Oldie but Goody

[woodco]

Are there any Molinari's still on the water ????

[Laker]

JOE!!!
SWEEEET PIC!!!!!!
Where did you find that?!

[at100plus]

I used to have this boat:

I traded the guy in Tuckerton Beach New Jersey my 13' Bullet Boat with 50 Evinrude for this boat. I was only 17.

He said it was made by McDonnel Douglas. Later I met the guy who said he used to own it and race it. That guy brought me in his house and showed me pictures of it. He said the maker was McDougal. I wound up busting the left rear sponson and sinking in on a beach in Sweetwater.

[woodco]

I was just checkin sites and found it by mistake ...... When I saw
it I was so excited !!!!! Had to save it ;)

Mike !!!!!! That boat is friggin BEAUTIFULL !!!!!!!!!

It's ashame what had happened ......... :(

I love it !!!!!!!!! ;)

[sho305]

A race boat at 17? I'd be dead by now!! How awesome. Great pic of the Molinari, how about the bow-up attitude?! Talk about air packing...:D

[woodco]

Thats what makes that picture perfect !!!!!! The attitude on the
lift is phenominal ....... That boat is running perfect !!!! ;)

Think he's only got a 135 hp on there too ......

[sho305]

Hmmm, that motor looks just like mine! Did they ever blow over? Or were they too slow? That just looks so bad way up there like that! Just great Woodco! Had to have felt like 300hp in that thing. Might not want to hit a good wake like that though:)

[Raceman]

That's one of the better lookin' old tunnel pics I've ever seen. I can't exactly figure out the running angle though. It doesn't look much like a bounce (throttle off/throttle on) for the camera, especially with that trim angle on the engine. One thing for sure, much over 50's with the bow up like that and he's on his head. I've seen Magnums with a lot less angle go over in the low 70s. Interesting picture for sure.

Can anybody see what color the stickers are? If it was 1350 they'd have to be red. Kinda looks blue to me.

[Raceman]

Another thing or two strikes me about that picture. The motor seems to be at a near perfect angle for the running angle of the boat. The props available in the early 70's weren't exactly bow toters like we're used to today. I'm also curious if they were running power trim on the J Sport boats in the early 70's. They generally didn't on the J Productions, and I don't even think it was legal until after I bought my 15 Ally. It wasn't equipped with it anyway.

[woodco]

Like ya said it doesn't look like he throttle induced that bowlift ...
Looks like he's just fyin it as high as he could.Definately a nice
pic..... As for the mota kinda looks a lil red on the stickers and
the facts I got with the pic where 1971 both hull and mota.

Here's one I saved for ya !!!!!! Nice Twister !!!! ;)

[woodco]

Now this is a good pic to show the running angle ..... Also do the
stickers look red ???? I think they do ..... Could be just me though

[Mark75H]

I noticed the extreme bow up angle too. I am wondering if you could safely do that by inching the trim up as you slowly slowed down?


Whatever and however, I think the trick is that the boat is going much slower than you would guess.

I think the 135's had a white "1350" decal on the top front we would be able to see in the first picture, didn't they?

[at100plus]

I think my boat above did low 60s with the 140 Evinrude on it and I could get it to fly like that. Notice the square "relief" holes on each side of the cockpit. At 60 it probably wouldn't blow over.

[Mark75H]

Like this:

[A.Acosta]

this was in 1977 i was a kid but those think's are the one that makre me race boats now

[A.Acosta]

other pic. this pics was in Puerto Rico

[Raceman]

AT100, I don't see the relief holes in that boat. If it's a Carlson/Molinari they didn't have em. The only boat I remember with em were the Stinsons, but there might've been others. The reliefs of course were similar in function to the pickle forks which they gave away to.

I sure as hell wouldn't run an old cowl over style tunnel that high at 60 MPH. Back then, the most likely prop would've been a 2 blade through hub bronze, and I can't imagine it holding the bow that high.

That's a neat boat with the Twister also. I don't know where y'all are finding these, but I hope you'll keep em coming.

[Raceman]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the first picture, with the boat kind of shown more from the front show a much higher angle than the second one which is from the side?

[omc-v4]

That is how they ran glass moleys had to much rocker. They only ran in upper 60s with J class motors. No contest with any woden tunnel.

[sho305]

Hard to see in that pic, but it looks like the tunnel is deeper too so it might not get the lift like others. Maybe he was running 50mph for the camera. If it were flat that would be lots of trim. Nice pic though. Seems like it would get slower with the large hull angle digging in the water like that.

I assume back then if you had an old race boat and you broke it, you tossed it in the trash? Too bad.

[2us70]

Those early Molinaris had the deepest part of the tunnel right at the back and ran fastest with the bow way up there. You should have seen Renato Molinari ,the builder's son, run one of them. He could keep it up like that all day.

[Raceman]

V4, I know the early tunnels, many of em rocker bottoms ran high, but nobody runs a boat in race conditions as high as the first picture.

2US, not being familiar with that particular boat, I can't contradict what you're saying, except to say that all the rocker boats I've seen, with their huge angles of attack were deeper at the lowest point in the rocker, as far as the actual tunnel depth, and their natural running angle because of the rocker made them actually shallower still at the rear. That's the way my Kitson is, and I'd always assumed the others also.

[2us70]

Seems to me I remember the Kitsons as well as the Scorpoins that Pearl ran were based on the English Miles Master design which was a distinct improvement over the early Molinaris.As the speeds increased past 70 those old high flying boats became un competitive. Glastron built them in 2 sizes, single engine & twin, I forget the exact lengths. There was a guy from Naples named Paul Felsh who ran one of the single boats with twins and I dont think he had power trim in it. I had the chance to test one of them with a J motor once, it ran just a little short of 70 and was not particularly hard to drive at that speed. Power trim was not legal in SJ at that time which probably kept me from doing something dumb. If you look close at the registration # it looks like a FL #. The background also looks like any of several favorite testing places in southern Florida.

[hydro-cat]

where do you guys find these pics at? what about schulze tunnels

[brianT2]

one of the best people/good friend in boat racing and a great race promoter. same hull (i think) as the black w/twister. seems that they were a florida built boat b&h, g&h?? somethin' like that??

[2us70]

You'r right about that boat Dick Hunter is in being Florida built the shop it came out of was just east of the Miami airport but I cant remember the name. The same shop built a few SG boats that were realy pretty but didn't seem to run real fast. Is Dick still with us and if so how is he? I will never forget Dick startling a Pellican in his Hydrostream at this point the Pellican unloaded leaving Dick to drive the rest of a 3 hour race covered in Pellican crap.

[woodco]

I'm away for the holiday but I have some more on
my puter at home to show ya's.That pic with him
flyin it high is cool but like Raceman said I
think thats a lil too high for normal race conditions ..........

[Northern Jewel]

The little pickle with the single tower looks like he's doing better than the Molinari?? in the backround with triple towers.

[Northern Jewel]

found this ad at a Glastron site.

[H2Onut]

.

[H2Onut]

..

[H2Onut]

...

[Raceman]

Hey Northern Jewel, it might be that the single engine boat is gettin' lapped.

[2us70]

H2onut . Where and when were those last few pictures taken? Looks like Florida in the mid 70s. The lettering on the boats is not quite readable so I cant tell if any of them are guys I knew.

[Raceman]

Both engines are 72, 73 or 74, most likely 73 or 74, but definately pre 75.

[woodco]

Sportin t/ 1959 Mark 78 AE 's .......

[Powercat]

Gota Luv it !!!
Danny Leger

Originally posted by woodco
Sportin t/ 1959 Mark 78 AE 's .......

[helmetguru]

schultze hydro cats were some fast boats, we had several of them in my family, they were kind of disposable boats, for $2500 they would last about 3/4 of a season of hard racing then fall apart, usually at the end of a long straight when you set it for a corner...but they were plenty fast.

molinari still builds some stuff but not like he used to, he tried offshore but had no success so now he does propeller work, for a few teams in UIM F1 and other things. i went to the shop at Lake Como a few years ago and it's really cool to see where it all began.

picture: me, renato, bill seebold, casale monferrato, italy

[woodco]

One of my favorite western stars ....... Gonna have to make a
nice picture frame for this and hang it proudly ...... ;)

[2us70]

Roy Rogers ran Stock Outboard in CA for a while in the 50s. Does anyone know what kind of results he had?

[Mark75H]

I don't know anything about Roy's Stock racing results, but he did well in early OPC racing. He shoulda won the Catalina race one year, but got skunked by 2 newcomers: Bob Kies and Jim Parker

Roy was so impressed with the Yellow Jacket runabouts he used in racing that he became part owner of Yellow Jacket.

[woodco]

I never had a clue that he was into the sport ........ What years
did he participate ???? Is there any info or stats posted on the
net that I could read ????

Thanks for the info guys !!!! ;)

[Powercat]

Sam:
The way the Catalina Race was promoted back in the early
50's it was hard to tell who won what... They had what they
called winners in every class and group of boats. The trophy
for fastest time was called the Sweepstakes Winner. In 1955
Roy won, In 1956 Bob Kies, and 1957 my dad won....
Roy and my dad became good friends through boat racing all
around SoCal.. He was a for real "Good Guy" in life just like
he portrayed on the screen. I got in contact with his son
Dusty some time back trying to find out if the PowerCat that
Roy owned was still around. He said that it is on display in
the Roy Rogers museum at Victorville Calif. They are going to
be moving the museum to Branson, Mo. next year and I wonder
if the PowerCat will make the move...
Danny Leger


Originally posted by Mark75H
I don't know anything about Roy's Stock racing results, but he did well in early OPC racing. He shoulda won the Catalina race one year, but got skunked by 2 newcomers: Bob Kies and Jim Parker

Roy was so impressed with the Yellow Jacket runabouts he used in racing that he became part owner of Yellow Jacket.

[BK]

this one is pretty wild too --- This is a Scotti Craft - built and driven by Angelo Molinari's nephew Cesare Scotti --

[BK]

I don't recall the early Molinari's running bow-high -- however, more recently Guido Capellini has started the trend of "Wheelie Stands" with his DAC. He does this on the parade lap and especially after a win.

Here's the EMIRATES driver Scott Gillman doing a "Wheelie" with his Seebold hull

[helmetguru]

all of the early molinaris in the states ran nose high because most of them were rocker bottoms, they were made to hang the nose up on those marathon rough water course and just skip over the bumpy stuff. molinaris were developed in the rough water of the european river courses that are very rough with the dock walls reflecting the waves.

PLUS: if you've ever been to Lake Como where Renato and Angelo built their boats, then you know how rough that damn lake is..

Chris Bush invented the wheelie at Bristol by the way.

[woodco]

Very cool pic !!!!!!!

I've danced v's on the rough stuff but nothing handles it better
than a nice high flyin tunnel .

Especially the rebounding waves ... ya just never know when or where they are gonna come from .....

[BK]

You are correct Buddy -- Chris Bush is the water-walking maestro.

Wish you could have seen his "pirouette" at the IOGP LA race at Puddingstone.

[Dale]

here is a short(424k) wmv file of Cappellini "wheelstanding" on his victory lap at the Italian GP

http://pages.preferred.com/~dcounts/boats/wheelstand2.wmv

you may have to DL the file to your computer(right click and save as) some computers can play it directly from the server
nad some cant

..Dale

[T2x]

I watched Dave Packer practicing "Tail Walking" at the Philadelphia, Tunnel race in 76 or 77 behind a sea wall on the Delaware River.........He was doing "wheelies" and Pirouettes....................That race wound up canceled due to wakes and debris.

When did Chris Bush "invent" the stunt?

T2x

[helmetguru]

yep i was at the philly race too, right on the deleware. i remember curt todd in one of bob hauser's 120 boats blowing over huge right in front of the pit opening ( the pits were in a recessed area off the river, boats were craned in )...that was a great non race, everybody was there but it was rainy, rough and windy. we packed up the truck with the Cougar and headed to Valleyfield, Barry Woods, Art Kennedy, Mark Rothermel blowing over by the rocks on the opposite side, those were the days huh..

chris 'invented" the wheelie, i think, in the latter part of the 80's in europe...i dont remember too many people intentionally doing that after a win...

[T2x]

The boat A. Acosta posted as "old Boat" from Puerto Rico is, in fact, one I drove for half a season. It is a boat I swapped Oley Berkis for......Bob Paterson gave him a Twister Craft......I took that one ( a marathon Molinari nicknamed "Big Red"). Big mistake for Oley..........He couldn't stay on the same lap with me on the T-Craft for the rest of that season.

I remember it was sold to Puerto Rico in 1977 or so. I ran the numbers 1000 and 351 alternately...........

Now that I look at the picture on page 1 it is definitely the same boat........we painted it white and put the low cowl on it (not original).....for a boat show. We used it as a prop for "The race for life".....a combined Inboard and OPC event we put on for the American Cancer Society in 1976.......... We had Playboy Bunnies at the NY boat show selling tickets.....but that's another story.

T2x

[brianT2]

this was in the '79 st. louis program i have. good altitude-decent style-didn't stick the landing. russian judge gave him an 8.

[helmetguru]

i remember those pics, sometimes you just cant hug the steering wheel hard enough...i remember his girlfreind SUE screaming on the judges stand so loud you could hear it over the PA..pretty hardcore crash...

[Oclassracer]

The first problem with that photo is the bow of that ship that is in the first frame!! that just aint right.

[brianT2]

heres a program photo of dave packer, boat says "hawaiian express". O - the philly races were run near the naval shipyard i believe thats were the bow is coming from. seems like both times i remember going there the race was cancelled because of weather and/or debris.

[Jeff Ettinger]

Boat 104 is Fred Van Waggoner. Sport J ,he built the boat & 147, but I can't find who drove 147, but stll looking. Fred lived in the St. Pete area. Don't know if he's still around.

[Jeff Ettinger]

Boat 104 is Fred Van Waggoner. Sport J ,he built the boat & 147, but I can't find who drove 147, but stll looking. Fred lived in the St. Pete area. Don't know if he's still around.

[2us70]

I recall Van Waggoner building some SE and SJ kneel down tunnels about 1970. These boats had a lot of lift from the curve of the decks and just about all of them blew over at least once. I witnessed several of these incidents as well as some real close calls. I had Mike Osbourne just about land in my lap in one of things in the summer of 70. There should be a few good pictures of those boats around somewhere.

[woodco]

Anyone have any pic's and specs on them when rigged with a
20 H ?????