Do you guys ever think about the legends that post here?

[Raceman]

Dr. Massimo Scotti, the son of legendary boat racer/designer Cesare Scotti has been posting in the Historical forum, joining us from Italy. Ad this to the legends already present: Ron Hill, Jim Hunt, Stoker, Ken Warby, and many others with an obvious great deal of boat racing experience, but without me knowing thier identity past their screen name (T2X, Helmut Guru, are examples). Throw in a world class journalist like Val Collins, an old boat racer herself (should've said former, not old), her former boat buildin' husband Brad, historian Sam Cullis, and numerous others that I can't even think of .............the pool here is so deep I'm in utter awe. I'll bet there's nowhere else in motorsports that has this kind of wide spread from old to new, designer to factory driver..........engineer to current first class gear heads. I never cease to be amazed.

This site has come a long way from it's humble beginnings of a few years ago.

[Ziemer]

I was checking my email and there was a reply notice from the "Ken Warby Article" post that I responded to last night and when I opened the email notice up; it said that Ken Warby had replied.

I looked over at the wife, and said WOW, just Sunday I was reading that article with the pretty pictures of Ken's boat and the other challengers and today Ken himself had replied to the post I posted onto the night before.

Anyway, just thought that was really cool, the record holder himself, one of the many great members of this forum. Hats off to Greg, and good luck to the fastest man on water!

[ShorePounder]

There are a few folks that post here who because of their background, or fame have this booming, god-like voice in my head while I read their posts. Even if I'm arguing with em about something :D

Raceman, you can relate to this. It would be like posting on a Corvette forum and getting replies from Zora Arkus Duntov, or a mustang board and discussing design issues with Larry Shinoda. It never happens there, but it's commonplace here.

[Talon2.5]

definately come a long way and the people you spoke of i am also in awe of seeing here!! its awsome!!

scream and fly is a great resource in many ways!!

thanks, skip

[MODVP22]

I totally agree with Raceman. If ya stop and think about it, Where else can ya go and be conected with former and current boat builders, former and current boat racers, and former and current engine builders...all at the click of your mouse and touch of your keyboard.

Oh, and did I mention great cartoon artists like Skip :D

[Raceman]

"Raceman, you can relate to this. It would be like posting on a Corvette forum and getting replies from Zora Arkus Duntov, or a mustang board and discussing design issues with Larry Shinoda. "

ShoreFlounder, you've forced me to change the subject and tell my Duntov story. In 1989 I took my 69 L88 Corvette to Cypress Gardens Fla. for the National Corvette Restorer's Society's annual Florida regional meet. It was judged and was sitting on the display field down in front of the big white house there. I'd walked up to the snack bar and looked down and noticed a couple of older guys standing there looking under the hood of the L88. As I walked back that way I noticed it was Duntov and Shinoda. They were standing there looking at the car and chatting about L88's and ZL1's. Duntov was the featured guest for the weekend. I motioned frantically for my wife to come runnin' with the camera, which she did, but she'd just used the last picture on some stupid duck or something, so I didn't get to shoot em with the car. I did get the judging sheets autographed by both guys, and he was autographing air cleaners with a sharpie pen also, but the L88's all black in that area, and the interior on this car is black also, so there wasn't much he could've done. I wished later that I'd thought of the valve covers.

[ShorePounder]

WOW!! :eek:

[pantera1]

Ya I was recently posting in a thread KW was also posting in ..and I realized who he was.. All I could think was WOW "Im not worthy (bow)..
One time I was at the supermarket , there was one other guy with his daughter in the aisle..As I walked by I noticed it was Dale Earndheart.. Talk about star struck ..I dont even remember what I mumbled.. But he said hello .. Girlfreind asks me who was that , I told her and she says dale who .. :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[mr fun]

man he was the STAR at our jacksonville outboard club races back in the 70's. he showed up with an allison, red white and blue i belive, every body else was bobbling and bounceing around and then down the straight he came with a 150 merc so solid with a rooster tail that looked like a hundred yards behind him, on the pad and definately "flyin". my dad and i were a patrol boat in the middle of the coarse at turn 1, i just remember both of us snapping our heads to look at each other with wide open mouths. precious memories. he later came a couple seasons after with a yellow hydrostream vixon i belive with not much in the way of flashy apperance named "Ragged but Right". kinda the montra i've struggled to achive thruought my adult life. i hope he reads this and i can some day talk to him face to face, and if you do read this sir, one Curtis Johnson tells me stories when i can get a little time from his busy day. thanks Raceman for spurring some great memories. :p fun out.

[Raceman]

Fun, the first time I ever saw Jim Hunt run a boat was at Miami Marine Stadium in 1975. It was the Ragged but Rite (HydroStream Viper) and I didn't know him or the boat and was kinda pokin' fun at it because of the condition (it lived up to the name) My friend who knew boat racin' said "laugh now, but wait till he puts it in the water". He was right. I became an instant fan. The thing that struck me about Jim was just as you said, he always looked in control and if you watched him in practice it made him look slow, but he was anything but. I don't know how many world records he's held, but has an extensive scrap book of them and old boat pics.

He called me out of the blue a little over a year ago and was coming to town and we had lunch. He's been back to town since and I've seen him one other time also. He's active in the Antique Outboard Club and still loves the hobby. He's mostly on the Historic Forum and posts as "OleGator". His son Brian plays here too. (BrianT2X)

[mr fun]

thanks! i'm gonna start lookin for those posts. :) fun out. (your too cool);)

[tunnelmike]

By the presence of such greatness !

we all appreciate replies to all of our trivial questions from such knowledgable people. The Gods of our sport !!!

[sho305]

It is hard to believe. Thanks for posting :)

[Raceman]

One thing that's regretable is that I've probably inadvertantly left out some names that should be brought up, and not recognized several others from their screen names. Best I can do is apologize for my abscent mindedness.

[WharfRat]

I just came from reading the history section & saw this. Norris, you are right, we are EXTREMELY blessed to have the historic & legendary members we have on this forum. After reading Ron's latest posts, I could only sit there amazed at the stories he shared with us. We are definately very privledged to have such greats in our midst.

[Balzy]

Tony B and John T Jr? I think those might be two of em you forgot RM. I think they both deserve mention.

Our mate Ken's still gotta be top of my list. I mean what the hell, who else would buy ya a "Box O' Beer" and let ya sleep on his couch.

Gotta love those OZZIES !!!!!!!!:D :D :D

[175checkmate]

The information contained the threads of scream and fly are priceless.

[espen]

Hi !
I have been telling the same story before...but it gave me so much I will not be able to give back the same. One thing is to have a discusion with one of the heroes....you know when you are committed to a interest you got high respect for those guys..
It started with me and my son reading Ron Hills posting on a web site "how to become a winner " we where struggeling to beat the competition in the 15hp T-250 round circuit boat class..On summer holydays we read the article before bedtime and when buying lip stick in day time :-) We got a new prop made but it did not work any better than the other prop. We had a copple of boats in front of us and needed more accleration and top speed.
After talking to Ron we sent the props over to him ,he revorked both props and shipped them back for free..... Both props with Rons signature on it.... 1knot more top speed ,we blew the competition... I newer forget the maker of Winrace boats and >Norways most famus prop maker was heading for the crane at the races just behind us with his daughters boat,I figured out it was to have a look at the prop...he was staring like his eyes seem to fall out...
Thanks again to this board and Ron Hill

[Jason Huber]

...and history shared through this forum - PRICELESS! :D Howard Pipkorn; WHERE ARE YOU!?... :cool:

[Jeff_G]

T2X is the one, the only, the .... heck I don't know. How about tunnel boat driver turned Offshore builder turned TV type guy, Rich Luhrs!!! Ta Da

Helmet guru is Buddy Babbitt.

[sho305]

I SECOND THAT! Howard????:) :) :) :) :)

[AnthonySS]

Ditto with Jeff_G

A buddy on "offshore only" wondered what T2X meant (He uses the same handle there)...it was obvious for us O/B guys.

Yeah add John Tiger to my list...meeting him was a day I will never forget. Wish we had digital cams back then!!!

Add a few Canadians to the pot....

Mark Wiegl - Offshore Racing Champ (Skaters)
Jim Russell - Tunnel Boater / AeroMARINE Research

[22VelocityProMax300]

Norris. back in 1960,I had an unexpected street encounter( drag race) with 2 corvette legends at the time, Dave Strickler who raced the Annon R Smith 409 chev and Bill "grumpy"Jenkins,the famous Chev and Corvette engine builder and drag racer. I was driving my fanactically tuned 59 Fuelly Corvette, when I came side by side with Strickler driving his street 59 fuel Injection Corvette.Grumpy Jenkins was a passenger with him. We both nailed it from a rolling start, I jumped him by about 2 car lengths and kept out in front till we slowed down from about 100. When we pulled over and talked, he couldn't beleive he had just been beat, something that rarely happened on the track. Both were real decent guys. I will forever remember that night. Frank

[mr fun]

this is from a circular about the 2003 Concours d'Elegance at The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida. "Five Grand Sports Corvetts, secretly built in 1963 by Chevrolet engeneering legend Zora Arkus-Duntov, will appear together for the first time in history at the 8th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance." this is a invitation only show on the golf course at Amelia island (Ferndania Beach) just north of Jax. last year the man of honor was Dan Gurney, and his personal collecton from indy cars to can am. this year it's Phil Hill and the cars of his career. just a totally class day of eye popping hardware, i shot 72 snapshots and could have done 10 times that easy. same croud as Palm Springs, Beverly hills, Jay Leno etc etc. if you can make it you will not be dissappointed. March 7-9. fun out. :cool:

[mr fun]

remember me, i was that 14 yr old kid at the jax OB club that just thuoght you were a true role model, i'm not using the lords name in vain on purpose. actually we never spoke, i used to go hang out at Haskells marine and watch Danny Chritchfield, Charlie Lions work on stuff, rode there on my bike. became a friend of Curtis Johnson's, and he later built motors for my dad. i may even have a shot of the white allison you brought w/red and blue stripes i think, 150 or a 140. musta been 75 or so. Curtis said you were in the prop biz in orlando, i just seem to remember your boats were from texas, could be wrong. are you in fla now? i'm in jax and got an old 175 Curtis built on a 19' action i've taken to some of the social events i've learned of on this board, GREAT GROUP! if you are available for some of the getogethers it would be just to cool to spend some time getting to know you. do you still boat? Hugh James has made a few meets, i'm trying my best to stir up some of the other jax fellows, but their a bit slow to move. sure glad you've become a part of this, i hope to keep some interest alive in performance boating as some kids in the neighborhood have started to stop by and ask questions and just hang out. i understand your son is also active here, once again i hope we can all meet and get to know eachother. Keith Hughett out. aka mr fun. :p

[Instigator]

Great post Norris!
I'll never forget a couple years ago when someone did a post about the best Mod VP driver of all time.
Well being a OMC guy I had always been a Al Stoker fan and thought it was really something to see this guy show up and be the only non Merc at a 25 boat race, AND WIN!
Anyhow, a couple of people posted that he was cheating, had factory support, had never won the three national championships that I had quoted that I thought he had.
Well, I had been in contact with Al durring this period while doing research for my motor project.
I sent Al an e-mail at like one in the morning (my time) telling him about these guys bashing him and included a link to the thread :D (what a salesman;) ).
All of a sudden I start getting replys from Al about the erroneous posts:eek:
He signed on that night and set the record straight.
It was hillarious, all these experts became quiet all of a sudden.
(I saved those first posts of Al)
Thank you Al for signing onto this board and to all of the rest of you O/B racing legends!!
I really would like to see a S/F get together honoring these people.
I wanted to do this at the Rumble last year but the APBA wouldn't let me advertise in their magazine to get their attention.
Gary

[mr fun]

that makes me feel pretty darn good about my memory. i guess it was shortly there after it all seems like a blur. :rolleyes: was that a 150? what else was running in those days besides checkmates? that was before hydrostreams were on the scene. we had a 15' Hurst copy of a checkmate w/short shaft 150 after that i could never (or anybody) get to not chinewalk when on the high end, drag racing was about all you could do with it, i just love circle racing, espically marathons. there's no place for it any more. my current rig would be great for the kind of racing we had at JOC but there's no class for it these days. supersport and such, i don't think there's even a opc, could be wrong. no publicity. i've got a spot in jax picked out, a charity, excellent spectator and dry pit area, shelterd water for anything from drags to unlimiteds, just haven't contacted the right folks yet, don't want to give my idea away to just anybody, maby 2004 season. Instigator, i would love to make a "Hall of Fame" event. keep it in the hopper! fun out. :p

[LaveyT]

I have known Ken for thirteen years now and have enjoyed his freindship.I lived ten miles or so down the street and wasnt even aware that the World Record holder lived in the states,much less a neighbor!I have always been pretty "ate up" with boats and speed so when I was interviewing with my now employer of thirteen years it naturally became a topic of discussion:rolleyes: My Boss says "Ya ever heard of Ken Warby?"Hell yea I said!
"He has a shop rite over the hill" So off we went to Kens shop.. well Ken wasnt at the shop so my Boss used a credit card to gain access.It turns out I missed seeing the "Spirit of Australia" by a short while.It was sent back to the land down under to be on display.But there was a Semi Truck with a Jet engine sitting in the shop:D Of course there was much Bull****ing to be done! Allthou I must admit we spent as much time talking about some domestic affairs as we did speed and water.Over the years I have had the honor to manufacture parts for the new boat, Rudder, steering pully ect. As well as many parts for his fleet of concrete trucks.
After discovering Scream and fly for myself I stopped at Kens one day and told him about you guys and Gals.I asked him if it was Ok to invite some company over to see the new boat. Sure Mate bring um on!I put out an open invite on Scream and Fly and Instigator was the only taker for the first trip:eek: Jay Smith didnt know who he was:eek:
Of course after the second Vist to Kens and the Amigos shamless promotion of the meeting,We can all enjoy Bull****ing with the worlds fastest man on water:cool:
So the Moral of the story,If ya have a Boating legend living down the street,Tell um bout Scream and Fly!

[Ron Hill]

ESPEN:

Thanks for your post. As far as reworking your son's props for free, let me ask how much should I have charged? Your son was racing against the guy that built the boats and the propellers you used. The olny way to win, well not the only way, but to win you need good props. You gave me good information and I did whatI thought would work. I could have ruined your two props, too. But as it turned out they worked well.

Your son doing well in the races is MORE PAY than I could ever charge. As a father, I do my best for my kids. If they are swimming, I get them lessons from a swimming coach, if they play football I buy the best equipment and put them in summer clinics.

When you "Hit the Wall" in any sport and can't move ahead, many times people have quit because there is nothing else to do and they still lose. In reworking a propeller, I give people HOPE that they can win. Many times, I've seen guys BELIEVE they can win, they then get better starts, drive a little harder and they win and thank me. I just feel part of the equation.

I've actually tested enough that I've thought my propeller "Broke in", just like a motor. But while I tested, I also found speed from timing to sitting in the boat differently. Testing and being ready is SO IMPORTANT.

The smile on your son's face is all the pay I'll ever need from him...

Good luck in everything....

I used to do BK's brother's props, I charged him, but he was always so happy with me for helping him. My dad built hundreds of engines for guys around the country and I've built thousands of propellers, our customers may never realize the JOY we received from you being happy.




I've posted here because I ENJOY IT and hope that anyone that reads my BIG STORIES enjoy them. "Big Stories" (BS) by Ron Hill is what name I used to write for our club papers in the '60's. I still have some of those arictles......some day, I'll post them.

Thanks for calling me a LEGEND, I've always been famous in my mind. In 1955 I was on Mickey Mouse Club Newsreel with my AU, a KG-4 and a 10 foot runabout. This was repeated about 25 times. I guy who posts here named Miller....Has a picture of his dog, goes by Gordy, his dad saw me on TV, in Michigan, 1955 and decided he was going becaome a boat racer. Fred Miller started APBA HAll of Champions, one of the coolest things about APBA, he currently runs the PRO TUNNEL TOUR, not to mention he's been a member of APBA since the 50's and a hard worker for boat racing...

More than 50 of my old students are now teachers. As a teacher, I know I effect people's life, daily.... I hope it is in a good way...

Ron Hill

[Raceman]

Ron, when I listed you on the list of Legends, I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I've heard your name since I got interested in fast boats in the early 70's, and I'm pretty sure it was tossed around by an old Hydro racer in my neighborhood before that.

When you took a vacation from S & F a while back I was truly disappointed, as was Greg. You're truly an asset to this site as well as the sport. Thanks for your contributions. They've made the Historical & Racing Forums a daily "must read".

[sho305]

A few of years ago I searched for some outboard performance stuff on the net, and found nothing. That hardly ever happens on the net...I found this place, and it is great!:D To top that off and have legends of the sport on here; telling great inside stories, awesome tips, and posting pics and info about things....it is really amazing. I still find very little on the net about it, and most things are refered to from here.

Thanks!:) :) :)

[Instigator]

Mr.Fun, I agree 100%
Would still like to attract those guys to the Rumble.
And yest they do still have OPC in the APBA.
About the closest thing to the classes you're tlking about is Formula Vee which is a very neat class.
Similar to EP in the old days.
16' Alli's and Critchfields running V-4 cross flows or in-lines.
I too am an oval course guy. Have missed it bad since I quit racing many years ago.
The PBCC tried to pull off a ModVP "style" of race last season but were blown out by weather.
If they do it this year, Iwant to go, and not as a spectator:eek:
Let me know if Ican be of any help with your "idea" down South.

Lavey, how could I have forgotten that?? That was freakin incerdible!
His basement is like a museum!! Not sure which I was most impressed with. The blown up piston from the V-12 Allison or the 6" thick, 3' square scrap book with the news paper clippings of the record announcment from all around the world.
Their had to be articles in 20 different languages!!
Knew Ken was in our own back yard but it took S/F to hook me up with Ken, and me and you over beers to "invent" the RUMBLE!;)
Greg, how about a legends event at the Rumble at your S/F display :eek:
Gary

[Jeff_G]

Instagator, thanks for the plug for Formula V. It is a great class. Any motor to 100 CI. modified, more so so that any motor can race rather than just to modify the motors. inline 6, V-4, 3 cyl OMC, 3 cyl Yamaha, they have all won at the nationals! We handicap the boats using weight based on boat lenght and CI.

We would love to get more guys involved. There are plenty of good boats out there. The class does require a safety cage or capsule and the driver does need capsule training.

The cage can be a Jaz type ready made so the outlay is just a few hundred $.

Anyone needing any info please contace me! Here in the SE we will run in around 8 events this year. All the NORA races will have a minimum of $4,000 in appearance money. ALL drivers get paid. Lets go race!