Hydroplane Museum's News (126)

By Jack Schmale

Reprinted from MotorBoating, February 1967

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…

What is the Video Vault?

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.

Why a Video Vault?

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…

By Rick Franke

Reprinted from http://proptalk.com

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.

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…

Pushing the hydroplane envelope didn't always work.

Reprinted from Hemmings Motor News, February, 2013.

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…

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.

By David Eskenazi and Steve Rudman

Every summer thousands of Puget Sounders flock to Lake Washington to witness — from the shore, rowboats, yachts, cruisers, tug…

Reprinted from www.enginebuildermag.com.

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.

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,…

By Joanne A. Fishman

Reprinted from The New York Times, June 6, 1982.

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…

What do you do with the shattered remains of the greatest race boat ever built?

Reprinted from http://www.atlasvanlines.com.

"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…

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.



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.



Past Water Follies President and current Vice President of H1 Unlimited Mike Denslow…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

Former MISS MADISON driver Jon Peddie passed away on November 25, 2014 at the University of Louisville Hospital. He was 71.

Jon was a larger than life figure who owned and operated Peddie’s Body Shop in his hometown of Madison, Indiana, for many years.

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…

2014 was an exciting year at the Museum, and 2015 is shaping up to be one too!

The "Winged Wonder" Pay 'N Pak is Back and in the Museum's restoration shop with the hopes of finishing the restoration and running the boat at both the Tri-Cities and Seafair races next summer.

Come down and check on the progress often. The Crew is exciting to get her back on…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

Since 1966, the Tri-Cities of Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington, has been a mainstay on the Unlimited hydroplane calendar. From Day-One, the Tri-Cities race has set the standard for a well-organized aquatic festival that brings credit and prestige both to the sport and to the community that hosts it.

The man most responsible for this great success is Ken Maurer, who passed away on August 4, 2014, at his home in Pasco,…

Reprinted from the Madison Courier, August 8, 2014.

Ole Bardahl, one of the most successful owners in Unlimited hydroplane history, was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame in Detroit on Wednesday.

Bardahl, who died in 1989 at the age of 87, joined six others in being inducted into the prestigious…

On Saturday, April 26, 2014, the Washington State Sports Hall of Fame announced its 2014 induction class, which includes hydroplane racing legend Chip Hanauer.

The class includes such high-profile inductees as Seattle Sonic Detlef Schrempf, Mariner Alvin…

Unlimited hydroplane star will drive boat that crashed, killing Bill Muncey in 1981, during exhibition.

By Ashley Scoby, Seattle Times staff reporter

Originally published on seattletimes.com,  July 29, 2014

The remnants of a horrible day in…

On July 17, 2014, the team for the Atlas Van Lines hydroplane, in preparation for the vintage hydroplane races at Seafair 2014, tested the waters at American Lake Park in Lakewood, Washington.

Watch…

By Fred Farley - H1 Unlimited Historian

Jack Regas with Mira Slovak in 1960. Photo provided by Mark Douty.

Beyond doubt, one of the most colorful characters ever to jockey an Unlimited hydroplane was Mira Slovak, "The Flying Czech," who was to boat racing what Errol Flynn was to the movies.

During an…

For over 30 years, the great Bill Muncey held the record as the winningest driver in the history of Unlimited Hydroplane Racing.

Wil Muncey was born before his father achieved fame and watched the entire story unfold from an up close and personal point of view. He has chronicled his memories in a new book which long time fans of the sport will find to be a fascinating read.

In the book,…

GiveBIG is tomorrow! Join the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum and the Seattle Foundation's fourth annual GiveBIG — a one-day, online event.

From midnight to midnight Pacific Daylight Time on Tuesday, May 6, your online donations will make an impact on local institutions, such as the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, that work to improve our communities!

Why you should…

The 2014 H1 Unlimited Season Preview was hosted by the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington on Saturday. The event was well attended and gave fans a chance to meet and mingle with series owners and drivers and hear their plans for the season.

Included on the panel were; J. Michael Kelly, Larry Oberto, Art Oberto, Jimmy Shane, Jon Zimmerman, Shannon and Scott Raney and Steve Montgomery.

Montgomery opened the discussion by outlining plans for the season…