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Powercat
01-12-2006, 01:33 PM
Can any of you that raced in the old NOA ID who this boat might
have been run by. Mid to late 60's Era.... It was run with both
twin motors and triples.. Its one of the very rare 4pt Power Cat
hydros and was probably from the midwest or east coast area.
Thanks,
Danny Leger

Mr.T
01-15-2006, 12:01 PM
Bill Hill - Cullman Alabama drove one. Not sure if that one was his or not There was 2 or 3 of them in the mid to late 60's. I think John Henry Price had one also and maybe Doc Eggerton. A long time ago for my memory.

willabee
01-17-2006, 04:39 PM
Hill and Price pulled into a race in Quincy, IL. each towing a triple Powercat. This had to be late 1967, because they both used 1968 426 Hemi Dodges as tow vehicles ( 67 Dodges were still the 426 wedges ) and had Chrysler power on the boats..... I believe Kitson was also there with a triple Merc Powercat.................Can anyone blow that picture up to read the name painted above the U?.....looks like Ted or Fred something.



Bill Hill - Cullman Alabama drove one. Not sure if that one was his or not There was 2 or 3 of them in the mid to late 60's. I think John Henry Price had one also and maybe Doc Eggerton. A long time ago for my memory.

largecar91
01-17-2006, 05:56 PM
I tried. It gets too grainy. Looks like the last name starts with an "L"? First name maybe Fred or Ted?

Powercat
01-17-2006, 06:32 PM
The original photo was a small 2x3 snapshot that was very grainy..
This scan was as best as I could do on it.. I just can not make
out the names on the boat... Not sure how they do that on
CSI on Tv where they improve an image better than the original..
Thanks for trying...
I am attaching a couple more photos of this boat...
Danny Leger

mike farmer
01-17-2006, 07:32 PM
i thought the first name was paul ? we have a bunch of don clarks old rooster tails from the 60s i will try to see if the # u700 is listed anywhere

ken kitson
05-08-2006, 11:32 PM
it could have been mine.not the engines but I owned a body shop in the 60's and I had a 66 chevy ss that I painted red and gold metal flake.I painted the boat the same color.I bought the boat in conn.and it was white before I painted it.ken kitson mrdiablo119@juno.com

lilabner
05-27-2006, 10:08 PM
This one's for you Danny..I finally got a picture, thanks to Dave Craig, of the 4 point cat he had built out of his 15 footer "Barefoot"..I did most of the testing until we fried the engines, because it rode too high at the transom..We used 800 DR's with sportmasters and stacks, and when lift off came, they turned over 7000. The boat was a dog till it lifted..The 100hp engines weren't out yet, so this had to be mid 61 to 62 range.
This could be the first 4 point Powercat...

Butch

Sunburnt
05-27-2006, 10:42 PM
Now that looks Wild.!!

Thanks for the picture Butch!! I can see there was a ton of work put into that, adding the cab over let alone the sponson work. It must have been a really tight fit for your legs up there.

I guess it's too late to redo mine like that now.

Deck paint goes on in the AM..

Jeff

lilabner
05-28-2006, 05:43 AM
Sunburnt

You sort of sat on it instead of in it..Leave yours alone, it looks just great as it is..Are you rigging it with a single seat center steer? That's the only way I ever drove them.I never drove a pleasure cat..

Butch

Powercat
05-28-2006, 11:56 AM
Butch:
Now that is wild, I have not ever seen one modified like that for sure.
Definitely would be the first.... I wonder how much Dave and my dad
corresponded on hydro designs.. Of course this was the same time
frame that Dave had the Switzer wing with its stepped hull as a basis
for ideas also. Great stuff Butch...
Thanks,
Danny Leger


This one's for you Danny..I finally got a picture, thanks to Dave Craig, of the 4 point cat he had built out of his 15 footer "Barefoot"..I did most of the testing until we fried the engines, because it rode too high at the transom..We used 800 DR's with sportmasters and stacks, and when lift off came, they turned over 7000. The boat was a dog till it lifted..The 100hp engines weren't out yet, so this had to be mid 61 to 62 range.
This could be the first 4 point Powercat...

Butch

lilabner
05-28-2006, 12:12 PM
Hi Danny,

Dave ran inboard hydros, mostly 266's, frequently..I think that is where he came up with the idea. He was always changing something, even on the wings..mostly his own ideas. He's a innovator to say the least..even in skiing. This boat really turned good, but didn't meet expectations for a race. It took too long to lift the rear. We didn't play around with it enough I guess. The wing was primary. When the transom lifted, the engines went to over 7000 with the highest pitch props they made for sportmasters. I'm sure the boat ran over 70 easily..

Sunburnt
05-29-2006, 11:42 AM
Sunburnt

You sort of sat on it instead of in it..Leave yours alone, it looks just great as it is..Are you rigging it with a single seat center steer? That's the only way I ever drove them.I never drove a pleasure cat..

Butch

Hi Butch,

We set it up as a 2 seater. I wish I had done the center steer with 2 jumpseats in the back, it was the topic of conversation for some time but it's to late to go back now.

We did get the deck painted yesterday.. Progress is getting made..

Jeff

lilabner
05-29-2006, 10:12 PM
I remember the Critchfield..Raveau built a hydro too, Phil blew it over at the Lake and put his head through the deck,,I think that was just before the Kissimmee 6 hr..time is fuzzy now..I also remember one Bill Fisher ran in Sandy Shoes, and Frank Browns. These were all 3 points though..The next 4 point was the SeaCraft I ran in the 9 and 6 hours in Miami..3 point, 4 point, they all seemed like a flash in the pan..

2us70
05-30-2006, 04:30 PM
It seems to me that in those days every time you came to a race somebody would have a radical new inovation. Over time the sifting out process eliminated all but the best.I guess most of us who were active in those days had the experience of trying to drive some of those creations. I was lucky to escape injury a couple of times after agreeing to test boats that I should have known better than to ever get into. Race boat building was still a lot more art than science and at the bleading edge there was a lot of guessing going on even by some of the best builders.