User Tag List
Results 316 to 330 of 353
-
07-26-2015, 08:54 PM #3168000 RPM
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- Southern California
- Posts
- 3,567
- Thanks (Given)
- 179
- Thanks (Received)
- 471
- Likes (Given)
- 3405
- Likes (Received)
- 2328
- Mentioned
- 29 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
This third photo is Renato Molinari idling out to the lake, from between the race shop and the house to the south. This picture is of, one of the earliest Molinari pickleforks built. The photo shows being developed on January 1973, but Renato is in short sleeves, so albeit it was taken in the fall season of 1972. It gets cold in Como in the winter, and I remember one time a light snow fell to the lake level, in the winter of 1972. The late race season of 1973, is when Renato built all new pickleforks for the Mercury factory team to campaign at Paris 1973. The year 1973 was definitely a transition time frame from supplying Molinari conventional hulls to building Molinari pickleforks, for single powered outboard tunnels.
Last edited by Lake X Kid; 01-27-2019 at 07:37 PM.
-
07-27-2015, 05:47 PM #317Screaming And Flying!
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Location
- England
- Posts
- 10,973
- Thanks (Given)
- 10
- Thanks (Received)
- 415
- Likes (Given)
- 2
- Likes (Received)
- 2176
- Mentioned
- 5 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
-
Mark75H, Lake X Kid thanked for this postMark75H liked this post
-
07-28-2015, 01:22 AM #318Screaming And Flying!
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Location
- England
- Posts
- 10,973
- Thanks (Given)
- 10
- Thanks (Received)
- 415
- Likes (Given)
- 2
- Likes (Received)
- 2176
- Mentioned
- 5 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
Just a little aside here, the little pleasure tunnel Renato and Angelo used for a rescue/work/ski boat used a 20hp Mercury, in fact anybody could use it! That was the only one I ever saw, don't think it reached the production line. Sorry, just poking my nose in!
-
07-28-2015, 08:38 AM #319
Molinari pickle fork ......
I'm pretty sure the first pickle fork Molinari was a white hull that Renato drove to win the European Championship in Koblenz. I was sent there to help your Dad, this would be summer 1972. That boat was then sent to Oshkosh and Bob Hering first raced it in Dayton. His motor broke, but he was way ahead of the field when that happened. It was clear that this boat was far superior to the full nose tunnels.
The first Molinari pickle fork entered in the Paris 6 Hour was also in 1972. A red boat driven by Renato & Hering - they won!
We received three more new pickle fork Molinari's for the 1972 Havasu event, Hering, Billy Seebold & Renato driving. Again, in testing they showed far superior performance, problem was the drivers couldn't keep them on the water. Hering & Renato flipped, Seebold barrel rolled ..... all in the first hour of the race!
Even with the Havasu mishaps, it was clear that the pickle fork was the next step in the evolution of the outboard tunnel. Most of what we received from Molinari in 73 were pickle forks, it was in deed the year of transition.
The 72 Paris winner, the Koblenz pickle fork and Seebold at Havasu in 72 .....Last edited by willabee; 07-29-2015 at 09:12 AM.
-
Lake X Kid thanked for this post
-
07-28-2015, 11:23 AM #320
What speeds were the Molinari pickle forks producing in "72" ? Thanks in advance and this is quite an interesting history lesson! Please keep it commin.Gary
"12" Super Lite Tunnel (11') "88" 25 Yammy twin carb "BANANA SPLIT"
"77" Hydrostream Viper "87" 140 Rude heavy modded w/15" mid, Bobs nose and lwp "DANGER ZONE"
"72" Checkmate MX-13 "80" 75 Rude w/15"mid and Nitro Lu (to be restored)
"Too much is never enough" Keith Richards " Dreams become reality via hard work and perseverance" G.A.Carbonneau
"This coming from an old man that strapped two bananas together, hung a motor on it and calls it a boat" XstreamVking
-
07-28-2015, 11:48 AM #321
speeds .....
The first few pickle forks were not the "same". The white "Koblenz" boat was more of a sprint, designed for higher speed on good water. The red Paris winner was designed to handle the mess they had to run over on the River Seine for six hours. Wasn't as fast as the Koblenz boat, but got over much more water at speed. If memory serves, the three new ones for Havasu were somwhere in between those two boats. Faster than the Paris boat, but obviously didn't handle rough water as well. I'm pretty sure it was the white Koblenz boat set the kilo record for "S" class at 118 mph in 73. It is pictured below with Lil Blue, the Twistercraft sprint that set the "U" class mark at 113 mph on the same day.
Last edited by willabee; 07-28-2015 at 12:04 PM.
-
Lake X Kid liked this post
-
07-29-2015, 09:40 AM #322
Molinari pickle fork ......
I should have added to my post that your picture could very well be the first Molinari pickle fork, it just took you guys a very long time to get that roll of film developed!
Speaking of film and cameras, I remember my first visit to Italy. I had been there about a week and needed batteries for my camera. We needed something for our refueling equipment picked up in Como so I went to get it. While in the square, I spotted a camera shop. Walked in and suddenly realized I didn't know how to ask for what I needed in Italian. I stood there for a moment trying to think of what to say. The shopkeeper looked at me and shrugged his shoulders as if to say "how can I help you?" I said "una momento" and thought some more. Finally I gave it a try. I said something like "duey batteria for cameria" followed by "ah, ah una momento" using my best Italian sign language at the same time.
The shopkeeper just looked at me so I decided to give it one more try. I came up with something like "batteria ah cameria no beney, ah duey new ah batteria ah click a click". The shopkeeper looked at me and smiled, he then said "What kind of camera do you have?" in perfect English. We both broke into a big laugh, that dude really set me up on that one!
-
olboatman, Lake X Kid liked this post
-
07-29-2015, 04:44 PM #323
Spent hours with guy on left repairing boat bottom in 1971.
GUESS WHO!!!
-
07-30-2015, 07:55 AM #324
-
07-30-2015, 11:33 AM #3257000 RPM
- Join Date
- Dec 2005
- Posts
- 2,124
- Thanks (Given)
- 642
- Thanks (Received)
- 288
- Likes (Given)
- 1920
- Likes (Received)
- 949
- Mentioned
- 3 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
-
shadowcat thanked for this post
-
07-30-2015, 12:00 PM #3267000 RPM
- Join Date
- Dec 2005
- Posts
- 2,124
- Thanks (Given)
- 642
- Thanks (Received)
- 288
- Likes (Given)
- 1920
- Likes (Received)
- 949
- Mentioned
- 3 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
''Back to our regular scheduled program"--
Last edited by GENE LANHAM; 07-30-2015 at 01:19 PM.
-
07-30-2015, 01:36 PM #327
1969 Havasu .....
That's the Maestro himself in the cockpit doing a bit of last minute rigging as he prepares to christen that twin. The boat arrived quite late in Oshkosh with only the steering in place. Renato, his brother Giorgio, Jerry Kohnke & I put a quick rig job on it and headed for Arizona. We knew it was over 8' wide so I had arranged for all the crap required to tow a "wideload" on the highway. However, one of the wideload restrictions is a max speed allowed of 55 mph. The boat arrived so late that if we had driven 55, Renato would not have made the Saturday start.
As it turned out, maybe it would have been better if we had arrived late. I don't think it was his first set of props, but early in the testing he was just screaming down the backstretch when ..... up, up and away it went. Too much damage to try to repair, scratch one very fast twin.Last edited by willabee; 10-19-2015 at 07:59 AM.
-
Lake X Kid liked this post
-
07-30-2015, 01:58 PM #3287000 RPM
- Join Date
- Dec 2005
- Posts
- 2,124
- Thanks (Given)
- 642
- Thanks (Received)
- 288
- Likes (Given)
- 1920
- Likes (Received)
- 949
- Mentioned
- 3 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
-
07-31-2015, 01:16 PM #3295000 RPM
- Join Date
- Nov 2007
- Location
- Jacksonville, FL
- Posts
- 327
- Thanks (Given)
- 5
- Thanks (Received)
- 38
- Likes (Given)
- 14
- Likes (Received)
- 56
- Mentioned
- 1 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
My father, Jeff Titus, was there in '69. He said everyone in the pits was watching when Renato went over. He swears he saw him actually climbing out of the cockpit and over the bow as it went!
-
-
10-17-2015, 08:07 PM #3308000 RPM
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
- Location
- Southern California
- Posts
- 3,567
- Thanks (Given)
- 179
- Thanks (Received)
- 471
- Likes (Given)
- 3405
- Likes (Received)
- 2328
- Mentioned
- 29 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
F1 Champion Jackie Stewart tours Como Race Shop.
“Do you know who that is?” Giorgio Molinari asked me, with a little excitement in his voice.
I do not know if this was a prearrange visit, or a schedule tour. Roy Ridgell gives formula one champion Jackie Stewart a tour of the Lake Como race shop. I am inclining to believe Stewart did not notify anyone at the shop that, he was going to stop by the shop. Giorgio and I did not have any pre-knowledge of his impending arrival. This visit might have been 1971.
Starting on the bottom floor, where the rigging and engine room were. Roy gives Sir Jackie a tour, and proceeds later to the floor above where the carpenters crafted the Molinari wooden hulls (I do not remember if Renato Molinari was present at the time). The one thing that sticks in my mind is, Roy telling Sir Jackie, if we want to go faster then we add another outboard engine to the race boat. And if we need to go even faster, then we attach a third Mercury engine to the transom. (I attached two photos which show the tunnel boat, equipped to handle three engines, which Roy referred too).
After Jackie and Roy went upstairs (maybe even eventually to Roy’s office which was on the third floor), I went to the dock outside. This is where Jackie entered the building, from the lake, and not from the road entry on the third floor. And there sitting patiently in an 18 foot fiberglass runabout, was a pretty blond and two young boys. In retrospect, I have to think, Helen Stewart has waited patiently many times with their two sons in tow, as husband Jackie goes on his inquisitive adventures. I am almost certain Jackie rented the pleasure boat, for a family outing on the picturesque Lake Como, from the Villa d’Este.
I attached a photo of Villa d”Este where Jackie Stewart likes to stay, prior or post the Monza Formula One Grand Prix race. Attached also is an excerpt from page 127, of Jackie’s book titled; Faster! a Racer’s Diary.
-
powerabout, Mark75H thanked for this post