Hot Multi's - Pictures

[willabee]

Would love to have a color poster of the 1st one......Joe Habay at Havasu in 1969. A 20' Jones with stacked 1250 Super BP's. Looking at that shot, it's not hard to believe that he went over that day, broke his ankle.

I had totally forgotten about the 2nd one.....Bill Sirois, also at Havasu in 1969. A 21' Molinari with stacked 1250 Super BP's. This is the same boat he won with in 1970. However, at this race it was it's original orange with black trim and carried the #99. I think Merc assigned that number for Parker that year when Bob Thompson took it for a drive. Sirois finished 3rd behind Cesare Scotti's Molinari with a pair of Evinrudes and Johnny Sanders' Glastron/Molinari with a pair of Johnsons. Just think of it, a 3rd - 1st - 1st three years running at The World Championships......outstanding!!

Note: I guess full face shields were not the "in" thing " way back then "

[willabee]

Sirois in the #99......

Here's a couple more of the #99 boat, but now with Bill's #998 and a new black with grey paint job ( I know you've seen plenty of photos of this boat, but like Raceman says, You can't get too much of a good thing :) This is Havasu, 1970, this time with water injected 1350 stackers and speedmaster gearcases. In 69 it had BP lower units and the speedmasters alone gave it 8/10 additional mph for 1970.

Story time.......It's spring of 1970 and we are having a "stalling" problem on the tight turning tunnel boats. Jim Meininger from Tillotson comes to Oshkosh with some new carbs. We install them on this boat and Garbrecht tells me to grab a helmet, I'm driving the carb test. I had never driven that boat, but Gary had run it several times. The idea was to run flat out and then make a hard turn around Jim and Gary in the safety boat to see if these carbs would stall out.

I make a few passes and Gary waves me over and asks what's wrong. I said "nothing, why?" He informed me that I wasn't even close to getting this boat up and running the way it should. I knew how high off of the water I felt at speed in the 18's and knew I was much higher now, thought that was all this setup had. He said that he would demonstrate and ran the carb test. I asked what pinhole he was running in ( remember those cable power trim indicators ) and he said about 5 - I had been running in about 3 1/2.
I got back in and slowly pushed the trim past 3 1/2....the boat went up and up and at 5 it felt really high, but it ran much better.....over about a 2' chop. I was fortunate enough to get to do a lot of testing in that boat. When we had it painted black, I remembered that initial experience and decided I'd give the boat a name.....that's the day that "Up, Up and Away" was born. :)

By the way, the carbs didn't work, I think the fix was to add an idle tube to the original carbs.

[T2x]

Can't access these pictures.

T2x

[willabee]

A couple of shots from Lake Tahoe 1970...


The 1st one is Ed Stewart in an 18' Wing followed by Kenny Baker in his Sidewinder.

The 2nd one shows some Glastron/Molinari's and a 9 x 22 Jones coming out of the turn on the far right.

[willabee]

Just tried to fix the problem, would you please try to access again and let me know if we're good to go........thanks




Can't access these pictures.

T2x

[jphii]

I am getting them fine. Great history here, & great pics.

[T2x]

Just tried to fix the problem, would you please try to access again and let me know if we're good to go........thanks

The second set work fine.........

If at first you don't succeed..........

T2x :D

[Fish]

I got nothin but drool to offer to this thread, but I love the pics and history. THanks for the contributions,

fish

[willabee]

A couple more.....


The 1st one is Jim Merten in the reverse "S" Molinari finishing 2nd at Havasu in 1970. If this shot had just a little less left side spray, we would have the shot of cowbells that Mark75H has been looking for. Can't tell who is in the Jones behind him, but it looks like the driver is wearing goggles.....Pruett or Habay ?

When I look at the 2nd one, I wonder if T2x has dispatched anyone to go " in search of " this wing.......the article called it a " ram wing " of Levi design. It raced in Australia with 1350's. It also said it never looked good in calm waters. It was named " Banana Split ", maybe Bert Serra was doing the driving :)

[Bruce Washburn]

I had heard somewhere that the boat Sirois won with in 1971 was the boat Merten ran in 1970. Is that correct???

[willabee]

Correct, changed the name......." Wet and Wild " in 1970 and " Up, Up and Away " in 1971..... cowbells in 70 and TI's in 71. Here they are side by side..........
498612498613



I had heard somewhere that the boat Sirois won with in 1971 was the boat Merten ran in 1970. Is that correct???

[mbd29]

Hey Bill, have you seen the shots I posted 8-24-04 titled Havasu 1970. They are on page 9. These are ones that Joe Swift attached captions to. He must of had a few done up as GG had the same set. Notice in the one shot of GG, Bill Sirois, Renato, Mert, and Ceasre that Renato is the only one still with us.

The shot of Mr. T coming in for fuel has some interesting faces in the background as does the shot of Bill Sirois on the trailer.

Keep your stuff coming. You are getting into the details of the Racing Division that very few know about.

If you go into the pictures of the boats and engines back then, 1970 Havasu, you can see the transition to newer rigging. Take the steering, Renato had cable steering on the new twin and others still had ride guide. Also the three twins were not the same. Bills, Merts, and Renatos were all different. Maybe you can get into the nitty gritty on who got what and who designed all the stuff. When Hi Perf opened most of this ended up in the catalog for sale to all.

[willabee]

Yes Mike, I have seen that thread, but had forgotten it was there. Thanks for the reminder, I was going to post pictures from that same booklet, but now I won't duplicate what you have already done.

The picture of Stickle coming in for fuel includes the following - Jim Emerson - from Lake X offshore group, stepping onto boat wearing yellow racing jacket, Dennis Robbins - team gearcase mechanic, holding pole, Richie Powers - team powerhead mechanic, behind Robbins, Roy Ridgell - Mgr. Merc. racing / Europe, to the right of Powers in heavy coat, a non-team member in hat to right of Ridgell ( I just can't remember which driver he was with, it was either Carlo Rasini or Dick Sherrer ), and Ralph Seavy - team boat rigging, on far right in white hat.

You're right about the different equipment, I'll try to get into some of that as I post more stuff from " The Golden Era " :)



Hey Bill, have you seen the shots I posted 8-24-04 titled Havasu 1970. They are on page 9. These are ones that Joe Swift attached captions to. He must of had a few done up as GG had the same set. Notice in the one shot of GG, Bill Sirois, Renato, Mert, and Ceasre that Renato is the only one still with us.

The shot of Mr. T coming in for fuel has some interesting faces in the background as does the shot of Bill Sirois on the trailer.

Keep your stuff coming. You are getting into the details of the Racing Division that very few know about.

If you go into the pictures of the boats and engines back then, 1970 Havasu, you can see the transition to newer rigging. Take the steering, Renato had cable steering on the new twin and others still had ride guide. Also the three twins were not the same. Bills, Merts, and Renatos were all different. Maybe you can get into the nitty gritty on who got what and who designed all the stuff. When Hi Perf opened most of this ended up in the catalog for sale to all.

[triple dude]

A question from the ignorant-On many of these historic threads, I see the name Molinari. Was that a designer for other companies boats or did he (????) build for himself?? Based on the number of times I see that name, he must have been pretty good.

[willabee]

A couple of 18' Wings from the Parker 9 Hour in 1969.......


The 1st one is Jim Merten and Boots Spellman with 1250 stackers on SSM units. They finished 1st outboard and 2nd overall, by far the best ever finish for an outboard at Parker ( I don't think one had cracked the top 10 prior to this ). Merten was not a factory driver at this time, however, because he lived in Oshkosh, it was kind of easy for some factory guys to help him prepare for Parker ;)

I lost my Shooting Star because of this race :( I had bought the boat, fixed it up, installed a DSH assy and was out of money for any more pieces ( remember, I worked for Merc......we had alot of fun, didn't make any money ). Merten. a plumber, had an 1100 powerhead, a SSM and a prop. Spellman owned a Marina. We pooled our resources and had a complete boat that we could all drive and store. We sold the Star so Merten would have the money to buy the engines for the Wing. After the race he was told that he didn't have to pay for the engines, but the Star was already gone.

The 2nd shot is Kenny Kitson, also running 1250 stackers on SSM's. We had brought a pair of new BP's to Parker for Kenny, but he decided that he didn't trust the gearcases for a 9 hour. We loaned them to someone else. Kenny finished 4th, driving by himself! Ed Stewart, in a 20' Wing finished 3rd.

This was the last year that they used a real Lemans start. When the gun went off, drivers actually ran from the fence, climbed into their boat and took offf!!! What a dumb idea :eek: You had guys that slipped and fell, got hurt and didn't even start - how many of those guys do you think really took time to hook up kill switches?

By the way, when you look at Kenny's picture, you now know where the famous shot used in the Champion spark plug ad came from :cool:

[T2x]

[QUOTE=willabee]A couple of 18' Wings from the Parker 9 Hour in 1969.......


We sold the Star so Merten would have the money to buy the engines for the Wing.


The main issue is....where is that wing now?.....or the Star?

T2x

[willabee]

Angelo Molinari was a designer/ builder of his own hulls. As I remember it, his shop was in downtown Como, Italy. They built sporty pleasure boats and early versions of the racing tunnel hulls at that location. He is widely credited as the " inventor " of todays racing tunnels. His oldest son, Renato, had a shop on Lake Como, in Tavernola ( sp ). All of the race boats were built, rigged and tested at that location. I'm sure people will disagree with me, but I would say that Molinari was the best in the world from at least 1967 through 1972. They had an arrangement with Mercury that worked out very well, and as the horsepower went up, the design changed along with it.

Come on you guys, help me out with this answer.




A question from the ignorant-On many of these historic threads, I see the name Molinari. Was that a designer for other companies boats or did he (????) build for himself?? Based on the number of times I see that name, he must have been pretty good.

[willabee]

Sadly, they're both destroyed.......the Wing at Galveston and the Star on Lake Butte des Morts ( a guy that tried to go fast on a rough lake ) :(



The main issue is....where is that wing now?.....or the Star?

T2x

[triple dude]

Thanks. Now I can say I DID learn something today. ;)

[willabee]

Not exactly the type of multi's we're talking about, but.......


Just wanted to slip this in for Parker, don't know if he has already seen it, but thought he might enjoy anyway. The caption says that "rookie" Randy Rabe (his father) took 1st outboard and 5th overall in the Sam Griffith Memorial off Ft.Lauderdale in May of 1971 :cool: ( Powerboat, July 1971 )

[T2x]

Angelo Molinari was a designer/ builder of his own hulls. As I remember it, his shop was in downtown Como, Italy. They built sporty pleasure boats and early versions of the racing tunnel hulls at that location. He is widely credited as the " inventor " of todays racing tunnels. His oldest son, Renato, had a shop on Lake Como, in Tavernola ( sp ). All of the race boats were built, rigged and tested at that location. I'm sure people will disagree with me, but I would say that Molinari was the best in the world from at least 1967 through 1972. They had an arrangement with Mercury that worked out very well, and as the horsepower went up, the design changed along with it.

Come on you guys, help me out with this answer.

There were actually two competitive Euro designer builders who "pioneered" tunnel boats....Angelo Molinari....and Dieter Schultz.....As I recall the Schultz hulls arrived about 6 months to a year before the Moli's in the U.S....and the first Molinari's were open cockpit hulls....as were the Schultz's. Regardless of the timeline there can be no doubt that the Molinaris were the "creme de la creme" of their time. Later, Molinari's nephew, Cesar Scotti,until his death in Paris, began building boats for OMC as Mercury had an exclusive contract with Molinari.... Later yet, Cees Vandervelden began building hulls for OMC..... Neither the Scotti's nor the Velden's were in the same league with Molinari when it came to craftsmanship but they ran very well. Billy Seebold entered the picture after the Molinari/Mercury contract expired in, approximately, 1974. At that point Billy, benefiting from all of the testing and knowledge that Mercury had ...... annexed this information and signed a contract with Mercury guaranteeing him a minimum number of race boat sales to private individuals or Mercury themselves........... In response Molinari signed a contract with OMC.....and Cees V. made Mercury's European hulls........ the rest is history.

It is my humble opinion that roughly the time period that Willabee refers to...... (I'll lengthen it just a bit) 1965-1973 (the inauguration of V-6 race engines)....... remains to this day as the single most significant development period in outboard racing history.

T2x

[willabee]

A little design comparison.....


Picture on left shows Molinari's thinking for a 21' to handle a pair of 1250 BP's in late 1968/early 1969 - the one on the right is his thinking for a 21' to handle a pair of 1350 water injected stackers with SSM's in 1970. The 1970 version was easily 15 mph faster and got over the same water.

[willabee]

Another comparison......


The " engines over sponsons " twin that Renato drove at Havasu in 1970 was the class of the field. Borrowing a line from Sherlock, "he would have won, but"....he did lose a gearcase late on Saturday and just couldn't make up the 1/2 hour in the pits. That boat was converted to a KT in 1973 and was the class of the field in all 4 races it entered.......it won 3 and was leading the 4th when it broke. At speed, it carried itself the same way it did as an outboard......I guess it was a great design.

[mbd29]

Here is my two cents. I started at Mercury in late 1975, after the strike. I came in during the later stages of, what I consider, tunnel boat racings heyday. It was a real treat to be working there at that time. I had raced mostly local stuff so it was impresive seeing the likes of Hering, Molinari, Spalding, Percival, Seebold, Fountain, Bentz walking through the halls.

Billy had been building boats for, I think, about a year. Dick Ingebretsen/Bob Degrenier got one of the very early full tunnel Seebolds. They ran it during 1975. Seebold really didn't have a contract yet. Molinari was pretty upset that he was building boats as well as Mercury building the "Twistercraft". Here is how I saw things happening. It started with Bob Hering blowing over during the Kaukauna Kilos in mid 1976. I was in the pickup boat and was the first one to Bob. I thought he was gone. He was hurt and spent time in the hospital. At around this time Angelo and Renato were over to discuss a new contract. I remember the tempers were pretty short. I had to drive Angelo, Renato, and his girlfriend to Fond du Lac to meet with Jack Reichert who was the Prez at the time. I think I did this two or three times. Gary drove seperate. Well the last time Angelo and Renato were really upset and you could tell from the conversation. I didn't understand a thing. I whish I had spoken Italian. That was the end of Mercury/Molinari. Hering, Molinari, and Ron Anderson were close so Bob and Ron left Mercury too and the rest is history.

[Mark75H]

As I understood it there was also some bad blood between Renato and Mr. Bill over Renato generally building 2 boats and choosing the better one for himself ... forcing Mr. Bill to out drive Renato to beat him with an inferior boat time after time ... this was supposedly what lead Seebold to start building his own boats

I don't think there was much time lag between Mercury terminating the Molinari contract and Molinari supplying OMC with boats

[willabee]

I don't think there was either. The way I heard it, mbd29 was rather infatuated with Miss Titti ( Renato's girlfriend ) and drove them directly from the Mercury meeting to Waukegan, just to get a little more "eyeball" time :)



I don't think there was much time lag between Mercury terminating the Molinari contract and Molinari supplying OMC with boats

[PARKER RABE]

willabee .....thanks ...for the pic of 202
parker

[willabee]

A couple of boats that seemed to race forever.......


The 1st shot is of Gene Lanham in his 18' Wing with 1250 stackers winning the Roaring 100 from Miami to Key Largo in 1971. He ran the same equipment for a long time and won several races in the Florida area.

The 2nd is of "The Iceman" Harold Eis in what I think started life as a Stylecraft and became an Eis Super Cat. As horsepower went up, he continued to modify this boat to handle it and always ran competitively. Here he is finishing 4th at the 1971 Parker 9 Hour ( he led for several laps ). I think Merc did "loan" him a pair of 1350 stackers for this event.

[Mark75H]

Did Eis win first outboard a couple times at Havasu with that rig?

[peterse90]

Did Eis win first outboard a couple times at Havasu with that rig?

He won the first Outboard World Championships in 1964, then won again in 1965.
Here's another picture of Salty Cat.

[mbd29]

Willabee: I have kept that secret all these years and now you let the cat out of the bag. Who told you?

[willabee]

Billy Don Pruett.......


A couple of shots of our favorite guy......in the 1st one he is driving the first 9' x 22' triple outboard with all three engines in the tunnel, built by Ron Jones and winning the Elsinore 500 in 1969. Those engines sat so close together that there wasn't room to run stacked powerheads.

In the 2nd shot he driving a 20' Jones at the 1970 Miami Nationals. He is coming out of the final turn ahead of Jimbo McConnell on his way to a World Record of 76.598 mph in T class.

[willabee]

A couple more from the 1970 Miami Nationals.....


The 1st shot is Pruett again, leading the pack on the start of that record setting run. He is being chased by Johnny Sanders, Jimbo McConnell and Kenny Kitson.

The 2nd shot is Jimbo #191 in an OMC built twin and Kitson #119 in a Kitsoncraft. Is it just me, or is there something wrong with a picture that shows Kitson with two white bathtubs on the transom?

[Old fiberglass]

The two white bath tubs are removable cowls~engine fairings. They were either came with the boat or were an accessory, not sure which. Not sure how it worked on a twin though. Kenny was looking for a cowl last time I talked to him.

[willabee]

Twins.......


Dick Sherrer in a 21' Glastron/Molinari powered by 1350 water injected stackers, finishing 10th at Havasu in 1970.

Bill Wiles in an 18' Seajay with a pair of Evinrudes winning the 1970 Elsinore 500. This boat gave us a quick scare at Havasu in 1970. When the race was stopped after the 1st lap on saturday and our boats came back to the pits, Jim Merten said that Wiles had gone by him like he was tied to a buoy and other drivers agreed. We all thought "Oh - Oh !". It turned out that he was quick until the water got a little sloppy, and then all of our stuff went on by him.

[willabee]

If you look at the picture of Kitson just above your post, you will see that the white bathtubs I am referring to are Evinrudes. I've always thought that any picture of Kenny in or near a boat, that boat should be powered by Mercury.




The two white bath tubs are removable cowls~engine fairings. They were either came with the boat or were an accessory, not sure which. Not sure how it worked on a twin though. Kenny was looking for a cowl last time I talked to him.

[2us70]

Thanks for the shot of Gene Lanham in the Roaring 100. Gene was one of the most underrated drivers ever.Gene just never got rattled he just kept on coming. I was also in that race in SE class. I won after Bobby Krell broke the bow off his Checkmate/Evinrude out in the ocean off Key Largo on Sunday. Too bad for him since he had a huge time gap on me from Saturday(I got lost) that all he had to do was keep me in sight. That strategy was working until his bow came up and hit him in the face. I spent the rest of the race pushing hard and waiting for him to pass me in the smoother water of the bay. I quite surprised to find out what had happened behind me.

[willabee]

Parker 9 Hour - 1970


This race was significant in that it was the 8th running of the event and the 1st time outboards won.....unfortunately, they were powered by OMC :( I don't recall exactly what happened to our team boats, but, result wise, we were almost no-shows. The 21' Glastron/Molinari out of Glastron finished 6th using 1350 stackers and the first team boat was Bill Petty in an 18' Jones, also with 1350 stackers, coming in 8th.

Jim Merten in a triple Jones was very strong early, but then started to miss-fire. We changed a lot of stuff, but didn't fix the problem and finally put him on the trailer. After the race, I believe we discovered the problem was water clogging all three fuel filters ( you never look for simple fixes during a race :o ). Billy Don Pruett ran the 21' Molinari ( the Havasu winner later that year ) with a pair of modified 1350 stackers. If memory serves, these powerheads had the intake and exhaust porting that was ultimately used on the Twister. We didn't get much time on the powerheads at this race because he kept blowing BP gearcases. While we were replacing gearcases, he would walk off to talk "super-star" with someone. I'd have to go find him and tell him we were ready to race again. On one such trip, Pruett told me he wasn't going back out because he was too far behind and nothing was going to change his mind. I said " Hey big boy, you're running super secret stuff and we need time on it ". I remember that sh-t eating grin he got on his face when he said " why didn't you say so in the 1st place, let's get at it " ( he loved running something that no one else had ). I'm going to need some help to jog my memory about what happened to the rest of our boats.

Here's a couple of shots of the winning DeSilva driven by Allan Stinson and Jerry Wallin. Note in the 2nd picture that it used a single pipe exhaust system.

[willabee]

Parker 9 Hour - 1970


A very unusual and almost comical incident took place at the end of this race. After over 700 miles on this winding 13 mile course and 9 hours of racing, the lead 3 boats come into view on the back straightaway at the same time! Stinson in the DeSilva, Ron Hill in an Hallett hydro with twin Evinrudes and Bob Witt in a 21' Glastron/Molinari with twin Johnsons. When they get to the last turn, Stinson turns first but goes in too hot and is forced to swing way wide. Hill tried to turn inside of him, but hooks and almost gets tossed from the boat. This caused his kill switches to disconnect and he goes dead in the turn. Witt tried to turn inside of Hill, but spun out and did get thrown out of his rig! I figured Stinson was going to end up on shore with that wide turn, so for a moment I thought " Hell, we're going to win this thing yet :)

Well, Stinson got straightened out and comes in 1st, Hill connects his kill switches and comes in 2nd and Witt swims back to his boat in time to finish 3rd ........what a finish!!!!!

Here's a shot a the 2nd and 3rd place finishers........

[willabee]

Parker 9 Hour - 1970


Johnny Sanders finished this race in 4th place driving a 21' Molinari with twin Johnsons and Jimbo McConnell finished 5th in a DeSilva with twin Evinrudes.......he probably would have been in that mix at the end, but he lost several laps due to dead batterys.

Here are a couple of shots of Jimbo.........that boat sure was designed a lot different than the one Stinson drove.

[willabee]

:D :D
I can't give you his name, but a hint is.......he's bald, old and responds if you call him "Boob"



Willabee: I have kept that secret all these years and now you let the cat out of the bag. Who told you?

[Mark75H]

Here are a couple of shots of Jimbo.........that boat sure was designed a lot different than the one Stinson drove.

Because #33 was finished by DeSilva and #31 was finished by Russ Hill Sr., Jimbo McConnell's dad and Rod Zapf after being abandoned by OMC at the DeSilva factory ....

After it screamed so fast at Parker (first outboard to lead Parker) ... Kiekhaefer tried to buy it and OMC ended up buying it back

Here's a link to one of the posts where Ron talks about it (http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showpost.php?p=80082&postcount=1)

[willabee]

I remember that "checkerboard" at Parker. First time I saw it, it was on the trailer and I thought to myself "Man that's ugly, wonder how it runs". I also remember thinking how much prettier it got when I saw how it ran down the backstretch - 1968 ( maybe 1969 ) :cool:


After it screamed so fast at Parker (first outboard to lead Parker) ... Kiekhaefer tried to buy it and OMC ended up buying it back

[Old fiberglass]

Just wanted to say thanks to Willabee for taking the time to write down and share some of Mercury's racing history with us. I'm really enjoying it. Thanks - Rick Connolly

[willabee]

Thanks, glad you're enjoying :)

Havasu Outboard World Championships - 1968

This race really sent signals to everyone that major changes were about to take place in outboard racing. Yes, Kenny Kitson won it with a 18' Switzer Wing and stacked 1250 cross flows, a combination that people expected to see compete for the win. However, 2nd and 3rd overall was taken by a pair of single engine Molinari's......Cesare Scotti with an Evinrude and Carlo Rasini with a Merc 1250 BP. Tom Stickle was actually 1st overall for a while in another Molinari with one of the four new direct charge 1350's ( soon to be named a 1250 Super BP ) Mercury raced for the first time. Additionally, twin engine V bottoms finished 4th and 5th overall, the last time this combination would finish that well at a major event. The Tunnels........they were a comin'

#T-10 - Ken Kalibat - Glastron with ( I think ) 1250 BP's finishing 4th
#T-82 - Bill Combs ( co-owner of Checkmate Boat Co. ) - Checkmate / 1250 BP's
finishing 5th
Note: In my picture, I can see louvered wrap arounds on the Checkmate....they were made for the 1350's, but we had several extras and we loaned them to other Merc drivers - first time they were seen.

Just wanted to say thanks to Willabee for taking the time to write down and share some of Mercury's racing history with us. I'm really enjoying it. Thanks - Rick Connolly

[blkmtrfan]

Thanks, glad you're enjoying :)

Yes we are, thanks you :cool:

[T2x]

Thanks, glad you're enjoying :)

Havasu Outboard World Championships - 1968


#T-10 - Ken Kalibat - Glastron with ( I think ) 1250 BP's finishing 4th
.

They were definitely 1250 BP's.... They wound up on my 16' Eltro after that race...

After "seeing the future" Kenny went on to run a 21' Glastron Molinari....and Pruett ran over him with his Jones the following year at Havasu. Both boats wound up sitting one on top of the other cross ways in a turn........ and for an instant the two guys almost came to blows on top of the mess.

Frankly....in that fight..... I couldn't/wouldn't pick a winner. Kenny was the strongest human being I ever met....They were both about the same size....and Pruett had a short fuse and a great right hand.... Probably one of those moments where both guys said........"maybe not a good idea".

Rest in peace to each of you..... old friends

T2x

[willabee]

More Havasu Championships - 1968


#U171 - Jim Clinkenbeard - another one of those "belly beatin" V bottoms, a Glastron with triple 1250 BP's taking 1st in the Unlimited class ( don't think it was in the top 10 overall )

#U105 - Roy Reeves - A Stylecraft with triple Chyslers finishing 2nd in the Unlimited class.....had 1st Unlimited locked, but ran out of gas in the final few minutes........I'm pretty sure that this is the boat that collided with Jim Merten's Wet and Wild Switzer Wing at Galveston the next year. Merten had passed him just before the pit turn, but came in too hot and spun right in front of Reeves. Reeves had no where to go but into and then over the Wing, Merten was seriously hurt.

[willabee]

A Couple of Havasu Winners


Just a couple of different shots of boats you've already seen.............Bill Sirois in the 1970 Molinari and Kenny Kitson in the 1968 Switzer Wing........a couple of boats and a couple of stories.......

When we built engines for a race, the approach was always a little different depending on the race and the driver. For example, Gary Garbrecht gave me his list of who was going to run what at Havasu in 1970. At that time, our best engine was the 1350 water injected stacker on SSM units. During this period we ran counter rotating powerheads on the left side of the twins because the left hand SSM's design at that time would not take the horsepower. We were also playing with the 1350 silo and cowbell and his list included a pair of those for Merten's boat.

From there I would figure out how many of each component we needed to equip all of the boats and how many of each assembly I wanted to take along as spares. Since this build is for Havasu, everything would be new, and I would order all of the blocks, housings and internal parts that we would need. If the next race was going to be the Miami 225 ( or any short event ), this Havasu equipment would get rebuilt...all new internals in the blocks and lower units rather than all new from scratch again.

Here's where the driver came in. I would prepare a powerhead "build form" for each and for the spares. Sirois would always start his cold engines nice and easy, warm everything up and then test and he didn't put much time on his equipment testing. He used his trim to adjust how the boat ran rather than the throttle....he was easy on equipment, so we could build his powerheads with thinner reeds, remove the retarded timing disc, give him a little more spark and a little less jet, install a limitless switch box, etc. A bunch of little things that gave him more power and performance. Billy Don Pruett ( here he comes again :) ), no matter what instructions he was given to the contrary, would start his cold engines and be instantly at 7000 RPM. Once he was satisfied that everyone knew he was on site :rolleyes: , he would go out to test. He tested a lot and drove with the throttle....he was very hard on equipment, so his were built just the opposite ( as bullet proof as possible ), costing some performance.

Next, all of the components were prepaired for assembly. Rods were sent to Bob Hetzel's prop department to be ground and polished and returned to us for magnafluxing ( the polishing was only done so that we had the ability to find cracks along the I beam ). Pistons and rings were measured and marked, electrical components were assembled and tested as a group ( distributor,switch box,etc. ) for each powerhead. Blocks were deburred, ports ground, cylinders trued and measured so that pistons and rings could be matched for proper clearances. When all of this type of work was finished, the actual assembly per "build form" would begin.

Sorry, this is getting pretty windy, so here are the photos.......I'll tell the stories later.

[Mark75H]

Sorry, this is getting pretty windy I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting :)

[blkmtrfan]

I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting :)

Yes what he said :cool:

[willabee]

Thank you for your comment, makes this guy feel pretty good........also makes me want to share another fun thought......

I moved to Columbus in 86 and found this restaurant that I hang out at in 88. I've met a bunch of really nice people there over the years, but I've had a problem with the regulars for some time now. Whenever a new person joins our group and we all get to talking, something will be said that causes me to say " That reminds me of a Molinari story". Before I have a chance to continue, the regulars go into all sorts of gyrations.....some look at their watch, some yawn, some put their head down on the bar as if to go to sleep, some ask for their check and someone always warns the new person not to ask what a Molinari is. They say asking me that question is like asking someone what time it is and then having to listen to a dissertation on how to build a grandfather clock :)

These folks ( and my wife ) tell me that they are just thrilled that " there are people out there that actually enjoy a Molinari story "......they say they won't have to suffer any longer as long as I don't give them reports about the stories I tell on S&F :D.

PS: The regulars do enjoy the stories, but they enjoy giving me a ton of grief about them even more :)



I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting :)

[specboatops]

Like stated here and on other threads....Thank you Sir!!

[mike farmer]

ok now get out the shovel & throw some dirt :D

[59powercat1400]

I know this is older than you guys like, but here it is anyway. It's a Jav-Cat from 1964 with twin 1000's. Dick.

[Old fiberglass]

Willabee, we certainly are enjoying your stories and your not boring us !!! :)

[willabee]

Agreed Mike, enough of that, time to get back to work.......

A Couple of Havasu Winners ....continued

So, in the engine shop, all of the powerhead component parts have been readied and powerhead assembly per "build form" has begun. The same thing is going on for the lower units....the deburring,measuring, magnafluxing and finally assembly. All of the boats in our possession go through the rigging shop prior to departure. Sirois' Molinari had been previously raced, so the DSH's are pulled, inspected and reassembled with new fasteners, bushings, etc. ( whatever applies to each style housing ). Then the guys start in the cockpit replacing trim switches, coil cords, etc. and work their way to the rear. The powerheads and lower units are sent to them and they get it ready to test. Depending on the weather, we may run it in Oshkosh or just have to wait until until we get to Havasu. For the boats that are out in the field, we load the parts we will need and perform this work at the race site.

To my knowledge, very few people knew we built the powerheads that way. You couldn't tell the drivers because they would all be screaming that they didn't get the "hot" stuff. Couldn't tell the engineers because "No Engineering Degree" and I could get into some very hot water because I wasn't authorized to change specs. Didn't really say much at all about this to my boss for a number of reasons and didn't even tell some of the mechanics because they had developed their own relationships with different drivers. I did this mostly with Dave Beier and Bill Allen.

During the build for this race, Beier and I were talking about Sirois, and the more we talked, the more ideas we got. Dave asked me to let him build a couple of special powerheads for him and I said no, let's build him four "throw-aways"....if he makes it through Saturday, we'll pull the first pair and give him new ones for Sunday. Turns out, that was exactly what we ended up doing.

To be continued.......

ok now get out the shovel & throw some dirt :D

[2us70]

Jim . How old is that Jav Cat you have? Brooke Russell had one that was cut down to a pickle fork and had an adjustable wing in front. The boat was named "Escape Velocity". Last time I saw it it was rigged with a pair of 700 speedmaster motors for the around Key West Race. It didn't do very well and I never saw it again. Wonder if it's the same boat?

[59powercat1400]

got any pics of your Jav-Cat? I'd like to see it. Dick.

[willabee]

A Couple of Havasu Winners....continued
When we went to Havasu, we rented a home with a large two car garage and a big empty lot next to it. Four or five of us lived in the house for the week and we used it as race headquarters. All of our boats were kept there and the garage became our rig shop. Our rigging guys would begin the week by going through all of the boats that we didn't have in Oshkosh......replacing parts as I have described and installing new powerheads and lower units. While this was going on, the rest our our people were at the race site with the parts truck and the prop truck and final setup work was taking place.

After the four hour race on Saturday, all of the boats were taken back to this house. We would perform a complete inspection on each one, using the race results to determine what was inspected first through last. This order of inspection was necessary because we may run out of time to get to all of the boats or we may run out of replacement parts before they were all checked.....no matter how well you planned, there was no way to predetermine what was going to have to be replaced. In the case of this race, the first two boats brought into the shop were those of Merten and Sirois.

Unfortunately, we missed a power trim coil cord that was chafing on a screw under the dash on Merten's boat. It started an electrical fire just after two hours of racing on Sunday which cost him the win....we had to lock his trim in one position, cut the cord and send him back out. Beier and Jerry Kohnke were working on the Sirois boat. Dave came to me smiling and said the powerheads were shot....I smiled and said, well that was the plan, put the other pair on :) Turned out that we also had to replace both lower units, one DSH, a couple of trim cylinders and a pump before that boat was ready to run again. I don't think Sirois ever knew how much effort and special stuff went into his win that year.

Every year at Havasu, there were several of us that never got to sleep on Saturday night.....just too much work to do. That year, Bill Seebold's single was the last boat to go into the garage ( around 6 am Sunday morning ). We discovered that his reeds were chipped, but didn't have a new powerhead to replace his. I told the guys that we'd have to use starting fluid and hope that we could get him started two more times before they failed completely. When Grandpa Seebold saw what we were doing to start him on Sunday, he went to Charles Alexander ( then VP Engineering ) and complained, justifiably so, and Alex came to me and chewed my backside up one way and down the other. I explained that we had found this problem, but were out of powerheads. He said that he thought that was very poor planning on my part. It wasn't until a few days later that it dawned on me that we had a new counter rotating powerhead in the truck.... we could have installed it and had him prop out on Sunday morning......that still bothers me to this day, just wasn't thinking clearly:(

PS: We got Seebold started Sunday and he was fast, passed a lot of boats, but were unable to get him going after his fuel stop ( reeds were gone by then ).

[willabee]

A Couple of Havasu Winners.....continued


The other boat pictured in this post was the Switzer Wing driven to victory by Kenny Kitson in 1968. A couple of short stories about that boat.......

As I have mentioned, I was not privy to the exact "deals" that Mercury had made with different drivers. At this point in time there were no drivers actually working for the company, so deals varied from just mechanical support for engines to supplying complete rigs. Deals became much more sophisticated as time went on, we were pretty new at this in 1968. I don't know this for a fact, but I believe in 1968, Kitson had the biggest package. It included boat(s), engines, props, expenses and a full time mechanic, Dave Kane. Before heading to Havasu, we put a pair of new powerheads on the truck for Kitson. However, when we all met at the race site, Garbrecht informed me that Kitson was going to race with the equipment he already had on the boat. They didn't seem very happy with one another, and I just followed orders. Well, if there was a last laugh to be had, Kitson got it. He took those engines with over 100 hours on them, spotted the other 130 boats in the race one lap at the start on Saturday and drove like a man possessed to finish three laps ahead of the field!

Of course, after that performance, everybody was happy with everybody again. A short time later, Kitson brought the boat to Oshkosh to have new engines installed. It was then that I got to drive the boat and accomplished something that I don't believe Kitson ever did..........I sunk it :eek:. Before testing with the new engines, it needed fuel. At the time, we didn't have any at our location so I drove it to Plt #5 ( visitors were not allowed entrance ). As I neared the plant, the boat drew a lot of attention and I really milked out bringing it into the fuel slip......wanted as many of my old buddys as possible to see me in this thing. I tied it up, fueled and then went inside to visit. While inside, I received a page.....it was Garbrecht and he said Kitson just told him that the boat leaks badly. Just then, one of the dock guys ran in to tell me the boat was going down.....I said to Gary " Too late! " When I went out, all I could see was two yellow dock lines ........very embarrassing :o .

[mike farmer]

you mentioned dave kane do you remember kenny"s brother clark kitson what a bruiser that guy was

[willabee]

you mentioned dave kane do you remember kenny"s brother clark kitson what a bruiser that guy was

Spoke softly and didn't need to carry a big stick!

Found an article from the Oshkosh newspaper titled "NOISE - Kiekhaefer makes it, but tries to minimize it". It talks about how many calls the police and fire departments received when we tested stackers...the locals thought the noise was a warning siren of some type! It goes on to say that we now tow the stacked boats out to the middle of the lake before we fire the engines. It also talks about what a mean machine the new triple Jones is......wish all you guys would have had a chance to drive one, it was a real thrill.

The picture below accompanied the article....it shows a couple of test Checkmates and a 482 powered 27' Thompson ( we didn't have anything slow :) ) towing yours truly back to the race department. This is the boat that Jim Merten won Galveston with - it was " A Hot Multi "

[PARKER RABE]

Thats My Dads Ron Jones In That Pic, U Can See More Pics Of It In The Hammer Down Galleries .

[Old fiberglass]

I was talking to Kenny yesterday. I asked him about the engine change issue at Havasu. His reply was there wasn't a problem between anyone or anything. He just didn't believe in changing out engines if they were running good. Sometimes he would run an engine for the whole season. I guess it falls under the old saying - "if it ain't borke don't fix it"

He did say during the same race new speedmaster(s) were put on that caused him problems. One of the screw-on pointed nose cone tips came off. So, when he got goiing too fast it would create too much drag almost throwing the boat sideways. I think he had to run a good part of the race working the throttles a little more to stay out of the upper speed range. At the time he didn't know what caused the problem until the boat was pulled out of the water.

At the same race he had the boat on the trailer for an extended period of time. When launch time came there was water up to the back of the seats. The tow car couldn't pull the heavy boat back out of the water. Needless to say panic set in. Luckily the water truck was coming by and had a winch to pull the car and boat up to high ground. By the time Kenny got into the race he was 2.5 laps behind at the start. Pushing the boat hard and running in shallow water at times to get around the slower boats, he was running in first place at the end of the day.

I asked him about Bill's sinking wing episode. He chuckled on that one saying I told everyone who would listen the boat was a leaker and don't let it sit in the water. He remembered one time at Mercury they, (Bill ~Willabee??) were testiing BP lowers on his wing. After eating lunch Kenny walked back to the dock and saw just the sponsons sticking up out of the water. Don't know if that was the same incident Bill described or not.

[willabee]

I asked him about Bill's sinking wing episode. He chuckled on that one saying I told everyone who would listen the boat was a leaker and don't let it sit in the water. He remembered one time at Mercury they, (Bill ~Willabee??) were testiing BP lowers on his wing. After eating lunch Kenny walked back to the dock and saw just the sponsons sticking up out of the water. Don't know if that was the same incident Bill described or not.

I only sunk one - honest! He probably is remembering what he saw when Gary brought him over to Plt.5. We had moved it over to the hoist slip and were just beginning the removable process :(. Tell him it would have been nice if he would have told us about the leaking problem before I had taken it over for fuel :p .

[willabee]

Chrysler Outboards.....

Going through some old Powerboats and it reminded me that Chrysler was a force to be reckoned with in the mid 60's. Just thought I'd post a few photos from that time frame.....

T174 - Bob Spratte - Glastron with triple 105's at Havasu ( 1967 ? ) - was on the cover of the July,1968 issue
U39 - Jim Umbarger - Hustler with twin 105's - 1967 U Class high point champ

[willabee]

Chryslers......

Bill Hill - Powercat 4 point with triples - U6 Class high point champ 1967

766 - Jerry Rice - 1967 Canadian U Class champ and Stan Fitts - 1967 Class 36 high point champ, both featured in a Chrysler ad with Hill and Umbarger

[willabee]

Chryslers.....

707 - Jack Oxley - Stylecraft with triple 105's

T251 - Jim Parker - Carlson with twin 135's setting V bottom drag record of 103.5 mph

[willabee]

World Invitational Marathon, Long Beach - 1969.....

That's what it was called - really! It was a three hour run in the stadium by invitation only. The outboards ran on Saturday and the inboards on Sunday. On a single buoy course of just over a mile, the winning outboard completed six more laps than the winning inboard.

Here's a shot of the winner, Bill Cooper in an 18' Jones with 1250 Super BP's. This is the first 18' that Jones built...it got rigged while the paint was still drying at Jones' shop, went straight to Long Beach, tested two sets of props and raced! He led from start to finish, passing boats on the inside,outside and down the straights....a very impressive performance. This combination won again at its next race, Galveston.

The 2nd shot is Bob Massey in a 21' Molinari also with 1250 Super BP's, finishing second. Believe it or not, this is the same boat Bill Sirois won Havasu with in 1970. I'd forgotten how many guys raced that thing.

[Old fiberglass]

Here is another picture of Bob Massey running the same boat I believe. Looks like Long Beach.

[Old fiberglass]

Who was running the 301 Molinari ??

[willabee]

More Multi's.....

We were talking about Dutchman wings and tunnels on the "in search of wings" thread, here's a shot of a tunnel doing well. It's "Doc" Appleton running 1250 Super BP's and finishing 5th at the 1969 Long Beach Invitational.

The 2nd photo is from an ad in Powerboat, October,1968. The boat is a Rayson Craft with ( I think ) triple 1250's......it won Havasu in 1967 driven by Bill Cooper, Rudy Ramos and Mike Reagan ( the President's son ) - this same boat also won in 1966. The first five Havasu World Championships were won by Mercury......Eis, Eis, Ramos team, Ramos team and Kitson.

[Old fiberglass]

T-40 Bob Massey, 148 -Dick Sheer. 871 - Doc Appleton ??

Notice how Bob is cutting on the inside of both of them in a wing. I think that took some driving.

[willabee]

Here is another picture of Bob Massey running the same boat I believe. Looks like Long Beach.

Yes, same boat, same race - much better picture ( I believe that was the only time Bob ran that boat )

Don't remember who was in the 301 - Mr.T, you raced in that event, do you recall the driver? There were 18 entrys and I can come up with 13 names - Cooper, Massy, Witt, Petty,Appleton, McConnell, Sherrer, Habay, Hill, Stickle, O'Connell, Larson, McCune ( if it was at Long Beach, maybe Larson in the Rudy Ramos entry ).

[Old fiberglass]

Don't think the 301 picture was taken at Long Beach. More like Havasu or Parker.

[willabee]

Florida Multi's from back then......

Al Ensweiler passing Chick Gagen to win UU Class at the Div.8 Regionals in Miami, July, 1969.....not sure of the hulls, a McCall passing a Magnum??

The 2nd shot is Tom Sikes winning Miami to Key Largo, The Roaring 100 in June, 1969. Again not sure what hull Chickenship was.....

[willabee]

A Pair of Wings......

T40 - Bob Massey - taking 1st ouboard and 8th overall in the first Elsinore 500 in 1968....a race won by Vic Edelbrock. Gene Lanham told me that the best outboard finish to date was he and Bill Sirois at Parker that year in his 18' Wing, Red Bird when they finished 6th overall. Jim Merten and Boots Spellman finished 2nd overall at Parker in 1969 and that was the last win for the inboards. Massey's right side engine cowl fell off of his boat during the race, making the boat look a little strange.

T119 - Kenny Kitson - hopefully a better picture than the one I posted previously of him taking 4th at Parker in 1969 ( the Champion spark plug ad )

[MagicFloat]

Always thought the Champion ad has to be in the top 10 race boat pics of all time. Have it as background on my computer. True definition of "Switzer Flying Wing"

[Old fiberglass]

Kenny got in trouble with Mr. Carl K when that ad came out. Some sort of deal was made for the Champion ad "before" Kenny started working for Mercury. After the fact Kenny got hooked up with Mercury and the ad came out. Mr. K wasn't please and Kenny had to do a little tap dancing to explain the situation.

[willabee]

Always thought the Champion ad has to be in the top 10 race boat pics of all time. Have it as background on my computer. True definition of "Switzer Flying Wing"

Agreed, it's a great picture...my personal favorite is the shot of Wet and Wild posted on the "Tough Decision" thread, it's not only flying, but has all that neat background stuff. I use the shot of the Merc Racing Team, 1972 as my screen saver :) .

[willabee]

Kenny got in trouble with Mr. Carl K when that ad came out. Some sort of deal was made for the Champion ad "before" Kenny started working for Mercury. After the fact Kenny got hooked up with Mercury and the ad came out. Mr. K wasn't please and Kenny had to do a little tap dancing to explain the situation.

There is something wrong with that picture, that ad came out in 1969 and Kenny was driving Merc's stuff in 1968, maybe even earlier...he's driving Merc's stuff in the ad! Back then, Merc had a policy that said you could not put any advertising on their boat without their permissoin and they controlled all print advertising. Any time someone deviated from policy, E.C. was upset. Drivers with less stature than Kitson were dropped for not following company policy.

[Old fiberglass]

Kenny was obviously connected with Mercury for a long time. Then at some point he had a contract with them. Soon after the Champion ad came out.

[MagicFloat]

Is the boat in the ad the same one Kenny is driving at exhibitions now with Bob V., or is it another Miss Diablo?

[willabee]

Is the boat in the ad the same one Kenny is driving at exhibitions now with Bob V., or is it another Miss Diablo?

Go to the "Switzer Wing Refurb" thread on page 2 and check out the photos that T2x put up on posts #48 & 49....it doesn't look like the new boat had previously been one of the Diablo's.

[willabee]

Havasu, 1971......

Bill Sirois makes it two wins in a row driving the reverse S with a pair of Twister I's. I remember him arriving for that race.....he chatted with the troops, looked over his boat and went out for his first test. After a short run, he got out of the boat and went over to our prop truck and began talking to someone (I'm pretty sure it was his brother Steve) that had come to the race with him. I just happened to be heading for the same truck at that time and I swear I overheard Bill say " This is going to be a walk in the park, nothing is going to beat that boat. I think I'll try a couple of sets of different props just to make it look like it needs some work, but this thing is ready to go."........he was right.:)

The first shot is from a Mercury ad and the second is from the cover of Powerboat January, 1972.

[2us70]

If my memory is not all gone I think Chick is in a Phantom but I could be mistaken. I do know that Albert is in a cut down Magnum Missle. That thing was the fastest boat in these parts until he blew it over on the back stretch at Miami Marine Stadium. I saw that one and it was ugly. Albert got hurt pretty bad also.

[willabee]

Six Pac.......

Slipping this photo in because it reminds me of a Jim Emerson story.....I had to go down to Lake X to start preparing for a Miami race. I was kind of tired and decided to go early figuring that no one would be there on that weekend, arrived Saturday night. Got up at my leisure on Sunday, jumped in a golf cart and just kind of rode around. There's Jim, working on Juan Fernandez's offshore boat all by himself, I think he said that it had to be ready to travel to a race on Monday. Anyway, I spent my day off as his " hand me this " guy. When it was ready to test, he said jump in and work the stopwatch. He made his runs, was satisfied with it's performance and headed back towards the shop.
Suddenly, he changes direction and with a big grin says "this should be fun, let's see what kind of time this thing can make around your test course" ( the 1 2/3 mile Miami course had been set up for the tunnel boats ). He did one hell of a job muscling that boat around that small course! Then he told me to give it a try, and of course, I did. Running flat out towards the 1st buoy, I grabbed a handfull of throttles to back off for the turn....that's when I realized that my hand wasn't as big as his and I couldn't get them all. Like a dummy, I used my other hand to pull on the rest of them. Jim quickly grabbed the wheel and made the turn as I used both hands to push them forward again for the straightaway. We made the next turn the same way and headed for the shop....agreeing that my comfort zone might be restricted to single engine boats :) .

[outboard bob]

Is the boat in the ad the same one Kenny is driving at exhibitions now with Bob V., or is it another Miss Diablo?
That boat in the champiion ad is the #6 wing . The #3 that i have is the one that set the records stated in the ad along with the world championship.
We'll see her with Stacks this year. Bob

[Mark75H]

I'm looking forward to hearing it with stacks

[willabee]

Havasu - 1971 ( continued ).....

Three laps behind Sirois was Reggie Fountain, driving a 21' Glastron Molinari for Glastron ( he was not a Merc factory driver yet ) and finishing 3rd was the "Iceman", Harold Eis in his Eis Super Cat that he won with in 1964 and 1965!

[willabee]

Havasu - 1971 ( continued )......

Hiram Mueck finished 8th in a 21' Glastron Molinari/Mercs and Ron Brown came in 9th in his Schulze/Mercs giving the twins five of the top ten places on their last run at Havasu. Here's Brown's Schulze......

[Bob V]

I have read all your fascinating information about the "Good Old Days" of racing and all the wonderful information about the Mercury operations. Now you can help me with something. I remember back in the early 1970's, there were Merc engines that looked like a Twister 1, except that the exhaust exited the bottom of the exhaust chamber through something that looked like a cow bell rather than through the mid section. I only saw this configuration for about a year or so and have never run across one since. Was that something that Merc was experimenting with or was it being done by individuals. I remember that they had a sweet sound, not as loud as a stacker, but louder than a Twister 1. Any thoughts on those? Please keep all your wonderful information coming. I always look forward to your posts. After all, those were the wonder years...Bob Van Bomel / Clearwater, FL.

[Mark75H]

Bob, these were nicknamed "Cow Bell" Twisters and were factory team race motors for part of a year around 1970.

We are still looking for good pictures or surviving motors of this type

[GENE LANHAM]

Bill:
How much would six 1250/1350 powerheads and four 15"BP Mids be worth today?$?$
My recollection of the multi OB offshore 'throttleman" was a short piece of bungee cord and 'red dot' rev limiters.

[willabee]

Bill:
How much would six 1250/1350 powerheads and four 15"BP Mids be worth today?$?$
My recollection of the multi OB offshore 'throttleman" was a short piece of bungee cord and 'red dot' rev limiters.
Hi Gene, really glad to see that you have decided to join us, this ought to be fun :) . Easy to tell from your "throttleman " comment that you've " been there, done that ". For those of you that might not know Gene, he's the man pictured below......he raced Wings and played with offshore boats for years, so now you have a direct source for Wing and Race questions " From the Golden Era " :cool:

[willabee]

Cowbells....an attempt to recall their brief history

Going into 1970, Merc's big engine was the 1350 water injected stacker. However, everyone knew it's days were numbered because do-gooders were on a noise pollution campaign. Engineers at Plt.6 in Oshkosh were working on a quiet, tuned exhaust system that could replace the stacks, but not lose performance. We ran a pair of specially ported stackers at Parker that year and a couple of months later Plt. 6 sent over an engine with this log or silo exhaust system for testing. After several different tests and a couple of backyard races, final specs for this engine ( the Twister ) were approved. It was also decided to build a hundred of these for sale to the racing public the next year, so they were locked into a design. Later that summer, the Plt.6 engineers brought over an open exhaust version of this manifold ( the cowbell ) and testing showed that it outperformed the silo. I guess their thinking was that the team boats would run the cowbell where permitted and the silo at the remaining events. However, during this time frame, the engineers in Fond du lac were working on the C6. It first showed at Berlin in 1970 and was on four team boats by July of 1971. It was obviously a more powerful engine, so all engineering efforts were directed to it. Money for silo tooling had already been spent, so it was decided to keep it and the cowbell just sort of fell by the wayside. It was only around for about a year and a guess would be that about a dozen were built.

[lilabner]

Hi Gene

Are you trying to peddle the powerheads from the "Let's cross the Atlantic" venture? Glad to see you can finally work a computer..Regards to you and Bob..Welcome aboard..

Butch

[2us70]

This forum keeps getting better. With Gene on board there should be more good stories and info.

[Bob V]

As a pilot of a wing, perhaps you can help me clear up a memory from long ago. Back it the very early 70s, there were races in the bay here in Clearwater, Florida. I remember two wings that used to do battle. One was El Lobo, that at that time, was running a pair of Chrysler 135 stackers. I guess the El Lobo used to run Mercs, but at this race, it had a set of the blue cowl Chrysler stackers. The other wing that El Lobo was doing battle with was named Firebird. It ran a pair of 1250/1350 stackers. Do you have any recollection of that one? No members seem to remember Firebird and now I am questioning my own memory. I can still see Firebird written on the sides of the boat back by the engines. I remember it being black with yellow and red trim. Any thoughts?

[Bob V]

Thank you both for your reply on the Merc cow bell engines. I remember seeing them back in the early 1970's and then, just as fast, they fell off the face of the earth. Now I know why...Thank you both...

[Bob V]

Back in the early 1970's there was a driver that lived here in Clearwater, Florida that had a boat name "Muck..Muck." I am in hopes that someone remembers his name. The boat was a green Cobia Holiday that had been cut down and re decked with plywood. It ran twin 1250 BPs. Any thoughts???

[lilabner]

Your'e not thinking of Bo Bo Mears are you?

Butch

[Fish]

Back in the early 1970's there was a driver that lived here in Clearwater, Florida that had a boat name "Muck..Muck." I am in hopes that someone remembers his name. The boat was a green Cobia Holiday that had been cut down and re decked with plywood. It ran twin 1250 BPs. Any thoughts???

Could he spin a yarn better than uncle rhemus and call everybody "hoss?":)

[GENE LANHAM]

Butch:
It was the grandkids that finally taught me to use the computer.
We used up a lot good stuff back then, didn't we????
Gene

[GENE LANHAM]

Bob V
I saw the El Lobo at Clearwater with the Chryslers. The driver was being coached by George Thompson (anybody remember George?) Could the other Wing have been Tommy Sikes? If it was, I don't know where he 'got' it.
Gene

[Bob V]

Could he spin a yarn better than uncle rhemus and call everybody "hoss?":)


Jody...I bet your Dad had the answer to that question. The guy lived on Clearwater Beach back in the 70's. He raced two boats. Muck...Muck, which was the Cobia that was re decked and ran twin 1250 BPs. The other was a production class boat with a single engine. He had a double decker trailer and used to travel the circuit all across the country.

[Fish]

Jody...I bet your Dad had the answer to that question. The guy lived on Clearwater Beach back in the 70's. He raced two boats. Muck...Muck, which was the Cobia that was re decked and ran twin 1250 BPs. The other was a production class boat with a single engine. He had a double decker trailer and used to travel the circuit all across the country.

Hey Bob,
I'll ask him, i'll bet he does. THank you for the pictutres also. I am sorry I have not sent them back yet, my scanner broke and I have to get a new one. Hope to get that done today after work.

[Bob V]

Your'e not thinking of Bo Bo Mears are you?

Butch

No, it was not Bo Bo Mears. I will remember the guy's name when I hear it, but for the life of me, I cannot remember it now. Don't know if I am drawing a black as a result of old age or too many blow overs. Perhaps both. I must say that this site is great for getting the brain cells working again...

[Bob V]

Hey Bob,
I'll ask him, i'll bet he does. THank you for the pictutres also. I am sorry I have not sent them back yet, my scanner broke and I have to get a new one. Hope to get that done today after work.


Jody...When you talk to Jack, ask him if he remembers the Switzer Wing that ran the Fun 'n Sun Regatta back in the early '70s named "Firebird." He may remember who owned and drove that wing. We have been able to establish the El Lobo wing, but the history of Firebird still eludes us. Thanks..

[PARKER RABE]

ive heard my dad talk about those guys , ill ask him hell no !

[Fish]

Jody...When you talk to Jack, ask him if he remembers the Switzer Wing that ran the Fun 'n Sun Regatta back in the early '70s named "Firebird." He may remember who owned and drove that wing. We have been able to establish the El Lobo wing, but the history of Firebird still eludes us. Thanks..

Sure thing.

BTW, as long as we are on the subject, anyone rmember Joe Bonano, every one called him joe banannas? He raced in the early-mid 70's in the clearwater area (maybe longer). I am really trying to reach him, if anyone can help I would really appreciate it.

[willabee]

T40 - Bob Massey - taking 1st ouboard and 8th overall in the first Elsinore 500 in 1968....a race won by Vic Edelbrock. Gene Lanham told me that the best outboard finish to date was he and Bill Sirois at Parker that year in his 18' Wing, Red Bird when they finished 6th overall. Jim Merten and Boots Spellman finished 2nd overall at Parker in 1969 and that was the last win for the inboards.

Just a FYI.......I read an article in the April, 1972 Powerboat last night titled "America's Own Destruction Derby" written by Mike Snapp. It was about the history of the Parker 9 Hour, beginning with it's first race in 1963. It talked about how many boats entered each year, how many were inboards and how many were outboards. How some of them were equipped, like inboards with V-12 Allison aircraft engines :eek: that were banned in 1966, and the percentages of finishers in each group and where they finished overall. Another statement it made that I was not aware of is that Bob Massey drove a triple Mercury powered Super Cat ( that's what Snapp called the hull ) to 2nd overall in 1966! He said that proved to be the coming of the outboard to the Enduro and changed how prize money was distributed.......can't vouce for it's accuracy, just thought that it was interesting :)

[SCT]

"The 2nd photo is from an ad in Powerboat, October,1968. The boat is a Rayson Craft with ( I think ) triple 1250's......it won Havasu in 1967 driven by Bill Cooper, Rudy Ramos and Mike Reagan ( the President's son ) - this same boat also won in 1966."...........Willabee

Willabee,

Did Mike Reagan do alot of racing in that era? Could he actually drive a boat? I know he did some offshore racing in the 80s. Just wondering.

[willabee]

Did Mike Reagan do alot of racing in that era? Could he actually drive a boat? I know he did some offshore racing in the 80s. Just wondering.
As I recall it, he didn't race much....just some of the bigger events where his name could be used to attract sponsorship money. He also ran some special events like New Orleans to St.Louis, where he and his "team" set a new time record. I believe he did those types of runs to benefit a particular charity. As to how well he could drive a boat, I don't really know. I can tell you that I looked up the 1967 Havasu race in Powerboat, and it stated that Bill Cooper was behind the wheel for 6 1/2 of the 8 hours.

[lilabner]

Mike also ran some GN races..I think he was at the Galveston destruction marathon...he always had some good rides.

[Mark75H]

I think Howard Eis's boats were called Supercats, too

[willabee]

Mike also ran some GN races..I think he was at the Galveston destruction marathon...he always had some good rides.
I didn't really follow the GN's, did he win any of those events?

Mark75H ......The boat that Eis campaigned forever was a Stylecraft which he called an Eis Super Cat. I always thought that was because he had made so many modifications to the hull over the years. Do you suppose that Stylecraft had a model that they called Super Cat?

[Mark75H]

Or Eis sold modified Stylecrafts that he called Supercats

[Bob V]

I think, if memory serves me right, that the driver's/ owner's name was Mike Rutterham or perhaps it was spelled Rudderham, that had the Cobia with twin 1250 BPs. Does that ring a bell with anyone?

[GENE LANHAM]

Mike also ran some GN races..I think he was at the Galveston destruction marathon...he always had some good rides.

Butch: Galveston Destruction Derby (1969?). I think that was a two day event with separate races for single outboards, multi outboards, and GN boats. Some things that comes to mind, Merten's "Wet and Wild";http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/images/icons/icon9.gif Bill Sirois in Mike Gordon's "Fish Peddler", a Big Block Mercruiser powered GN blew everyone away till the battery died ('Thunderbolt'. No twelve volt, no sparks): (Willabee, wasn't that the race the triple Jones were using the 'improved' carburetors?); Bill Cooper in the twin Jones made the rest of us multi outboards look like we were running in the wrong class.

Mike Reagan also ran OMC outboards Offshore, 1984 Miami to New York challenge against Doc, neither boat ran more than 200 miles, including idling back to Miami (long, long night).
Gene

[willabee]

(Willabee, wasn't that the race the triple Jones were using the 'improved' carburetors?); Bill Cooper in the twin Jones made the rest of us multi outboards look like we were running in the wrong class.



Yes, 69 was the year .....I think those carbs were on all of the boats we brought from Oshkosh, but we didn't install them on any of the rigs that we met at the race site. They were designed to prevent stall-out on the tight turning tunnels, so we would not have put them on a Wing and when we saw the sweeping turns at Galveston, decided that they were not necessary for that race.

Cooper did win, but that race should have been between Joe Habay in the triple Jones and Jim Merten's 18' Wing. I set the Jones up for Galveston and had driven the Wing, so I knew they both had an easy 10 mph on Cooper's twin for those long straightaways and would not have lost much in those turns. Habay tried to complete his 250 miles testing before the race and, I think, failed a gearcase during the event and Merten had that horrible accident :( . Note: That same triple Jones did win that race the next year with Merten doing the driving :) and I believe the twin Jones was back, this time with stackers and Bill Petty behind the wheel.

Here's Merten's Wet and Wild at Parker and Cooper's twin Jones......

[SCT]

Willabee,

Is Bill Petty still living? Do you ever talk to him? I knew he had several companies in the Wapokenata, OH area (home town of Neil Armstrong). I remember he used to have a private jet based at the local airport.

SCT

[lilabner]

I don't remember the tunnel boat that year..The first few boats were pretty close. Bobby and I were third overall for about an hour, when the steering cable snapped. Wallace was first,who can ever remember second but second..I just remember about five boats flipping in a 15 minute time period, running out of ambulances, and I think the last driver died. They took him off in a van, beating on his chest. A poorly run event..

Butch

[GENE LANHAM]

[quote=willabee]Yes, 69 was the year .....I think those carbs were on all of the boats we brought from Oshkosh,

Willabee: 'improved': I was thinking maybe of the pressure/floatless Tillotsons-------didn't Sirois test/race a triple Jones in addition to driving the GN boat on Sunday? Golly, only been 36+ years----

Gene

[lilabner]

I'm pretty sure Bill ran a Jones..I was talking to him before the race..don't remember how many engines, but I think it was a triple, like Coopers..he was all smiles..It was the first time I had seen the latest Mercs since 63..

[willabee]

Willabee,

Is Bill Petty still living? Do you ever talk to him? I knew he had several companies in the Wapokenata, OH area (home town of Neil Armstrong). I remember he used to have a private jet based at the local airport.

SCT
I sure think so, but I haven't talked to him for quite some time. Last time we spoke, he told me that the twin Jones that he ran for a few years ( the same one that Cooper raced ) was lost in a fire. Mercury had given him that boat after they stopped supporting multi engine racing.

[willabee]

Willabee: 'improved': I was thinking maybe of the pressure/floatless Tillotsons-------didn't Sirois test/race a triple Jones in addition to driving the GN boat on Sunday? Golly, only been 36+ years----

Gene
Gene, you're making me look pretty bad here.....I don't remember the carbs you're describing and I don't remember Sirois in a Jones :o. We only had two triples at that time, the blue trimmed one that Habay drove and a yellow trim that Pruett drove. I also don't remember Pruett at that race, so it's possible that Sirois ran his boat. However, if I had to bet, my money would be on Sirois in the 21' Molinari that he ran at Havasu that year and again in 1970. Like you said, it's only been 36 years :).

Hey, I just remembered something from that race !!!!! Patty Duke was in town filming a movie and staying at the same hotel we were at and I got to dance a slow number with her :cool:.

Sirois finishing 3rd at Havasu in 1969......

[GENE LANHAM]

Willabee:

Maybe it was Sirois helping Joe 'test' the triple. I do remember a big problem with a new carb, I think the guy from Tillotson was there.

I'm old enough to remember Patty Duke. I'm impressed!!!http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[willabee]

Gene "throttleman" Lanham......

Found this shot in the January, 1973 Powerboat......Pictured, left to right, are Gene, Carl Kiekhaefer, Richie Powers, Carlo Bonomi and Bob Magoon. Gene was co-driver with Magoon when they won the 1972 Miami-Nassau Race. Back in the day, the only guys that received any ink were the "drivers of record", some of which never really drove. Here Gene has a full head of black hair......I wonder, is it all gray now or just all gone :)

[willabee]

Commodore's Regatta - 2 hour in Miami Marine stadium - 1972....

Here's a shot of Paul Felsch driving his 21' Glastron Molinari Tweety Bird to first overall.....Gary Peacock led this event with a single Molinari / TI when he threw a prop blade and blew the engine just before the finish......Lanham must have been Offshore racing that day :)

[2us70]

Good to see a picture of Paul in here. He was one of the mainstays of twin engine racing in South Florida back in the day. I think he had a auto body shop in Naples. I know his boats usually looked good and he could tear one up and get it fixed up pretty quick.

[GENE LANHAM]

Gene "throttleman" Lanham......

Found this shot in the January, 1973 Powerboat......Pictured, left to right, are Gene, Carl Kiekhaefer, Richie Powers, Carlo Bonomi and Bob Magoon. Gene was co-driver with Magoon when they won the 1972 Miami-Nassau Race. Back in the day, the only guys that received any ink were the "drivers of record", some of which never really drove.
Here Gene has a full head of black hair......I wonder, is it all gray now or just all gone :)

Willabee:
I still have most of it, and gray is supposed to be distinguished??? I see Doc Magoon often, and he is always wearing a hat-----
Gene

[B. Vruwink]

Some pictures from that era.

Miami Race 1969??

Bill Petty--Jones twin----Ernie Threkeld--Switzer wing

Kenny Kitson---Switzer wing

[Old fiberglass]

Picture of the only other 20' Switzer wing known to have been run with triples. Don't think the two wings ever met on the race course... would have been interesting. I think this picture was taken around 1970~1971 at Havasu. In a speed kilo run it was reported to have been clocked at 123.~ MPH running twins.

[Sunburnt]

here is a color shot.. Same boat..
Driver reported to be Ed Stewart out of California. Havasu 1970.

Jeff

[willabee]

OPC Nationals, Miami - 1972.......

Not a very good picture, but here is Reggie Fountain going past Billy Don Pruett on his way to winning the UU class at the Nationals. Fountain took three titles that day, U class in a Team Molinari, UU and T in his 21' Glastron/ Molinari. This was his 2nd race in a team supported boat, and these results put him on his way towards achieving his goal of becoming a full-fledged Team driver.

[willabee]

Reggie Fountain.......

Found an article in Powerboat, January, 1973. It is such a "glowing" report on Reggie's early success that it makes you think that he might have been the author :).

It says that he "set the boat racing world on it's ear in 1972, his second year of competition." It talks about the three national titles he had just won in Miami and his win in the T Class in the 3 hour marathon in Washington. N.C. the next weekend. He set three world speed marks with those four wins. It says that he began racing in 1971 with a new 21' Glastron/Molinari and won 15 of 16 races that year....his only second place finish being at the Outboard World Championships in Havasu, where he was named Rookie Driver of the Year.

Claims he was named to the Mercury driving team August 22nd. Says he is 32 years old, a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, combines real estate brokerage and a life insurance business with his law practice and races only on weekends.

This is the photo that accompanied the article......

[T2x]

Reggie Fountain.......

Found an article in Powerboat, January, 1973. It is such a "glowing" report on Reggie's early success that it makes you think that he might have been the author :).

It says that he "set the boat racing world on it's ear in 1972, his second year of competition." It talks about the three national titles he had just won in Miami and his win in the T Class in the 3 hour marathon in Washington. N.C. the next weekend. He set three world speed marks with those four wins. It says that he began racing in 1971 with a new 21' Glastron/Molinari and won 15 of 16 races that year....his only second place finish being at the Outboard World Championships in Havasu, where he was named Rookie Driver of the Year.

Claims he was named to the Mercury driving team August 22nd. Says he is 32 years old, a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, combines real estate brokerage and a life insurance business with his law practice and races only on weekends.

This is the photo that accompanied the article......

Did it also mention that he is very shy ....humble......and kind to old ladies?

:p :p :p

T2x

[2us70]

Reggie was successfull because he had 3 things going for him. 1 A lot of nerve both on and off the race course 2 A certain amount of talent(some of which is overshadowed by item 1) and 3 Plenty of start up money. While I am not his biggest fan there were far worse drivers than Reggie getting factory rides back then.

[T2x]

Reggie was successfull because he had 3 things going for him. 1 A lot of nerve both on and off the race course 2 A certain amount of talent(some of which is overshadowed by item 1) and 3 Plenty of start up money. While I am not his biggest fan there were far worse drivers than Reggie getting factory rides back then.



Well put........ The thing that annoyed me the most about him was that he could, indeed, drive at a pretty good level. It would have been much more entertaining if he couldn't. Generally, people with his kind of "personality" are much more talk than action. While Juan Fangio, Fireball Roberts, Dan Gurney, Bill Seebold, and Dave Villwock combined couldn't have backed up Reggie's "self assessment". He was, at the very least, a fine driver.

On the other hand...... without item's 3 and 1 above (in that order)....... we would not be writing this today....... IMHO.

T2x

[mike farmer]

i think some of you guys with the stackers should get ahold of the great lakes boat club & set up a nostaliga run on laborday weekend during the opc natonials. there are a lot of guys racing who never seen one let alone heard one. they just might be able to get a permit. just a thought:D

[PARKER RABE]

I Had A Chance To Talk With Kenny This Weekend In Florida And Actually Put My Hands On Miss Diablo 3.....how Nice To See It All In Person !:)

[mike farmer]

ya its pretty neat. after we got done working on her we took her to the river for a test run. lynn simburger driving & me with a radar gun in the pickup boat we saw 94mph. i was hopping for 100mph. but 94 without setup changeing and no prop selection i guess that pretty good. bob has a nice piece there & im glad he shares & shows it like he does. thanks bob & kenny.

[Mark75H]

i think some of you guys with the stackers should get ahold of the great lakes boat club & set up a nostaliga run on laborday weekend during the opc natonials. there are a lot of guys racing who never seen one let alone heard one. they just might be able to get a permit. just a thought:D

Or

Just show up at the Antique Raceboat Regatta at Clayton, NY this summer ... noise is encouraged; no permit required, no questions asked :)

[mike farmer]

champboat schedule's st louis on that weekend. or clayton falls on st louis weekend however ya put it:D

[BrianSmith]

Any body got a pic of Dangerous Don P. and the Canadian setting their altitude records in their Molys?

[willabee]

Merc asked Glastron to build a light 21" Glastron/Molinari for this race. It was driven by Bill Petty and Tinker Collinge. The boat ran well, probably better than any of the regular 21'ers they produced, but not well enough to make them want to continue with the glass boat project. Design changes from Renato Molinari and Ron Jones for the increasing horsepower was the route they chose to take.

I recall Petty coming in for the scheduled fuel and driver change at the two hour mark on Saturday. When we finished fueling, Tinker was still messing with his helmet or something. Petty looked at me, smiled and lit the fire on those two stackers. He ran all four hours on Saturday, so Garbrecht decided that Tinker should get all four on Sunday. Fun stuff .....you wait all year to race at the Outboard Championships and when your turn to drive comes you are not quite ready!!!! That's when you find out that your co-driver didn't want to share his ride with you anyway :p.

[khasmoth]

Merc asked Glastron to build a light 21" Glastron/Molinari for this race. It was driven by Bill Petty and Tinker Collinge. The boat ran well, probably better than any of the regular 21'ers they produced, but not well enough to make them want to continue with the glass boat project. Design changes from Renato Molinari and Ron Jones for the increasing horsepower was the route they chose to take.

I recall Petty coming in for the scheduled fuel and driver change at the two hour mark on Saturday. When we finished fueling, Tinker was still messing with his helmet or something. Petty looked at me, smiled and lit the fire on those two stackers. He ran all four hours on Saturday, so Garbrecht decided that Tinker should get all four on Sunday. Fun stuff .....you wait all year to race at the Outboard Championships and when your turn to drive comes you are not quite ready!!!! That's when you find out that your co-driver didn't want to share his ride with you anyway :p.

When was this image taken?

[2us70]

I recall John McCall building a twin engine " Molinari" looking boat back in about 1969. I got the idea that it was ordered by the "Factory" and Jeff Titus was to be one of the drivers. Never saw it run or heard of it after that. What was the story on that boat?

[willabee]

When was this image taken?

Havasu, 1970.....not 1969 as originally posted :o......it finished 8th.

[willabee]

I recall John McCall building a twin engine " Molinari" looking boat back in about 1969. I got the idea that it was ordered by the "Factory" and Jeff Titus was to be one of the drivers. Never saw it run or heard of it after that. What was the story on that boat?

I remember that boat also.....it, like the Glastron/Molinari's was "patterned" after the 21'er that Bill Sirois won with in 1970. The Molinari came over in late 68 or early 69. Bob Thompson ran it at Parker in 69 and Sirois at Havasu that same year and, if it had a good driver, it was a great boat. Merc recognized that the tunnel was the way to go and asked several US manufacturers to produce something special. The Molinari may have been "left" at Lake X between Parker and Long Beach and John may have been there testing something else at about the same time......you know that Merc wouldn't "give" someone Molinari boat dimensions.

Anyway, if memory serves, John built the twin in 69 ......it, with boats from Sidewinder, Desilva and a couple of others sat in the storage building in Oshkosh for a while. Finally, one by one, they were rigged and tested. The twin McCall was not a fast boat....it didn't really compare to the Molinari. It looked great, typical McCall craftsmanship and very little black paint for trim, but I think it was heavy. Jeff Titus ran it at Havasu in 69. I'm not positive, but I think John Henry Price ran it at Parker in 1970. Not sure of this either, but I think it was blown over, sent back to McCall for repair and sold.

The 21' Molinari with Sirois at Havasu in 1969 & 1970.......the McCall looked a lot like this, it just didn't run like this.

[T2x]

I remember that boat also.....it, like the Glastron/Molinari's was "patterned" after the 21'er that Bill Sirois won with in 1970. The Molinari came over in late 68 or early 69. Bob Thompson ran it at Parker in 69 and Sirois at Havasu that same year and, if it had a good driver, it was a great boat. .

Now.... is this a different boat than the open cockpit twin McCall that Bob Thompson had...and, I believe, Steve Stepp drove at Smith Mountain Lake?

T2x

[willabee]

Now.... is this a different boat than the open cockpit twin McCall that Bob Thompson had...and, I believe, Steve Stepp drove at Smith Mountain Lake?T2x

I'm not sure, did Thompson's look like the Molinari (I'm pretty darn sure John only built one) and was the Smith Mountain race you're referencing 1970? It would sure make sense that Thompson bought it after his ride in the Molinari at Parker....he said he really liked that boat and the McCall would have been the closest thing to it he could have purchased at that time.

[T2x]

I'm not sure, did Thompson's look like the Molinari (I'm pretty darn sure John only built one) and was the Smith Mountain race you're referencing 1970? It would sure make sense that Thompson bought it after his ride in the Molinari at Parker....he said he really liked that boat and the McCall would have been the closest thing to it he could have purchased at that time.

It may have been '70 but I think it was more like '68-'69..... We (George Linder and I) were running year old twin 1250 bp's on a 16 Eltro vee. Thompson's boat was a big McCall pickle fork (at least 18 feet)...all varnished wood. I think the driver was kneeling, but I could be wrong. That same year, Pruett ran the triple Jones, and Culver had a twin Jones... Joe Habay was there as well running a twin Switzer Vee Hugger. Kitson ran triples on his wing at that race. There were a couple of twin Sidewinders there too.

T2x

[willabee]

It may have been '70 but I think it was more like '68-'69..... We (George Linder and I) were running year old twin 1250 bp's on a 16 Eltro vee. Thompson's boat was a big McCall pickle fork (at least 18 feet)...all varnished wood. I think the driver was kneeling, but I could be wrong. That same year, Pruett ran the triple Jones, and Culver had a twin Jones... Joe Habay was there as well running a twin Switzer Vee Hugger. Kitson ran triples on his wing at that race. There were a couple of twin Sidewinders there too. T2x

My guess is that, once again, your mind has merged two events :p. I know you remember that Billy Don and Broadway Joe both brought triples Jones boats to the Smith Mountain 6 Hour in 69. That was when they managed to fill their tanks with white gas and ruined three powerheads before we arrived. They were told to decide which boat was going to race since they only had three powerheads left between them and that they had to get that boat ready by themselves......they were very upset with that, but that made me pretty happy :).

Habay in a Switzer V would have been the blue metalflake twin with 1250 BP's in 1968, his first ride in a Merc Team boat. I remember trying to drive that twin before Habay showed up to test. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop it from walking. I couldn't make it to the 2nd bridge without having to back off. First time Habay got in, he nailed the throttle and disappeared, never backed off once :(. Kitson with triples......ummmm, on the black Wing?......didn't finish? Seems he won with twins in 69, but got disqualified for some kind of course infraction at the very end of the race and the win went to Jim Merten driving a 20' Jones that crow-hopped around the couse all afternoon. The McCall you are describing is definately not the one we have been talking about.

Or.......is it my mind that has merged the two races :confused:.

[2us70]

The kneeldown twin engine McCall was "Just Add Water" owned and driven by Bob Thompson. I think he named all his boats the same. I saw it run once at Tavares and Thompson was complaining to John about the boat. John told him he wasn't driving it right and proceeded to go out and show him how it should be done. John promptly blew the thing straight over and wound up with a major rebuild of the boat but lucky for him he did not get hurt too bad. I seem to remember it at once at the Marine Stadium also.
When John was building the 21 twin boat he didn't seem too happy about it. I got the impression that he would rather have done it on his own from scratch.

[T2x]

My guess is that, once again, your mind has merged two events :p. I know you remember that Billy Don and Broadway Joe both brought triples Jones boats to the Smith Mountain 6 Hour in 69. That was when they managed to fill their tanks with white gas and ruined three powerheads before we arrived. They were told to decide which boat was going to race since they only had three powerheads left between them and that they had to get that boat ready by themselves......they were very upset with that, but that made me pretty happy :).

Habay in a Switzer V would have been the blue metalflake twin with 1250 BP's in 1968, his first ride in a Merc Team boat. I remember trying to drive that twin before Habay showed up to test. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop it from walking. I couldn't make it to the 2nd bridge without having to back off. First time Habay got in, he nailed the throttle and disappeared, never backed off once :(. Kitson with triples......ummmm, on the black Wing?......didn't finish? Seems he won with twins in 69, but got disqualified for some kind of course infraction at the very end of the race and the win went to Jim Merten driving a 20' Jones that crow-hopped around the couse all afternoon. The McCall you are describing is definately not the one we have been talking about.

Or.......is it my mind that has merged the two races :confused:.

Your right...my mind has merged two Smith Mountain Lake races into one leaving you dazed and confused.....:p and 2us70 seems to have sorted out the fact that McCall built two twin engine boats..... The Moli copy and one that Bob Thompson "wasn't driving right";)

T2x

[willabee]

The kneeldown twin engine McCall was "Just Add Water" owned and driven by Bob Thompson. I think he named all his boats the same. When John was building the 21 twin boat he didn't seem too happy about it. I got the impression that he would rather have done it on his own from scratch.

I think his marine business in Indianapolis was named "Just Add Water" and his boats were named after it. When he decided to be an owner rather then a driver, he had some pretty good talent race for him.....Ken Stevenson and Ben Robertson quickly come to mind.

I think you had the right impression about John's enthusiasm in building a Molinari copy.

[willabee]

2us70 seems to have sorted out the fact that McCall built two twin engine boats..... The Moli copy and one that Bob Thompson "wasn't driving right";) T2x

Make that at least three......here'ssssss Johnny

Like I said, I'm not sure, but Thompson may have ended up with the McCall Molinari.

[2us70]

Thanks for that picture. I thought I had seen that boat at the Marine Stadium but 30 odd years down the line I wasn't sure. It's good to have a couple of brain cells still working.

[willabee]

Mark75H......found this photo posted by Ron Hill, looks like he cropped the right side of Mertens #187 which ran with cowbells. If he still has that article (it is not Powerboat), this may be the photo that shows the cowbells that you have been looking for :). Hope that is the case, let me know what you find.

[BrianSmith]

I'll bet if you contacted Dick Summerfeldt thru Mark Rothermel he would have pics of that engine. A Canadian guy (can't remember his name..........Memory/age) who ran for Teddy Quinn had one on a Moly.

[Watermark]

pics of that engine.

Cowbells on two Canadian teams running at Havasu... Brian Smith/ Dick Summerfeldt and Barry Taylor (177) ..

[willabee]

Cowbells on two Canadian teams running at Havasu... Brian Smith/ Dick Summerfeldt and Barry Taylor (177) ..

Wish they were, but those are Silo's - Twister I. I can't see the one on the white boat that well, but what I can see sure looks like a silo. Approximately nine or ten bolts down the log, the bells should be attached and I can count more bolts than that on that log.

The cowbell exhaust manifold was shorter than the silo, just past the bottom of the block if I remember correctly. The bottom was open and a casting with two different length flared exhaust stacks (shaped like cowbells) bolted to the lower opening......but, thanks for trying, there's got to be a picture of one out there somewhere.

[willabee]

If I Ever Learn How To Use This Computer, I Could Post Some Of My Old Photos.

We're still waiting for your "Paris Six Hour - 1967" collection :).

[willabee]

Somewhere On Scream & Fly, My Son Posted A Pretty Good Drawing Of My Old Cowbell.

Bob V found it (good job)......and I agree that your son did a great job of showing what a cowbell would look like.......here is a "cowbell" by brianT2

[Backfire]

I believe that Bob Thompson's first driver was Alan Stinson in the Stinson Eagle/V4 Johnson. Then came Kenny.
I will get that 800' of 8mm '69 Havasu put on DVD,. Kitson did not win, blew a lower unit in front of the judges stand, got it on film.
Backfire ;)

[willabee]

I believe that Bob Thompson's first driver was Alan Stinson in the Stinson Eagle/V4 Johnson. Backfire ;)

I think you're right about Stinson.....it was probably Alan, Ben and then Ken.

[Backfire]

Actually Alan first, then Ken and Ben. Ken was killed at the Puerto Rico race and then Ben came in.
If I can get the picture loaded, it's Alan's built and driven Stinson Eagle/V4 Johnson.
Backfire ;)

[T2x]

Actually Alan first, then Ken and Ben. Ken was killed at the Puerto Rico race and then Ben came in.
If I can get the picture loaded, it's Alan's built and driven Stinson Eagle/V4 Johnson.
Backfire ;)

I thought that boat was a Baja.......?

T2x

[Backfire]

No BAJA. Alan designed and built the "Stinson Eagle" in Oak Ridge, Tn.
Backfire ;)

[Jeff_G]

I believe Ken was killed at a race in the Bahamas, I think a Nick Cribs produced race with the old NPA.

[Fish]

Here is one to add to the collection of hot multi's...

Keep an eye out for a new hammer down gallery coming soon, I just came across a bunch of pictures from the early 70's that I am going to scan.

fish

[willabee]

Here is one to add to the collection of hot multi's...

Yes, that's our favorite guy, Billy Don Pruett, in the original Triple Trouble 9' x 22' Jones. That boat with yellow trim and a sister ship with blue trim (the boat that Parker's father now owns) first appeared at the Parker 9 hour in 1969. Pruett drove the yellow one and Broadway Joe Habay drove the blue one. They looked pretty good early, both coming back on the first lap in the top ten, which didn't happen back then against the inboards. But, they both succumbed to mechanical problems. That was the beginning of our learning curve about how difficult it was to keep three engines running well on one boat for a six to nine hour period.

I recall Pruett driving that rig at Parker, Smith Mountain Lake, Havasu and the Miami Nationals. In that picture, the driver looks more like Habay than Pruett and if that is correct, it would be Smith Mountain where the two had to share a boat after frying three powerheads between them by testing with white gas! :mad:

They were supposed to be identical, but I knew they weren't because I did a lot of testing in them. I never trusted this one, and felt the blue one was faster and safer. When Jim Merten was hired, Gary Garbrecht asked him which one he wanted to race and Mert picked the yellow one. I continued to run various tests in the blue one. One day, Mert and I were having a beer (after work :)) and he was telling me that he was having trouble getting his triple to run the way he thought it should and I told him what I thought about the two boats. We took them out the next day and had our own little race and I could run circles around him. Since he was the better driver, it was obvious that the big difference was in the boats and he switched to the blue one. He went on to win the Galveston race with it before the new reverse 'S' Molinari twin arrived for him to run at Havasu.

[willabee]

Wasn't sure where to put this, but since this boat was a "Hot Multi", I figured this thread would be okay.

As we talked about on the "My Favorite Summer" thread, Merc took Renato Molinari's twin engine hull from the 1970 Havasu race and converted it to a small block KT in 1973. With the huge success of that project, Bob Nordskog decided to go that same route and purchased the 21' reverse "S" Molinari that Jim Merten drove to 2nd place in 1970 and Bill Sirois won with in 1971 at the Outboard World Championships. In my opinion, those were the two fastest OPC hulls on the water at that time. Powerboat magazine decided to do a series of articles about what it took to do the conversion and I thought you might like to see some of what they did.

The first shot is interesting to me because the boat has Billy Seebold's #190 on it rather than Sirois' #998. It has a small fuel tank installed, and what appears to be DSH'ings that are for the C6, so I'm thinking it was set up to run at the OPC Nationals in 72 or 73. One of three things is possible here.....I have completely forgotten about him running that boat, or the boat didn't test out well with that power and the project was abandoned or someone higher in the Merc chain of command than Team Manager (Jim Merten) and/or Director of Racing (Gary Garbrecht) found out about the project and said no. I would think that someone probably said that Merc agreed to stop supporting multi engine racing after Havasu in 1971, and they didn't want to go back on their word. If any of you recall that thing racing, please let me know. If not, Mr. T might be willing to ask Billy if he remembers the story about it.....that thing had to be a bullet if he did run a pair of C6's :cool:.

Here is a shot of the boat as Nordskog received it, a shot from above that shows how it was rigged as they start to tear it down and a shot of the rigging they removed. The article said the rigging represented 255 lbs.....not bad when you consider it was a twin and that weight included the front and rear cowls and the dash (batteries not included).

To be continued ................

[willabee]

The next photos show the boat completely stripped except for the batteries still in the nose. I remember when Merten came back from his first test, he told me that it was going to be a problem keeping that thing on the water. We cut an inspection cover into the nose cowling and moved the batteries from the rear to the location you see in the photo. After another quick test run, we moved the fuel tank forward before he gave it a wide open throttle run downwind.

The 2nd photo shows Norm Teague and Ted May cleaning it out with soap and water before beginning the conversion. Norm was the engine builder, boat rigger, jack of all trades for Nordskog. He was a really nice guy, I got to work with in in the pits a couple of times. May was a driver for OMC and I don't know what he did fulltime.....I'm just guessing he was hired to help with this project.

The 3rd photo shows the new transom being installed. It was made from two sheets of 5/8ths marine plywood bonded together and braced with .187 inch 6061, T6 aluminum.

[BrianSmith]

As we had a later Moly twin...with seperated (sponson) engine mounting.......duals always held an interest for us. (ours went to South Africa).
We had heard that Mercury tested some of their "old style" duals with C6's and had problems due to the rocker design (overpowered). The only other twin like ours was run by Petty and we always wondered why it didn't appear with the new power.
The rockers were ideal as KT's due to the lift they had for the extra weight and we guessed it was a wonderful way to "dispose" of them.
Merc wouldn't step up to our requests for C6's and only came thru with one for me in South Africa untill we received our new sprint (Miles) singles in Canada which we ran in the east.

[willabee]

A few more pictures from the conversion.....

You want to use power steering with this package, so they had to remove the cable system and install Merc's Ride Guide.They installed the inner transom plates with the power steering cylinder and power trim pump and decided to mount the battery in the rear for easier access.

The 2nd shot shows the stern drive and has an arrow pointing to the water pickup.....an inverted scoop mounted under the cavitation plate at the rear. It sent an abundance of water up through the exhaust bellows and into the engine and oil coolers. On the Merc test boat, we did have problems cracking the rubber bellows.....we could test with one, but have to install a new one before each race. We found we could change the operating temp, thus the performance, of the engine by changing the size of the water outlet fitting.

The last shot is the 350 cu.in. engine that came with the package just before installation. They added a few cosmetic features like the valve covers and carb scoop.....also went with new style Hooker headers.

To be continued..........

[willabee]

I think the guys at Nordskog Competition Center spent about two months on this conversion project. The last photos show them firing the engine after completing installation and they reported that it lit on the first turn-over. The boat then went to their paint shop for it's red, white and blue treatment. Finally they put the finished product in the water at Longbeach and Bob Nordskog saw Keller readings of 109 mph on it's first pass. Like the Merc project boat, this hull was a very good outboard and the same was true for it as a KT.

[MN4V]

willabee,
Do you know what Merc motors were used in the SJJ an FJJ classes?
Mark Nelson

[T2x]

willabee,
Do you know what Merc motors were used in the SJJ an FJJ classes?
Mark Nelson

The JJ(both F and S) class rules allowed twin engines up to 99.9 cu.in..stock.
The class started with twin 800's in the early 60's and progressed through the 1250 BP's and Evinrude/Johnson GT 115's in the late 60's. Up unyil 1965 the class could have been called "II" since no stock engines existed above 89.9 cu in and I class was limited to 80-89.9 cu. in.The rules also mandated a stock shifting lower unit or DR engine. The last generation of engines, the BP's and GT's were the factories' attempts to stretch the rules to the max. However, the tunnel hulls and their utilization of SSM's and full race powerheads ended the "glory days" of JJ.

T2x

[MN4V]

Do any of you remember Greg Horn from I think Washington state? He ran SJJ class.
So the 1250 BP had FNR shifting?
Mark

[willabee]

Do any of you remember Greg Horn from I think Washington state? He ran SJJ class.
So the 1250 BP had FNR shifting? .....Mark

Both the 1250 & 1000 BP's had FNR.....but when it came to actually shifting them, it was like the commercial says "performed by professionals only, don't try this at home" :D........ I don't recall Mr. Horn.

[MN4V]

During this time period did SJJ have power trim?
Mark

[Mark75H]

Do any of you remember Greg Horn from I think Washington state? He ran SJJ class.
So the 1250 BP had FNR shifting? Mark

The BP lower unit has its own thread here on SNF :)

[2us70]

At the time I got out of OPC (end of 1976) power trim was only recently legal in Sport classes. The JJ boats had just about gone extinct by then so I expect few if any ever had trim on them.

[willabee]

During this time period did SJJ have power trim?
Mark

Boy, you guys have managed to find another void in my memory banks. I remember FJJ, the last boat we played with for that class at Merc Racing was a Switzer V with a pair of 1250 BP's for Broadway Joe Habay, which did not have power trim. But SJJ.....who, what ran in that class? The twin tunnels ran in "T" and they had power trim.

Powerboat, 1969 says in OPC (then named Outboard Pleasure Craft), there were four divisions.....Family (F), Sports (S), Unlimited (U), and Unrestricted (R,S,T,X) craft.....
Family was boats sold at dealerships, production models with production engines.....a certain weight and no airtraps.
Sports was a production type boat, but you could move the drivers position, cut out weight, and use planing plates. No weight limit and production engines only.
Unlimited was a Sports class type boat but with engines that used a racing lower unit. Twins had a UU prefix to their number.
Unrestricted allowed just about anything with boat and engine except that engines had to be of US manufacture and run on gas and oil.

I'm looking at the results of the Nationals in Miami that year.....the list includes 16 classes with no SJJ or FJJ among them. They did run Sports J and Jock Hornor won, Family J was won by Joe Burgess (Sherlock finished 4th) and Jim Hunt had a 2nd and a 1st to beat out Bobby Soles who had a 1st and a 3rd to capture the U class win :).....they also ran UU and T.

[T2x]

. But SJJ.....who, what ran in that class? The twin tunnels ran in "T" and they had power trim.

Willabee: The "SJJ" boats were anything with a custom deck or hull...and shifting lower units. So a one of a kind Souter, or a PowerCat Bubble cat(custom deck-stock hull) would have been considered an "S" boat. Very few SJJ boats actually ran back than, since for basically the same money you could add SSM's and run considerably faster.

T2x

[MN4V]

Was the power trim the one that mounted at the bottom shock mount and bolted to the transom?
Mark

[T2x]

Was the power trim the one that mounted at the bottom shock mount and bolted to the transom?
Mark

I recall it mounting to the engine on both ends.

[willabee]

I recall it mounting to the engine on both ends.

There was only one available back then, the fat cylinders that mounted as described, from motor mounts to transom.....a reliable, but slow system. Seems some used that system as a single clyinder mounted to a "can" that went through the transom. It really helped the drivers when the quick, small cylinder system was developed.

SJJ.....I remember the Souters or Souter Sheeds (Sheads ?) as I believe they were properly called. I think it was a design by Don Sheed from England, a needle nose, very sharp V used in Offshore back in the day. We had a twin that we tried to use as a safety boat..... I think it was tougher to drive that than it was the tunnels that the safety boat was supposed to be looking after :).

I remember going to a party at Don Aronow's home in Coral Gables (?) before a Miami to Nassau race. Of course, the home was just beautiful.....huge, with a great pool in the rear that led to either the intercoastal or the bay (too long ago to remember exactly), let's just say it fronted a big body of salt water. As I wandered around inside this palace, I came to a dining area that had a table full of treats. You could grab some type of exotic fruit, fancy little finger sandwiches or just go for the candy that was in the big glass bowl.....a colorful assortment, but I'm pretty darned sure they weren't M&M's :rolleyes:.

Just looked at the time, gotta go.....might continue this

[T2x]

Souter..designed by Don Shead.

[willabee]

Souter..designed by Don Shead.

That picture of Snapper is exactly how they ran..... they spent as much time rolling from side to side as they did going forward :).

[willabee]

Gene said he has found some good stuff in his "picture closet" and wanted to share some of it :cool:.

The shots below are of the twin Molinari that Renato sent over for the 1969 Outboard World Championships in Havasu. I recall that the boat arrived late in Oshkosh and, other than steering, had to be completely rigged. I changed the departure schedule for some of the guys and a few of us stayed back to get this boat ready. Renato and his brother Georgio worked right along side of us until it was done. I also remember that it was about 6" over the eight foot limit for towing. When I found out about all of the BS you have to go through to tow a "wide-load" and how slow you have to drive, I just said we'll have to take the chance of getting caught. If we didn't, I don't think there was enough time to get it to Havasu legally.

I was installing the fuel tank and Renato hollered at me to stop. He took the fasteners that I was about to use to secure the tank to the aluminum angle in the boat and acted as if they were so heavy he couldn't lift them. He also pointed at the angle and moved his thumb and index finger back and forth to say it was too thick. He didn't speak, just shook his head "no" as he grunted trying to lift the fasteners. I looked at Georgio and he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I, of course, proceeded to find lighter fasteners and installed thinner angle..... my first lesson from Renato being complete :). I don't know if we saved much more than a pound on that fuel tank installation, but Renato was happy.

The first shot shows Renato in the boat doing some last minute thing before testing. It also shows that he was running BP gearcases which makes me think that that boat must have been pretty wild.....the BP cases usually made the twins much more forgiving. The second one shows that maybe the boat should have been rigged just a little heavier :rolleyes:. The third is the boat after repair and new paint, waiting for the start of the 1970 Parker 9 Hour, with Bill Sirois driving. I don't recall what happened to the boat in that race, but I think it got damaged again. That's Dave Beier in the white pants/blue jacket talking to Bill. It looks like his 1970 Havasu winning Molinari is just behind his #998.....Billy Don Pruett ran it that year with some experimental powerheads.

To be continued......

[willabee]

When you look at the photo below, you can see that this boat was named Miss Titti. Although it doesn't look like it, that name is pronunced "teetee". It was the name of Renato's girlfriend at that time and he was generally quick to correct an American that he overheard mispronounce her name. There were the usual smirks and such from competitors as they stopped to look at this boat in the pits (because of the name), but those sarcastic grins faded quickly when they saw that thing on the water :cool:.

On one of the trips for the European races, we stayed at the Villa d'Este on Lake Como while we were working on the boats at his shop. One evening Renato, Titti, Georgio and a couple others came to our hotel and we meet in the lounge. A neat place, pretty much Americanized in terms of decor and music. At some point that evening, after I had consumed a six-pack of backbone, the DJ played T Rex"s Bang A Gong.....a good fast dance number. I asked Ms. Titti if she wanted to trip the light fantastic with me on the dance floor. She looked at Renato to see if it would be okay, he smiled at her and wiggled his shoulders as if to say "let it all hang out" . We were out there lookin' like John Travolta & Uma Thurman :D and when we finished I reluctantly returned her to Renato. He had this huge grin on his mug as he leaned over and whispered "As a dancer, you make a great boat rigger!".....remember, on the previous post I told you what he thought of my boat rigging skills :o .

From Gene Lanham's collection, here are a couple more shots of the boat before and after the flip. I also added a shot of the Villa d'Este, at the time I think it was ranked one of the ten most beautiful hotels in the world.....these days, a Lake view room runs around $1700 per day :eek:.

[willabee]

One other thing I'd like to mention is that if Renato doesn't flip that boat, I suspect that the outcome of the race would have been different. I say that because Cesare Scotti won driving a twin Molinari, a new boat, but the old style. This green entry was the first radical change in design that Renato had made on his twins since the style used by Glastron/Molinari.....the same as Sirios used at this race and very similar to Scotti's twin. I think this boat was the first reverse S that Molinari built and think he needed more testing time before trying to run it flat out. I recall that Merten needed quite a bit of test time to get the reverse S that he ran at Havasu in 1970 balanced. Those boats needed to run flatter in the nose like the photo below. When they got their nose up like the boats in the other two pictures, they became kites :eek:.

Since Renato knows exactly what Scotti is going to be driving at Havasu, it's a good bet that he built something that ran over as much water and was faster for his entry. After this green twin, he built another reverse S. Although fast, that boat also proved to be a little testy to run and he then built the engines over sponsons twin. That thing seemed to run over any water and was faster than it's predecessors. During this time frame he also built some multi engine boats for his use that never came to the States. I do remember one was a triple and was the reverse S design.....we ran it at Paris with a single C6 sitting on the transom.

Here are shots of the original twin design, the reverse S that won Havasu in 1971 and the engines over sponsons twins.....I think it was Mark75H that posted a really good explaination of the reverse S concept. I can't find it and thought maybe he wouldn't mind posting it again :cool:.

[BrianSmith]

I can attest that these were awesome boats. After the original Glastron we had (sold to Paul Fingold), it was a joy to drive. I guess part of it was that the Glastron rode so high it was scary to look down at the water!
A far superior design.

[willabee]

I'm thinking that in 1969, there were six 9x22 Jones boats on the race circuit. Two triples with engines in the tunnel, two triples with engines spread and two sterndrives. Billy Don Pruett drove one of the engines in the tunnel, Triple Trouble, to win the Elsinore 500 and I don't remember that boat ever coming back to Oshkosh. The other was owned by Lou Burnette and he kept his quite a while.....it first ran Mercurys, then OMCs and then he converted it to a KT with the package we had developed with the Gary Peacock Molinari in 1973.

The photo below of #39 is from the Parker 9 Hour, 1970. Based on how many triples I think were out there, this might be that rascal Renato Switzer Jones (you know, the great tunnel drivin'.........), but my guess is that this shot is Bob Massey in what was Pruett's Triple Trouble. Bob blew over and hurt himself pretty badly during that race. He recovered, but I believe the accident had some lingering effects :(.

I was talking to Lanham about the number of 9x22 Jones boats around back then and he said that I had forgotten about the one with four (4) engines in the tunnel! I told him that no such boat ever existed and he told me I was wrong.....again :o. He claimed not only to have tested it, but that he also "snuck" a picture of it (top secret project of course) while he was driving! I said I'd believe it when I saw "the Picture".....this is what he sent :D.

[T2x]

He claimed not only to have tested it, but that he also "snuck" a picture of it (top secret project of course) while he was driving! I said I'd believe it when I saw "the Picture".....this is what he sent :D.


Well you can't argue with verified photographic evidence.............:D :D :D .

T2x

[Mark75H]

Are you sure he isn't pulling your leg with a picture of an offshore boat with 2 long BP's and 2 short BP's? The boat closest behind looks like an offshore boat and the background looks ... tropical;)

[willabee]

Well you can't argue with verified photographic evidence.............:D :D :D .....T2x

Ain't that the truth.....after all, anyone that has been around these boats for any length of time can tell immediately by looking at that wake that it was caused by a "four in the tunnel" 9x22 Jones. Besides, Mark75H, I don't really think that Gene "offshore throttleman" Lanham would try to pull my leg. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[willabee]

Her's a couple of shots of Gene and Redbird.....The first was taken as he ran in the 1971 Miami Nationals 3 hour Marathon in the stadium. He claims he won that event (you can decide for yourself on that statement) and that his toughest competion was an 18' Jones with stacked 1350's. Said the Jones would pull him in the turns and get a 800/1000' lead and then he would run it down on the straightaway. Ultimately, the Jones spent more time in the pits and Gene was able to settle back in his recliner. He said that he ran his 1350 powerheads from 1971 through 1973 and only opened them once to replace reed blocks.....he also installed his own water injection kit :eek:.

T2x, he says the boat is definately not performing a lope.....however, he added that it might be doing a hop :). I don't know where the other shot was taken, but it seems to be doing a bit of a swirl, maybe coming out of a turn. Ya know, with all that hopping and swirling, he might have been boat racings version of The Gong Show's Mean Gene the Dancing Machine :D.....Have to give him credit, they are great pictures :cool:.

[jlf56]

Willabee, In post # 87 you ask who was driving # 301, it was Kenneth Mann from Houston, TX. I think that was 70 Havasu but could have been Parker.

Fielder

[willabee]

Willabee, In post # 87 you ask who was driving # 301, it was Kenneth Mann from Houston, TX. I think that was 70 Havasu but could have been Parker......Fielder

Hi Joe, thanks for the reply.....I don't really remember that boat, it was a photo that Old fiberglass had posted with some other stuff and asked if I knew who it was.

Could be wrong, but I seem to recall that back around 70, the Merc team referred to you as "Little Joe". If that's right, I'm thinking Keith "Stoney" Hurst may have given you that nickname.....you being a cool dude from Texas and that being the name of the Bonanza star and Stoney liking all that western stuff and such :). I read some of your other posts and saw where you mentioned Keith and Richie. Sorry to say that we lost Keith in about 71.....cancer.The Richie you mentioned is Richie Powers..... happy to say he is alive and well and did a little posting on here a while back.

I dealt mainly with Harold Wilkerson back then, remember him well......good man, always a pleasure to talk with. Harold kept asking me to come to work for Glastron, don't know if he was asking on his own or if Bob Hammond was behind it. Doesn't really matter, never gave the offer much serious consideration anyway.

Good to hear from you.............

[jlf56]

Bill, Thanks for the response. I think I still have a photo from 1967 of you, Renato and that beautiful interpreture (sp) that he brought with him. It was taken on top of the hill by the boat ramp at Havasu next to his twin.
Man that was a long time ago. I am pleased to have found this website. Have wondered for years what had become of everyone. Harold died back in the early ninetys in Austin, Hammond, if alive is probably hiding under a rock. Roy Reeves, the guy that ran through Merten at Galveston I suppose is still around Austin, haven't seen him since '88. I live on the coast in Port O'Connor, tX and have a very speedy 18' alu. flounder boat (31 mph). I posted somewhere on this board about Don's monkey Flint, do you remember the monkey? Don & I had that Stoway Cove Marina shop in St Beach from 72 -- 73. That was an interesting year. What is Renato doing these days? Roy Regil's brother Robert also lives in this part of the country. Did you ever know him? He is the complete opposite of Roy.
Stay in touch, Joe

[willabee]

Bill, Thanks for the response. I think I still have a photo from 1967 of you, Renato and that beautiful interpreture (sp) that he brought with him. It was taken on top of the hill by the boat ramp at Havasu next to his twin..... What is Renato doing these days?

I'd guess the photo is 69 and the lady is Carlo Rasini's daughter, can't recall her name at the moment. Carlo drove a single that year and brought his son Mario and his daughter with him to Havasu. Amongst his interests, Carlo owned a bank in Milan. That made his daughter a "Triple Crown Winner" in my book.....beautiful, intelligent and wealthy ;).

I haven't kept up with Renato, don't know what he does for a livelihood. I saw where you said he looks a little heavy these days.....bet when he takes the money belts off at night, he still only weighs about 140 :D.

[willabee]

I recall John McCall building a twin engine " Molinari" looking boat back in about 1969. I got the idea that it was ordered by the "Factory" and Jeff Titus was to be one of the drivers. Never saw it run or heard of it after that. What was the story on that boat?

Gene sent some more cool stuff this week and included is this shot of the 21' McCall twin, the Molinari copy we were talking about :cool:. This is Havasu 69 with Jeff Titus driving.....apparently, this was it's first race, not Parker 1970.

He also sent this shot of a "Mystery Twin", also from Havasu 1969.....he was wondering if this might be the wood Dutchman prototype Old fiberglass has been talking about. I don't know what it is, what do you guys think?......kind of DeSilva looking

Looking over the top of Big Job McCall, I see four Switzer Wings. It looks like two are the 20' models and without looking this up, I think this was their first race....I think the yellowish 20' furthest from the camera is the boat Bob Switzer brought to race, but he got hit on the start and never went anywhere.

Note the Ride-Guide steering on both the McCall and the 18' Glastron/Molinari next to it :).

[T2x]

Old fiberglass [/B]has been talking about. I don't know what it is, what do you guys think?......kind of DeSilva looking

Wow!..That thing sure is sleak and a heck of a lot better looking than the DeSilva's.....

T2x

[willabee]

Wow!..That thing sure is sleak and a heck of a lot better looking than the DeSilva's.....T2x

I never thought that style wise, DeSilva Wings looked that good either..... different, yes, but on the trailer........however, hauling arse (Jackie Wilson's word) on a straightaway, they looked like Miss America :cool:. We need to figure out what this thing really is.....

Now that we have a photo, do you remember the twin McCall?

[2us70]

The twin McCall "BIGJOB" was just being finished in John's quonset hut shop when I last saw it. I was running a SE McCall tunnell with a Merc 500 at the time.John and I could get it to carry any weight so we agreed to trade it back to him for a v-bottom. The other boat in the shop that day was Paul Angel's SE kilo record flat bottom and I fell in love with lines of that boat. John agreed to build me a v-bottom version and that became the boat that I had the most success with during my racing carreer. Even though I never saw "BIGJOB" again I remembered it because the configuration of my all time favorite race boat was arrived at standing next to "BIGJOB". Today my desktop wallpaper is a picture of the boat John and I came up with that day.

[MagicFloat]

John's boats were more than raceboats,each one was a work of art. If you could find your old SE boat,I imagine you would pay anything to get it back. I am running down some strong leads on the SG boat he built for us in 1975,and recently found the SJ he built us in 1974(the 1974 Christmas card boat). Unfortunately one sponson is ripped off,the current owner wants to restore it but I'm afraid it is a near impossible project.

[2us70]

My wife lives in fear of me finding that boat in any condition. It would be worth the time and effort to restore it just to be able to make a few passes once in a while at least until I can't drive a kneeldown rig. I recently had the chance to make a couple of laps in an A stock flatbottom boat so I still remember how

[T2x]

I never thought that style wise, DeSilva Wings looked that good either..... different, yes, but on the trailer........however, hauling arse (Jackie Wilson's word) on a straightaway, they looked like Miss America :cool:. We need to figure out what this thing really is.....

Now that we have a photo, do you remember the twin McCall?

The Twin McCall was a kneel down and looked nothing like the hull in the picture.... It looked like a McCall.
This new (to us) boat almost looks like the offspring of a wooden Switzer Wing and a wooden Switzer Shooting Star.

Maybe there was a wooden Dutchman?

T2x

[willabee]

The Twin McCall was a kneel down and looked nothing like the hull in the picture.... It looked like a McCall.
This new (to us) boat almost looks like the offspring of a wooden Switzer Wing and a wooden Switzer Shooting Star.....Maybe there was a wooden Dutchman?.....T2x

So the twin McCall/Molinari BigJob, never did run at Smith Mountain Lake.....a kneel down version only.

So far, I don't have a better thought than the infamous wooden Dutchman.....maybe Old fiberglass can come up with a picture of it from Jan :cool:.

[T2x]

So the twin McCall/Molinari BigJob, never did run at Smith Mountain Lake.....a kneel down version only.[/B]

I remember seeing a twin McCall at Smith Mountain Lake, but it was kneeldown. I want to say Steve Stepp drove it for Bob Thompson...but I could very well be mistaken in that old memory cell.

T2x

[willabee]

Gene sent a shot of the "calm before the storm".....in this case it's him and Dick Williams, at the start of what he calls "the loudest and smokiest sporting event in history" :) - Havasu 1969.The second shot is of those two guys all loaded up and ready to start the trek to Havasu.

To me, that was always an exciting time.....the beginning of the trip to a race. A whole bunch of planning and time mixed with major effort and concern by a large number of dedicated people had resulted in that special moment. I would look into our lot and everything I saw was sparkling clean and ready to run. There were Mercury trucks sitting side by side, each with some type of really cool or exotic racing machine strapped behind.....the guys comparing travel plans, everyone smiling. We had worked hard and were about to enjoy a few days on the road..... just looking at the country. We had great expectations that the results of our labor would again make us very proud to be involved in this exciting and educational experience.....:cool:

[2us70]

The kneeldown twin McCall was built for Bob Thompson. I recall seeing it run a couple of times both with Mercury and OMC power. John blew that boat over in Tavares, FL trying to sort out a complaint from Thompson about it's performance. I never knew what became of the "BIGJOB" boat after I saw it in the shop. I had the impression that Jeff was going to run the boat and it looks like that was correct. The name "BIGJOB" would indicate Titus was the principle driver since all of Jeff's single engine I&J class boats were named "ODDJOB". I also got the impression that the "BIGJOB" was commision built and not a John McCall design.

[MN4V]

Here are few photos of the Del Craft SJJ boat. I need photos of when Greg Horn had two motors on it.
Mark

[MN4V]

A few more photos.

[Mark Poole ModVP]

Growing up here in the Southeast I got to see an old famous boat that dominated OPC racing in these parts. It was named the "Wild Geechee" It was built by a cabinet builder. I have heard that this boat was a modified copy of a McCall and the performance of it improved after it was "pickleforked". Earl Bentz raced this boat as did Danny Pigott. This boat is now restored and is kept in storage in S.C. complete with one of D.F. Jenks engines on it.

A larger boat of the same basic design was built for twin engines and taken to the Havasu race around this same time, 69-70, I think. Since many of you who are contributing to this thread were there (at Havasu) do you remember the boat I am talking about? Not sure who drove it, I have heard Bucky Morris drove it.

Mark

[T2x]

Growing up here in the Southeast I got to see an old famous boat that dominated OPC racing in these parts. It was named the "Wild Geechee" It was built by a cabinet builder. I have heard that this boat was a modified copy of a McCall and the performance of it improved after it was "pickleforked". Earl Bentz raced this boat as did Danny Pigott. This boat is now restored and is kept in storage in S.C. complete with one of D.F. Jenks engines on it.

A larger boat of the same basic design was built for twin engines and taken to the Havasu race around this same time, 69-70, I think. Since many of you who are contributing to this thread were there (at Havasu) do you remember the boat I am talking about? Not sure who drove it, I have heard Bucky Morris drove it.

Mark

I remember Bucky Morris driving the single engine Wild Geechees, (I always thought there were two of them). I also remember the twin engine, I don't think it did very well. Shortly after that Bucky Morris was in a Molinari/single.

T2x

[willabee]

...famous boat that dominated OPC racing in these parts. It was named the "Wild Geechee" ...
A larger boat of the same basic design was built for twin engines and taken to the Havasu race around this same time, 69-70, I think.


I have a vague recollection of the twin Geechee being at Havasu, but don't recall what it looked like. It would have run OMC power back then.....the mystery boat shown in post #213 has Merc's. I also think that there were two single engine Geechee's, one driven by Earl Bentz and one driven by Bucky. It could be that they co-drove one boat at Havasu, but that sure seems like a lot of talent to be sitting on the beach for half of the race.

[T2x]

I have a vague recollection of the twin Geechee being at Havasu, but don't recall what it looked like. It would have run OMC power back then.....the mystery boat shown in post #213 has Merc's. I also think that there were two single engine Geechee's, one driven by Earl Bentz and one driven by Bucky. It could be that they co-drove one boat at Havasu, but that sure seems like a lot of talent to be sitting on the beach for half of the race.

Yeah ...but that was before Earl Bentz was....... EARL BENTZ.

[willabee]

Yeah ...but that was before Earl Bentz was....... EARL BENTZ.

:D :D :D .....True, but I'm pretty sure it was his drive in a single OMC Geechee at Havasu that got Merc's attention.

[willabee]

First shot is a 20' Jones that appears to be running stock powerheads.....I can't see any pipes or logs in the photo. The writing on the nose says Ala Moana Hotel. That hotel is in Oahu or Waikiki and what looks like a lei is packed around the gas caps. Although I don't recall it, it sure makes me think this was driven by Dave Packer. I looked real hard at the guy in the black outfit for another clue, but that just turned out to be Denis Berghauer :)..... I think this is 1970.

On post #62 I told you about a home we rented and used for headquarters while at Havasu. The 2nd shot is also 1970 and it shows that home and some of the yard storage. Our parts truck Day Tripper is in the driveway with side doors open. The boat along side of the truck is another 20' Jones, this one driven by our favorite guy Billy Don Pruett.....probably needing new powerheads and it probably was only Wednesday :). I'm pretty sure that the stars & stripes boat is the twin McCall BIGJOB shown on post # 213. I think John Henry Price had bought it, applied the new paint and put new stackers on it. Next to it under the orange cover is Bob Hering's new 17' Molinari.....he is probably all through testing and just waiting for the race. Tom Stickle had one just like this and set a single engine speed record on Saturday.....Hering broke it on Sunday. The yellow #5 is Fred Miles new Milesmaster. That is the boat that was used by Al Martin, Chick Gagen and Gary Peacock to start Zonkercraft. If you look closely, you can see Pruett's boat cowling on the bed of an old blue truck. Immediately to the left of that is a light blue boat.....that's the one T2x was running that year .....he said that he wanted to park it near the parts truck in hopes that some speed would rub off.

The 3rd shot is of our refueling rig and dock. I can see four 4" hoses coming from just underneath the banner. I don't remember how many galllons of fuel each one of the tanks held, but there were four of them. Jim Emerson used the lower tanks to mix the gas and oil and then pumped it to the upper tanks for the gravity feed. It wasn't much fun towing that rig from Wisconsin. The banner says "Mercury Twister Racing Team". The guy in the sunglasses is Roy Ridgell, Mgr.European Racing and the man he is talking to is Dr. Ted Morgan, the C6 engineer (think Morgan/Square carbs.....6 of them). This is also 1970 and we have a few C6 engines in this race.

[Mark Poole ModVP]

I got to see Earl drive the Geechee One when I was kid. The boat would outrun other boats with way more horsepower because they designed it to be fast on sprint courses. The boat would also turn incredibly fast in its day.

That got a lot of attention for him. In the '72 havasu race he drove a Mcdonald tunnel with a V-4. Finished 7th which was quite impressive with that set up. I did see that boat run in the summer of '72 and it was the fastest Mcdonald that I ever saw. I think the next year he was driving for Mercury.

[willabee]

The first shot is the left side of our refueling dock just before the start of the 1971 Havasu race. The two men standing on the beach are Dick Lanpheer and Ray Reid, both engineers from Plt#6 two cycle development. Lanpheer was the lead engineer for the TII carburation system. Starting on the right and going left are the twins of Petty, Sirois, Pruett and Eis. On the dock I see Jimmy Kubasta and Dave Beier with the #998 between them.

The second shot is the right side of the refueling dock. The red Molinari off the end of the dock is Tom Stickle and that looks like Ken Ballou holding him. Moving left is Mike Downard with either Bill Allen or Jim Merten holding him. Next is Renato in the life jacket, apparently waiting for his holder to arrive. The last one is Denis and Duey Berghauer, looks like Mike Goerlitz holding. Milling around yet I can see a Canadian entry, #17 which looks like a Milesmaster and a bunch of OMC team boats.....#'s 196 - 31 - 3 - 30 - 289.....I think that means Sanders, McConnell, Briggs, ????? and Schubert.

The last is the start, Boom, they're off.....Stickle's C6 didn't light, Renato's C6 is just pulling away as is Downards TI. There are also three OMC boats that haven't fired yet. Looks like 4 singles in front of Petty's twin as they approach the first buoy, Sirois is about 8th.....I don't think that I've started to breathe again just yet.....Man, that was really exciting stuff!!!!!:cool: :) :cool:

[willabee]

Well you can't argue with verified photographic evidence.............:D :D :D .....T2x

Boy, in this case your words couldn't be more accurate!!! I'm afraid I have to tell you guys that I have been in error about the power used by Bill Sirois in 1971. Someone had asked if the boat he won with in 1971 was the same one Jim Merten finished 2nd with in 1970. My answer was all we did was change numbers and put Up, Up and Away on it. That meant we built fresh cowbells for that race. Well, the picture below clearly shows that Sirois ran TI silo's in 1971.....sorry about that error. I could swear that we had put new cowbells on it.....I guess we must have sent them all to Canada :rolleyes:.

Anyway, the first shot is the man getting ready to test at Havasu in 1971. I remember (and in this case I really do :o ) walking towards the prop truck right after Bill had driven this boat for the first time. He was talking with someone that had come to Havasu with him and I overheard him say something like " This is going to be a piece of cake. I think I will test a few more props just to make it look like I'm working on a setup, but this turkey is ready" :cool: .....and he was right.

I also remember talking with Merten after the 1970 race. During the Mercury Team meeting before the start of the Sunday run in 1970, Garbrecht had reminded all the drivers that we had this race in the bag and that we were not going to screw it up by racing each other. All Merc drivers were instructed to "stay in line".....Mert was in the overall first position after the Saturday run and Sirois was in second. Mert told me that at one point during the first hour on Sunday, Sirois came on by him. He said he pushed the throttle down a little more and pulled along side of Bill and motioned for him to get back in line.....Bill did and a little later Mert had the electrical fire and Bill took the lead. I imagine that Sirois wondered just how much better Merten's boat really was when that little incident happened in 1970 and now he knew.....that's why he was so confident.

The second shot is the same boat, the same race. Using a magnifying glass, I can see Molly Ballou, our "Den Mother" in the yellow jacket at the rear of the boat. It sure looks like Olegator is standing next to her. I think the guy leaning on the nose is Richie Powers. Those people standing there sure make that boat look big, but like a wise man once said, "At Havasu, Big is Good".

[T2x]

Boy, in this case your words couldn't be more accurate!!! I'm afraid I have to tell you guys that I have been in error about the power used by Bill Sirois in 1971. Someone had asked if the boat he won with in 1971 was the same one Jim Merten finished 2nd with in 1970. My answer was all we did was change numbers and put Up, Up and Away on it. That meant we built fresh cowbells for that race. Well, the picture below clearly shows that Sirois ran TI silo's in 1971.....sorry about that error. I could swear that we had put new cowbells on it.....I guess we must have sent them all to Canada :rolleyes:.

Anyway, the first shot is the man getting ready to test at Havasu in 1971. I remember (and in this case I really do :o ) walking towards the prop truck right after Bill had driven this boat for the first time. He was talking with someone that had come to Havasu with him and I overheard him say something like " This is going to be a piece of cake. I think I will test a few more props just to make it look like I'm working on a setup, but this turkey is ready" :cool: .....and he was right.

I also remember talking with Merten after the 1970 race. During the Mercury Team meeting before the start of the Sunday run in 1970, Garbrecht had reminded all the drivers that we had this race in the bag and that we were not going to screw it up by racing each other. All Merc drivers were instructed to "stay in line".....Mert was in the overall first position after the Saturday run and Sirois was in second. Mert told me that at one point during the first hour on Sunday, Sirois came on by him. He said he pushed the throttle down a little more and pulled along side of Bill and motioned for him to get back in line.....Bill did and a little later Mert had the electrical fire and Bill took the lead. I imagine that Sirois wondered just how much better Merten's boat really was when that little incident happened in 1970 and now he knew.....that's why he was so confident.

The second shot is the same boat, the same race. Using a magnifying glass, I can see Molly Ballou, our "Den Mother" in the yellow jacket at the rear of the boat. It sure looks like Olegator is standing next to her. I think the guy leaning on the nose is Richie Powers. Those people standing there sure make that boat look big, but like a wise man once said, "At Havasu, Big is Good".

Man, that boat was beautiful!

[willabee]

Here's the last of the goodys Jackie sent.....The first shot looks like it was taken at the rented home. This is 1970 Havasu and the white Molinari is the fastest boat that was in that race. I think that it is the last of the twin outboard hulls that he built. We didn't have any new ones for the 1971 race and factory racing went to single engine boats in 1972. He began to build big picklefork hulls for KT racing in late 74 or 1975.

That is Richie Powers doing a powerhead check before Renato Molinari goes out to test. There is no doubt that if Renato doesn't blow a gearcase with about a half hour left in the Saturday run, he wins the whole shebang. Behind him you can see the boat that did win. Bill Sirois is sitting in the cockpit and Jerry Kohnke (the race teams main rigger) is standing at the rear. Looks like the man just to the right of Richie's head talking to Sirois is Renato.

The second shot is 1971 Havasu, with a magnifying glass I can see Sirois in the #998 twin just to the right of the refueling docks observation platform. My guess is that he just left the dock after refueling and, for some reason, is having a little trouble getting up to speed.....we know that problem didn't last long :). I believe I can identify everyone in the photo, left to right.....Jim Emerson, Dave Beier, Renato (on top of the refueling rig, Bob Hering must have just taken over driving duties in the "cockpit forward" C6 he ran that year), Gary Garbrecht, Jim Merten, Bill Allen, me, Chuck Mettner and Rick LaMore.....more fond memorys :D.

[willabee]

I can't find where we were talking about Bob Nordskog, but I think it was Raceman that had asked some questions about him and in my response I said that I guessed that his 22' Jones KT was about a 125 mph boat.

In Powerboat, June,1974, Bob's KT is featured in a full page ad for Champion. It says that he ran 111.738 at the Parker, Az. speed trials in 1972. He came back the next year and, at age 60, used the same boat and engine to run 119.223. The next day he improved that mark to 125.569. It's nice to be right about something once in a while :).

The reason for the big speed gain was the new props that were being developed for the KT project boat that Gary Peacock had raced for us in 1973 (My Favorite Summer). I believe Bob had been using the only stuff available, a two blade elephant ear. The new props were big 3 blade cleavers, much more efficient and probably even safer.

Here is the Powerboat ad and a reminder of what the Merc KT project boat looked like, and almost didn't look like :eek:!

[Old fiberglass]

A little more triva. The picture of Ed Steward that Willabee posted running the red wing is the Miss Diablo 3 after Kenny sold it to him.

Also, bumped into a guy who was involved with the 444 ocean racer that ran 4 Mercs. Posted pictures of it here - http://www.retroboats.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=151 Willabee what was the typical fuel burn per hour for a single inline of that era ?? Was told the hull became the first Scrabb.

[willabee]

Also, bumped into a guy who was involved with the 444 ocean racer that ran 4 Mercs. Posted pictures of it here - http://www.retroboats.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=151 Willabee what was the typical fuel burn per hour for a single inline of that era ??

The stacked 1350 burned 17 gallons per hour at W.O.T. The Twister and TI about the same. The C6 used 20 and the TII about 22.

Beware, T2x might tell you that, based on his experience, they burned a lot less. If he does say that, I'd have to say that, based on his experience, he is probably right. However, remember that the numbers I just gave you are at W.O.T. and, according to the Canadian Merc Racing Team members, T2x rarely ran a race boat at Wide Open Throttle :D.

[T2x]

The stacked 1350 burned 17 gallons per hour at W.O.T. The Twister and TI about the same. The C6 used 20 and the TII about 22.

Beware, T2x might tell you that, based on his experience, they burned a lot less. If he does say that, I'd have to say that, based on his experience, he is probably right. However, remember that the numbers I just gave you are at W.O.T. and, according to the Canadian Merc Racing Team members, T2x rarely ran a race boat at Wide Open Throttle :D.

True, but I also drank the excess AV Gas after the race........ :D

Actually, I was going to say that, "based on my experience", you burned the actual HP divided by 10 ....i.e 150 HP = 15 gallons per hour, 330 HP (current 300X's)=33 gals/hr...etc. So if a T2x was producing 190-210 HP you figured 19-21 Gals/Hr.

Now I must agree with Willabee that a race engine, when run at W.O.T. on a dyno or bolted to a dock on the Fox River (Willabee's normal "driving" conditions...:p ), the hourly burn was a bit higher....but....those test engines never backed off for turns or, in my case, near misses, barrel rolls, flips and spinouts.

Bottom line, I may not have been fast....but I never ran out of fuel either...;)

T2x

[willabee]

..... bolted to a dock on the Fox River (Willabee's normal "driving" conditions...:p

Nice shot.....

Your rule of dividing by 10 is actually pretty close, I've never heard anyone suggest that before. However, in our case at Racing, if the engineers said max was 20, I'm having a 20.5 fuel tank built for that boat. When they forgot to tell us (I suppose you could argue that I forgot to ask) that the TII used a couple more than the C6, it was rather embarrassing at the 74 Miami Winter Nationals :o.

[T2x]

Willabee:

In all seriousness, the guys from the East Coast OPC scene (Like me, Linder, Gene Bianco, Ken Kalibat, Marty O'Neill and others), missed the whole point on the "lightweight" racing point of view. Fuel supply was an afterthought and my 10 to 1 formula worked just fine. We were constantly racing in Bays and point to point marathons, in very rough conditions. That meant that we were always using ballast tanks and shot bags to try and create perfect balance when airborne. My 15' Powercat/twin merc 1000's for instance had a tunnel tab and a ballast tank. We tended to kick *ss in rough water over the early flimsy Allisons and Checkmates (especially the earliest flat bottoms.....yes Checkmate made a flat bottom, the very first "Belcobalsa" hulls).

Later, when some of us (The more foolhardy) ventured into tunnels we kept the same mindset. My first Molinari hull (an ex Paris boat) had a bow ballast tank and I thought I had scored a real coup. Much to my chagrin, I quickly discovered I had a big disadvantage instead. A year later I was removing washers from bolts, drilling lightening holes, and measuring fuel with a shot glass.....just like everybody else.

This lack of weight emphasis carried over to the Shadow Cats where we had no concern with weight since we had both top speed and great rough water handling. Because everybody else built a boat that was at least as heavy or heavier, we had a free pass to victory lane without putting the boats on a diet.

A few years later a guy from Douglas, Michigan figured it out and the ultralight Skaters dominate to this day.

T2x

[willabee]

..... missed the whole point on the "lightweight" racing point of view.

I know exactly what you're talking about. When we started with this stuff at Merc, we didn't know there was going to be a racing team. Didn't know that equipment was going to evolve so quickly that some stuff seemed almost obsolete before we got it rigged. Had no idea that the level of competition between the companys would reach a point that budgets seemed to be totally forgotten.

When we first started rigging these hulls, we did it with the idea of making them stronger so they would last longer. We added aluminum angle and flat plates to the transoms to beef them up. We used material to secure fuel tanks so that the boat would have to break in half before a tank could possibly strike a driver, and so on. Matter of fact, we would pull a tank out of something we were not using as long as it had the capacity we required. If it was twice the capacity we needed, it didn't matter because we weren't going to fill it anyway. Surely you remember the notched sticks for checking how much fuel was in a tank.....

Oh, that's a Billy Don Pruett memory..... He had someone back his trailer down the ramp and then signalled the driver to stop. He had his jacket and helmet on, but got back out of the cockpit and then reached into it and pulled out his fuel stick. I asked what he was doing and, somewhat irritated by the question, he said "well what the hell does it look like, I'm checking my fuel level". I said "Good, that means you won't be out there long". He looked at me kind of puzzled and then did that great laugh of his, shook his head as he was smiling and said "probably would have been smarter to check it when the boat was level huh?" :D

Anyway, as we started evolving into what would become the race team, things started to change. We knew we had to become much more sophisticated and becoming weight conscious was a natural step to take.

Just for grins, go back and read post #199 on this thread.....just when we thought we had a handle on rigging, here comes the Maestro ;).

[willabee]

From Jackie Wilson's stuff I came across a great photo of Molly Ballou. Some of you guys were talking about this hydro on a different thread a few weeks back, I don't know if this photo helps that conversation or not.

Molly and her husband Ken had a Merc dealership in Hemet, Ca. They were obviously involved in drag racing out west. Tinker Collinge drove this Jones for them and I believe he set some twin engine records. Molly also set a record for a female driver in that class, going over 100 in the quarter mile.

She was affectionately referred to our Den Mother :) and was a great help when we attended races out west. She took care of a lot of different things for the Racing team, ranging from organizing the scorers for the Team boats to cooking some kind of game hen for our Thanksgiving dinner. She knew we put in some wicked hours before those races and often times would show up at our headquarters late in the evening just to see if she could get us something to eat. Sure hope we all told her how much we did appreciate her help.

I should add that while she was doing her thing, Ken was always working with us on something also. He would help set up the refueling equipment and help with the refueling during the race. If you needed something done, he was always willing to help.....didn't matter what it was. Just good people, I'm glad I got to know them.

[Mark75H]

Over on BRF someone crossed paths with Molly a few weeks ago ... she's still kickin' :)

[MN4V]

I talked with Tinker today. He has been in contact with Molly and is sending me some of her personal photos of her boat being built and raced. This is going to be a big help in building the replica of her boat.
Mark N

[willabee]

I talked with Tinker today. He has been in contact with Molly ......

Thanks guys, it's great to hear that Molly is alive and well :) :) ......When you talk to Tinker, see if he has any recollection of being in the coffee shop at the Edgewater Hyatt House in Long Beach in about 1970. It would have been around 9 PM, after the Invitational had been run and he was talking racing with some guy when a distraction came into the restaurant :D :D.

[MN4V]

What brand of boat is that John? And is this boat related to the Just Add Water boats in Indy?
Mark

[MN4V]

Yes, But Twin Mercury Stackers at 6000 RPM Are Better!!!!

That's Cool that you met someone who has some history in OPC. I'm sure it will continue the more we show our OPC Vintage boats.
Mark

[MN4V]

I did post about how good your photos are on the OFFICAL WEB SITE OF VINTAGE AND HISTORIC DIVISION OF APBA web site, but I guess I'm baned from posting there because I'm a OPC guy.So my post got deleted. Too bad for me I guess!! Not!!!!!!!!

So why is it we don't need a Separate Division For OPC Vintage?
Mark

[Backfire]

Yes that is the "Just Add Water" at Indy. I signed Bob up as a Johnson Dealer in 1971. Jim Booe (started Precision Propellers- TURBO) after a couple of years as manager of "JAW". Ted Novicki, JAW manager grew it into a Indy powerhouse and left to build his own large dealership-Ted's Aqua Marine in 1977.
Jim having worked for Switzer Turbo in Indy, also built several engines, turbo and non turbo for Bob. The Turbo V4 Johnson ran so well that Jack Leek, Charlie Strang and Jimbo McConnel came down to run it on the JAW lake at the dealership. Jim solved the bogging problem on take off, idled great. He said he let Jimbo hot lap all he wanted to but would not take the shroud off. I think they could not keep head gaskets it for long. Some dyno runs went to 240's hp before pieces came apart. Competition between JAW and the factory was fierce. OMC was trying to get a turbo engine to run at Parker so the keen interest in the JAW project. Jim was also the prop man which lead to Turbo a few years later. That was 35 years ago!! Alan Stinson was Bob's driver with Alan's Stinson Eagle boat. Bob wanted a Turbo V6 when the V6 came out. The driver at that time was Kenny _______? Later killed in a race. Bob wanted Jim to develop the engine but not pay as you go. So Jim shelved the project and built "Turbo props".
Backfire ;)

[T2x]

John:

I don't think that OMC dual is an E&T. I believe it was a Baja, and I think that Ken Stevenson ran a hull very much like it with a single before he got into the really big factory stuff.

T2x

[largecar91]

That's "Little Lake" in Peterborough at the " boat wash"!

[blkmtrfan]

Coll pic :cool:


Why does the "wing" have two different motors :confused:

[Mark Poole ModVP]

Looks like port side is Johnson Golden Meteor and starboard is Evinrude X 115. Those motors are most likely the same lower units so if it turned the same props with the same horsepower its no problem.

You know maybe he went to a Johnson dealer and got sponsorship, then went to an Evinrude dealer and did the same......double dip on one boat! Guess that would work until the dealer owners showed at the race!!