Help-Information Needed! (A mule must have kicked me!)

[K.Otis Hill]

Good Afternoon from Spain! - I have just bought a small speed/ski/?-boat and I know I must have been crazy to get into this! but the lines where so pretty and I have never seen anything like it! It looks like it must have been built around the 1950's and if I am right even the engine is from that time! It says: "Merc 1100 SS" and "Kiekhaefer - Mercury" on the housing.
I have put a few pictures on my website: www.lupeli.com/lupeli1 (http://www.lupeli.com/lupeli1) so please, by all means, drop by, have a look and if you have ANY information as to the engine and/or the boat I would be eternally gratefull! (Also I will need parts for the engine and tips/hints good advice how to restore it! I want to keep it since it seems to be the same age as the boat.)

[MagicFloat]

The engine is a 1967. No idea on the boat.

[T2x]

You have a 1966/67 Merc 1100 SS (110 HP) according to the cowlings. You also seem to have at least a blown lower unit and no prop shaft (or a broken one).

The boat looks like something you would find on the island of Mallorca... or in a Jackie Wilson photo album. :)

Good luck

T2x

[mk30h]

I think the cowls are 67 vintage, but the drive shaft housing looks like a 64. It has only one exhaust hole in the back- 67 had two. The lower unit looks correct. The only other part that is not 67 vintage is the power trim.
Nice looking unit, the boat doesn't look like it should take that much work to get it in nice shape. Is the hull maghogony?- hard to tell from the picts.
The deck looks like 3/8 inch 5 ply, nice and solid.

It will be a beauty.:)

[K.Otis Hill]

Thanks a million! I did not expect to get that much expert knowledge in such a short time! This is great! Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

About the exhaust, I will go and check it tomorrow (the boat is now sitting in the garage of a mechanic and its 10:30 pm here *smile*) and post my findings and thanks in advance for more answers!

Yes, the entire boat seems to be marine plywood, the hull painted white (with the plywood on steel frames?! (never heard of that before!) ) and the deck someone has started to use a disc grinder (!!!) to remove the old varnish. I have no clue If I'll be able to sand it down so I can reapply vanish (any opinions on that subject here?) - would hate having o paint it white....

As far as the engine is concerned. All I am having is the actual driveshaft (pretty rosty on top of it) and the prop. If looking into the hole one can see the two gears (one vertical, the other horizontal - everything else is missing - and I sure have no clue where to get these parts from. Also I have checked about that "phantom black" the cowlings have been painted with, it's available but they dont ship overseas. I guess some regular "matt-black" will have to substitute? As far as the aluminium-parts are concerned I dont know how to best recondition these. It looks like the salt has been getting to them. But thats secondary. First I need to get the engine running and most of all get the missing parts for the driveshaft (or whatever the correct terminology for that is)

Cheers and once again! Thanks for taking the time and even making that picture for explanation! WOW! I am truly impressed!

[mk30h]

An ass kicked me in the head years ago and now my hobby is restoring old wooden boats Once the motor is off- get some liquid paint remover - one thatwill not harm wood and is non carcenogenic. - you will need rubber gloves and a well ventailated work area. The stuff brushes on and the old paint will soften and blister- it can then be scraped off before it dries. This may take you a couple of hours. Then a good sander with a medium grit to freshen the surface. You must be careful with Marine Plywood not to sand into the next layer of veneer. Once it if fresh, a fine sand and then it is ready for staining (if mahogony) or painting. A good real Marine varnish (no polyurethane) with 5 or more coats would look great on the deck
If there is any dry rot-get it out and fix it. Use epoxy, do not use polyester resins. If it has steel ribs- check for corrosion of the screws etc, in saltwater your aluminium will corrode fast as well especially if there are steel components exposed to the water.

Your boat looks like it should restore to a real beauty without huge amount of work. As for your lower unit,m virtually any merc 6 inline or 66 ci 4 cly into the mid 80's will bolt on. Visit dealers or boat yards, pick up a scrap engine for virtually nothing- at least here you can.


Have fun.

[K.Otis Hill]

Thank you for the HIGHLY appreciated advice! I always thought it to be mean to just ask Q's in a forum and not contribute - but in this case all i can do is "ask & learn" - so thanks for your patience!

As to restoring the boat: The hull looks sound, the former owner claims he had it stripped to the wood and all things that needed attention where taken care of. He has promised me some picture he has made (about 2-3 years ago) which I should receive this weekend (I got the boat at an auction from the last owners stuff, a dump as you can see on the pictures, pigs and chicken actually living in & under the boat!) - This last guy had started to "restore" the boat using a disc-grinder (!) to remove the old varnish! Luckily he stoped after slamming only a few deep grooves into the plywood, but I sort of doubt that I will be able to sand those out without actually having to sand into the next layer. So there is something for me to think about since I sure don't want ending up having to paint the deck white. There are a few weak spots in the visible plywood as well (blackened wood) tiny corners i.e. at the joints of sternplate, hull and deck. I wonder if I will have to remove the deck and affix a new one, or if I should somehow try to seal those blackened spots (epoxy?) and try to apply a layer of veneer maybe even suggesting the look of a "riva-deck"?
I want to take my time to get this work done, because I think this boat deserves a good restoration and not just a quick job to get it back into the water. When woodglueing veneer on the deck the problem I see is how to apply the pressure to make it stick solidly. Since I can not affix cleats or any other means to press it down? Any suggestions?

As to the engine: As far as the lower part / shaft is concerned it would seem (but it has been only 24hours research so far) that it could turn outto be very difficult to come by the parts needed. Even buying an entire other motor is pretty much out of the question because shipping that from the US to Europe will eat my entie budget away. So I would be gratefull to get in touch with some enthusiast, mechanic or private person, who would be willing to assist me in (a) locating such an engine (I would not even know which one would make sense to buy), get it disassembled and the parts I need taken from it to have those only shipped to here. I am lucky to have a mechanic with "golden hands" here, but even he looked quite desperate and hopeless yesterday when inspecting the motor. The last "normal" owner claims he had the boat in the water 2 years ago and the engine has been running just fine, and it has been untouched in storage since. But that obviously does not mean that the engine will start and run now. Well that is planned for next week to try to get the engine running. If that turns out to be a thumbs up I will need the lower end parts...... hmmm, back to square 1.
So again ANY help and advice I can get is highly appreciated!

P.S. My apologies if I am making too many spellingmistakes, - English after all is not my native language. :-)

[mk30h]

Try marinas in your vicinity for older engines. As to parts shipped from the NA shouldn't be too much just for LU parts. Try ebay or post a request on this site under buy and sell, you won't have any problem finding parts here.
There are some very knowlegeable members in Europe who may be able to advise you better as to engine parts- Markus in Sweeden comes to mind you should contact him.:)

[Hottrucks]

if you fill out location ( under the used cp at the top) I'm sure that we can find someone to help you out in your part of the world.....

Welcome to the board.......

[K.Otis Hill]

if you fill out location ( under the used cp at the top) I'm sure that we can find someone to help you out in your part of the world.....

Welcome to the board.......

ok! taken care of! :cool:

[Alan Power]

K. Otis: Just to let you know, I shipped an entire merc V6 from Calafornia to Ireland for €350, which I thought was reasonable.

Alternatively, check out ebay.com (in the US) for an inline gearbox or parts your looking for, you may find them cheap and postage on them will be greatly reduced if your willing to wait for them.

Best of luck with your project.

Also, look on boatsandoutboards.co.uk theres often parts for sale for inlines there and listings of dealers that break outboards in the UK, a little closer than the US.

Alan

[jackie wilson]

The boat is a Tremlett built by Chris Tremlett from Topsham Devon, i probably sold the engine. Bob Spalding started his racing career in one just like it. The boat was great for offshore but had no legs as a circuit boat.

[LightNBug]

Looks to me as if the dog in the background of one pic has the best idea for this project !!! Just kidding of course. Best of luck with the restoration of a classic.

[2us70]

Is that boat made with steel frames? I have never heard of wood over any kind of metal framing.

[K.Otis Hill]

@ jackie wilson:
WOW! This does sound extremely interesting! YOU?! sold the engine?! Would you be able to let me know anything else about the boat, it's history, maybe even have some old pictures? I was searching google on Tremlett Yachts but they seem to not even have an email address yet alone a website. Also searching "Bob Spalding" did not turn out any usefull results. So ANYTHING you could provide me with would be great! Thanks!

[K.Otis Hill]

Is that boat made with steel frames? I have never heard of wood over any kind of metal framing.
Yes!
Same with me! I too have never heard of wood over steel frames in a speed boat. but it would seem that this made for extremely light weight, the boat doesn't weigh much at all. (Put that together with 110 HP! WOW!)
I will keep posting here all the information as the project develops. That's the least I can do for all the wonderful people here helping me out with advice and information!

[K.Otis Hill]

Best of luck with your project.

Hi Alan! Thanks for the wishes and the link!
Just got a lower unit offered from Georgia, waiting for an reply to specify their initial offer. Will go and check out the site you suggested.

[K.Otis Hill]

Looks to me as if the dog in the background of one pic has the best idea for this project !!! Just kidding of course. Best of luck with the restoration of a classic.
:p (about the dog) & thanks (for the wishes)!

[jackie wilson]

Looks like a '66 1100 to me but 75h will tell you for certain, P/T must have been a later addition, Snipe 1200 trailer by Reg humphries gang, Was in Majorca last week, pity i didn't know about it then.

[K.Otis Hill]

Looks like a '66 1100 to me but 75h will tell you for certain, P/T must have been a later addition, Snipe 1200 trailer by Reg humphries gang, Was in Majorca last week, pity i didn't know about it then.

Sorry I dont get half of this! What does "75h" mean?
What does "PT" mean?
Boy would I love to get more information from you!
:-)

[MagicFloat]

The decals make it a 1967,power trim became an add on accessory in the fall of 1967 as an aftermarket accessory from Merc,dealer or owner could puchase the kit thru Merc parts,became a factory option with the engine a couple years later.

[K.Otis Hill]

Ref.: Bob Spalding;
Hmmm, unfortunately that seems to be not the lead I was hoping for. I wrote to them and they were kind enough to answer, saying that they dont know the boat. :(

Ref.: The parts lead in Georgia; That too seems to be a dead-end road. I have asked them to tell me exactly what part it is they have and in what condition it is in, but all I did receive in return was a question: "Do you want it or not?" ....am not going to wire a couple of hundred Dollars to a company not even knowing how much they would be charging for shipping.
Seems to be the ways of the internet, that people figure there is no more need to communicate? :(

[K.Otis Hill]

..........Also, look on boatsandoutboards.co.uk.......
Tried that - no luck. :(
Any other suggestions?

[robert j garner]

Hi K
Most tremletts were purchased as bare hulls (hull only) with the owner putting on top deck to suit there own requirments the metal framwork would of been a later addition, My dad had one in the late 1960's that he used for waterski racing and even raced aross the english channel:eek:



Rob

[K.Otis Hill]

Hi Rob! You would not by any chance have any old picures f your dad's boat? Would help a great deal knowing how to best go about restoring this one......:)

[robert j garner]

Hi Sorry no photo's but there is a uk site you should have a look at called
boatmad.com have a look on the gallery loads of photo's of old race boat's including tremletts.

Rob

[K.Otis Hill]

Quick update on the situation:

I have been to the mechanic yesterday and we did an extensive search for the motor number. There is no mounting plate just two brackets on either side of the engine, but in either case: No number :(

Also I verified that there is only one exhaust hole. So, since someone suggested that the 1966/ 1967 hat two of those, that again would raise the question what engine that actually is. I did copy down a few part numbers I found on the engine and tried to match them against a schematic drawing I found on the internet, but with no success. The numbers are different, increasing the questions...... :(:(

Finally I did receive a very kind email from the Tremlett Family! I would assume that Mr. Tremlett too by now is a somewhat elder gentleman but he went through the effort to look the pictures over and told me it was deffinately not one of his boats - so on this subject I am back to square one, except for that he suggested it might be a "Delta" which were built somewhere on the chanel islands copying the original Tremlett Designs. So I'll be starting a research on that subject.

Other than that? Ah! I tried to purchase an entire engine on ebay but it ended at 4:30 am our time and even so I had tried to stay up, I fell asleep. Anyway, might be a good idea to first verify what engine that actually is?!

Thats it for right now,... I'll keep you guys posted (in the true meaning of the term! LOL)

[K.Otis Hill]

Here is Otis (PITA) Hill again!

I bought a second engine!
Today, on ebay, (.com) Auction Number: 190147610141
(anyone cares to have a look?)

Anyway:
Now the next problem is SCREAMING for a FLYing solution! I need to ship the dam thing from the USofA to good old Europe without it costing me an arm and a leg and without having to abuse the courteous help offered by some very nice members of this board!

Anyone around here with good advice (or his own shipping company?!) on how to get a 350 lbs Outboardmotor to my whereabouts?!

[Mark75H]

Congratulations on your purchase. I checked to make sure it was correctly described and it appears to be as described. The reason it does not run may be in the ignition system which is a bit tedious to set up correctly. The basics of it is that the ignition system does not function as a whole 6 cylinder, but rather as a pair of precisely synchronized 3 cylinder motors.

Precise descriptions of how to adjust this system are found by asking here: http://www.pfs-ware.com/talkshop/

This is the template required:http://www.pfs-ware.com/kwast/images/6cyl.JPG

[Mark75H]

"Deltas" are variations or copies of Renato "Sonny" Levi's V bottom race boats from the 1960's and were among the fastest course racing boats in Europe prior to the catamaran/tunnel boats of the later 1960's

I too suspect that your boat is a Delta or some custom copy of a Delta design

[K.Otis Hill]

I honestly start to love this forum!

VERY BIG SMILE!! Thanks! I really APPRECIATE all the help I am receiving here and the time and effort you guys are investing into helping a newbe like myself out!
Hope I can make up for it at some point in time!

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Mark75H . Can't agree with you on the Levi design. For sure he designed the V bottoms as we know them, And he was a great advocate of the cold moulded process. His book ' FROM DHOWS TO DELTAS' is probably why the word delta is used on so many fairly obscure boats. Boat builders in the U.K. started to build to his design. The 2 most famous names were John Merryfield and Len Melly under the double M hulls banner. They cleaned up in 1963 including outright win in Paris, The hulls were built by Souters at Shoreham- by- sea in West Sussex. Saw Sonny Levi in Cowes last week, still going strong. Would 'ave bet the farm that was an old Tremlett, but, i have been wrong before. [ not often ].

[jackie wilson]

Had one of those sleepless nights, you know the one, where something rings a bell but the chimes don't sound right. Then it came to me where i had seen that damn boat that wasn't a Tremlett. There was a guy named Ray Stapely who made offshore raceboats in the 60's+70's and they were a dead ringer of a Tremlett, had a place just outside London. The other possibility is try Phantom Boats, Steve Baker and his dad used to produce some fine offshore boats and i'm fairly sure the early ones were wooden. Both boats were sold via Bert Williams of B.J.W.Marine in Lewisham. Try 'em, i need my beauty sleep.

'

[K.Otis Hill]

Hi Jackie! - uhmm... no hurry, but could you possibly also help me out with email addresses and/or phone numbers? Could not get any hits when "googling" any of the above. (Of course only AFTER you are done with your beauty sleep!) *smile*

[robert j garner]

Hi Otis

Steve baker no longer makes phantom boats sold the molds to trio
you can get all the phantom information you need at boatmad.com
hope this helps.
Rob

[K.Otis Hill]

Thanks! I have been on that site, lots of pictures, very confusing structured and after quite many hours of clicking around I have not found anything looking remotely like my boat. :(

[robert j garner]

Hi Otis

On the front page of boatmad where it says home. forum,readers rides etc click on the photo of the boat under the large red boatmad banner this will open the galleries there are loads of photo's of race boats from the last 40 years hope this helps


Rob.

[gotboostedvr6]

that motor you bought has a welded skeg.... if you plan on going over 50 mph that is a big no no

[Mark75H]

I don't think that's a problem with that motor and that boat :)

Rob, I don't see many circuit or "inshore" boats on Boatmad, looks like our buddies at "Offshore Only" - am I looking in the wrong place or something.

I don't see a single Molinari, M&M, Levi etc

[robert j garner]

Hi Mark

You are right it's all offshore i don't think there is a site in the uk that deals with curcuit boats that's why i like s&f dad was a curcuit racer
and i run a 21' phantom (just for fun).

Rob.

[Alan Power]

Hi Otis, Did you get my email yesterday.

I sent it to earlier in the week from work and when I checked that mail yesterday it was returned so I resent it and it seemed to have gone.

Let me know you got it ok or I'll PM if not.


FYI... UK circuit racing site.. http://www.circuitracer.co.uk/

Alan:)

[minto]

Hi Mark

You are right it's all offshore i don't think there is a site in the uk that deals with curcuit boats that's why i like s&f dad was a curcuit racer
and i run a 21' phantom (just for fun).

Rob.

Hi Rob, did your dad ever run an SE cat?

[K.Otis Hill]

Hi Otis, Did you get my email yesterday....

Hi! Yes, but am traveling, will be a bussy week 4 me, thanks, will contact them! :-)

(and will answer yr mail, as soon as I get a moment)

[robert j garner]

Hi Minto

Yes ran in SE class late 70's to 82ish with a barracuda and then a hodges
merc 650XS supplied by jackie.


Cheers Rob.

[Alan Power]

Hi! Yes, but am traveling, will be a bussy week 4 me, thanks, will contact them! :-)

(and will answer yr mail, as soon as I get a moment)


No worries, just checking you got it this time as I thought it sent before but was returned. Best of luck with them, I have shipped a bit with them and have always been very reasonable.

Alan:)

[minto]

Hi Minto

Yes ran in SE class late 70's to 82ish with a barracuda and then a hodges
merc 650XS supplied by jackie.


Cheers Rob.

Hi Rob, I thought the name seemed familier, my dad raced a mono (NE/NF)
during the same period.

Cheers Rod.

[robert j garner]

Hi Rod

What's your dads name and what boat did he run,The only NE/NF
driver i knew was mike sheperd had a red burgess think it was called
sheperds boy.

Rob

[minto]

Hi Rob,

I remember the Shepherd Boy boat that you mentioned. My dad is Mick Richardson, he raced several boats, Bristol, Burgess and Blufin along with various different motors.
For a while he ran a Suzuki and raced in their team alongside Paul Wilde, Jon Jones and Brian Timson.

I found an old pic of the team in the pits at Bristol, I think it was taken in around 1979.

Rod.

[robert j garner]

Hi Rod Great photo suprised MR molinari did n't pinch your camera:D

i remember the suzuki team,79 wasn't that the year lotus built a boat for

clive chapman ?.

Rob

PS sorry peter (k otis ) for hijacking your thead.

[jackie wilson]

think you might find that clive had a boat built that was a ringer to the pair that chris hodges built for a 10 hp merc one for young duckworth and one for my daughter Kim. Len Britnell the commandatory of the L.M.B.R.C. Threw all his toys out of the pram and banned FOREVER catamarans in the junior class. I mean dammit and after all these kids were every bit of 10 yrs old. But then again Len could be a canky old bastard without really trying,

[K.Otis Hill]

PS sorry peter (k otis ) for hijacking your thead.


LOL! :cool: no problem, I am watching, and reading and learning!

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie always looking for an edge even in junior class:D was keith
duckworth a member at iver and is that where the cosworth idea was born? How was the trip to watch craig did you sort out the rules so they
can race without looking at a stopwatch.

Rob

[minto]

Hi Rob,

I'm not sure if Jackie is referring to Clive's junior days, but I do know the NE boat you are thinking of. Most of the old programmes simply refer to it as custom built. Strangely enough most of his junior boats are listed that way too.

Maybe Jackie has a good point and the same designers and builders were responsible for all Clive's boats.

Apologies also to K.Otis for drifting onto a different subject. Please do keep us informed of any further developments with the boat. A friend of mine at the CMBA was also stumped by your case and there's not much that gets past him.

Rob, here's a pic of Clive driving the boat in question. ROD.

[jackie wilson]

sorry guys, that is not the boat i was refering to. There were some great boatbuilders around at that time. IE, Dave Burgess, Ron Wolbold, [blue fin] Chris Hodges, and even Melly and Merryfield were capable of a one off. So maybe someone at Lotus did make the boat. I'm sure Clive and Roger are still out there somewhere, They were both very bright university stuff kids, so i'm sure they can still remember. ASK THEM. !!!!!!!!!!

[robert j garner]

yeah rod that's the boat i was talking about, wish that bristol was still
run the sound off those dock walls was fantastic.


Rob

[minto]

Rob,

Couldn't agree more about Bristol, I think they used to refer to it as the greatest show on earth.

[jackie wilson]

No, it wasn,t the greatest show on earth, it Was the scariest. I flat refused to race there the first 3 years it was held. The course scared me sh---less. Then Scotti and i got to talking about it, and he said to me " Jackie, the course is perfectly safe until you forget to remember it's very dangerous " He said i should try it and then tell him what i thought ! well i raced there 3 or 4 times and watched 4 people die ----------Dave Mason-----Francios Salaber------the german restauranter, whose name i forget. One of the Swedish twins , whose name i will remember soon as i post this. More guys died racing in bristol than anywhere else in europe , no it wasn,t the greatest show on earth unless you were a weirdo.

[jlf56]

Jackie;
Do you remember Bobby Massy ? I mentioned him on another thread and got no response. I thought he was killed in Elsinor Ca. in 69 or 70 in the first "S" hook boat Renato brought to Havasu. Help my memory out here !

Thanks, Joe Fielder

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Joe, Bobby Massey rings bells ,but for the life in me i cannot picture him. If you could contact Kathy Smith -----nee Henderson but married a guy called Blankenship. She used to be timekeeper at most west coast races, including Elsinore and had a photographic memory. She knew most drivers, and was a good friend of Molly Ballou and Pruett. Most of Renato's early boats turned and bit the drivers very hard, the s hooker was the first with diahedral sponsons, which didn't work anyway.!!!!! Nothing wrong with your memory Joe, Just try harder like the rest of us

[willabee]

Do you remember Bobby Massy ? I mentioned him on another thread and got no response. I thought he was killed in Elsinor Ca. in 69 or 70 in the first "S" hook boat Renato brought to Havasu.

I remember him well, believe it was 68 at Lake Elsinore that we met, he was driving the white T40 Switzer Wing. Good man, great sense of humor. One of those that if he liked you, would give you the shirt off of his back and..... he could drive a race boat. I remember telling him about some special tires and wheels that I wanted to install on my new 428 Mach I Mustang, but wasn't able to find them anywhere in Wisconsin. He not only took the time to find them somewhere in California, but was also nice enough to bring all of that stuff to a race in Galveston, where we put it in the Merc parts truck and I got it home.

Old fiberglass says it was late 71 when Bobby died, and it was testing a Molinari for someone at Elsinore. I recall that he got busted up pretty bad at Parker in 1970 when he flipped his triple Jones and wasn't able to drive again for quite some time. That makes me think that 71 is the correct year.

The green twin is Renato's 69 Havasu "S".....in 70 Bill Sirois ran it at Parker, now repaired and painted red. I don't recall for sure, but I want to say that it got damaged again and Garbrecht worked something out with Bob, so he took it from Parker to his Marina. He may have repaired it and was showing a potential buyer how it ran or maybe was just testing for himself, I just don't know. The 3rd picture is one of those "S" Molinari's that Jackie says didn't work :rolleyes:.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Bill, Siesta's over Huh !! Nice to know your back amongst the non dead. I still think it wasn't until boatbuilders got back to straight lines and "honest" boats and dropped all that trick sh-t and fanciful thinking that most of them were prone to, drivers got a fair crack of the whip. It was the drivers that made poor boats look good in spite of the cranky designs, and there's a lot of walking wounded out there today who fell foul of ----lets say --er--futuristic designs and developments. If boats had been made in detroit with faults like that the legal eagles woulda had a field day. C'mon Bill, disagree with me and let's start something. Let's ask Jimbo and Joe, and Billy and Bentz about wild R&d craft. 'Tsup to you boyo.

[jlf56]

Thanks Bill, some things I remember plainly and others I remember like I want too.!!! I was amazed at the water, or lack if it, when we got to Elsinor. They gave us a ticket to launch and written on the back it said "we do not guarentee the quality or quantity of water in this resivoir". We were lake folk and were not use to shallow water. Well except for lake Austin where Renato dove off the back of the 2+2 at the boat ramp and broke his neck. Remember that? He was in Austin rigging the wooden single for Miami and wound up in the hospital. I had to drive the boat at Miami (my first time to drive a single) and Scottie and I swapted the lead till I blew the thing over heading out into the bay turn. You were probably there too. I had a bad habbit of destroying boats !!:D

Fielder

[minto]

No, it wasn,t the greatest show on earth, it Was the scariest. I flat refused to race there the first 3 years it was held. The course scared me sh---less. Then Scotti and i got to talking about it, and he said to me " Jackie, the course is perfectly safe until you forget to remember it's very dangerous " He said i should try it and then tell him what i thought ! well i raced there 3 or 4 times and watched 4 people die ----------Dave Mason-----Francios Salaber------the german restauranter, whose name i forget. One of the Swedish twins , whose name i will remember soon as i post this. More guys died racing in bristol than anywhere else in europe , no it wasn,t the greatest show on earth unless you were a weirdo.

Jackie, I think you just called half the 70's and 80's population of Bristol weirdos. It is very sad what happened to those guys, not to mention the two rescue crew involved in the Henk Backers incident. I guess it's just human nature for our minds to block out the tradgedy and try to remember the good.
I don't think Bristol had the monopoly on fatalities, there seemed to be a lot of it around in those days. Thank goodness the sport has finally got it's act together in recent years and taken both equipment and rescue standards to a new level.

[jackie wilson]

Minto, If half the Bristol Population Thought it was the Greatest show on earth , then they were weirdos.!!! But you and i know different. The people of Bristol are great. I have a lot of friends in Bristol and Don Ross, my Best friend for a lot of years was born and bred there and i would never dream of insulting "half the population'. Charlie Shepherd had a good idea when he started Bristol and dividing boats into FORMULA'S was a touch of brilliance. He got Rossi and Brian Hunt and a few others to run around the harbour a few times and report back to him. Not all the reports were positive.But with tongue in cheek ,Charlie forged ahead with the idea. We got into a discussion about the merits and the negs of the course, my comment at that time was------ it's the most dangerous place on gods earth to make a racecourse------ Even though i raced there a few times, i still believe that. I also agree , Bristol did not have a monopoly on dead drivers, it had a lot more than its fair share. It also left a sh-tload of maimed for life drivers, ie, Tony Williams , Neil Gregg and a whole bunch more. So from where i'm sitting Minto, i cannot agree with you on the greatest show on earth. Just as a by the by----- did you ever watch the start at Havasu or Parker, or the Milan 6 hrs, Or Amsterdam Or Paris in October or Rouen in May,????? They were also great shows. If the people of Bristol thought i offended them, then i apologise, it was not meant. But as i said before if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen , the way it is , bugger off into the garden and have a quiet life, Don't you just love a controversy.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[minto]

Couldn't agree more, the world would be a dull place without a bit of lively controversial debate.

Seem to remember that a Bristol Evening Post journalist used the "Greatest Show on Earth" phrase to head an article on the event in the late 70's. Mind you, he probably used the same phrase to describe the World Tiddly Winks championship the following week. In todays terms I dare say the very over used "AWESOME" would have been favourite.

What sort of outfits were used for the initial testing of the circuit? Must have been a hell of a difference between them and the rigs running by the late 80's.

Speaking of Bristol, I hear former CMBRC commodore Derek Thompson died recently, I'm sure he took the Officer of the Day role several times at the event.

[K.Otis Hill]

Just a quick note: I a still monitoring this thread / forum ad having a fabulous time reading all of your postings. Cant join the conversation I have to admit but am having a ball!
And, btw: Yup! Life would simply s**k without some good controversy!

[jackie wilson]

Couldn't agree more, the world would be a dull place without a bit of lively controversial debate.

Seem to remember that a Bristol Evening Post journalist used the "Greatest Show on Earth" phrase to head an article on the event in the late 70's. Mind you, he probably used the same phrase to describe the World Tiddly Winks championship the following week. In todays terms I dare say the very over used "AWESOME" would have been favourite.

What sort of outfits were used for the initial testing of the circuit? Must have been a hell of a difference between them and the rigs running by the late 80's.

Speaking of Bristol, I hear former CMBRC commodore Derek Thompson died recently, I'm sure he took the Officer of the Day role several times at the event.

Don't ever remember anyone else except D/T being officer of the day in Bristol. Can't remember the name of the big guy who was the starter??
When charlie first told me about this race, he was 2 years down the line and had laid all the bogeys to rest but had never even had a boat on the water to try out, as far as he was concerned it was cut and dried. Rossi had a 16' M&M Levi. Hunt a 16' Bristol John Hill a !4' bristol Tony Williams a 14' bristol and a 50 hp merc, and anyone from the cotswold club who could get the day off work put their boats in and ran around the harbour, and then was asked to comment on it. Bear in mind ,the harbour was being used as a marina and there were dozens of boats and a great deal of debris . The fastest boat there could not have been more than 55 mph, a far cry from the 100+ the boats were doing in the 80's. But by the time the show was on the road the advent of the tunnel hull came about Then and now i think you chose the correct word in --AWESOME---.

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie
Come on then tell use some more stories, As i have a little brother called
Jeremy James Garner born early 70's how about some history on his namesake.

Regards Rob.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Soooo! you want to know about Jeremy James, one hell of a character, larger than life, all 15 stone of him. Always had a perpetual smile on his face. Wicked sense of humour, and a beautiful wife. And heir to the James motorcycle dynasty.Great friend of "Shakey Bill"and raced in a shakespeare hull. Started with a vee bottom 16' alongside Rex Mann and Shakey himself.Graduated to tunnel boats, built for him by none other than Dave Burgess[ who was the firms boatbuilder back then]. Freddie Miles got hold of Dave after Bill Was lost in Lake windermere. Then came the Miles master[ built by Burgess] . Sorry about this ,but in boats, one damn thing rolls into another ,and before you know it your off at a tangent. Back to Jeremy. Think it was '69 when we all went to Liege in Belgium for the 6 hr race. Jeremy was sleeping in his old VDUB van in the pits. It was thick fog on the river , with no sign of a break. Drivers briefing said not to go too far downstream as there was a weir. We didn't take too much notice of this 'cos we understood it to be miles away. Shakey and Jeremy took off together to do a practice run round the island, the fog was so thick they missed the island and carried on downstream, Jeremy hit the weir wall flat out and launched the boat into a 20' drop onto solid concrete. Died instantly, we were told. Shakey saw him disappear and took evasive action. but he ran the gearcase along the weir wall. that dragged the boat over the weir in slow motion, the boat just hangs there caught by it's leg, Shakey dropped out of the cockpit ,onto the concrete . broke both wrists, but lived to race just one more race. These facts were told to me by Bill himself in the clubhouse 2hrs before he died in Windermere. We lost 2 of the sports most flambouyant figures when they died in such tragic circumstances. The race went on, i was racing with Don Ross jn a Molinari, Lying 2nd to Freddie Miles and Wilf Gregory In a Shakespeare/ Miles. I hit a barge and wiped the boat out. Wilf Gregory got all excited coming into the pits and hit the wall at a rapid rate of knots and that was the end of their race. Freddie sold the damaged boat to G.Garbrecht, who shipped it straight back to Oshberg. You will have to ask Willabee what happened after that

[jackie wilson]

On a much nicer and quieter note Grandson Craig and James Sheppard won the P1 world title down in Portimao Lisbon. last weekend, They won the saturday race and then the sunday race was blown out anyway . But they won the title on saturday . jw.

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie thats great news about craig and James great looking boat
maybe they should enter next years round britain ? Thanks for the info on
Jeremy James fills in a few blanks for me I always find it amazing how
intertwined all the drivers and boat builders were, How did you and chris
hodges hook up and wasn't it one of his boats that you and mark won
paris with ?

Regards Rob

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Sandra, my eldest daughter, met this laid back, long haired boatbuilder called Steve Cheeseman, who happened to work for and still manage to be a friend of Chris Hodges. He is stlll here and has a couple of great kids, Sonia , and Simon who just happens to be part of the King of Shaves crew. [ just 2 of my grandkids ]. Sandy died of the big C 12 years ago. Powerboat magazine under Roz Knott used to have a grapevine and the clown who wrote the column kept hinting that Chris Hodges was building a secret boat for J.Wilson, So i rang Hodges and told him i had never heard of him, and what the hell was he doing putting silly stories about. He got all pissy and told me he was going to come see me and get it sorted. He came down to the shop, and after i told him his fortune, i ordered a boat. That's how i first met Hodges. He's white haired and getting old and lives in Australia after doing a few years in Florida working for Apache and Kath Verdoli and a few more, and breeding hayburners [horses]. I used to buy boats from him when he didn't have any orders, just so he didn't shut up shop. Kept the old goat going for years !!!!!!!! The last Hodges boat i ever bought, the one after the Cosworth, was the one Mark and I won Paris in. I know ,i know ,i do go on, sorreeeeee.Jw

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie Every post you write you drop another name that brings back
more memories roz knott as editor of powerboat&waterski magazine i used
to love that mag i remember reading it cover to cover as soon as it was
delivered even the adverts at the back were great there was one that was in every month for years going back to the 60's that advertised cypress gardens and how the ski show had been running since before
WW2 must have worked it was the first place i went to when in florida!.
I remember your ad's as well they always had a good tag line like WHEN DISNEY NEEDED BOATS WHO DID HE COME TO etc, keep telling the stories jackie it's like having a time machine how about your top five brit drivers as a start.


Rob

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Problem with a top 5 list is a---what era,----B-----mono or tunnel?? One of the most aggresive flat bottom drivers i ever saw was Jock Geddes [LU-KI-LU] from South Staffs Club, [Chasewater]. When he and John Merryfield got to exchanging places ,it was something to watch. We used to have inter club meetings at each others venues ie London [Iver]. Cotswolds [Fairford] and Chasewater. These were invariably done over a bank holiday weekend, so we could run 2 or even 3 meetings. Then there were the Anglo-French meetings with a turnout of some 40 boats. The french used to have some wicked inboards and the handicap system was really put to the test on these occasions. Top guns in those days were Bob May. Frankie Holmes [Yarecraft] Peter Sabberton, [hybrid inboard] John Derry [ Derry boats], Len Melly .[ long before double m] and i used to be in there somewhere. Later on , about late 62 and early 63 Sonni Levi brought out the "Deep Vee" and double m had Souters down at Shoreham build them. A whole new breed of drivers were born, Denny Burton [uncle den] Collie Coulson [sch-uno-who] Don Ross [Gawd-L-Pus] Ron Burchell [mischief] Julian Bailey [Phaedra]. John Meryfield [ Kiekhaefer] and dozens of others, In 1965 i decided to try my luck abroad and took the caravan , boat, and family to monte carlo and the cote d azure. 2 weeks of great fun and 10 races, Won 22 trophies and met a whole bunch of wonderful people like Arie de boom, Van Neep, Cees Velden. Johnny Bloch. Anyway the upshot of all this, in 1966 about 12 english drivers and families went and did the tour. This time we went to the isle des embiez where there was an offshore race and i first met Pruett and Aronow and Ballesteros. And Bumped into James Beard and Grant wilson. I think that was the first time that brits had wandered abroad apart from the odd pilgrimage to Paris in october. The VEES lasted for another 4 years before the more serious drivers took to the tunnels , And hardly any of the top v bottom pilots made the grade to cats. so you see Rob i would have to put "the top 5 brits" into different categories . i suppose you mean ,the latter years ie. 1970-----2000. here goes MARK WILSON
JOHN HILL
JON JONES
ANDY ELLIOT
TONY WILLIAMS

OK Rob, thats the yardstick for that era, let the argument begin. jw.

[jlf56]

Hey Jackie !!!
Fielder here, got to ask this !!
It was either 69 or 70 in Havasu I met you and you were upset to say the least. As I remember you and Garbrek (sp) had had a mild misunderstanding and he wouldn't let you drive. Refresh my memory, what happened ??? Harold and I laughed many times about that (no disrespect meant) In your terms I guess you would say, " You were a might pissy about the whole thing".
By the way, what ever became of Bill Wishnick(sp) and Don Arrnow (sp) ??

Have a good day, Fielder

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Joe, 'twas '69. Don Ross and i had a steller year in europe and won just about everything. We were aproached by this head of high perv [sp] at that time Bill ????? He told me to get over to Wisconsin and he would have a new factory rig to use in Havasu. We arrived in Oshburgh , booked in at the "best western" and toddled off to High Performance. Was told there was no boat and the dipstick had just been fired. I asked who was in charge and i think it must have been willabee who was really busy and not looking into my eyes who said in a hard to understand midwestern drawl-------Go see Garbage--- he's in charge. So i pushed through all the doors marked private and no entrance and keep out and R&D and all that crap and banged on the desk of G.G. and demanded to see Gary Garbage, Great start to a relationship, " the name is Garbrecht!!!! and this is a restricted area and we don't have a spare boat for you, and i'm busy" So walked out of his office into the snow, got into the renta racer and drove like a very annoyed person.Then got stopped by the local constabulary, dragged off to the courthouse and fined on seven violations @ $7 a time. Yes Joe, i was a bit "pissy" with G.G. for a while. We did become friends, but he and i did not often see eye to eye, and we did have some serious disagreements. In later life right up to the time he died, we talked by e/mail on a regular basis. Like i told him, he talked a better game of golf than he played.
Aronow lost an argument with 6 lumps of lead on 144th st. Miami, many years ago and i have lost track of Bill Wishnick completely. I think he worked with Odell Lewis for Carl Kiekhaefer so willabee should know the answer.If he doesn't 75h will. See ya Joe.

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie I like your list very young though apart from john hill no jenkins spalding percival etc?. That last post 89* is a humdinger you should write
film scripts. :D

Rob

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, I get to thinking about the old racing days and i still think when the factories raced to a formula it was good for all concerned, but when O.M.C. chucked the rule book away it was the end of an era ie, "the golden era". It was the start of the decline of O.M.C. and the end of tight racing. They went and did their thing which lasted all of 2 years before the series bit the dust, whilst the 2 litre series went from strength to strength and is still the only world wide series running today. That's one of the reasons i completely forgot about the O.Z. boys. Even so, Bob Spalding was the only one i would put in the top 6, Percy was a great back up driver, and Jenks was middling to good but not top 5 quality. He talked a bloody good race but only occasionally delivered. I remember he came to South Africa to race in the fonda series and told the T.V.reporter, he could "beat this lot with one hand tied behind my back", he came nowhere. No i haven't forgotten he was world champ in O.Z. Rick Frost never had the learning curve, went from small stuff to big in one leap and again, never delivered. There were a couple of other english drivers O.M.C recruited to make up numbers, but again never made the grade.Thorneywork was good after a couple of slugs of cutty sark, but is not in the top 6, so who's your next Rob, bring 'em on.!!!!!!!

[minto]

Hi Jackie,

Great to read your info on names like Jeremy James in an earlier post. I remember a lot of trophies at Iver were named after people like him and Cyril Benstead, but knew very little about them. You also mentioned Peter Sabberton, I was at Oulton Broad earlier this year and Alan Sabberton (his son, I think) is still racing inboards at the club.

Congratulations to you on your grandson's recent success in the P1 series, I bet that put a big smile on your face.:)

Just noticed a top 5 Brits thing going on here, gotta get involved but need time to think. What were your reasons for including Tony Williams? Undoubtedly he had success but didn't seem to dominate like most of the others in your list. Interesting that you rate Spalding above "Percy pit stop", most people I know tend to go for the reverse. Always seemed like I was the only person that thought Spalding just shaded it, good to know there is someone out there who finally agrees.

Please keep up the info and stories behind some of the old boatbuilder/racers, Yarecraft, Albatross, Bristol, Blufin, John Derry, Len Melly, etc. It's a fascinating insight into these characters from someone who both knew and raced against many of them.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Minto, Tony Williams was a very consistent rich-kid racer, always there and in your face kinda driver.Educated at the Sarbonne in Paris . Think ma and pa paid for the boats to keep him out of the way. Last time i saw him i told him if he ever spoke to me again, i would tie him to his boat and sink it. I fell out with a lot of folk, it seems i had to just say my piece and if they didn;t agree-----tough titty.
You were right about the trophy names, The Linda May, The Elizabeth [James] Trophy. The Benstead Trophy, The Stevenson Trophy. I still have most of them in the garage in tea chests. Every Club had its own Favourites and there were a lot of active clubs in England in those days, Both hydros and sportsboats, London, and South Staffs, were the Premier clubs. Lancashire, Fairford , Oulton Broad, Bedford.. Teighn and Shaldon. Southport, and i know iv'e missed some out. In the early days the inboards outnumbered the outboards, and each ran in seperate heats. Look down the list and you will see some world famous names in the inboard classes. Here i go ----rabbiting---- must stop that,

[robert j garner]

Right here goes not based on results but how much i enjoyed watching.

1 J wilson [ you have to be at the top because of the cosworth.
2 J hill [ dominant in OE and good in ON.
3 B spalding [ find it hard to split him from jenkins and percival.
4 F brothers [ good value .
5 M burnapp [always in the chase and a nice bloke.

Never realised how hard this would be.

Rob.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Not easy is it , Fiona was very marketable at that time and had boobs even though they were tiny, Malcolm didn't ,so could not pull the sponsorship Fi could. Jimmy Peverell was a good club racer and a nice chap but not top drawer stuff.Chas Shooter from Derby was a top 5 vee bottom but never made the grade as a tunnel man . James Beard ,good offshore lad but only middlin as a cat man, Same with Clive Curtis....Top 5 worldwide were always Billy, Renato, Bentz, Mark.W. Michael and 6th Cees V on a good day. Jonesy in the top 10 and John Hill. The rest of us were bloody good but there were probably another 10 all on the same level. the clever bit is to put some names down and see what comes up. Bon Chance Mes Amies.

[robert j garner]

wow i was waiting with my fingers in my ears for the explosion !!!
kept coming back to john nickelson but not sure if he was a brit??

I have another question did cees boats get turned into seebolds or
just look the same ?.

What about capperelli (sp).


Rob

[jackie wilson]

This is the 3rd time of trying to answer your mail Rob, 1st time i did a long and elaborate soliloquy, went to edit the damn thing and it dissapeared up it's own jaxi. 2nd time, lightening whacked the house and shut down the puter. 3rd time ,after waiting for 2 years to get new meters installed.E,D,FR. decided to do it just before i finished writing. So here goes let's try again. Nick-Nick was a New Zealander who landed in England with a suitcase and the clothes he stood up in. Went on to form Nicholson McLaren, and used to buy his motors from Merc High Perf. 10 at a time with 10 gear cases and enough spares to run a whole team. Had a great Mech. in Mathew and was the hardest man on the curcuit to beat. Yes ,he should be in the top 10. Cees Built Boats before Billy, But it was a strange situation and Billy started building his own in the U.S.

[minto]

John Nicholson, that's a good call, I'd forgotten about him. As I remember he always seemed loyal to the Hodges hull.
Tom Percival's OZ lap record at Oulton Broad still stands today, but John Nicholson's ON record on the same circuit is only just shy of Tom's. Not bad when you consider the power advantage for Tom and the extra experience he had of the circuit.

Just a "PINCH" more effort from John and he might have done it.:D :D

[robert j garner]

Hi Rod Come on lets see your five the more you think about it the worse
it gets.

Hi Jackie Just out of interest do you have to speak fluent french to get
things like meters replaced or can you get by with english SLOW and LOUD.:D

Rob

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, A basic spattering of french, combined with a reminder of just how good we english are at all things will generally suffice, but it don't half help if you have a wife who speaks and understands french perfectly and does the ordering. I only come into play when E.D.F. need a shake up. Don't see many people rushing to name their top 5 ???????

[minto]

Okay I eventually came up with a top 5. You are both right, it is very difficult as it feels like you need about 5 different categories to make it fair.
My 5 are based on drivers from the 70's onwards, I think Jackie is better qualified to comment on the greats from before that period.

JOHN HILL (proven over several decades)
BOB SPALDING (calculating)
JON JONES (tigerish)
JENKINS/PERCIVAL (Oh, I just can't decide)
ANDY ELLIOTT (great results achieved on a small budget)

So many other talented drivers to choose, Thorneywork, Kerton, Inward, Bullen and Duggan to name but a few. And of course there's Mark and yourself Jackie, top marks to you for trying to do something different and doing it very successfully.

There are lots of other unsung heroes out there from the smaller cats and monos who simply never raced on the world stage. But I'm sure they were just as talented and provided as much excitment as their more illustrious counterparts. These are the folk who would fit ideally into the extra categories I mentioned earlier.

Rob, I spoke to someone recently who has a friend that still sees Fiona Brothers occasionallly. Such a shame, it seems she still suffers the effects of the accident that ended her racing career.

Jackie, it would be great if you could come up with a top 5 Brit list prior to the 1970's.

Better get off now before the wife realises I'm loafing rather than crossing jobs off the to do list.:D

[robert j garner]

Hi Rod good list think we have to name jackie as one of the greats
pre 1970 as there is ever a pic of him in the bible (shakeys book).

Makes you wonder where all the old curcuit drivers are as they don't
seem to be as vocal as the offshore boys (didn't seem like that at the time) maybe they have yet to discover the tinternet.


Rob.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Minto. Don't you worry too much about FEE, she's alive and well and still lives on the isle of wight. Still wants to have a crack at the round the island record. She still thinks she can crack a 100 MPH lap. She still has that lopsided sexy look the accident left her with.

[BluFin]

Bumped into Phil Duggan a few years back over breakfast in the Sheraton in Abu Dhabi. Was keeping well then. Turned it into a coffee morning before we had to go our seperate ways. Was a manager for some team out there but I cant recall which. I possibly rank Alf Bullen in the top list as he did well in both offshore & circuit racing.
Andy Ellott should have had more resources given. Recall him nipping round Iver in the Junior class (long befor the M25)
Who else?
Going down with the old boy to get some bits for the Merc, a boat place in Southwater...................kor whats his name !!!!!!!!!!!! (grin)

Geeezzz was it this lifetime !!!!!!!

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Blufin, How come you got Wobbly's brand for a title ????? Duggan did a great deal of work on the FONDA. series working for Dave Parkinson of J.B.S. Asscociates, who helped me start it all. He went and worked in the emirates and was Sports Director for Abu Dhabi a very high position believe me. His early demise was a great loss to all of us.
Alfie was O.K. but the 20 stone the boat had to haul was a distinct dissadvantage, And son Andy didn't have it.
Andy Elliot had the best sponshorship of anyone on the FONDA. circuit, coupled with factory support from Mercury France AND Jennaeu. He should have won the world title but bottled out to John Hill at the last meeting of the season. He always had some good guys backing him.
He came from the Juniors along With Tiff Needell. Mark Wilson, Chapman and Duckworth etc.
The boat place in Southwater closed in 1982, buggered if i know what happened to the cranky old git who owned it.
Nah !!!!!! couldn't have been in this lifetime !!!!!!!

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie Always heard tiff started in boats i asumed OCR

Didn't you put mark in a hydroplane as well.



Rob.

[BluFin]

Wobbly's Brand.. Pretty much I had to come up with a boating type login & the last four offshore boats I raced were all BluFin's. Kor his knees were F*&**ed I used to take the mick when every I went up to Brum for a "fitting" here we are 25 years later (ish) and look at me on a damp cold morning wobbly, wobbly.
This is where we spring the Undertaker stories to S & F. Being snuck in the back door, past the coffins, to climb into next seasons mount as Ron's shop was full so he was doing it round at Grant's, I will be moving it over soon............ We can expand on that if not too macarbe."you sure it's marine ply Ron"? not Grants material I hope!!!

I here Ron had passed away a few years ago, like the dry humor, endless number of one liners to questions. Drove a string of Subaru's at one speed and it wasn't slow...... He talked a lot about Rouen & racing run through his viens I know the old man took him down windermere & I think "Ciao" on here did a run with him as well, great smile on his face & wobbled back up the dock to call his sister.
Cheers Ron, One to you and the many other names we talk of here

[jackie wilson]

did he still have "BOSUN" his old labrador, his legs were shot too

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Have Answered This Before But The Damn Thing Went Walkabouts When I Hit The Post Quick Reply. Tiff Started At Iver As A Junior But I Don't Remember Him Progressing Further Through The Ranks. His Dad [anthony] Was A Marine Insurance Assessor In Half Moon St, And Was One Of The First Scrutineers In Offshore As Well As Sportsboats. He Founded The British Drivers Asc. When We Fell Out With The Rya, And The Rac. I Still Have The Licence To This Day. My Youngest Daughter Sam Used To Race Juniors, But When She Reached 12 She Tried Telling Me What She Needed ,ie A New Engine And A New Boat Etc, So We Had A Little Argument And I Sold The Complete Rig And It Took Her 30 Years To Forgive Me For That. Never Could Stand Mouthy Kids.

[BluFin]

Never Could Stand Mouthy Kids.
You must meet my eldest Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.................... Fun watching when she punches my clock so the rest of them say.
she can out-turn me but I have the straight line speed, I tend to do better in the open but once inside I loose to much ground.

I cant recall Ron,s dog but I'm sure he would have spoiled it rotten

[robert j garner]

Ah kids so much knowledge at such young ages !!!!.

[jackie wilson]

Sam is over 40 now and still believes she could have been world champ if i hadn't been such a mean old git. Still grandson Craig is a world champ so i don't have any regrets, life has been kind to my family in the main and she still talks about the sore butt she got when she was 18 after coming home at 2 in the morning. Half the problems in the world today could be solved overnight if teachers were given a free hand and parents put a kid over their knee. No, i am not a bully or a sado mas. Just a parent who sees where idiots in high power got it all wrong. Shutup Wilson.

[robert j garner]

Yeah life is not like it was we should go back to the days of respect for elders and a minimum starting age of 35 for policemen and let them hand out a clip round the ear.But that's a long way from trying to identfiy Peter's TREMLETT.

Reading wilabee's hot singles that is some achievement to of only ever flipped twice jackie dad could come close to that in one event!!!.
Rob

[jackie wilson]

ssooooooooooo, now the history of outboards has been laid to rest and nobody wants to know anything. Rob and Minto have hibernated. I'm back from a very dreary U.K. so I'm off to play with my 28' Searay i bought in Florida a couple of years back. Be like me and have a great life. J.

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie No hibernation down here in the southwest taking my boat
out tomorrow afternoon, did you see my last post is that right you
only ever flipped twice?.

Rob.

[jackie wilson]

Hiya Rob, Yup, and that was one too many. The first was at Iver during a television meeting. I had just imported the Torrigia and Ridgell and Garbrecht had gotten to hear about the boat. Garbrecht told me he had flipped a cat over in the states, i thought he was full of crap and told him.' these boats don't blow over' [bear in mind this was 1964 and this was the very first tunnel boat to race seriously]. Just to show him , i put the tilt pin out another notch, and the boat gained another 3 mph in both directions. Led the field by a country mile, came past timing control ay about 65 mph when much to my utter disbelief, the boat did a complete somersault and landed the right way up, but with a very bent steering wheel. The motor was still running and i was still in the cockpit so i just hit the throttle and carried on, won the heat and then saw Ridgell and Garbrecht grinning from ear to ear and i knew the "told you so " bit was coming , so i told them i just did it for the T.V. There was a series of pictures in the clubhouse of that flip for over 10 yrs. I managed to keep a boat the right way up for the next 6 years, and it was only stupidity on my part that caused the second flip in Havasu. I opened the Merc shop in southwater late '71 and concentrated on building a business for the next 3-4 yrs, after it became successful i chucked in all my retirement plans and started to play boats again. Got the sack from the Mercury race team in '71 and told Garbrecht "i'll build my own damned outboard, i don't need you buddy". The way we got the Cosworth 2 litre homologated as an outboard was due in no small measure to Bill Browns expertise as a UIM. official. He knew the rule book backwards. Mike Bellamy gave me some good advice on how to do it, he was also a UIM scrutineer. Both Mercury and OMC tried to give me a hard time with the odd protest here and there. But while the boat was good enough to beat most 2 litre rigs , i could never run with the factory teams, that is until OMC changed the goalposts and started to run OZ and Duckworth decided to put his toe into the water with the DFV. 3 litre V8. I turned up at Bristol with this most beautiful raceboat and first time round went fastest of all. THEN--------THE SH-T HIT THE FAN.

[robert j garner]

Hi Jackie
I am sure i remember bill brown didn't he also have a 2 litre
cosworth cat. where were you based before southwater i remember
when you had dads tremlett repaired (he hit a uncharted rock ripped of
the transom and smashed the gearbox) you lent him a boat to do the endurance race at chacewater think it was the best result he ever got.
The cosworth in OZ was a great looking boat the shame of that year
was molinari not running at bristol and then exploding his boat at chase.
Just come in from a blast around falmouth bay so that is the last time to
get a wiff of twostroke oil and the sound of a merc V6 til next year:(


Rob

[jackie wilson]

Yes , it was Bill Brown who supplied the engine and i got dave burgess to build the boat. "Twas a great concept and worked well.
Before i moved to the garage in southwater, i had a lock up in the london road car park in Horsham. Started to build tunnel boats there, Joe Swift and Bill Steele from Mercury came over to see what i was up to, but i don't think they were very impressed by the operation.
Jim was such a nice bloke ,i would have lent him anything. But that was how it was in those days, everyone helped each other. The first time i ever saw anyone refuse help was Dave Burgess telling Molly, he could not have a piece of wood to repair his boat. Decidedly "NON COOL" .
I keep my boat in the village harbour and it means i can use it all year round------sorry 'bout your bad luck Rob.!!!!!!!! Just love the smell of my diesel @ 2gallons an hour cruising and 6 galls an hour skiing.

[robert j garner]

Ok so it beats 70 litres of unleaded an hour but nothing can match the sound of a V6 twostroke.:D
Nice to speak to you jackie .

Rob

[jackie wilson]

Sorry rob, but a V8 cosworth in a hurry does it every time for me J.

[robert j garner]

Some of the kit the ski racers are using these days is tasty we had the worlds in england in 2005 the top us boats with blown chevy single engine
running twin outdrives think the idea came from US dragboats!!!!


Rob.

[jackie wilson]

Last time i got involved with speed skiing was the time of Liz Hobbs, Karen Morse and Mike Hazelwood. SHOWS THE AGE DON'T IT. We always got good ideas from the U.S.A. then went out and did it better !!!!!!! Ian Hawkins of Ilmoor used to look at the big block trick sh-t the americans had and then made the immortal comment as he shook his head sadly---"IF IT DON'T GO-----------CHROME IT !!!! '

[robert j garner]

Hi Peter

Take a look at this site www.sorcererboats.com (http://www.sorcererboats.com) check out the pics in history looks like your boat is a sorcerer.

Rob.

[K.Otis Hill]

Hi Rob! Thanks a Million! Cool! Yup, looks VERY much like my boat.

Unfortunately I stll am having the engine problem, because the moving company (UBOX www.ubox.com) cheated me big time. Now they are holding my engine "ransom" and everytime I pay one bill it just results in me getting an new bill.

So, just in case anyone ever has anything to ship: STAY AWAY from UBOX!