It followed me home, honest

[Mark75H]

At the local antique outboard meet this weekend here in MD I picked up this tunnel hull. 14 ft long, fiberglass, kneeler (it looks a little bigger than it really is). The motor on it and hardware indicated it had been used as a toy for a while, but the motor was interesting. A 66ci Merc inline 6 with homemade stub exhaust stacks and from the days when Speedmasters were still just an idea in Charlie Strang's and Charlie Alexander's heads, a Hubbell 4-60 overdrive racing lower unit. No other obvious mods to the powerhead, but a darned good job of beefing up a Mark40H mid to accept the 6 on top and the Hubbell on the bottom.

The hull is pretty stout, but the deck is almost canvas thin; you can't step or crawl on it anywhere to get in except over the nose. The tunnel is 8 1/4" deep. The picklefork shape shows obvious change from an original full deck front, but may have been a change to the mold rather than this particular boat. She's all white now, but there were traces of gold metalflake gelcoat finish showing a few places.

I'm going to run my 60 hp Scott on it, hoping on 55-60 mph.

Any clues as to who may have made it?

[Mark75H]

another view

[Mark75H]

From the front

[Mark75H]

No, Dave, you can't put your 125BP Stacker on it

[Raceman]

Cool boat Sam. And it's a kneel down??????

[Dave S]

How about a V6 and my name in your insurance policy??;) :D Looks like a Checkmate? Pull it down here and lets race.

[delawarerick]

Sam its better it followed you home than me. The last time a boat followed me home was 2 years ago and its still sitting in the yard. I would have to find another wife. Now lets see a wife or a boat. Good luck with the project and keep me posted. Rick
ps: I got a bronze prop for that boat:D

[Mark75H]

Thanks, Rick

Hey, Dave, I think you might be right. I'm going to look for some Checkmate tunnel pics and see.

I'll put your name on my insurance policy when you put me in your will to get all your motors. Trish can keep all the crankshafts back in the crankshaft farm in your shop's back room.

Here's the motor that I passed on: Seized up old Merc with goodies:

[delawarerick]

Sam that motor was unique I might not have passed on it, put in the garage next to the 1500 set up the rollor chair and looked at it. Wow what a configuration. Didnt someone in Ohio on the board have a 16 tunnel somewhat like that and it was a baja. Rick

[Mark75H]

I passed on the motor because of the price the guy was asking.....the Hubbell just wasn't worth it and anyone with a MIG welding machine could make stacks like that. What doesn't show in the pictures is the quality and clever workmanship on that mid section connecting the 6 to the Hubbell. The mid started out as a Mk40H, the top boss area where the bolt holes are was cut off and a new bigger boss bearing the bigger 6 cylinder bolt pattern was welded on......almost invisably. At the bottom he added some gussets to strengthen the weld to the plate that has the Hubbell pattern.

The motor is still for sale, if you've got a hot $G burning a hole in your pocket, I'll connect you with the guy.

[MN4V]

That boat could be an old Scat Cat!
Mark N

[2us70]

Probably not a Scat Cat. They were about that size but the sponsons were actually symetrical like 2 little pad bottom V hulls joined by a tunnel. Bobby Soles used to run one of them with a Chrysler and Mike Osborne also ran one against me in SE in 70&71. I ran against a boat that looked a lot like the one in these pictures at the 73 Nationals in Eufala in SG. The boat I am thinking of was involved in the unfortunate incident that took the life of Robbie Knight.

[sho305]

Nice find. Interesting motor, I bet it sounds sweet running. Call me dumb, but what is that thing on the prop shaft?

[LakeRacer99]

Sam, I am not sure you got the pic of the Checkmate or not, so I will post anyway. The cowl resembles the Checky a bit.

jason

[LakeRacer99]

Here's the baja

[LakeRacer99]

More baja...

[gamblerr]

That looks kind of like the old home made load wheels we use to use to put a load on the engine for working on it. have not seen one of them in a long time,,, could be wrong, pic is not all that clear.

[10.5' Tunnel]

Heres a pic of a checkmate "sprint". Found it over at the checkmate forum. If it is indeed a checkmate, you may find more info there

[Mark75H]

Thanks, guys, I'd already searched and found those pics!

I'm certain it is not a Scat Cat, I have old magazines with Scat Cat ads with pictures.........it does sort of have that shape, but its not a Scat.

After looking at the newer Checkmates, I'm gettting doubtful on them too. Maybe an older Checkmate/Baja


The thing on the prop shaft is a test load wheel, but its a Merc factory wheel, not home made.

[2us70]

I dont think Checkmate or Baja built tunnel boats smaller than 16 feet. There wasn't much of a market for small tunnel boats which left that segment to the custom race boat builders.There wern't many builders willing to make a mold set for a fiberglass boat with such a small number of potential buyers. If anyone out there has any pictures from the 1973 OPC Nationals at Eufala, AL there could be pictures of a couple of boats that looked like that in the SG class. They were fiberglass boats I think and were built in Ohio or Indiana? This was the only race i ever saw them at and as I recall they were not very competitive.

[Mark75H]

Yeah, I thought that would make it easier to figure out who made it. I thought all the smaller tunnels were probably wood.

Maybe someone like Bill Kelly who raced smaller classes would recall who made glass boats, but this boat might be from before his racing time, too.

My feeling is that it is a very crude design, probably not a successful racer

[MN4V]

Checkmate or Baja did build a 13 or 14 ft Sport E & Sport G boat.
But it was a full tunnel bow.

Your boat looks like it might be one of those garage built boats with parts from anything he had laying around.

[Mark75H]

The picklefork shape shows obvious change from an original full deck front,

[mercmack]

YES ITS A TEST WHEEL, MERC MADE THEM FOR THE MARK 55 AND THE MARK 75/78..THEY ALL SO MADE A FEW FOR THE DR MERC 700 AND 800 THAT WHERE PROP EXH...I THINK I STILL GOT A MARK 55 ONE THATS AT MY BUDDIES HOUSE IN CAL..:D :D :D

[sho305]

Thanks guys, never fail to learn something on here:) I suppose something like that would make it nicer to time my inline @ 5,000rpm in gear.

[mercmack]

MERC HAS A SERVICE BULLITON THAT TELLS HOW TO CUT DOWN A STOCK ALUM PROP TO A CERTAIN SIZE FOR A TEST WHEEL..ANY MERC DEALER SHOULD BE ABLE TO LOOK IN THE INDEX AND TELL YOU THE SPECS...AND WHAT PITCH TO START WITH.:D :D :D

[2us70]

I am probably showing my age again but I recall when every outboard dealer had a test tank out back and the test wheels for every motor they sold to use in it.

[Jay R.]

is that the same bobby soles that has the prop shop in palm beach?? I have two props i'd like some work done on, but can't find someone i trust. if this is the same guy he must know a thing or two about speed boats!!

[2us70]

That's the guy. Bobby worked one of my best ever race props way back in the early 70s.

[Mark75H]

Well, I got a sander for Christmas and finally it was nice enough here to spend a few hours trying it out on the old tunnel.

As I suspected it was originally red .... but a surprize was a copper metalflake stripe/pattern that looks like it was set in the gelcoat. This is how it looks now. Ignore the art critic in the foreground......:p

[Dave S]

Is that a tooth pick under the green tarp?:p Your little girl gonna start bringing boys home soon, get them to sand.;)

[delawarerick]

Dave and Sam I look forward to watching you guys run this year as soon as you have a date let me know. And Dave get ready for a whooping with that anchor you call a motor:D Rick

[Mark75H]

Rick the local race dates are:

May 15-16 Millville, NJ
May 29-30 Franklin, PA
June 5-6 Lambertville, NJ
June 12-13 Warren, PA
June 19-20 Denton, MD
June 26-27 Sharptown

[T2x]

Originally posted by Mark75H
Rick the local race dates are:

May 15-16 Millville, NJ
May 29-30 Franklin, PA
June 5-6 Lambertville, NJ
June 12-13 Warren, PA
June 19-20 Denton, MD
June 26-27 Sharptown

Darren and I will try to make a NJ race............


We look forward to seeing you.........

T2x

[Mark75H]

Millville is a little more accessible than Lambertville (which should be no problem either). Right in front of the clubhouse at Millville is one of the prime locations for taking pictures of Stocks and Mods in the east.

Lambertville is noise restricted, there is a chance I won't go there to race, but may go to help out.

I hope you guys can make both!

[Mark75H]

Turns out this tunnel hull was built right down the road from me here in MD. A guy I bought some stuff from on eBay says he raced this one or one just like it. Made by E&T. Anyone else know of this name?

[Ted March]

Bill Edwards and Beale Tilton. Bill was the Chrysler guy. Ran unlimited single engine. One of Beale's last rides was a green E & T SJ named Super Pickle. They built FE's, FF's, FG's. SE's, SJ's and Unlimited Single engine. Held a bunch of World Kilo Records
along the way with the smaller family boats. Mostly set and the Tonano, VA Kilos. Paul Angel's back yard.

Beale is in S. FL on the East coast. Could probably come up with a contact number if anyone is interested. Lost track of Bill Edwards.

[Ted March]

So they were.

[Ted March]

Go get 'em/

[T2x]

John:

CSH....Will you be running in this area?????


T2x

[Mark75H]

John, try to get to Lock Haven on Labor Day weekend. Its one of the best race sites we have in the east and we race all 3 days

[Ryan140]

Yea thats an e'n't. My dad gave me a bunch of pictures of kind of boat. Some guys ran twisters on them. They were made in Hollywood Md just accross the bridge from solomons. They ran with (sometimes in front of) Reggie Fountain when he would come to local races.

[Ryan140]

I was wrong. I dug up an old photo album after sam sent me an email saying that the men who built those hulls wouldnt claim it. The cowling looks like an E&T but the rest is different. Then tunnel on an EnT is staight all the way accross from sponson to sponson. Sams boat isnt. Sorry

[bajarick]

Mark 75,

Its an E & T Tunnel. I have Bill Edwards phone number - got it from Beale the other night. I didnt read the whole thread here - before responding to the other thread at ********************. :D

...couple more pics

[bajarick]

Mark 75H,

Ryan 140 was correct. If yours IS an E & T then sombody modified it at home. That pickle on your boat doesnt look anything like an E & T pickle. Ray Lumpkin posted some picks of the E & T pickles at BRF.com. Check them out! The thread is 1970 E & T Tunnel, under the "Show us your boat" forum.
The last boat on the thread is Bob Roberts boat. It is red with gold stripes. I thought that was your hull - but the pickle fork doesnt look like yours (unless someone modified it). It also has a Twister on it. :eek:

[Mark75H]

My boat is much older than any in those pictures. The picklefork work is extremely crude; I am certain it was originally round nose, not square like this Sport G E&T

[Ryan140]

bob roberts boat was destroyed in the 70s my dad took pics of the crash. baja you from MD?

[bajarick]

Ryan,
I lived in DC....... Spent the summers in St Mary's county in the St Clemets Bay area near Colton's Point. I bought my E & T from a guy that worked at Kather Marina (in St Patrick's Creek). When I bought a Merc for the hull I took it to Loffer Marine in Lexington Park Md to get the carbs rebuilt. I know the area pretty well.

Rick

[Mark75H]

Ryan, should I post your pictures here, too?