User Tag List
Thanks: 0
Likes: 0
Results 61 to 75 of 169
Thread: Mercury Twisters T1, T2, T2X
-
10-20-2003, 12:20 PM #61
Aqua Music boy are you dredging up some old names. Haven't heard Joe Colts name mentioned in 25 years!
John the course you remember out and arouns the island was the 2 1/2 mile course. The Unlimiteds were the last to run it. They gave up because of the roughness in the bay kept breaking boats.
Anyone remember Jan Whitten?
Peter Young-red haired kid right?Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
3 X APBA Formula V Nat'l Champion
APBA Formula V US-1
It took me 29 years to become an overnight success.
-
10-20-2003, 01:17 PM #62
Jan Whitten! Joe Colt & Charlie O'Neil made it their personal mission to harass him at every chance. After I bought Joe's Mod UJ Al Martin, I raced against Jan on several occasions, even while building his engines for him at Janisch/Sirois.
The most memorable was at Marine Stadium when he had his Twistercraft (very light, shallow tunnel) with a T1. He would pull me down the front where it was calm & I would pull him on the back heading towards the bay. On the last lap, he tried to cut my from the outside, w/o a good overlap. I didn't back down & ran right over his T-Craft, crunching it up pretty bad. Luckily, neither of us was hurt.
He took care of that, though, with a heavily overloaded plane in the Bahamas. RIP.
You are correct Jeff - Peter Young was a red-headed kid. The 'old guys' back then were Homer Greene & Jeff Titus!
-
10-20-2003, 01:35 PM #63
Homer Greene had an odd ball hull that looked and ran like a vacuum cleaner....... Jim Caldwellbuilt something like it a couple of years later. I have been trying to remember the name of Homer's hull....... but I can't.
Anyone remember?
T2x
-
10-20-2003, 09:00 PM #64
Al Martin
Don't remember what Homer ran - usually 2nd to Doug Pearl, tho. How about that offshore tunnel Caldwell built for Billy Elswick? The names do keep coming, don't they!
Here's a photo of Al Martin at Marine Stadium - circa 1977...
well - that didn't work. I'll try attaching file again
-
10-20-2003, 09:04 PM #65
Twister I
How about a T- I with 4 carbs? This was an experimental set Chick Gagen had and graciously loaned to me. I made a plenum to mount them & tested on 84 canal in FLL. Ran like crap! My home-made flow bench and marine tex crankcase packing may have played a part as well.....
-
10-20-2003, 09:15 PM #66
I had heard of your motor or one like it...........trying to get around the "less than 5 carb" rule in mod100? maybe??
-
10-20-2003, 09:37 PM #67
that would have been a side benefit, but I just saw them lying around at Boat Center & Chick said I could borrow them. I don't know if Merc ever got them to run right - I sure couldn't. Had to stay on the primer like crazy to get if to plane, no mid-range power & top speed was8 - 9 mph down. Of well, more wasted nights!
-
10-21-2003, 10:48 AM #68
Charlie used to run the old Caribbean Club race in Key Largo. Usually was Gary Kapit, Tommy Chandler, and myself in JP. Even old Johnny Beach would show up with a Mod U.
Used a steel mooring bouy for one turn. We ran there until the bikers kind of took it over.
One year had a run what ya brung and some crazy kid ran a flat bottomed aluminum boat with about a 40 tiller on it. He didn't have a trailer so he beached it WOT on the ramp which was coral, sea shells, imbedded in asphalt. He did that for about 4 heats. During the last heat he sunk in mid course. Seems he didn't have anything left of the bottom.Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
3 X APBA Formula V Nat'l Champion
APBA Formula V US-1
It took me 29 years to become an overnight success.
-
10-21-2003, 12:27 PM #69
Caribbean Club!
Yeah - those were the days. I actually have photos of that guy (but can't find 'em) unloading his fire extinguisher all over his engine after hitting the ramp - not that there was any fire or anything! Just in the spirit of the day! Crazy times.
Dan Sorrentino & I started having ski races there at the end of day - from CC down to Gilberts & back. And the bay was usually ROUGH by 4 pm! Not to mention everyone's physical & mental condition. Of course the usual rules applied - no rules & no protests.
Here's a good pic of Charlie with one of the first T3s he had.
-
10-21-2003, 03:14 PM #70
Jeff-G, Caribbean Club Races
Hey Jeff, you and I must have crossed paths back then. I had Jan Whitten build me a 16 Powercraft and ran it in SV with a Super Strangler. I drove an old 16 Action with a round keel in one race and beat Dave Henry in his JP Hydrostream, he was a bit upset. I drove anything that went fast. I eventuall bought Tonny Chandler's JP Royal Craft and ran it for another 2 years in every backyard JP race I could get into. Those were the really fun days, APBA was just too damn serious, we had alot more fun in Palatka and Jacksonville along with Brunswick, Ga. But the Caribbean club had to be the best. I saw Joe Colt about 2 years ago, still doing ok. Haven't seen Charlie O'Neil in many years, but did run into his X-wife, Joyce and their son in the Keys, looked just like Charlie. Ruthie was the old gal that owned the Caribbean Club and were personal friends of the O'neils. I used to fly delta wing kites with Charlie's brother, Danny before he passed away. Last I saw Tommy, he switched to GN racing, but could not catch the legend, Duff Daley who now lives is my backyard.
"AH, THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLD DAYS"!!!!!!
Turn left, go fast!!!!!
-
10-21-2003, 08:08 PM #71
16 Powercraft with a Super Strangler? That's a handful!
Glad to hear Joyce is doing well. She was a sweetheart. I think a little too much of Joe rubbed off on Charlie & he started getting kinda edgy. maybe their liquor dist biz tanking affected him also...
Tommy Chandler was always fun. I hung out with them when he was driving the GN for Ben Borden (JOAT) & Doug Janisch. John Barrett let me drive his Sunday Funnies GN once - whoa - long way from an OPC boat! Duff always was a class act.
Caribbean Club was the best, tho. I'm still amazed how few people were actually hurt! I drove everything there from my OPC tunnel to a 21' Paramount center console. Ruthie welcomed everyone, and usually everyone got along.
Here's a pic of TC's J boat towing (? Ted Jones?) towing me...
-
10-22-2003, 10:56 AM #727000 RPM
- Join Date
- Dec 2002
- Location
- South Florida
- Posts
- 2,296
- Thanks (Given)
- 0
- Thanks (Received)
- 154
- Likes (Given)
- 1
- Likes (Received)
- 541
- Mentioned
- 11 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
That Hydrostream in the picture was first raced by a South Miami Evenrude dealer as an FS class rig. He rigged it with dual controls,both steering wheels and throttles worked, and called it Drivers Ed.I was working at Action back then and we built Tommy a Gold 15' that we built extra heavy to meet the FS class limit. The propshaft height restriction required these boats to try to force that big gearcase through the water. The result was both of the 15's we built had a big problem with blowout. I saw Tommy blowout and spin right in front of the pack at the 73 Nationals in Eufala. I first remember Tommy showing up at the races in an 18' Powercraft and running in the 1 hour marathons that used to be the last race of the day at the monthly Tri-Club events at Marine Stadium.Tommy lived a little more than a mile away from me at that time. He eventually bought my old E class marathon boat from me and they ran it a couple of times with a G motor on it. I never saw that boat run in that configuration and I dont know what kind of results they had with it.
-
10-22-2003, 12:44 PM #73
Custom, when Tommy ran the Royal Craft at the Carribbean Club I drove a 17 Action. Then I bought Jm Everett's JP Royal Craft and ran it until 82? when I switched to Sport E in Mike Seebolds old Mod 50.
The last time I raced CC my wife, Stacy Chandler and Beth Kapit all ran the Powder Puff. Barney of Action, came down with his girlfriend with a 21 center consol and ran it with her in the Powder Puff. Big mistake, Stacey had just been passed by Barney and his girlfriend when Stacey hit a huge wake in turn 4 and rolled the boat. She broke her arm pretty bad. Tommy wanted a piece of Barney but Barney took off across the bay never to be seen again. Tommy was someone to look out for.
When he went to GN he started in the 16' Mighty Mouse. I forget who owned it. It was a real rough ride.
I was supposed to drive it the next race but the day of the race they got someone else. Oh well. Boat ended up broken.Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
3 X APBA Formula V Nat'l Champion
APBA Formula V US-1
It took me 29 years to become an overnight success.
-
10-22-2003, 01:13 PM #74
Jeff I never knew you had a CC. Any idea what happened to it?
Membership upgrade options: http://www.screamandfly.com/payments.php
-
10-22-2003, 03:05 PM #757000 RPM
- Join Date
- Dec 2002
- Location
- South Florida
- Posts
- 2,296
- Thanks (Given)
- 0
- Thanks (Received)
- 154
- Likes (Given)
- 1
- Likes (Received)
- 541
- Mentioned
- 11 Post(s)
- Tagged
- 0 Thread(s)
The last time I tried to run at the Carribean Club was in October of 70. I was trying to win the SE high point title that year and they ran the last race of the year down there. There were not enough SE boats to make a legal race so no points for me.I came up about 25 points short hence my user name. Never went back again.