion recalled, “Jim Vetter in MISS TRAILMOBILE ran over the top of the WARNIE, fell on our boat, and knocked out our freeboard. But we went on and finished the race anyway. Although, they had to pull us out pretty quick because it would have sunk.”</p>
<p>Painted black and yellow with orange checkers on the foredeck, HERMES III measured 22-1/2 feet by 5-1/2 feet with a sharp curving bow and a deep notch across the bottom amidships and was equipped with a three-bladed brass propeller that turned around 3600 rpm for every 2400 revolutions of the Hisso power plant.</p>
<p>In later years, it was renamed PIN BRAIN IV by another owner but not before the team of Cooper, Davis, and HERMES III triumphed in the Calvert Trophy at Louisville and the 725 Class contest at Evansville, Indiana, during the summer of 1938.</p>
<p>Cooper’s first experience with a sponson-type rig was in the MERCURY which, for two hours, was the fastest boat in the world in its category with a 98 mile an hour straightaway clocking at the 1940 President’s Cup Regatta before Cantrell did 99 with WHY WORRY.</p>
<p>“We had higher compression on the MERCURY than on HERMES III. We also had a little better carburetion on it. It was real wide and most of the sponsons were built underneath. Only about four or five inches of the sponsons stuck out from the sides. MERCURY was built similar to a Ventnor, except that the Ventnor hulls had the sponsons all to the outside. It was pretty close to the design of a two-point hull, which nobody knew much about then.</p>
<p>“In fact, it kept trying to run on the two points a lot of times and we kept moving the weight back to try to keep the back end down, which was the wrong thing to do. If we had kept the weight forward, it probably would have run on two points.”</p>
<p>Before World War II lowered the curtain on the 725 Class and Cooper’s participation in it, Marion, together with riding mechanic Charlie Schott, pushed MERCURY to victory at the 1940 Evansville Jaycees Regatta and the 1942 Emil Auerbach Memorial Trophy Race on Biscayne Bay, which carried with it the 725 Class National Championship.</p>
<p>His major competition during those years was Cantrell’s WHY WORRY. Between the two of them, Bill and Marion accounted for most of the major trophies on the Mississippi Valley Power Boat Association (MVPBA) circuit.</p>
<p>MERCURY and WHY WORRY also made their presence felt in races against the generally more expensive and more exotic-looking APBA Gold Cup Class contenders. The 725 Class circuit usually consisted of from eight to ten races, wherein the boats ran clockwise because their engines turned that way. Flag starts without any blackout clock were also the rule.</p>
<p>After World War II, the 725 Class and the Gold Cup Class combined and changed over to the Unlimited Class.</p>
<p>According to Cooper, “The 725s rode rougher than your Unlimiteds do today. Of course, an Unlimited is about as easy riding a boat of them all. Although, when you get a jolt in an Unlimited, it’s a good one.”</p>
<p>For most of his adult life, Marion was General Manager of Louisville Motors, where he applied the same no-nonsense approach to business as he did with racing.</p>
<p>After the war, Marion saw action primarily in the 225, 266, and 7-Litre Classes. He owned nine Limited hulls and built three of them himself. In 1946, he won the 225 Class National Championship Race with HORNET and, in 1955, set a world competition heat record of 81.008 with the 7-Litre Class HORNET.</p>
<p>He won the 225 Class race at the 1949 Madison Regatta and the 1951 Indiana Governor’s Cup at Madison with HORNET. In 1960, while driving LOUISVILLE KID, Cooper finished second to George “Buddy” Byers in the 7-Litre Class World Championship Race that was run at Madison. He was also a silent partner in the IT’S A WONDER, a former 725 Class rig, owned and driven by George Davis.</p>
<p>During the mid-1950s, Marion was briefly involved with several Unlimited teams. As a back-up driver for owner Stan Sayres, Cooper test-drove both SLO-MO-SHUN IV and SLO-MO-SHUN V. And on the recommendation of his friend Joe Taggart, Marion drove Austin Snell’s MISS ROCKET in the 1957 Gold Cup at Seattle.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366349?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366349?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>1961 Miss Madison</strong></p>
<p>Not until 1961 did the quiet unassuming Kentuckian’s fame reach the first magnitude when the call came to take over the seat in the MISS MADISON, the world’s only community-owned Unlimited hydroplane.</p>
<p>“I had often driven for Neal Cahall and Dick Cox in the 225s and 266s. They were involved in the MISS MADISON organization when Sam DuPont gave them the first boat. They called me and wanted to know if I would drive it and, of course I was happy to do so.”</p>
<p>The MISS MADISON was a very low-budget operation in those early days. Everyone from crew chief Graham Heath on down was a volunteer. Cooper had to pay his own way to the races.</p>
<p>“During that first year, they didn’t have another stock Allison engine. So, the same engine was run the entire season. We tried to hold the rpms down to around 4000 to 4100. If it went above that, it was only for a short time. We didn’t figure it would run very long above that.</p>
<p>“At the end of the season, since the Madison Regatta was the last race, the organization said I could let it go. So, I did and took fourth in an eleven-boat field.”</p>
<p>That was the start of a competitive tradition for the City of Madison that continues to the present day. No other Unlimited hydroplane team in history can match the MISS MADISON in the number of consecutive years of participation.</p>
<p>During his tenure as the original MISS MADISON driver, Marion also took fifth in both the 1961 Detroit Memorial Regatta and the 1961 President’s Cup, sixth in the 1962 Gold Cup, fourth in the 1962 Spirit Of Detroit Trophy, and third in the 1962 Indiana Governor’s Cup. Cooper finished every heat that he started with the MISS MADISON and scored points in all but two.</p>
<p>The race that Marion would remember for the rest of his days occurred on the warm and sunny afternoon of August 6, 1961, during the Seafair Regatta on Lake Washington. That’s when MISS MADISON won a hard-fought victory in the second-division Seattle Trophy Race with heat speeds of 99.046, 98.937, and 100.074.</p>
<p>“In the First Heat, I got up to the starting line a little too early and had to back off. By the time I got on it again, the others had all gone by me. I stayed back there in all that rough water until about the last lap when I went by two of the three boats ahead of me on the outside and took second-place points.</p>
<p>“In the next two heats, I got good starts and won both of them. Although, in the Second Heat, the exhaust stack broke off on the right side and was firing into the right side of the hull and finally began to blaze. Then, a three-quarter inch water plug on the right bank blew out. And this plug started hitting and putting the fire out. The resulting steam was flying about seven or eight feet in the air and I think everybody thought that the engine was cooking but it wasn’t. I watched the temperature gauge but the water from that plug kept the fire down until we finished.</p>
<p>“Of course, for the Final Heat, they put another exhaust stack on and another plug in it and everything was alright again.</p>
<p>“The memory of that race is especially fond due to the enormous crowd and because the race in Seattle was a big deal–more so than anyplace else in the country.”</p>
<p>Following his retirement from Unlimited competition, Cooper remained affiliated with the MISS MADISON. In the years that followed, he would “break in” the new drivers for the team. First, Marion would take the boat out for a run, check the systems, and then turn the wheel over to the new man. He did this in 1963 for Buddy Byers and again in 1966 for Jim McCormick.</p>
<p>In counseling new drivers just starting out, Cooper believed that “if a rookie can get into an Unlimited, then that’s the thing to do. He could learn to drive in that just as easy as he could starting out in a Limited. That’s because they drive entirely different. Of course, that doesn’t happen very often but it does occasionally. And I’d say he’d be just as good a driver as one who started small and then worked his way up.</p>
<p>“The two hard points about driving an Unlimited are in going way back at the start and in keeping the transom up going around the turns. If you let it drop, you may as well forget about it on account of the three-to-one gear ratio.”</p>
<p>When asked in 1973 about the great drivers of the past and present, Marion believed it was “pretty much of a draw. Bill Cantrell was rough but, of the new ones, I would just as soon risk Dean Chenoweth with a boat as any at all.”</p>
<p>In assessing the sport as a whole, Cooper observed, “Except for the pickle-fork designs and the front seat affairs, I haven’t seen too many changes in the boats themselves. The lift wings on the back ends of boats are a big help in getting around a corner.</p>
<p>“The races are kind of like they’ve always been. There has been quite a bit of improvement in the rules and regulations since I was a driver. But a race now is just about like a race back then.”</p>
<p>For the rest of his life, Marion remained an ardent fan of racing. He never failed to attend the annual Madison Regatta, accompanied by his wife Mildred and his old friend and partner from the 725 Class days, George Davis.</p>
<p>Marion Cooper passed away on February 21, 1986, while on a vacation trip to Florida. He was 82.</p>
<p>Cooper’s long-time friend and fellow competitor, Bill Cantrell, offered the following eulogy: “He was quite a guy! Marion was congenial, likable, and he was always willing to help out if another guy needed help on his boat. He was a hard driver–a good driver!”</p>Museum Vintage Exhibition at Seafairtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-07-29:6315479:BlogPost:923412015-07-29T03:53:41.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><strong>The Hydroplane Museum Celebrates Seattle’s Hydroplane History!</strong></p>
<p>This year’s Seafair hydroplane race will be the 65th year that we have raced Unlimiteds Hydroplanes on Lake Washington. When the first race was run back in 1951, Seattle had a population of 467,591. Harry Truman was President and a postage stamp cost three cents. A gallon of gas cost 20 cents. You could buy a new car for $1,500 and the average household income in the US was $3,515. A lot has changed since…</p>
<p><strong>The Hydroplane Museum Celebrates Seattle’s Hydroplane History!</strong></p>
<p>This year’s Seafair hydroplane race will be the 65th year that we have raced Unlimiteds Hydroplanes on Lake Washington. When the first race was run back in 1951, Seattle had a population of 467,591. Harry Truman was President and a postage stamp cost three cents. A gallon of gas cost 20 cents. You could buy a new car for $1,500 and the average household income in the US was $3,515. A lot has changed since then. A postage stamp is forty nine cents; a gallon of gas is over four dollars a gallon. The population of Seattle is 659,000 a new car is $20,000 and the average household income in America is $52,000. But one thing that hasn't changed is Seattles love for the hydros! The roaring, bucking, bouncing, fire breathing Thunderboats continue to be the high point of the summer for Seattle Sports fans.</p>
<p>The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum will be bringing two of their restored vintage hydros to Seafair to run exhibitions in between heats of turbine racing. The vintage hydros dating back to the 1950s have been lovingly restored to their original condition by a crew volunteers. Even though the boats are old, they are still plenty fast and will hit speeds of almost 140 mph during their exhibitions. They are powered by 2,000 hp supercharged WWII vintage fighter engines out of P-51 Mustangs.</p>
<p>When the boats aren't on the Lake running, they are on display at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent. The Hydro Museum’s mission is the nation’s only museum deducted entirely to power boat racing and its mission is to honor, celebrate and preserve the history of Hydroplane Racing.</p>
<p><strong>About the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum</strong></p>
<p>The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is the nation's only public museum dedicated solely to powerboat racing. Formed in 1983, the museum's mission is to preserve and exhibit important artifacts from the sport of hydroplane racing. The museum features an incredible collection of vintage hydroplanes spanning seven decades, including boats that have won 17 Gold Cups.</p>
<p>The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is also the nation's primary resource for historical and educational information on hydroplane racing. The museum's extensive collection of books, magazines, race programs, newspaper, photos, trophies, and other memorabilia dates back to the turn of the last century. They have over 200 hours of rare, vintage racing films transferred to videotape, covering hydroplane racing for the 1940s to the present.</p>
<p>The stories of famous drivers are there as well. Legendary Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, Mira Slovak, "Wild" Bill Cantrell and other past drivers are featured, plus information on many of the top modern drivers, including Chip Hanauer.</p>
<p>In addition to great archives on the the history of hydroplanes, the museum is also a fully equipped boat restoration shop. Over the years, they have restored seven of the most famous Gold Cup and Harmsworth winners to full running condition. They include the Miss America VIII (1929 and '31 Harmsworth winner); Slo-mo-shun IV (1950, '52, and '53 Gold Cup winner); Slo-mo-shun V (1951 and '54 Gold Cup winner); Hawaii Kai III replica (1958 Gold Cup winner); Miss Thriftway (1961 and '62 Gold Cup winner); the legendary "Green Dragon" Miss Bardahl and the 1967 Miss Budweiser. Most important, these great hulls have been restored by museum members, people like you who loved the boats and simply could not see them fade away.</p>
<p>The museum is located at 5917 South 196th Street Kent, WA 98032.</p>
<p><strong>SCHEDULE OF EVENTS</strong></p>
<p>FRIDAY, JULY 31<br/> 8:30 a.m. - Gates Open<br/> 2:40 p.m. - Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Seafair Vintage Exhibition<br/> 6:00 p.m. - Gates Close</p>
<p>SATURDAY, AUGUST 1<br/> 8:30 a.m. - Gates Open<br/> 2:40 p.m. - Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Seafair Vintage Exhibition<br/> 4:30 p.m. - Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Seafair Vintage Exhibition<br/> 6:30 p.m. - Gates Close</p>
<p>SUNDAY, AUGUST 2<br/> 7:30 a.m. - Gates Open<br/> 2:40 p.m. - Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Seafair Vintage Exhibition <br/> 5:15 p.m. - Awards Ceremony at Stan Sayres Pits Stage<br/> 6:00 p.m- Gates Close</p>Silent Seafair Thunder U-95tag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-07-14:6315479:BlogPost:919592015-07-14T05:36:22.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p class="p1"><em>Reprinted from The Guide, July 31, 1973.</em></p>
<p class="p1">It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, it’s, it’s Super-boat! Where? Why where else, on the course for the Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane Trophy Race. You may not see a big red S on its side, but you can tell it by its number. It is, and mark this well, the U-95.</p>
<p class="p1">Actually nobody yet really knows what exactly to expect from the worlds newest entry in the field of unlimited hydro racing. But it is expected…</p>
<p class="p1"><em>Reprinted from The Guide, July 31, 1973.</em></p>
<p class="p1">It’s a bird, it’s a plane! No, it’s, it’s Super-boat! Where? Why where else, on the course for the Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane Trophy Race. You may not see a big red S on its side, but you can tell it by its number. It is, and mark this well, the U-95.</p>
<p class="p1">Actually nobody yet really knows what exactly to expect from the worlds newest entry in the field of unlimited hydro racing. But it is expected by many, this writer included, that the U-95 will perform some amazing feats, possibly as soon as the Seafair races.</p>
<p class="p1">The U-95 is the first turbine-powered unlimited in the world. Should it prove as successful as expected, it certainly won’t be the last.</p>
<p class="p1">The U-95 is in reality an intermix of aerospace technology, hydrodynamics and aerodynamics never before used in any form of boat racing.</p>
<p class="p1">The hull was designed by Ron Jones, whose last effort was the Pride of Pay n Pak, the heartbreak kid of this year’s Gold Cup. At first glance the U-95 may look like other “pickle-fork” designs. Look again. U-95’s placement of the midships cockpit is different, as is the engine-well size and placement. Jones says it’s his first truly rear-engined unlimited. In addition, the controllable rudder and horizontal stabilizer in the tail section depart from conventional designs. The afterplane is a lot longer and the sponsons are shorter. The leading edge of the boat in the pickle-fork area is much farther toward the rear than in any other picklefork designs. Even the term pickle-fork is not accurate for U-95. Instead the crew has dubbed it “The Flying Wing.” Further, U-95 has provisions for the spoilers, meaning a capability similar to but not the same as air brakes or flaps. This, too, is a first for the Thunderboats.</p>
<p class="p1">To most fans, however, the hull and other innovations of U-95 are purely of secondary interest compared to its powerplant. U-95 marks the entry of turbine power in unlimited racing. U-95 is powered by two Lycoming T-53 engines. They weight 500 pounds each and each generates 1,700 horsepower, burning kerosene.</p>
<p class="p1">Why turbines? According to Jim Clapp, owner of the U-95, “The turbine engine is the engine of the future. It is almost trouble free has far fewer moving parts than piston engines, will operate in any position and under any atmospheric conditions, uses cheap, plentiful fuel and is virtually pollution-free. Carl Kiekaefer of Mercury Outboard Motor fame, proved his turbine engine in ocean racing so well he was ruled out of using them in that sport. Any Granatelli proved his turbine engine at Indianapolis and so frightened lesser men that he, too, was ruled out of using them another turbine in his cars. The unlimiteds are thrilling to watch, but their technical aspects and use of World War II engines never turned me on. Hull designs have changed little in 23 years. They are committed to engines which were new 28 years ago! That’s more than a generation! They are locked into re-building not only these old engines, but the same mechanical supportive systems that keep them running!”</p>
<p class="p1">James J. (Jim) Clapp, 42, owner of the U-95, was born in Tacoma and now lives in Bellevue. He is already established as a sportsman of note. Neither is he any stranger to racing. Racing under SCCA rules in class C & D (production) he won top honors in class for the northwest region in 1954,1955, and 1956 before his auto speed competetiveness was satisfied.</p>
<p class="p1">However, it is his love for boating which was ultimately to give birth to the U-95. The ideas came from his pleasure yacht, “Nothing More.” She is 58 feet loa, with a 17 foot beam, powered by twin-turbines, and with a crusing speed of 30 knots. The “Nothing More” is the largest, fastest, twin-turbined powered pleasure yacht in, the nation (some say in the world.) Jim’s experience with this craft convinced him of the feasibility of turbine power for unlimited racing.</p>
<p class="p1">After several discussions with the Unlimited Commission, the U-95 crew acquired an unprecedented waiver of rules plus a three-year time period in which to affirm the design concept and. race whenever and wherever the craft was ready and able.</p>
<p class="p1">In case you have now been excited to the point of wanting to develop your own unlimited, be advised that Jim Clapp has committed more than $250,000 to the pioneer project of the U-95, with No guarantee of any success at all.</p>
<p class="p1">Adding to the cost is a variety of exotic equipment being developed for the U-95 that will make it the most innovative hydro ever built. Many of the new ideas come from the aviation influence on the U-95, and to boat fans may seem like the latest pages of space news.</p>
<p class="p1">Because boat drivers are too busy to concentrate much on reading dials and gauges while competing, a second instrument panel not visible to the driver will be the focus of a video tape recording system, which will run whenever the boat is on the water. It will monitor readings of the 22 different systems and if something goes wrong, the tape can be played back on the shore to check the source of the problem. Next year the crew ashore will be able to follow the hydro’s systems at all times during the race. This system, called a real time data link, relays instant readings of all systems and functions to shore via radio.</p>
<p class="p1">Driver and crew will also have contact through a two-way radio system. The turbines make such a system feasible because they are quieter than conventional motors.</p>
<p class="p1">Also planned is an aural warning system that will put a beeping noise in the drivers headset and a warning light on the control panel.</p>
<p class="p1">Even if the U-95 performs flawlessly and wins the Seafair Race and all the rest of the races this season, their job will only be partially finished. High on the list of priorities is the matter of finding a sponsor.</p>
<p class="p1">Finding a sponsor is the responsibility of Richard Friel, formerly with Lear Jet, Inc. and now in business for himself here in Seattle. From his Norton Building office, overlooking Elliot Bay, he discussed the quest for backing. At this point he is working from a list of prospective sponsors, all national major companies. Dick expressed great optimism, for the sport of hydro racing, for the U-95, and for finding a sponsor. “We have four advantages,” said Dick. “We are a young team, we have made use of Aerospace technology, we are a hometown team, and we came from nowhere so we are free to experiment all we need to.”</p>
<p class="p1">“We have five goals. One; is to be there at Seafair. Two; is to float our boat. Three; to qualify. Four; is to not go crazy. Five; is to secure a solid national sponsor.”</p>
<p class="p1">So — U-95, super-boat, may not float. But then again, that’s not too likely, considering the tests its already been through. And it may just be, and this is far more likely, that it will be the hottest boat ever seen in hydro racing.</p>
<p class="p1">“You can go all out and bust your motor, or, you can go all our and bust your ass, or, you can hold back and save your motor and your ass.” And THAT is basically the decision of the driver.</p>
<p class="p1">U-95 will be piloted by one of Seattle’s favorite and most talented drivers. Leif (pronounced: <span class="s1">Layfe</span>) Borgerson, has 18 years of boat racing experience. He is only 27 years old. He is an auto mechanic by trade, but has progressed to the point that anything with a motor, seemingly, he can handle. Leif placed second in the 1968 Gold Cup, setting the Gold Cup qualifying record of 116.883 mph. He received the Mike Thomas Award in 1969, and again placed second in the 1970 Gold Cup race. Due to the complexity of the systems involved with U-95 and their relationship to aviation, Leif learned to fly to gain further understanding of the systems.</p>
<p class="p1">How good is the U-95? How fast? How long will the engines hold up? How will it perform in a race? No one really knows. But from testing, its estimated closed course speed is about 135 mph. Its estimated top speed is just over 160 mph. The goal of the crew is to vary the speed of the boat as little as possible, running down the chute at about 150 mph and average 130 mph. And that will be a record on any course in the country!</p>
<p class="p1">Super boat, flying wing, whatever you choose to call the U-95, it is a thunderboat without thunder of its own—and you can bet it will be out to steal everyone else’s thunder as it streaks down the course like lightning.</p>Madison Has A Hometown Team Like No Othertag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-07-02:6315479:BlogPost:917482015-07-02T01:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Aaron Lynch</em><br></br><em>Reprinted from h1unlimited.com</em></p>
<p>The City of Madison’s ownership of a hydroplane is like none other in racing. As a result of the community ownership, their fans are like none other.</p>
<p>This unique ownership draws not only those who enjoy the spectacle of hydroplane racing but also is a source of civic pride for the residents of the Madison area. In its 54 years on the Unlimited hydroplane circuit, the Miss Madison has had many highs and lows but…</p>
<p><em>By Aaron Lynch</em><br/><em>Reprinted from h1unlimited.com</em></p>
<p>The City of Madison’s ownership of a hydroplane is like none other in racing. As a result of the community ownership, their fans are like none other.</p>
<p>This unique ownership draws not only those who enjoy the spectacle of hydroplane racing but also is a source of civic pride for the residents of the Madison area. In its 54 years on the Unlimited hydroplane circuit, the Miss Madison has had many highs and lows but through it all there have been one of the most recognizable symbols of Madison, Indiana.</p>
<p>The Miss Madison had its beginnings when Samuel DuPont donated his hydroplane, known as Nitrogen, to the City of Madison in 1961. Although those early years had little success, the Miss Madison already had earned its spot as one of the best ambassadors for its home port.</p>
<p>In 1965, David Sloan had graduated from the Indiana University School of Optometry and was looking for a place to open his practice. While visiting Madison, a friend of Sloan and local banker Ed Baer was showing him around town when Baer asked “would you like to see the Miss Madison?”</p>
<p>Unsure of what the Miss Madison was, Sloan was surprised to be taken to see a race boat. For David Sloan, it was love at first sight. He became a lifelong fan, often flying to other race sites on the tour to cheer on the Miss Madison. He also worked for many years as the Chairman of the Madison Regatta Parade. Sloan was a fixture on RV row during Madison Regatta week until he passed away in 2013.</p>
<p>Anywhere one looks in Madison one can find the pride the city takes in its boat. When a visitor comes to Madison, the first thing he or she will see is a sign that proclaims Madison as the “Home of Oh Boy Oberto/Miss Madison, National Champions 2008-2009-2010-2012.” A plaque along the riverfront proclaims the Miss Madison as the “World’s only community owned hydroplane and 1971 Gold Cup Winner.” Numerous souvenir shops in Madison will have Miss Madison memorabilia from throughout the years. The Boneyard, a local restaurant owned by newly minted Miss Madison President Charlie Grooms, has many hydroplane pictures as well as a full sponson deck of a former Miss Madison hull. One does not need to look hard to see that the Miss Madison is woven into the fabric of the town it represents.</p>
<p>Just as the Miss Madison is a part of the identity of the town, the fans of the Miss Madison take a lot of civic pride in their boat. Dan Gayle is a Madison native and a lifelong fan. He is also the son of the late Randy Gayle, who was a longtime crew member of the Miss Madison. Dan calls the fact that the whole city of Madison owns the boat a point of pride: “When the Miss Madison races in other cities, they represent the whole town, not just the team. They’re like the Green Bay Packers. There’s a deep bond with the boat.” Gayle continues: “We’re a small town, so having a professional sports team is awesome. I’m a Colts fan and an Indiana Hoosiers fan, but I’m not from Indianapolis. I’m not from Bloomington. Madison is my home, and the Miss Madison is my hometown team.”</p>
<p>Brent Warren, another lifelong Miss Madison fan, takes a more global view: “All of Italy feels the passion with Ferrari. We here in Madison feel an immense pride with our boat when it wins. We all chipped into that victory. And when the Miss Madison does it at home, it’s like Ferrari winning at Monza.”</p>
<p>Madison fans are often eager to share the passion for their boat, even after leaving the area. Chris Taylor is a Madison native who now lives in the San Diego area. Hey shared a story in which a man from Texas was attending the San Diego race. Taylor shared the history of the Miss Madison with the man, and the Miss Madison immediately gained a new fan.</p>
<p>Over the years, the Miss Madison has gone from a small-time operation trying to make simply a respectable showing to the ruling dynasty of the sport. Inevitably the Madison fans have made a lot of cherished memories over that time.</p>
<p>The 1971 Gold Cup win brought instant outbursts of joy on both sides of the river, from church bells and being rung in downtown Madison to a party in Milton in which the attendees jumped into the pool fully clothed in celebration of the Miss Madison’s triumph.</p>
<p>In later years, fans had also seen the similar joy when the Madison team scored an upset victory in 2001 on home water. Multiple people recalled that so many crew members, members of the media, and others had made it down to greet Steve David after his triumph that the deck began to sink. For most fans, however, the greatest memory has been the Miss Madison’s current run of five championships over seven years. The 2008 victory was seen as the culmination of nearly a half century of hard work and struggles that had finally paid off. Each successive championship is seen as just that much more vindication that the Miss Madison had really “made it” as the top team in hydroplane racing.</p>
<p>The City of Madison has now raced its hometown boat for 55 consecutive years on the Unlimited circuit. Like professional teams in large markets, the Miss Madison has provided a roller coaster of emotions. there have been heartbreaks and the thrill of victory.</p>
<p>From the high points championships to the Gold Cup victories and even with the low points that happen in sports, the fans are arguably the most dedicated and passionate fans in all of powerboat racing.</p>
<p>This unique ownership and arrangement with the City of Madison has given this quaint southern Indiana town a reason to come together with a rooting interest for a sports team that they not only support but they own.</p>
<p>It is truly one of America’s great sports stories.</p>Team Spokane’s Humble Start Stirs Memories Of Hydro Fevertag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-06-05:6315479:BlogPost:913112015-06-05T04:29:48.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>Reprinted from <em>The Spokesman-Review</em></p>
<p>It was a perfect fit from the start.</p>
<p>The Pacific Northwest, the self-styled boating capital of the world, and unlimited hydroplanes, the world’s fastest fleet.</p>
<p>It’s a union that spawned hydro fever and in the fall of 1957. It spread from Seattle to Spokane, where the Miss Spokane - the U-25 Lilac Lady - rose out of a local fund drive.</p>
<p>The Miss Spokane was campaigned for four seasons of near-misses from 1958 through 1961…</p>
<p>Reprinted from <em>The Spokesman-Review</em></p>
<p>It was a perfect fit from the start.</p>
<p>The Pacific Northwest, the self-styled boating capital of the world, and unlimited hydroplanes, the world’s fastest fleet.</p>
<p>It’s a union that spawned hydro fever and in the fall of 1957. It spread from Seattle to Spokane, where the Miss Spokane - the U-25 Lilac Lady - rose out of a local fund drive.</p>
<p>The Miss Spokane was campaigned for four seasons of near-misses from 1958 through 1961 with Dallas Sartz, Norm Evans and Rex Manchester alternating at the wheel.</p>
<p>It preceded this city’s high-water season of 1968, when owner Dave Heerensperger and crew chief Jack Cochrane teamed with driver Warner Gardner.</p>
<p>Their story started modestly with the purchase of a gaudy, unsuccessful boat named Dollar Bill. It ended in tragedy in September of that year, when Gardner was killed dueling for the lead in the final heat of the Gold Cup on the Detroit River.</p>
<p>But in the months between, in seven races through the spring and summer of ‘68, the Eagle of Spokane and the Miss Bardahl of Seattle were the hottest things on water.</p>
<p>Heerensperger ultimately was associated with the 1970s and ‘80s innovations that made his Pay ‘n Pak the fastest boat of her time. His name is now associated with racing of a different sort - horse racing.</p>
<p>In March of 1969, Heerensperger renamed the Eagle Electric the Pride of Pay ‘n Pak after he had assumed control of a chain of 22 stores. By February of 1970, the leader of the Pak had moved to Seattle and Spokane was without a hydroplane.</p>
<p>Spokane’s introduction to unlimited racing came prior to Heerensperger’s emergence, when a reported $13,000 was raised in the fall of ‘57 to buy a hull from none other than Bill Boeing, the aerospace giant who had it built as a backup for his unlimited, the Miss Wahoo.</p>
<p>The drivers of Miss Spokane built a legacy as hard-luck chargers.</p>
<p>Typical was a 1959 heat of the Diamond Cup on Lake Coeur d’Alene, when Evans - leading the race - spun out and was tossed from the boat.</p>
<p>Bruised, soaked and bleeding from minor lacerations, Evans swam back to the boat and tried to fire it up until the batteries gave out.</p>
<p>Those who saw it remember it as the embodiment of a committed but futile effort to bring a winner to Spokane.</p>
<p>It was an era when drivers as well as boats went dead in the water. The sport was never very far from controversy.</p>
<p>Manchester led the final lap of the 1960 Seafair Trophy Race in Seattle and was closing on the finish line when another boat, the U.S. I, caught fire in the distant south turn.</p>
<p>The Coast Guard fired red flares as the Miss Spokane hit the line, alerting emergency crews and canceling the heat.</p>
<p>In a rerun later that day, Manchester missed a buoy and had to turn around. Bill Muncey was coasting to apparent victory in the Thriftway when driver Russ Schleeh was pitched out of another boat, the Thriftway Too, depriving Muncey of the win.</p>
<p>When the race was run a third time the next day - on rougher water - Muncey was first, Manchester a distant second.</p>
<p>Bud Simons, president of the Miss Spokane hydro association, took the class approach to the outcry.</p>
<p>“We are disgusted over the way it was ruled but we know in our hearts we won the race on Sunday,” Simons said. “What good does it do to protest? There is already too much of this bickering. It’s a mixed-up situation as it is. Why add to the confusion?”</p>
<p>Manchester had the Miss Spokane sailing clear in the final turn of the final heat of the ‘61 Gold Cup on Nevada’s Pyramid Lake when the boat flipped and sank in 80 feet of water.</p>
<p>Manchester recovered, only to die in a 1966 crash in another boat.</p>
<p>Ownership of Miss Spokane passed in late ‘61 from cash-strapped community sponsors to Bob Gilliam of Seattle. Idled in ‘62 the boat came back the next year as the Eagle Electric, headed by crew chief Kent Simonson and the 26-year-old Heerensperger, then president and chief stockholder of Eagle Electric and Plumbing in Spokane.</p>
<p>The first Eagle ran for two years until Simonson sold it in the fall of ‘64, ending for a brief time Heerensperger’s sponsorship.</p>
<p>In August of 1967, Heerensperger bought the laughable Dollar Bill and renamed it the second Miss Eagle Electric.</p>
<p>That became a screamin’ machine.</p>
<p>With the retired Air Force Col. Gardner at the controls, the Eagle won the 1968 Dixie Cup in Guntersville, Ala., the first win for a Spokanebased unlimited.</p>
<p>Gardner won again in Tri-Cities in July 1968, and later bagged the President’s Cup on the Potomac River. In August of that year, the Eagle turned what was at the time the secondfastest qualifying lap in the sport’s history, 120.267 mph, on Lake Washington.</p>
<p>The season ended in tragedy when Gardner - battling the Miss Bardahl for the national points championship - went airborne and crashed on the Detroit River in September, 1968.</p>
<p>It claimed Gardner’s life, and some of the city’s taste for the sport.</p>
<p>The original Miss Spokane ran as the Miss Lapeer until 1967, when it was retired. The boat surfaced in 1983 when a Spokane hydro fan named Ron Miller bought it from Jim Herrington of Lapeer, Mich., and returned it to Spokane.</p>
<p>The city, in a hydroplaning sense, is back with Tom Hindley driving the U-19 Appian Renegade presented by Team Spokane.</p>
<p>Although it’s owned by former driver Bob Fendler of Honolulu the boat is stored in a welding and machine shop in Veradale.</p>
<p>The plan is to run four races out of Spokane and see how it goes.</p>
<p>If that’s a humble start it’s typical. Spokane unlimiteds have started with less.</p>First Unlimited Hydroplane Race on the Columbia Rivertag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-05-27:6315479:BlogPost:905682015-05-27T00:25:54.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>On July 24, 1966, the first Unlimited Hydroplane Race occurs on the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities. Bill Brow in the Miss Budweiser wins the race. On this warm and windy day, Miss Budweiser wins both of her qualifying heats and qualifies for the final race. At four o'clock this afternoon, Miss Budweiser rips through the water and beats out her competition with an average speed of 92.402 miles per hour.</p>
<p><strong>Crowds Line the Columbia</strong></p>
<p>This year was the first time the…</p>
<p>On July 24, 1966, the first Unlimited Hydroplane Race occurs on the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities. Bill Brow in the Miss Budweiser wins the race. On this warm and windy day, Miss Budweiser wins both of her qualifying heats and qualifies for the final race. At four o'clock this afternoon, Miss Budweiser rips through the water and beats out her competition with an average speed of 92.402 miles per hour.</p>
<p><strong>Crowds Line the Columbia</strong></p>
<p>This year was the first time the big boats raced on the two-and-a-half mile course on the Columbia River at the Tri-Cities. The race has occurred annually ever since. The boats must have a certain minimum speed to qualify (which has changed from year to year). "Unlimited" refers to the fact that there is no maximum horsepower.</p>
<p>At least 50,000 people crowded the shores of the river to watch the races. On the Benton County side, the four-mile long Columbia Park along the river provided ample room for spectators. A smaller crowd watched from the Franklin County side from atop the river dike. Both sides had a terrific view of the race course. Cars lined Canal Drive, a Kennewick Street that overlooks the race course about 50 feet above the river.</p>
<p>Twelve drivers with 12 boats were on hand for the big race. They were:</p>
<ul>
<li>Mira Slovak driving the U-3 Tahoe Miss</li>
<li>Jim McCormick driving the U-6 Miss Madison</li>
<li>Walt Kade driving the U-10 Savair's Mist</li>
<li>Bill Brow driving the U-12 Miss Budweiser</li>
<li>Jim Ranger driving the U-15 Miss Gypsy</li>
<li>Bob Fendler driving the U-19 Wayfarer's Club Lady</li>
<li>Bill Manchu driving the U-21 Dollar Bill</li>
<li>Bob Miller driving the U-37 Miss Tri-Cities</li>
<li>Red Loomis driving the U-50 Savair's Probe</li>
<li>Bill Sterett driving the U-77 Miss Chrysler Crew</li>
<li>Bill Cantrell driving the U-80 Smirnoff</li>
<li>Bob Gilliam driving the U-88 Hilton Hy-Per Lube</li>
</ul>
<p>This was the first year Miss Tri-Cities competed in the hydroplane races. During time trials, she reached 130 miles per hour on the straightaways and an average lap speed of 95.329.</p>
<p><strong>Fast Times and High Stakes</strong></p>
<p>There was approximately $25,000 in prize money at stake. The first place winner would be awarded $4,500. The second place winner would win $3,200, with each remaining place receiving a decreasing amount. Each heat winner took an additional $500. Each legal start in each heat also resulted in additional award money. Time trials took place on Friday and Saturday preceding the race. All 12 boats qualified for the final races on Sunday. Unfortunately, Bill Manchu in the Dollar Bill, had mechanical problems that kept him from starting on Sunday.</p>
<p>On Sunday, Bill Sterett piloted the Miss Chrysler Crew to the fastest time in Heat 1-A, averaging 97.122 miles per hour. Bill Brow in the Miss Budweiser took Heat 1-B, with a speed of 94.246 miles per hour. Mira Slovak, a Czechoslovakian airplane pilot, took first place in Heat 2-A in the Tahoe Miss with a speed of 96.531 miles per hour. Miss Budweiser, "The Bud," also won Heat 2-B with a slightly better speed of 96.368. The first and second place finishers from each heat qualified for the final race. This resulted in a field of six boats for the final race: Miss Budweiser, Smirnoff, Savair's Probe, Wayfarers Club Lady, Tahoe Miss, and Miss Chrysler Crew.</p>
<p>By the final heat, the wind had gained momentum, making the racing just a little bit more treacherous. A bad turn could result in swamping the boat, or worse, flipping it. The water was choppy and the air was dusty. Two boats, the Tahoe Miss and the Miss Chrysler Crew, developed mechanical problems and did not finish the race.</p>
<p><strong>Miss Budweiser Takes All</strong></p>
<p>Ultimately, Bill Brow held out in the Miss Budweiser. It was the first win for owner Bernie Little, who had competed in 29 races and had won several heats, but had never won a complete race. It was the start of a long dominance by Miss Budweiser in unlimited hydroplane racing.</p>
<p>The entire event was known as the Water Follies and Atomic Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Races. Crowds also enjoyed other events throughout the weekend, although they were overshadowed by the big boat races. A two-day arts and crafts show took place in Kennewick. Pasco hosted a Kiddies parade in the downtown area. Sham-Na-Pum Golf Course hosted a two-day golf tournament. Young and old could also have fun during a three-day carnival.</p>
<p>These events made the weekend a memorable one for Tri-Citians. It began a tradition that continues to this day.</p>Unpredictable 'Slough Race' A Bygone Rite Of Springtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-04-04:6315479:BlogPost:896792015-04-04T01:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Craig Smith</em><br></br> <em>Reprinted from The Seattle Times, April 15, 1994.</em></p>
<p>Boats crashed into logs, bridge pilings and each other in a wacky annual race on the narrow Sammamish Slough. But when a spectator was hit in 1976, the `Slough Race' was history. This is a look back.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366286?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366286?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450"></img></a></p>
<p>You heard the boats before you saw them. That was part of the…</p>
<p><em>By Craig Smith</em><br/> <em>Reprinted from The Seattle Times, April 15, 1994.</em></p>
<p>Boats crashed into logs, bridge pilings and each other in a wacky annual race on the narrow Sammamish Slough. But when a spectator was hit in 1976, the `Slough Race' was history. This is a look back.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366286?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366286?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>You heard the boats before you saw them. That was part of the excitement, and what made the race special.</p>
<p>The crashes and near-misses made it special, too. The outboards dodged logs, bridge pilings, overhanging trees and each other with varying degrees of success.</p>
<p>The race even came complete with its own smell - the aroma of the burned alcohol fuel from the motors of the fastest class, the F hydros.</p>
<p>It was known as the "Slough Race" and the name stuck even after the Sammamish Slough was dredged, widened and renamed the Sammamish River in the mid-1960s.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366333?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366333?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>"I don't think there was a race like it in the nation, ever," said Howard Anderson, 64, who still races outboards and serves as national vice president of the American Power Boat Association.</p>
<p>The race, up and down the 13-mile link between Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish, was held this time of year 47 times, starting in 1928. It folded after the 1976 race, in which a spectator was hit by a boat. After that, organizers could not buy insurance.</p>
<p>In its heyday the race drew more than 100 entries, divided into various racing divisions, and the usually unreliable estimates of some 40,000-80,000 fans.</p>
<p>Photographers poised to capture crashes</p>
<p>A different division would start every five minutes from Lake Washington and head upstream. Waiting with cameras poised at the most dangerous turns were newspaper photographers and cameramen from Movietone, who would film crashes that would be shown in the nation's theaters.</p>
<p>Devoted fans would start selecting their favorite viewing spots hours before the upstream heat started at noon. Often, spectators would help drivers in trouble.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366347?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366347?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>"If a guy broke down, the spectators would help him get out of the water, lift the boat out and even help him work on the boat," said Anderson, a two-time winner. "But if the boat was wrecked, they'd just help him get the boat on the bank then invite the guy to drink beer with them."</p>
<p>Among defunct Northwest sporting events, the race is among the leaders in nostalgia.</p>
<p>Dick Rautenberg, 54, of Bothell, still competes in outboard races but said, "That was the most fun of any racing we've done."</p>
<p>`The Taming of the Slough'</p>
<p>The race lost some of its unpredictability when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged and widened the slough in a two-year, $3.8 million flood-control project from 1964-66. It was an undertaking which racers derisively called "The Taming of the Slough."</p>
<p>"Before, it was a lot narrower and there were logs in it and it was pretty messy," said ex-racer Bob Jacobsen, 65, who has retired to Palm Springs.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366408?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366408?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Harold Tolford, 70, recalled that the race would sometimes be held in flood conditions before the Corps of Engineers project.</p>
<p>"You couldn't tell where the channel was in the big straight stretches so you would just stay between the barbed wire fences on both sides of you," he said. "The fences were to keep cattle in so if you were in the middle you figured you must be in the channel."</p>
<p>Six-time winner Bob Waite, 69, said he was leading one year and within sight of the finish line when he ran into "an old rotten cedar log."</p>
<p>"The race was never a sure thing," he said. "There was a lot of luck involved."</p>
<p>As a result of the corps' project, the river entrance at Lake Sammamish was made unpassable for racers. A barrier designed to control the flow of water from Lake Sammamish made the river too shallow for racers. The finish line for the upstream leg was moved to Marymoor (at the end of the uphill leg, the boats would stop for refueling and repairs; the winner was later determined by total time on the two legs).</p>
<p>The course was full of twists and turns from Kenmore, the most-used starting point, until a point past Woodinville. Then came long, straight stretches and the F hydros would hit speeds of more than 80 mph.</p>
<p>Former racer Hugh Entrop, 70, remembers the Bothell bridge as the worst obstacle.</p>
<p>"A lot of the fellows would run into the pilings," he said.</p>
<p>Another sure spot for accidents: a logboom in Woodinville in the years when a sawmill was operating.</p>
<p>Rautenberg was the spokesman in 1977 when the Seattle Outboard Association canceled the race.</p>
<p>In 1976, spectator Ron Clausen, a University of Washington pole vaulter, suffered a broken leg when he was struck by a boat that lost control near Wayne Golf Course. The accident was filmed by a fan with an 8-mm camera.</p>
<p>Rautenberg said the American Power Boat Association, through which the race had been insured, became "leery of the race" after Clausen was injured.</p>
<p>"What they told us was they didn't know what the Slough Race was until the UW pole vaulter got hurt," Rautenberg said.</p>
<p>At the same time, the governments along the course, particularly the City of Redmond, demanded that they be insured against any liability.</p>
<p>"We were getting it from both ends," Rautenberg said.</p>
<p>Clausen filed a lawsuit seeking $150,000. He eventually settled out of court in 1979.</p>
<p>Clausen, 39, is a Boeing quality assurance supervisor who lives in Kirkland. He said last week his vaulting was "never the same" after the accident and he never competed again. The former two-time state prep champion from Shorecrest lost his Husky scholarship and said he had to drop out of school. He declined to say how much he received in the settlement but said the sum basically covered his medical expenses.</p>
<p>Clausen said he had regularly attended the race and always had enjoyed it until the accident.</p>
<p>"It wasn't my intent to shut the race off," he said. "But I had to get the bills paid and it did kind of ruin my pole-vaulting career."</p>
<p>Anderson said there is no chance that the race will be revived.</p>
<p>"Today, the crowd would have to be fenced 100 yards back," he said. "Back in the old days, people didn't get too nervous about things like that. Also, now there are homes, condos and apartments along the course. You could never do it."</p>The New Unlimitedstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-03-13:6315479:BlogPost:892872015-03-13T19:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Jack Schmale<br></br> Reprinted from MotorBoating, February 1967<br></br></em></p>
<p>Six months ago a miscellany of thoroughly unqualified public speakers was soap-boxing the doom of unlimited hydroplane racing. Lady Luck in 1966 had finally flown the thunderboat coop and four of unlimited hydroplaning’s drivers were lost, their magnificent speed steeds reduced to twisted hulks of metal and splintered wood - all within the swiftness of two short weeks, two successive regattas: 1966 was…</p>
<p><em>By Jack Schmale<br/> Reprinted from MotorBoating, February 1967<br/></em></p>
<p>Six months ago a miscellany of thoroughly unqualified public speakers was soap-boxing the doom of unlimited hydroplane racing. Lady Luck in 1966 had finally flown the thunderboat coop and four of unlimited hydroplaning’s drivers were lost, their magnificent speed steeds reduced to twisted hulks of metal and splintered wood - all within the swiftness of two short weeks, two successive regattas: 1966 was cursed as the blackest season in hydroplane history.</p>
<p>But today, with distain for feckless prophets and a salute to the memories of Ron Musson, Rex Manchester, Don Wilson, and Chuck Thompson, the hydronauts are gearing up for a vigorous 1967 schedule with a massive program of building, revamping, and far-out experimentation.</p>
<p>The ten-race coast-to-coast unlimited circuit, which indeed could introduce new trends in power and boat design, will embark in June with a hull muster far exceeding last year’s record starting crop. Like the pitied Texas whooping crane, its decimated flock threatened with extinction just a couple of seasons ago, the unlimited hydroplane species also appears to be repopulating in extremely fertile fashion. Fact has ten new boats awaiting the 1967 go-gun, rumor at least four more. And fancy might spring still another hush-hush contender at the last minute.</p>
<p>Two of the four famous hulls destroyed, the Misses Budweiser and Smirnoff, were quickly replaced following the accidents and the subs punctually resumed the ‘66 season on behalf of their sponsors. Spanking new boats will succeed the other ill-fated pair for two of the fraternity’s most successful owners. Miss Bardahl and thrice-defending champion Ole Bardahl and Notre Dame for persistent national runner-up Shirley Louise Mendelson.</p>
<p>Together with a new Miss US, the ‘67 models in the famed Green Dragon and Shamrock lines will bestow upon hydro-proud Seattle a solid nucleus toward restoration of its annihilated thunder fleet. A rumor hull could base another strong contender in the zealous city that’s perennially unchallenged for spectator attendance and for pinnacle performances in hydroplane racing’s hallowed record bible.</p>
<p>Crew-cut Kentuckian Bill Sterett, a bit bored with his invincible 7-liter class supremacy, elected to try boat racing’s major league last year - with Miss Chrysler Crew, a self-built, lightweight 29-footer, and a staunch conviction that a pair of automotive engines could successfully sprint with Rolls and Allison aircraft powerhouses.</p>
<p>Chrysler Crew generated as much roar, threw as plumey a roostertail and cockily challenged all her orthodox rivals to prove she was indeed a qualified unlimited hydroplane. Her twin V-8 Hemi’s, despite modest horsepower, spanked Sterett to two heat victories and various near-misses in 21 heads for tenth place in the final national standings. Most of her eight DNF’s were attributed to madly frustrating “nickel and dime” failures. Significantly, 1966 season’s champion Tahoe Miss endured six heat flunk-outs.</p>
<p>Sterett clearly has broken the power barrier - sufficiently at least to induce a long look by other auto engine builders at unlimited hydroplane racing. And, very definitely, vice versa. And quite probably he has successfully pioneered the compact package with his 5000-pounder, minimum heft tolerated by American Power Boat Association standards.</p>
<p>Both gates are now open. Whether either or both will touch off a revolutionary trend will be an interesting experiment in evolution adding to the excitement and intrigue of the upcoming season. Off-season gossip whispers that Sterett will have a little auto-powered cousin or two among his rivals come June. At least two boats currently under construction are fashioned for options of aircraft or auto energy.</p>
<p>The growing California stable will produce at least four new foals. Bob Fendler, ‘65’s rookie-of-the-year, will present his Wayfarer’s Club lady with a new baby sister, a cab-over or read-engine 34-footer, built by Fred Wickens and very possibly auto-powered. And Laird Pierce, who campaigned the former Blue Chip last season as Miss Dixie Cola, will arm veteran jockey Freddie Alter with stronger artillery in a new Allison-powered conventional hydro by Patterson.</p>
<p>Bob Mart will make a splashy debut as driver and co-owner with a really far-out rig that qualifies as unlimited but will bear not the vaguest resemblance to an orthodox hydroplane. Scheduled for completion this month in Mart’s Long Beach shop, the radical 25 ½ footer is a rear-sponson twin-screw fiberglass original by well-known designer Leon Danforth of Northrup Nortronics Corp. It’s “captured air bubble” hull was created for installation of either Holman & Moody modified Ford 427s or standard Allisons, side by side with independent driveshafts just forward of the maximum 12-foot beam at the transom.</p>
<p>Another Cal watch-charm hydro will be a 25-7 cabover, a do-it-himselfer by Walt Knudson of El Monte. This one reportedly will be gunned by auto-type propulsion, twin overhead-cam Ford 427s. And Texas will toss its ten-gallon cowboy hat into the hydro ring with a conventional hull under construction by George Goethan of Tyler, using Allison power. Famed designer-builder Les Staudacher declares he’ll assemble a boat for one of several freshman prospects who’ve approached him, following completion of three new models for veteran stables.</p>
<p>Following is a mid-winter muster of the established camps:</p>
<p>NOTRE DAME: Shirley Mendelson’s replacement, first of the ‘67 models, was delivered by Les Staudacher in November. The new U-7 will be driven by Jim McCormick who handled Miss Madison last season. Rolls-powered, the 30-footer will be all aluminum except for its oak-laminated deck beams and mahogany deck.</p>
<p>MISS BARDAHL: Eddie Karelsen of the Karelsen Boat Company in Seattle is building the newest Green Dragon, a conventionally styled - except, like her predecessor, her engine will be forward - boat, in Ole Bardahl’s Seattle shop. Bill Schumacher will throttle the Rolls-Merlin engine.</p>
<p>Miss US: Staudacher began construction in mid-November at this Michigan plant on an almost identical sister-ship successor to George Simon’s distinguished lightweight 29-footer, which just plain came unglued after mishaps at Tampa and Detroit. Four-time national king Bill Muncey will skipper and manage the rapid, red 200 mph rocked. Rolls.</p>
<p>GALE: Staudacher’s third production will be a real power monster, an 11,000 pound heavyweight for Gale Enterprises in Detroit. At 36 feet, she’ll be the biggest battlewagon in the fleet with Jerry Schoenith the probably accelerator of tandem Allisons.</p>
<p>TAHOE MISS: Owner Bill Harrah and racing manager Harry Volpi plan only minor tinkering with the Allison hammer for their Czech charioteer, Mira Slovak. Midyear reports hint drastic curtailment of Tahoe Miss’ program for ‘67. Latest plans show her defending the Gold Cup at Seattle, Aug. 6; and possibly in the July 2 Detroit regatta.</p>
<p>MY GYPSY: Similarly, few improvements would appear in order for this combine after Jim Ranger wrote hydro history by whipping his dependable Allison-powered 32-footer to a convincing second place in his rookie year aboard an unlimited - or any other kind of boat. Ranger plans only some pre-season experiments with nitrous oxide injections for quicker acceleration.</p>
<p>MISS BUDWEISER: Latest of the 1966 models, this Staudacher-built “early ‘67” replacement finished a creditable overall third despite complete absence at Governor’s Cup regatta. Owner Bernie Little installed a new deck in September and plans few further adjustments for veteran pilot Bill Brow. Rolls.</p>
<p>WAYFARER’S CLUB LADY: Bob Fendler, rookie of 1965 with U-19, plans to keep her as standby or running mate to his new boat. The Beverly Hills attorney will retire or dispose of this third hull. The Loaner.</p>
<p>$-BILL: Bill Schuyler reportedly will increase the Rolls engine inventory of his 30-footer, which missed the Sacramento finale due to power shortage, yet salvaged fifth spot nationally. Veteran Chuck Hickling will be in the driver’s seat.</p>
<p>MISS LAPEER: This one sprang to life spectacularly to close the ‘66 whirl with a convincing victory at Sacramento. Doubtless Jim Harrington will have her Rolls mills primed for Col. Warner Gardner to parlay his victory into the ‘67 opener.</p>
<p>MISS CHRYSLER CREW: Bill Sterett, the other wonder boy of ‘66, will continue to test his twin auto engines all winter and go gunning for more aircraft scalps this year. Unconfirmed rumors have the sponsoring company building a similar hull - with THREE Chrysler spankers.</p>
<p>MISS SMIRNOFF: Lee Schoenith will have seasoned Bill Cantrell pumping the Dubenhauser, combined Allison-Rolls power lashup, with refinements.</p>
<p>SAVAIR’S: Reportedly this camp will concentrate on the more consistent Probe this year, at the expense of the other half of the entry, the Mist, either Wally Kade or Red Loomis first string captain. Allison.</p>
<p>MISS MADISON: Frank Byers looms new pilot of this Allison-powered craft. Jim Wright, Detroit 266 driver, is possible replacement for McCormick.</p>
<p>MISS TRI-CITIES: Sacramento’s Ken Murphy will retire the former Gold Cup queen Slo-Mo-V and is currently remodeling the ex-$-Bill with Allisons. Is also reported dickering for construction of a new hull.</p>
<p>SUCH CRUST: George Schaefer’s huge twin-Allison, 11,500 pounder mostly idle last season. Plans undecided.</p>
<p>HILTON’S HYPERLUBE: Bob Gilliam will be in there pitching again with Rolls power, but could prove more of a menace if he succeeds in building a new one.</p>
<p>MISS DIXI COLA: Probable standby for Laird Pierce’s new hull. Allison.</p>
<p>All of which adds up to 26 of the snorting monsters in captivity - biggest muster in history - and prospects for a real wild season.</p>Video Vault Q&Atag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-03-10:6315479:BlogPost:894232015-03-10T03:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><strong>What is the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>The Video Vault is a private Group, on our web site, that provides Museum members access to hundreds of hours of hydroplane video footage. Some of the footage is very rare, not seen in public for decades.</p>
<p><strong>Why a Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>The Museum’s mission is to inspire and motivate learning and achievement while honoring, celebrating and preserving the legacy of Unlimited Hydroplane racing. By providing access to our…</p>
<p><strong>What is the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>The Video Vault is a private Group, on our web site, that provides Museum members access to hundreds of hours of hydroplane video footage. Some of the footage is very rare, not seen in public for decades.</p>
<p><strong>Why a Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>The Museum’s mission is to inspire and motivate learning and achievement while honoring, celebrating and preserving the legacy of Unlimited Hydroplane racing. By providing access to our massive video archive to our membership, we hope to continue with this mission.</p>
<p><strong>What is in the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>Here is a glimpse of what you will find in the Video Vault:</p>
<ul>
<li>Unlimited hydroplane racing footage.</li>
<li>Race team promotions, driver interviews, boat stories, and more.</li>
<li>Rough footage - series of unseen films, random shots, etc. Fans will enjoy exploring these as they are filled with lots of surprises.</li>
<li>Professionally produced films and documentaries.</li>
<li>Limited, Outboard, and R/C raceboat footage.</li>
</ul>
<p><b>Is the Video Vault complete?</b></p>
<p>Even with over a 100 videos already available, the Video Vault is still a work-in-progress. The Museum has boxes and boxes (did I say boxes?) of amazing video footage that begs to be viewed. Much of the content is old, in obsolete formats (ever heard of Kinescope?), and is in dire need of being converted to digital before they deteriorate beyond repair. We will be digitizing new video content and uploading to the Video Vault on a weekly basic. So, check back often to see "what's new?"</p>
<p><strong>Can I see an example of what's in the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>Well...ok, here is the cabover Miss Bardahl being tested in 1966.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="367" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/120295776" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</p>
<p><strong>Who can access the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>The Video Vault is free to Museum members who have a <strong><a href="http://www.hydromuseumstore.org/museum-membership/" target="_blank">General Membership</a></strong> or greater in good standing.</p>
<p><strong>Why isn’t the Video Vault free to everyone?</strong></p>
<p>The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization. As a non-profit, Memberships are the life's blood that keeps our doors open. We rely on them for things like rent, utilities, and daily supplies. By becoming a member, you can help ensure that the only hydroplane museum in the world will continue to grow.</p>
<p><strong>How can I join the Video Vault?</strong></p>
<p>To join the Video Vault, just follow these 3 simple steps:</p>
<ol>
<li>If you do not have a <strong><a href="http://www.hydromuseumstore.org/museum-membership/" target="_blank">General Membership</a></strong> or greater that is in good standing, then you will want to visit the <strong><a href="http://www.hydromuseumstore.org/museum-membership/" target="_blank">Museum Store</a></strong> and join.</li>
<li>If you do not have an account on our web site, then make sure to <strong><a href="http://thunderboats.ning.com/main/authorization/signUp?" target="_self">Sign Up</a></strong>. </li>
<li>Once you have accomplished the above, you will be sent an email invitation to join the Video Vault</li>
</ol>
<p>If you have any question or comments, please contact the Museum at either <strong><a href="mailto:info@thunderboats.org" target="_blank">info@thunderboats.org</a></strong> or <strong>(206) 764-9453</strong>.</p>The Legend of Lauterbach Boatstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-03-01:6315479:BlogPost:891062015-03-01T19:00:17.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Rick Franke<br></br>Reprinted from <a href="http://proptalk.com">http://proptalk.com</a></em></p>
<p>If it is accurate to call two generations a dynasty, then Henry and Larry Lauterbach are the dynasty that dominated powerboat racing design and construction for more than 60 years.</p>
<p>Henry, a high school dropout who never went to college, never formally studied engineering or naval architecture, was a self-taught genius who read everything he could about boat design and construction…</p>
<p><em>By Rick Franke<br/>Reprinted from <a href="http://proptalk.com">http://proptalk.com</a></em></p>
<p>If it is accurate to call two generations a dynasty, then Henry and Larry Lauterbach are the dynasty that dominated powerboat racing design and construction for more than 60 years.</p>
<p>Henry, a high school dropout who never went to college, never formally studied engineering or naval architecture, was a self-taught genius who read everything he could about boat design and construction and improved upon it. He started building boats in 1947 in Portsmouth, VA. Ironically enough, his first boats were sailboats, Hampton One Designs, which were considered hot boats in their day. Henry shortly switched to his first love, race boats.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366288?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366288?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a><span style="font-size: 8pt;">This partially restored 1950 Lauterbach hydroplane illustrates the </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">conventional <br/></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">design with the driver sitting in an open cockpit behind the engine.</span></p>
<p>The immediate post-World War II era was, in many ways, the golden age of powerboat racing. War surplus was a source for everything from aircraft engines to greatly improved materials, including glass-reinforced plastic (what we now call fiberglass), aluminum and marine plywood. The inline V-12 and V-16 fighter aircraft engines with names like Rolls Royce and Allison were quickly adapted for use in the rapidly-developing Unlimited hydroplanes. Speeds were steadily increasing, and new records were set and broken almost weekly. The sound of an unmuffled 1600-horsepower engine roaring by at maximum RPM gave rise to the popular name for the Unlimiteds: Thunder Boats.</p>
<p>Henry, and later his son Larry, were in the thick of this quest for speed. By the time Henry retired from active boat building he had built more than 200 hydroplanes, many of them champions. He was also a skilled driver, winning National High Point Champion in three hydroplane classes in the 1950s, and was inducted into the American Power Boat Association’s Hall of Fame in 1956. One of Henry’s most famous designs was the 1967 World Champion Unlimited Hydroplane Miss Chrysler Crew. She was the only boat powered by automotive engines (two 426-cubic-inch Chrysler Hemi V-8s) ever to win that title. Henry retired from boat building in 2001 and passed away in 2006, but not before instilling his love of speed and impeccable craftsmanship in his son Larry.</p>
<p>Larry does not describe boats as the family business, although it was his father’s. “My dad had four sons, and I’m the only one who was interested in building boats,” he explains. “From the age of twelve I was in the shop helping my dad, or underfoot, getting in the way. I loved boats and working on them and spent every moment I could with my dad. He was a great teacher.” Larry began his career as a driver in 1963. He recalls graduating from high school in 1965 on crutches, the result of a crash. “My dad encouraged me to drive. He said he’d stick to designing and building them, and I could drive them. That way we wouldn’t compete with one another. It just took off from there, and we worked together for 25 years.”</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366404?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366404?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a><span style="font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;">Larry Lauterbach in his shop with Murjr’s Lauterbach Special. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">A National Modified cabover Hydroplane built in 2001.<br/></span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">The boat has a carbon fiber hull and a birch plywood deck. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Larry describes it as “the best thing I ever built.”</span></p>
<p>Larry was a very good driver indeed. His racing career spanned more than 40 years before he retired in 2005. He is ten-time APBA National Champion, Four-time National High Point Champion, three-time Hall of Champions Inductee, and has won more than 350 races. He is the all-time US Grand Prix winner and set five International Motorboating World Records. Although he’s driven more than 35 boats in competition, he is quoted as saying that his all-time favorite to drive is a National Modified class cabover, powered by a 305 cubic inch Gaerte Chevy V-8 rated at 650 horsepower, named Murjr’s Lauterbach Special. He built the boat for Bobby Murray in 2001. “… it’s the best thing I ever built.” High praise from a man many consider to be the builder of the finest and fastest hydroplanes in the world.</p>
<p>On a recent sultry summer morning I met Larry Lauterbach at his shop, tucked into a quiet marina on the banks of Little Creek in Chester on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Larry talked about the changes he’s seen in hydroplane racing and his concern for the sport that he loves. I asked Larry how the boats differ now from the Unlimiteds I remember watching race for the President’s Cup off Haines Point on the Potomac in the 1950s.</p>
<p>“In those days they were all aircraft powered, V-12 Allisons and motors like that. They were all conventional like these boats here,” he says and indicates the two boats in his shop with the engines in front of the driver’s cockpit. “You sat outside in the open and you held on, and you died! If you were good, if you were one of the top dogs, you more’n likely were going to be killed before it was all over with. Then they started encapsulating the drivers and strapping them in. I didn’t like that at all; you weren’t strapping my butt into a boat!” He explains how he got used to enclosed cockpits and escape capsules eventually.</p>
<p>“Then they started using the rear engine (cabover) design, and they switched to gas turbine motors. That’s what I raced, I never raced a piston engine powered unlimited. At first we raced at about 160 miles an hour. Then the turbines would go over 200. Back when I was still racing in the late 80s we were going 220 miles an hour. It was too fast. Now they’ve put fuel restrictions on them and slowed ‘em down to about 190.” He explains that the boats are a lot safer than they used to be.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366377?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366377?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a><span style="font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;">Like any artist, Larry signs his work. The starboard quarter of the Special.</span></p>
<p>“The association has made all kinds of safety devices mandatory, but they have not required a trap door on the bottom like that,” he indicates the escape hatch on the bottom of the boat on the trailer. “I wouldn’t put a driver in a boat without a trap door. What if you are upside down, especially in shallow water where you can’t get the canopy off? I always put a door on my boats and I was the first to put a window on the bottom as well. That gives you enough light to see what you are doing so you can get out if the boat is upside down. They have come a long way in safety, but when you incorporate all those safety features you also increase the cost of the boat. Now we don’t kill near the number of drivers we used to. In fact we expect to walk away from boat crashes now. Today I wouldn’t race a boat without a canopy.”</p>
<p>Although he applauds the steps taken to make powerboat racing safer, Larry is not optimistic about the future of the sport. “It’s a dying sport,” Larry laments. “The boats are more complicated and expensive, travel costs more, the economy is down, people aren’t interested in coming out, you name it. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. There are too many classes, so you only have two or three boats in a race. We used to have 25 boats or more at a start and that put on a real show. Boat racing used to be booming, but it’s just about died off now. Nobody can afford it anymore.”<br/>To further prove his point, Larry explained that when his dad was building boats they had a 12,000 square foot shop in Portsmouth. Later they moved to Suffolk, Virginia, to about 6500 square feet, and Larry moved to his current 2500 square foot shop in the late 1990s. However, there is a bright spot in Larry’s business.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366425?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366425?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a><span style="font-size: 8pt; text-align: center;">The escape hatch below the cockpit and between the sponsons on the Special. </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">The number tells rescuers the identity of<br/>the boat. “ROTARY” identifies the </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">type of latch on the drivers harness and “AIR” tells them the driver has an </span><span style="font-size: 8pt;">air bottle<br/>with approximately 30 minutes of air.</span></p>
<p>“Restoration has been the biggest part of my business for the last 10 or 12 years,” Larry comments. “Luckily a couple of friends of mine back in the early 90s decided that we needed to preserve these old raceboats, and they started a Vintage class. They take these old boats like these two here and they put on exhibitions with them. It’s become very popular. They’ll get 25 or 30 boats at a show and a big audience. These are boats that used to race. The people who are buying them usually never raced, but they saw ‘em race, and they couldn’t afford it at the time. Now they can afford to go buy one, and usually, they need work and they bring them to me.”</p>
<p>He feels fortunate that Lauterbach boats are so sought after. “It’s been great for me. Between me and my dad, we built more than 230 boats, and a lot of them are still out there. In the 60s and 70s if you didn’t have a Lauterbach boat, you didn’t win, especially in certain classes, and people remember those days. Our designs are always fast, and the quality and craftsmanship was always the best, so this is where the new owners bring them to have them restored.”</p>
<p>A very special boat that Larry is working on now is one of his dad’s earliest hydroplanes. Originally built in 1950, it is the oldest Lauterbach boat in existence. Although the boat still needs varnish and paint, one look at the loving care and meticulous workmanship of the restoration leaves no doubt that the craftsmanship that made Lauterbach boats legendary is alive and well in a small shop in Chester, MD.</p>Good Intentions, Bad Resultstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-02-25:6315479:BlogPost:883072015-02-25T02:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><strong>Pushing the hydroplane envelope didn't always work.</strong></p>
<p><em>Reprinted from Hemmings Motor News, February, 2013.</em></p>
<p>The world of Unlimited hydroplane racing is extremely dangerous stuff under even the best circumstances. The drivers who race hydros make Sprint car jockeys and those souls who strap into Top Fuel projectiles look like geeks. The principle of these wildly overpowered racing boats is to balance them atop planes at full speed, limiting their contact…</p>
<p><strong>Pushing the hydroplane envelope didn't always work.</strong></p>
<p><em>Reprinted from Hemmings Motor News, February, 2013.</em></p>
<p>The world of Unlimited hydroplane racing is extremely dangerous stuff under even the best circumstances. The drivers who race hydros make Sprint car jockeys and those souls who strap into Top Fuel projectiles look like geeks. The principle of these wildly overpowered racing boats is to balance them atop planes at full speed, limiting their contact with the water, as opposed to a normal vessel whose hull is deeply submerged. The hydro dances atop the chop while its engine thunders. Hopefully, the delicate equilibrium isn't upset, plunging its needle bow into the drink. When that happens, the driver gets pitched away at insane speed while the boat disintegrates.</p>
<p>Therefore, messing with provably reliable hull design can pose grave consequences. We were amazed to learn recently that a longtime aeronautical engineer, hydroplane designer and historian of the sport has written a book about promising race-boat designs that proved to be flops. The author is Doug Ford and his treatise on 27 troubled boats is entitled <em><a href="http://www.thunderboatstore.org/what-were-they-thinking/" target="_blank">What Were They Thinking?</a></em></p>
<p>Doug's premise is that, unlike most forms of modern motorized sport, Unlimiteds have traditionally been governed by very thin rule books. Innovation, rather than "spec" platforms, are encouraged. He grew up in Seattle when hydroplane racing was its undisputed king of sport, and was a crew member for <em>Slo-Mo-Shun IV</em>, a famed Unlimited designed by Tudor Owen Jones, and today considered the first modern hydro to get "up on the prop" under full throttle, tottering on its three sponson planes, and which captured the 1950 Gold Cup in Detroit. It was part of an evolution that began when the great Gar Wood ran the first "step" hydro, with a single hull plane, in 1917. The three-point hydroplane, long the sport's standard, dated to 1936 when Adolph and Arno Abel built <em>Miss Manteo II</em> in Ventnor, New Jersey.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366229?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366229?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The book examines various efforts to improve on the three-point design, beginning after World War II when surplus Allison aircraft engines were widely adopted as power sources. Doug begins with the tale of Ernie Fetske, a naval architect who had helped create the amphibious DUKW for General Motors. Fetske had drawn a legendary three-pointer called <em>Skip-A-Long</em>, an all-aluminum craft that ultimately sank during a race on Lake Tahoe.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366324?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366324?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Later, a Cadillac and Oldsmobile dealer from Long Island named George Sarant commissioned Fetske to draft a replacement for his aging hydro, <em>Etta</em>. For inspiration, Fetske looked to the designs of the German aerodynamicist Alexander Lippisch. In Germany, Lippisch had created the tiny Me-163 rocket-powered fighter for Messerschmitt, and after the war, worked extensively on delta-wing aircraft designs. He also developed a semi-air cushion racing boat design with an aircraft pusher propeller. In designing <em>Etta III</em> shortly after 1950, Fetkse exhibited real daring. It was a reverse delta-wing design, with sponsons forward and on either side of the cockpit, which itself was radically positioned ahead of the Allison 1710 V-12.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366339?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="550" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366339?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="550" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The 32-foot Unlimited was also among the first to be fully built of aluminum. It looked wild. The problems were that first, it wouldn't get up on its planes, probably because of nose-heaviness. Redesigned sponsons fixed that, but the <em>Etta III</em> simply wasn't fast enough. Sarant quit Unlimited racing, and his boat was ultimately scrapped. "It sat in a field for years, and the owner finally cut the sponsons off it to ensure that nobody would get hurt trying to run it," Doug said. Fetske, however, was vindicated, because after considerable refinement, his "pickle fork" hull layout and aircraft cockpit became standard in the sport.</p>Ted Jones Launches a Seattle Traditiontag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-02-21:6315479:BlogPost:880352015-02-21T19:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>Engineer Ted Jones harbored a lot of creative (even radical) ideas about boat design, which spawned one of Seattle’s most storied traditions — unlimited hydroplane racing.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366336?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366336?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600"></img></a></p>
<p><em>By David Eskenazi and Steve Rudman</em></p>
<p>Every summer thousands of Puget Sounders flock to Lake Washington to witness — from the shore, rowboats, yachts, cruisers, tug boats,…</p>
<p><em>Engineer Ted Jones harbored a lot of creative (even radical) ideas about boat design, which spawned one of Seattle’s most storied traditions — unlimited hydroplane racing.</em></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366336?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366336?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><em>By David Eskenazi and Steve Rudman</em></p>
<p>Every summer thousands of Puget Sounders flock to Lake Washington to witness — from the shore, rowboats, yachts, cruisers, tug boats, fishing vessels and sail boats — the regional spectacle of unlimited hydroplane racing.</p>
<p>Seattle’s involvement in this eclectic athletic niche started in 1951 because of one man’s obsession, another’s money, and their mutual dependence on each other, although they didn’t always see eye-to-eye.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366458?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366458?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>While most thunderboat fans bond with the sport through the risk takers who pilot the boats – Bill Muncey, Ron Musson, Dean Chenoweth, Chip Hanauer and, more recently, Dave Villwock — the real legends are the men who conceive and design the machines. No one ever did this better than a Boeing engineer named Tudor Owen Jones, the individual most responsible for the Seafair hydroplane tradition that thousands enjoy today.</p>
<p>Jones, who once told a reporter, “the only thing I’ve got between my ears is boat building,” first stepped into a water craft in 1926. Over the next three decades, he became consumed with achieving one goal — winning the Gold Cup, the American Power Boat Association’s biggest prize.</p>
<p>To that end, nothing escaped his attention. For years, Jones fixated on the right combination of design and power, the shape, size and location of the rudder, the size of the propeller with respect to gear ratio, the location of the prop, the construction of the fuel tanks, even the design of the drivers seat.</p>
<p>“He was the most creative man in the history of hydroplane racing,” said Tod Steward, Jones grandson, without exaggeration. “He revolutionized the sport. He loved the speed of it.”</p>
<p>Ron Jones, Ted’s son and a renowned boat builder himself, wrote the forward to A Century of Gold Cup Racing, an excellent history by Fred Farley and Ron Harsin. In it, Jones says, ”Remembering back as a young boy, my dad was always either designing, building or driving a race boat — or helping a friend get their boat going to make sure the race to be held on the following weekend would have enough participants.</p>
<p>”Hydroplane racing became his whole life, his dream, and most of his energy was spent building a better boat or fixing the one he had. He might be building a new engine or somehow figuring out how it would go faster.</p>
<p>“Jones conceptualized many of his designs in the middle of the night, often bursting awake to make sketches on a notepad he kept next to his bed.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366386?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366386?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>“Not long after Ron’s 14th birthday, Ted showed him a drawing. It depicted an unlimited hydroplane that Ted thought could win the Gold Cup, Harmsworth Cup (British equivalent of the Gold Cup) and set a prop-driven straightaway record. Ted told Ron that the drawing would one day be worth a considerable sum of money.</p>
<p>”His entire life was on that drawing,” Ron continued in his forward to A Century of Gold Cup Racing. “Those three events were what had driven him on for all those years building, designing, racing, starting clubs – all directed towards winning the Gold Cup, bringing the world’s water speed record back to America from England and winning the British Harmsworth.</p>
<p>“That drawing Dad showed me when I was 14 became the design of a three-point hydroplane for Mr. Sayres.”</p>
<p>While Jones had a myriad of design ideas, he lacked the funds necessary to build the kind of hydroplane he envisioned. But in 1947, Jones met Stanley St. Clair Sayres, a World War I aircraft machine-gun mechanic who ran an auto lot in Pendleton, OR., before moving to Seattle, where he became a well-to-do automobile salesman.</p>
<p>Sayers had been fascinated with automobile and boat racing for years, but it wasn’t until 1937, when he acquired a secondhand inboard racer with a 225-cubic inch engine and a three-point hull that could do 90 mph, that his passion for the sport began to peak. Sayres named this boat Slow Motion, ultimately streamlining it to Slo-Mo-Shun.</p>
<p>After Slo-Mo, as it came to be known, burned and sank in 1941, Sayres got another boat, christening it Slo-Mo II. By 1946, Sayres brought out his third iteration, Slo-Mo III. According to hydro historian William L. Worden, “Slo-Mo III could do 96 mph but she could never do better than second place in the local closed-course competitions because she couldn’t accelerate fast enough to make her speed count.”</p>
<p>Jones and Sayres, who met due to their mutual interest in limited hydroplane racing, got to talking. Jones informed Sayres that he had the working design for an extremely fast boat and was seeking a backer. Sayres agreed to put up the money to cover the cost of the 225 Class Slo-Mo IV. The fabulously named Anchor Jensen, owner of Portage Bay’s Jensen Motor Boat Company, agreed to build it.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366395?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366395?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>To refine their ideas, Jones, Sayres and Jensen traveled to Detroit to watch that year’s Gold Cup. They had a particular interest in a boat called My Sweetie, a non-prop-riding, “two-step” hydroplane that won the Cup.</p>
<p>Jensen recommended to Sayers that they build a boat similar to My Sweetie. But Jones thought he had a better design, and Sayres accepted Joness suggestion that Slo-Mo IV should be a three-point prop rider, a boat with two sponsons and a propeller.</p>
<p>Construction of Slo-Mo IV commenced at the Jensen Motor Boat Company during the fall of 1948 and followed the basic design that Jones had envisioned 10 years earlier.</p>
<p>Worden described the finished product: ”She was radically different — flat, triangular, designed to rise and ride on two tiny sponsons, which, with the propeller and a bit of the bottom of her main strut, were the only parts to come in contact with the water. For power she was given an Allison aircraft engine with 1,500 horses, almost enough to make her get up and fly . . . the main question still was whether she would swim.”</p>
<p>She would, and Worden described the reaction the first time Jones and Sayres tested Slo-Mo IV on Lake Washington in early 1950: ”She was a spectacular but unloved sight – a roaring skate of a craft that spouted a 30-foot rooster-like tail of water in its wake and scared the daylights out of row-boaters and sailing crews as it zipped past.”</p>
<p>Jones had three racing ambitions: Win the Gold Cup, claim the Harmsworth Cup, and set a straightaway water-speed world record. Jones even promised to repay Sayres for the building costs of Slo-Mo IV if the boat didn’t break the record.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366430?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366430?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Jones had justifiable faith in his ideas. On June 26, 1950, with Sayres driving and Jones alongside as his riding mechanic, Slo-Mo IV sped through an electronically operated trap off Sand Point (one mile down and one mile back) at an average speed of 160.223 miles an hour, which toppled by more than 18 mph the 11-year-old standard of 141.74, established by Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Bluebird K4 (Campbell set 13 water and land speed records during his career).</p>
<p>When Malcolm Campbell’s son, Donald, also a boat racer, received word of Slo-Mo IV’s time (160.223), he abandoned his own planned attempt at setting a straightaway record, calling it currently hopeless.</p>
<p>”Naturally, Jones told Seattle newspapers, ”the performance of the Slo-Mo-Shun IV in breaking the mile record was gratifying to me, as it has been my ambition since I was 12 years old to design or build the fastest boat in the world.”</p>
<p>After setting the mile straightaway record, Sayres filed an entry to challenge for the Gold Cup, then held in Detroit.</p>
<p>Kent Hitchcock, an American Powerboat Association official from California who had come to Seattle to verify a record if one was made, offered his prediction of Slo-Mo IV’s chances in the Gold Cup.</p>
<p>”Its in the bag, you can quote me on that,” said Hitchcock.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366486?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366486?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>Three months later, Sayres and Jones arrived in Detroit for the 43rd running of the Gold Cup. For this edition, Sayres let Jones pilot the boat with Mike Welch serving as riding mechanic.</p>
<p>Not many (if any) in the Detroit boating community took the Sayres-Jones team, or their outlandish-looking mahogany and red-tailed craft seriously. Slo-Mo IV might, Detroiters argued, have straightaway speed, but no way would it be able to navigate the sharp turns of the Detroit River’s dog-leg course.</p>
<p>Said one newspaper: “Detroit seemed to feel their local armada would have no difficulty dispatching this backyard creation from somewhere out west. They even admitted it may have been fast in the straightaway, but would be a ‘worm in the turns.’”</p>
<p>Eight boats went to the post for the three-heat, 90-mile race, and all that anyone saw of Ted Jones was the back of his head. Slo-Mo IV got a bit of a challenge from My Sweetie through the first two heats, but the defending champion, driven by Lou Fageol, blew an oil line late in the second, finishing her for the day and making the third heat anticlimactic.</p>
<p>Slo-Mo IV won all three heats, setting a race record of 78.217 mph. Although far off the world record of 160.3235 mph that Slo-Mo IV had recorded on Lake Washington June 26, Lake Washington was a one-mile straightaway course vs. the Detroit Rivers dog-leg layout. In addition, ground swells and a six-knot current cut down the speed.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366505?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366505?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="600" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The important point: Slo-Mo IV had bettered the previous Gold Cup record of 75.55 mph set by Skip-a-Long in 1949, had also set a heat record of 80.987 mph, and deposited Detroit, the Gold Cup capital, on its ear. At one point in the race, Jones and Slo-Mo-IV had a one-lap lead on the eventual runnerup, Tempo VI, driven by renowned bandleader and hydroplane enthusiast, Guy Lombardo, the 1946 Gold Cup champion.</p>
<p>“In the 1940s and 1950s, a winning God Cup driver became an instant hero, a folk-hero of sorts,” said Ron Jones. ”Dad finally realized his dream.”</p>
<p>Not quite. But a week after Jones won the Gold Cup, Sayres placed Fageol behind the wheel of Slo-Mo IV, and he took the Hamsworth Cup with an average speed of 95.903 mph, a race record. Now Ted Jones had realized his dream: the straightaway record, the Gold Cup and the Hamsworth Cup — in the span of just three months.</p>
<p>In those days, the Gold Cup winner had the right to select the site for his title defense. Jones, representing the sponsoring Seattle Yacht Club, selected his hometown, marking the first time since the Gold Cup was inaugurated in 1904 that the race would be contested west of Detroit.</p>
<p>In the year following his Gold Cup win, Jones worked on the design for Slo-Mo IV’s successor, Slo-Mo V. Jones had designed Slo-Mo IV primarily for straightaway racing but, Jones figured, Slo-Mo V would be a more effective competition boat.</p>
<p>Also in the year following Jones’ victory, he and Sayres became Northwest celebrities. As they occupied the sporting limelight, it became clear to civic tub-thumpers that the upcoming hydroplane races (the Seafair Trophy race would follow the Gold Cup by a week) would serve as the perfect promotional centerpiece for the summer’s major tourist attraction, Seattle Seafair. Locals embraced the idea wildly.</p>
<p>On Aug. 4, 1951, more than 100,000 people showed up to witness the first unlimited hydroplane race in Seattle history. The west shore of Lake Washington, from the floating bridge to Seward Park, was crowded from the shoreline to the top of the hill. Countless other thousands watched under overcast skies from the decks of about 500 craft moored east of the race course.</p>
<p>The race, which included 11 entries, went off at 1:30 p.m. following a half-hour wait for the swells to subside. More than 100 newspaper, magazine and newsreel photographers recorded the event.</p>
<p>Jones’ latest creation, Slo-Mo V, Fageol at the wheel, won it by setting a Gold Cup record at 90.4068 mph. Jones finished third in Slo-Mo IV. On the first lap of Heat 1, Slo-Mo V demonstrated acceleration never before witnessed in hydroplane in competition, establishing a three-mile mark of 108.633 mph, which raised the former record by more than 22 mph.</p>
<p>(The 44th running of the Gold Cup included just two heats. Race officials canceled the final heat after Quicksilver of Portland overturned on the straightaway, killing its driver, Orth Mathiot, a Portland tug boat operator, and mechanic Tommy Whitaker, instantly, the first fatalities in Gold Cup history.)</p>
<p>Observed the Seattle Times: ”The triumph of Slo-Mo V is a great tribute to Ted Jones.”</p>
<p>One week later, again on Lake Washington, Jones drove Slo-Mo V to victory in the inaugural Seafair Trophy race. Another 100,000 lined the shores of Lake Washington, and a tradition had taken root.</p>
<p>“The Slo-Mo kind of epitomized professional sports when I was a child,” future Hall of Fame driver Chip Hanauer said in an interview. “In many respects, Slo-Mo-Shun was the first Seattle professional sports franchise, and he (Ted Jones) created it.”</p>
<p>In 1952, Slo-Mo-Shun V went dead in the water, but Slo-Mo IV came through, taking her second Gold Cup victory. Slo-Mo IV won the Gold Cup again in 1953 after Slo-Mo V came up disabled during trial runs. In 1954, Slo-Mo V gave Sayres his fifth consecutive Gold Cup victory, breaking the previous ownership record held by Gar Wood, the first superstar in unlimited history.</p>
<p>Slo-Mo V flipped in 1955 and Slo-M0 VI crashed in 1956. Sayres never lived to see a Slo-Mo VII. He died of a heart attack in September shortly after Slo-Mo VI crashed.</p>
<p>Jones lived to see 90. His legacy extends well beyond his design work with the Slo-Mo series. He also designed Shanty 1 (his personal favorite), Maverick, Miss Thriftway, Miss Wahoo, Hawaii Kai III, probably the best overall race boat of the 1950s, taking the straightaway world record from 178 mph to 187 mph.</p>
<p>(When Ballard-based Ole Bardahl became a hydroplane owner in 1958, he ordered a new, unlimited hull from Ted Jones. The task of constructing it fell to Ted’s son, Ron, whose creation, the U-40, won 27 races, including five Gold Cups and six national championships, between 1957-69. The Miss Bardahl, one of the most popular hydroplanes of all time, won 24 of the 27 races in the 1960s, the most of any boat in that decade.)</p>
<p>Between 1950 and 1966, Ted Jones-designed boats won 75 major races, including 14 Gold Cups, and claimed an unprecedented 10 consecutive National High Point Championships. Between 1950 and 1960, Jones’ unlimiteds raised the world mile straightaway record from 141 to 192 miles per hour.</p>
<p>While Jones organized the Miss Thriftway team for owner Willard Rhodes, after determining that his own driving days were over, Jones offered a young driver who had impressed him the pilots seat in the boat – Bill Muncey’s first big racing break.</p>
<p>Forty years after Ted Jones won the Gold Cup in Detroit, the stretch of Lake Washington where the hydroplanes run became Ted Jones Race Course. That year (1990), Mayor Norm Rice proclaimed Aug. 2 as Ted Jones Day in Seattle. Today, the original Gold Cup-winning boat, Slo-Mo-Shun IV, is part of the collection of the Museum of History and Industry.</p>
<p>After Jones died in a Des Moines nursing home Jan. 9, 2000, he received numerous tributes from hundreds inside and outside the hydroplane industry. None put his career in better perspective or explained his legacy as well as Hanuer.</p>
<p>“All the boats that are being built and designed today are derivative of his basic design. He set the stage technically for what we’re doing even today.”</p>Aqua Allisonstag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-02-07:6315479:BlogPost:873022015-02-07T22:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.enginebuildermag.com">www.enginebuildermag.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>There are three amazing numbers that would seem to make this giant powerplant pretty much incomparable with motorsports use. The numbers are 12, 1710, and 1600. Certainly a little explanation is needed.</p>
<p>First, there’s the 1710 number, which is part of its official name the V-1710 engine which actually is the number of cubic inches it displaces. The 12 is the number of cylinders,…</p>
<p><em>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.enginebuildermag.com">www.enginebuildermag.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>There are three amazing numbers that would seem to make this giant powerplant pretty much incomparable with motorsports use. The numbers are 12, 1710, and 1600. Certainly a little explanation is needed.</p>
<p>First, there’s the 1710 number, which is part of its official name the V-1710 engine which actually is the number of cubic inches it displaces. The 12 is the number of cylinders, while the 1600 specifies the horsepower it produces.</p>
<p>Those specs might seem a bit hefty when you think of motorsports vehicles as being light and fast. This applies to some of the motorsports efforts where it participated. But others required the power and torque the engine provided.</p>
<p>The Allison engines were used just about every imaginable way. First, they were used as a single engine, then combined as a pair of them, and even three or four of them-all on a single vehicle. Since their development and release in aircraft in 1930, engine builders following WWII began to pry more power out of them and the rest is history.</p>
<p>This article will tell the motorsports story, both on land and sea.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366276?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366276?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">T<em>his is an early 1930s factory drawing of the Allison.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Engine History</strong></p>
<p>Of course, the Allison was initially built for an entirely different purpose than powering vehicles. The Allison Division of General Motors began developing this particular engine for use in fighter aircraft.</p>
<p>The list of WWII fighters that used Allison power included the P-38, P-40, P-47, P-51, and others. It was first developed in the early 1930s.</p>
<p>In all, there were more than 70,000 produced covering all the different versions.</p>
<p>The first A model was tested in 1931 and produced 650 horses. It carried an 8.35-inch supercharger and showed a 5.8-1 compression ratio.</p>
<p>As the technology evolved, so did the performance. One version eliminated the blower in favor of a pair of carburetors.</p>
<p>A new design (the C Model) in 1936, with improved pistons and rods and a 6-1 compression ratio, produced 1,000 horsepower at 2,600 RPM. Later, the C Model would see its compression ratio increased to 6.65-1 with take-off ratings of 1,150 hp at 2,950 RPM.</p>
<p>The E and F versions were the most-used with over 66,000 produced and used on a number of fighter aircraft. The F version was fitted with a turbo-charger, which raised the horsepower to 2,300 at only 3,000 RPM.</p>
<p>However, the ultimate configuration was the G-series, which incorporated a number of improvements resulting in 1,725 hp at 3,400 RPM.</p>
<p>To achieve that performance, there was a great improvement in supercharger technology.</p>
<p>But as time marched on, the Allisons gave way to the jet age and eventually were designated as surplus in the 1950s. The asking price for the powerhouse was but a small fraction of the cost to produce.</p>
<p>The most numerous was the G Models, of which 763 were produced. And over the following decades, they would find themselves modified and upgraded by engine builders. They would be used in dragsters, desert racers, unlimited hydroplanes, tractor pullers, and Reno Air Race vehicles.</p>
<p>This article will be divided into two sections. The first will address its use in Unlimited Hydroplanes while the second section of the article (in the next issue of Engine Builder) will address the land applications of the giant engine examining its use in drag racing, land speed racing, and national tractor pulling.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Just Add Water</strong></p>
<p>Using an Allison on a 24-foot Unlimited Hydroplane back in the 1940s brought forth some interesting challenges to the mechanics. First, the engine had to be inserted into the boat backwards. The supercharger was turned upside down so that the carburetor sat atop the engine instead of the bottom.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366364?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366364?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Shown is the bank installation on a turbo fuel-injection version of an Allison engine.</em></p>
<p>It should be noted that during the Great War, there were also some other aircraft engine models tested in the big boats.</p>
<p>The Gale VII Unlimited used a V-16 Packard engine, but it was left in the dust, i.e., water spray.</p>
<p>Another engine builder tried a Daimler-Benz Me-109 German fighter engine, but it didn’t work out either. When all was said and done, the Allison G model was the most used.</p>
<p>Builders liked the Allison for this motorsports mission because of the high-revving capabilities of its crankshaft. It was also reported that some unlimited engine builders modified the engines to deliver as much as 4,000 RPM.</p>
<p>Engine placement was another consideration for the Allison/hydroplane configuration. One idea had a single Allison with a duo of counter-rotating propellers with only one gearbox. Another builder took it one step further with two Allisons resting side-by-side and using the twin-prop set-up.</p>
<p>An even more difficult arrangement had the engines one behind the other, which generated some problems. There were several boats with the set-up with the total weight being about 10,000 pounds. One advantage of the configuration was the better stability on east coast rough-water river courses.</p>
<p>The Allison in the hydroplane application experienced considerably more stress than what it experienced in its fighter air situation. The engine revs were higher, and there was the danger of the prop jumping out of the water at high speed possibly causing the engine to over-rev when the prop was unloaded.</p>
<p>In the water application, the engines often needed rebuilding after only a couple hours or less, where in the aircraft use they could run for hundreds of hours before a rebuild. Changes to the fuel tanks were required to keep the fuel flowing when going through a turn at high speed.</p>
<p>Fuel additives were also a part of the engine performance. Alcohol was often used, and even nitrous oxide on occasion for short bursts.</p>
<p>Some of the earlier Allisons following WWII were quickly modified and taken into action. The first Allison-powered unlimited was the Miss Golden Gate III. She set a World Competition speed record in 1946 of 77.9 mph during the prestigious Gold Cup.</p>
<p>The engine continued to improve with the Allison-powered Miss Pepsi V, which earned a pair of unlimited titles along with winning the Gold Cup race.</p>
<p>The famous Slo-Mo-Shun IV really showed the results of fine-tuning by engine builders when it set a straightaway speed record of 160+ mph. A couple years later, the same boat set another record 18 mph faster, and then topped it off with a one-way run of more than 185 mph.</p>
<p>Some of the performance probably came from its new prop-rider design where the only thing in the water is the prop.</p>
<p>The Miss US-1 with Allison power, showed a great mile straightaway run in 1962 of over 200 mph, the first piston-powered boat to exceed that standard. In 1976, she was the last to win the Gold Cup race.</p>
<p>Today, the turbines still rule the Unlimiteds, but with the present turbine rules, there is still one Allison-powered Unlimited, and it has actually won some races against the turbine machines.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366379?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366379?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><em>Big power on tap with the turbo-charged injected Allison.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Ron Snyder was a frequent user of Allison power as the driver of the Miss Madison and Miss Budweiser among other boats. He explained, “In the early 1970s, we used the early carbureted versions. There were also early turbo versions, but the turbos were too small and not very reliable. We replaced the stock turbos with bigger ones which pushed the redline from 3200 to about 4000 RPM. That extra boost related directly to greater performance. But we were able to get three times the RPM through the gearbox.</p>
<p>“Racing on rough water was tough on the old Allisons. When it came out of the water the pistons really suffered and many times were burned. Also, when the prop was out of the water, the engine had a tendency to over-rev.”</p>
<p>Ron had Allisons in two types of hydroplanes, the older versions where the driver sat behind the engine. “It was really noisy and there were times when engine parts came off. There were also times when I was covered with oil,” he recalled. With the cab-over design (driver sitting in front of the engine), “It was a lot quieter and you could see a lot better.”</p>Fastest Craft Afloat Made More Stabletag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-01-18:6315479:BlogPost:843502015-01-18T20:55:18.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>By Joanne A. Fishman<br></br>Reprinted from <em>The New York Times</em>, June 6, 1982.</p>
<p>The conditions were perfect. The lagoon was as smooth as a sheet of glass and there wasn't a whisper of wind. In the third heat of the world championships last fall, Bill Muncey, driving the thunderbolt Atlas Van Lines, shot into the lead. But while accelerating down the backstretch, his boat rose into the air, flipped and landed upside down, killing the man who had dominated the sport for 20…</p>
<p>By Joanne A. Fishman<br/>Reprinted from <em>The New York Times</em>, June 6, 1982.</p>
<p>The conditions were perfect. The lagoon was as smooth as a sheet of glass and there wasn't a whisper of wind. In the third heat of the world championships last fall, Bill Muncey, driving the thunderbolt Atlas Van Lines, shot into the lead. But while accelerating down the backstretch, his boat rose into the air, flipped and landed upside down, killing the man who had dominated the sport for 20 years.</p>
<p>A new Atlas Van Lines will make its debut when the unlimited hydroplane circuit opens today with the Championship Spark Plug Regatta in Miami. The name is the same. But that's all.</p>
<p>The boat features a new design concept intended to prevent it from becoming airborne and blowing over. Called a blowout, this is the nightmare drivers face when traveling in the upper reaches of speed - at 180 miles an hour and beyond - on the straightaways of the two- to three-mile oval courses. At the helm is Chip Hanauer, a 27-year-old driver from Seattle who grew up racing power boats and idolizing Muncey, who would have turned 54 this fall.</p>
<p>With air foils and stabilizer wings, the unlimiteds are the fastest craft afloat. The only restrictions are that the boats must be at least 28 feet long and propeller-driven. Traditionally, they skim the surface, riding only on the tips of two sponsons and half a propeller. They are usually powered by a single, massive airplane engine. However, the current fleet includes the turbine-powered Pay 'n Pak and the Aronow Unlimited, the first catamaran design powered by twin supercharged automotive engines.</p>
<p>To campaign a top boat on the circuit costs about $1 million a year, an investment impossible to recover in prize money, although total purses have doubled in two years to $900,000. But the appeal of seeing millions of dollars of equipment smoke around the course has made this the largest motor spectator sport, according to the American Power Boat Association, which sanctions the races.</p>
<p>The new Atlas Van Lines, which is owned by Muncey's widow, Frances, was finished in Seattle last Sunday, just in time to be trucked to Miami for the preliminary heats.</p>
<p>In explaining the new design, Hanauer said: ''If you take the sponsons off of hydroplane, basically what you have is the shape of a wing. We have moved the lift much farther back so the boat doesn't lift so much in the front but instead picks up in the center to get the boat to remain parallel to the water.''</p>
<p>With most unlimiteds, the lift starts below the driver's feet. With the new Atlas Van Lines, Hanauer sits in a pod between the two sponsons and the lift starts behind him.</p>
<p>The aerodynamics involved are opposite those of a race car. With the Indy-type cars, Hanauer said in a telephone interview, the ''aerodynamics are used to suck the car down on the race course, to make it stick. But we are looking for lift. Now we have to have lift with more control.''</p>
<p>In the five years he has been driving unlimiteds, Hanauer said speeds have increased dramatically because of better understanding of aerodynamics and lighter, stronger materials. The amount and the density of air going under the boat determines whether it becomes ''flighty.'' When they race 6,000 feet above sea level in Utah, he said, the boats were not a bit flighty because the air was so thin. In Miami, the air is dense. This should make the boats easily airborne, but because of the limitations of Marine Stadium, a shorter course than normal is used, inhibiting speeds and blowouts.</p>
<p>Atlas Van Lines is powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine capable of generating 3,000 horsepower. Built of honeycomb aluminum with a styrofoam deck, it is considerably lighter than its predecessor, and it weighs 5,600 pounds ready to race.</p>
<p>When asked whether he has thought twice about racing since Muncey's accident, Hanauer replied: ''You have to go into this with the realistic expectation that something very serious can happen to you. Any competitive driver, one who is ready to go out there and take the boat to its limit, has to come to that kind of understanding with himself. Bill Muncey was very much that way.''</p>
<p>The details of tuning a boat and the mental preparation fill his waking hours.</p>
<p>From Miami, the hydroplanes move to Sampson State Park on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lake region of central New York for the Thunder in the Park Regatta next Sunday, which carries a $75,000 purse. This will be the first time the unlimiteds have raced in the Northeast in some 30 years. A 10-boat field is expected with testing on Thursday and qualifying runs to be held Friday and Saturday.</p>A Blast from the Pasttag:thunderboats.ning.com,2015-01-16:6315479:BlogPost:844532015-01-16T03:00:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>What do you do with the shattered remains of the greatest race boat ever built?</em></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366231?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366231?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="670"></img></a></strong></p>
<p><em>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.atlasvanlines.com">http://www.atlasvanlines.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>"The last time this boat was in the water, it was upside down, broken in half, she was a mangled wreck, and Bill was being raced to a hospital. People were…</p>
<p><em>What do you do with the shattered remains of the greatest race boat ever built?</em></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366231?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="670" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366231?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="670" class="align-full"/></a></strong></p>
<p><em>Reprinted from <a href="http://www.atlasvanlines.com">http://www.atlasvanlines.com</a>.</em></p>
<p>"The last time this boat was in the water, it was upside down, broken in half, she was a mangled wreck, and Bill was being raced to a hospital. People were literally on their knees crying. That is no way for the greatest boat in the history of our sport to be remembered," said David Williams, Executive Director at the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum.</p>
<p>October 18, 1981 was a tragic day in the world of hydroplane racing. Bill Muncey, widely regarded as the greatest racer in the history of the sport, flipped his Atlas Van Lines boat while traveling 175 miles per hour at the World Championship race in Acapulco, Mexico and lost his life. The boat’s remnants sat untouched for 30 years.</p>
<p>In an effort to help reverse this tragic memory, the famed boat made its return to the water at Seafair this past July 31 through August 2 in Seattle, WA. The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Kent, WA., spent four years and approximately $100,000 to restore the Blue Blaster to its original condition.</p>
<p>“The boat was patched back together but was never really fully repaired. It existed in a world of back rooms and warehouses for several decades before the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum decided that she should be restored to running condition and run in honor of Bill,” said Jim Mesick, Development Director at the Museum.</p>
<p>The first step in the restoration process was to remove the decking from the boat so that the interior of the hull could be inspected. The condition of the hull would largely determine the scope and cost of the project. Restoration veteran Don Mock and his team were met with good news in January 2010: the boat was in remarkable condition considering the crash and three decades of sitting idle. At that point the team began setting a budget and raising funds, and after years of hard work the Blue Blaster was ready to return to the water.</p>
<p>"It was a wonderful privilege to witness the restoration process and to have a relationship with the people who gave over 4 years of their lives to make this happen," said Chip Hanuaer. "I wish Bill could have come to the shop, as I did regularly, to watch the boat come back to life. I wish he got to know these great people who did this out of the vast respect for Bill and the legacy he built in that boat."</p>
<p>Seafair is Seattle's summer festival dating back to 1950. Hundreds of thousands of people join in the month-long celebration, and boat races have always been a major component.</p>
<p>“Hydro fans in the Seattle area are a bit spoiled. Seafair has always been a major stop on the race circuit, plus the museum is located here and Chip Hanauer is a local hero," said Matt Kupka, Director of Sales and Marketing for Atlas Agent Ed's Moving & Storage.</p>
<p>Chip Hanauer stepped out of the broadcast booth to drive the Blue Blaster throughout the weekend. As the third-winningest hydroplane racer of all-time, Chip was the obvious choice, as Bill Muncey hand-picked him to be his replacement. Chip drove for Fran Muncey and Atlas Van Lines for nine years from 1982-1990.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366318?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366318?profile=original" width="670" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><em>Chip Hanauer inspects the boat and pulls away from the dock as the Blue Blaster returns to the water for the first time since 1981. Hop over to <a href="http://www.theboatguy.com" target="_blank">www.theboatguy.com</a> to read Chip's blog post about getting back inside the famed Atlas Van Lines boat.</em></p>
<p>“I have no doubt that Bill would have been moved to tears, had he been able to come and stand on that dock, to hear and see that beautiful blue boat move on to the race course,” Chip said. “Wait, what am I saying? He wouldn't have watched the boat move away from the dock. He would have yanked me out of there in two seconds, jumped in and did what he always did, which was to make the Blue Blaster sing and dance like nobody else could have.”</p>
<p>After silencing critics who said he was too old, with five wins in 1976 in his Atlas Van Lines boat, Bill drove the Blue Blaster from 1977 to 1981, winning 24 of 43 races and two championships. His final win came at the Thunder on the Ohio in Evansville, IN, in 1981. One of the first cabover style designs—placing the driver in front of the engine instead of behind it—it was the winningest unlimited hydroplane of all time until 2011.</p>
<p>“The fame of Bill Muncey and the Blue Blaster was much broader than I had anticipated. For our agency and family, the event was particularly special. My father, Walt, was very active with the Atlas hydroplane back in the 1970s and 1980s, but passed away earlier this year before having a chance to see the final restoration. It was an honor to represent him. I am very grateful to the museum, Chip Hanauer, and the Muncey family for including us on this special occasion,” said Matt.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366329?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366329?profile=original" width="670" class="align-full"/></a><em>Fran Muncey christens the newly refurbished Atlas hydroplane with a pour of champagne before it's let loose in the water.</em></p>
<p>This summer, the Blue Blaster went out on the water one final time. But this time when she came back to the dock, she was right side up, the sun was shining, fans were cheering and clapping, and if there are any tears, they were tears of joy.</p>Tri-Cities Will Host 2015 HAPO Gold Cuptag:thunderboats.ning.com,2014-12-10:6315479:BlogPost:836472014-12-10T16:30:00.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p>KENNEWICK, Washington - H1 Unlimited Chairman Steve David and officials of the Tri-City Water Follies have announced that the Tri-City group will host the 2015 APBA Gold Cup July 24-26.<br></br> <br></br> The HAPO Gold Cup will mark the 50th anniversary of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing on the Columbia River between Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, Washington under the direction of the Tri-City Water Follies.<br></br> <br></br> Past Water Follies President and current Vice President of H1 Unlimited Mike Denslow…</p>
<p>KENNEWICK, Washington - H1 Unlimited Chairman Steve David and officials of the Tri-City Water Follies have announced that the Tri-City group will host the 2015 APBA Gold Cup July 24-26.<br/> <br/> The HAPO Gold Cup will mark the 50th anniversary of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing on the Columbia River between Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, Washington under the direction of the Tri-City Water Follies.<br/> <br/> Past Water Follies President and current Vice President of H1 Unlimited Mike Denslow said, “Kathy Powell (Event Director) and I have been lobbying for years and it’s finally happened!”<br/> <br/> In making the announcement on behalf of H1, David said, “We are very excited to be able to award the 2015 Gold Cup to the very deserving race committee and community in the Tri-Cities and look forward to seeing the competition for one of the most prestigious trophies in all of motorsports take place in one of our outstanding long term venues and well respected by all of our race sites.”<br/> <br/> David added, “When we talked to all of our race sites, they agreed unanimously that the 50th anniversary of the Tri-City race and the long standing support by the committee, volunteers and community made the Tri-City area and the Water Follies committee very deserving of the opportunity to host the 2015 Gold Cup.”<br/> <br/> Current Tri-City Water Follies President Ron Hue said, “The entire Water Follies organization could not be more excited to host the 2015 HAPO Gold Cup. We would like to thank everyone who had a hand in getting the oldest motorsports trophy in the world, back to the Tri-Cities.”</p>
<p><br/> Sponsor of the HAPO Gold Cup will be HAPO Community Credit Union whose president/CEO David Schulz said, “What an honor for us at HAPO to be a part of this milestone! That really adds to our excitement for this 50th celebration.”</p>
<p><br/> HAPO was formed by a group of workers at the Hanford nuclear site in 1953 to provide a place to save and borrow money. Today, HAPO Community Credit Union currently has over 100,000 members with over $1 billion dollars in assets and 13 locations in Southeastern Washington and one location in Hermiston, Oregon. HAPO is an acronym for Hanford Atomic Products Operations.</p>
<p>The Gold Cup was last held in the Tri-Cities in 1984 and has been held exclusively in Detroit since 1990.<br/> <br/> The H1 Unlimited racing season will open in Madison, Indiana July 3-5 with the annual running of the Madison Regatta/Indiana Governor’s Cup.</p>Jon Peddie Rememberedtag:thunderboats.ning.com,2014-11-29:6315479:BlogPost:835112014-11-29T23:38:52.000ZHydroplane Museumhttps://thunderboats.ning.com/profile/246tk6zdw9cbo
<p><em>By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian</em></p>
<p>Former MISS MADISON driver Jon Peddie passed away on November 25, 2014 at the University of Louisville Hospital. He was 71.</p>
<p>Jon was a larger than life figure who owned and operated Peddie’s Body Shop in his hometown of Madison, Indiana, for many years.</p>
<p>He raced Unlimited hydroplanes from 1977 to 1983. He drove two different MISS MADISON hulls during 1977-78 and started chauffeuring Bill Cantrell and Graham Heath’s MY GYPSY…</p>
<p><em>By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian</em></p>
<p>Former MISS MADISON driver Jon Peddie passed away on November 25, 2014 at the University of Louisville Hospital. He was 71.</p>
<p>Jon was a larger than life figure who owned and operated Peddie’s Body Shop in his hometown of Madison, Indiana, for many years.</p>
<p>He raced Unlimited hydroplanes from 1977 to 1983. He drove two different MISS MADISON hulls during 1977-78 and started chauffeuring Bill Cantrell and Graham Heath’s MY GYPSY in 1979.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366307?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/74366307?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>All three of the boats that Peddie drove in competition had pretty much seen their better days by the time Jon got to drive them. (Both of the MISS MADISON hulls were five years old and MY GYPSY was thirteen years old.) He nevertheless posted some pretty high finishes during his career, which is a testament to Peddie’s skill as a driver.</p>
<p>During the late 1970s and early ’80s, most of the major teams were changing over to cabover or forward-cockpit hulls. Jon’s boats featured the old-style rear-cockpit/forward engine arrangement. The bigger budget camps used Rolls-Royce Merlin or Lycoming turbine power. Peddie used an Allison.</p>
<p>When signed to pilot MISS MADISON, the veteran auto racer had never piloted a hydroplane in his life. So before the first race of the 1977 season, Jon test drove Denny Jackson’s RIDE-ON, a 280 Cubic Inch Class hydro, on the Ohio River. By all accounts, Peddie took to driving a boat the way a duck takes to water.</p>
<p>Jon, the first Madisonian ever to pilot the community-owned MISS M, went on to win Rookie-of-the-Year honors in the Unlimited Class. Peddie piloted “The Hurryin’ Hoosier” to fourth-place in a field of twenty boats in 1977 National High Points. He finished third overall at San Diego, CA, and fourth in six different races: Miami, FL; Detroit, MI; Madison, IN; Owensboro, KY; Dayton, OH; and the Tri-Cities, WA.</p>
<p>His best finish of 1978–and the best finish of his career–was a second-place in the APBA Gold Cup at Owensboro with a victory in Heat Three.</p>
<p>For Jon’s first few races with Cantrell and Heath, the venerable MY GYPSY was officially renamed the MISS BUDWEISER. That’s because BUD owner Bernie Little’s new Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered “Beer Wagon” wasn’t ready to start the 1979 season. In order to satisfy his contractual obligation to Anheuser-Busch, Little leased the MY GYPSY as a stand-in.</p>
<p>Peddie piloted the substitute MISS BUDWEISER to fifth-place at Miami and fifth at Evansville, IN.</p>
<p>Over the next few years, Jon drove the MY GYPSY under various names, including MISS KENTUCKIANA PAVING (sponsored by Madisonian Jim Sedam), LOUIE’S ON THE LAKE, and DOBSON THE MOVER. He finished third at Detroit in 1979 and ’80, at El Dorado, KS, in 1980, and at Madison in 1982. Peddie took fourth at Madison in 1980, at Detroit in 1982, and at Houston, TX, in 1982.</p>
<p>The MY GYPSY years were special years for Jon because of his close personal friendship with his two mentors, Cantrell and Heath.</p>
<p>Jon Peddie’s last race was the 1983 Detroit Thunderfest. Sponsored by DOBSON THE MOVER, MY GYPSY crashed in splinters during a test run. The boat was totaled but Peddie fortunately was not seriously injured.</p>
<p>Long retired from the hydroplane sport, Jon still had a soft spot in his heart for Unlimited racing and the people in it. When Bill Cantrell died in 1996, Peddie did not forget his old friend. Jon helped to erect a memorial plaque in the Madison pit area in Cantrell’s honor.</p>