Molinari Tunnel Boat History and Information

[QUOTE=willabee;2684598][QUOTE = Rotary John]To my recollection, Johnnie Sander went to So. Africa, not Jimbo. Johnnie knew how to put on a show for the crowd. To think a In line merc could run down a Rotary is absurd.[QUOTE]


Maybe Brian is right about McConnell being there after all, it sounds like Jimbo & Johnny were both there?



[QUOTE]In the mid 70s, An American guy came out to race in South Africa and brought out a beautiful twin Molinari. It was extra pretty in that it had a narow rear cowl and two small fairings for the twin mercs that looked to me like they were spced wider apart.

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impala was talking about this twin inline powered Molinari and Brian was saying that it was driven by Dick Summerfelt and that it almost caught the rotary. I don't know what the water conditions were, but if they had any kind of rough stuff to get across, that big twin would be running over it a bunch faster than the little Scotti. On calm water the rotary would have been faster, but on rough race water I'd put my money on the twin.

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We sent one rotary to S. Africa and it was a Johnson for Sanders per the request of the Johnson distributer for S. Africa. If you recall Provo, Norskog almost stood his boat on end cause the water was so ruff, and the rotaries lapped the Fountain's twin Merc in 15 min.

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Originally Posted by jackiewilson

Well of course it's "Absurd" Johno, just the same as it's absurd that Peacocks KT could possibly pass the rotary------it was "invincible". (While it lasted!) for one short season of 8 races and 6wins, and a few million dollars, but a lot can happen in LA-LA land.
excuse me for fouling the Molinari thread with this----but in the automotive industry today there are "Hybrids"------Eco's-----frugal diesels----- and not a rotary in sight-------it's " Absurd" to think that the whole industry got it wrong.?

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Jackie: You get so bias you forget what is being said in the post. I've already shown you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to currently produced rotaries. The discussion was an inline Merc running down a rotary. It didn't happen and Sanders was trying to put on a good show for the spectators. Sorry man, go back to your shop and turn some logs.

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Originally Posted by Rotary John

..... If you recall Provo, .....

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:D Ya, I think I recall a little about Provo, would you like me to share that story with you ...... again? :D

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Originally Posted by Rotary John

Jackie: You get so bias you forget what is being said in the post. I've already shown you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to currently produced rotaries. The discussion was an inline Merc running down a rotary. It didn't happen and Sanders was trying to put on a good show for the spectators. Sorry man, go back to your shop and turn some logs.

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You are absolutely right Johno, I have no love for the rotary and I do not pretend to understand it except for one fact-----there is a flaw in the design that not even you can cure.
This I find amazing as you are one of the few people in the world today who are qualified to even comment on the ROTORY . So, if it's as good as you say, why can't you fix it?
I am guilty of being a non believer and of the odd criticism or two now and again of a device that has no place, now or in the future within the automotive industry.
Yes I have read of the companies that are dabbling with it still, but nothing I've seen has set the pulses racing.
Sincere apologies for invading the Molinari thread, but these topics do seem to overlap

And now back to our regularly sheduled programming....Renato and his dad Angelo were making the greatest race boats in the world for a period until they had a jammup in the wood shop. "We keepah blowing upah driveah motors on the sawsah andah lathes" said Angelo. "I thinka that Cesare hasah thea perfectah answerah" said Renato in reply. "He hasah this a new fangledah powerheadah fromah Evinrudah...and he thinks it is a wonderful eenventionah." ..."Ima thinkah that itsa called a Rotary or somethingah....Maybe he'sa let us-a borrow itah?"

And that my friends is how the Molinari's churned out so many hulls in so short a period of time. Unfortunately as soon as they left Mercury and signed up with OMC....The Rotary expired and the wood shop slowed to a crawl.

T2X
Make sure thats a chapter in yourbook ...

We actually ran a rotary on a Molinari. We used a twin engine Molinari as our endurance test boat prior to Parker. Rich Mc Kinley dove it most of the time till he blew it over; Jimbo finished the 10 hr run. Speeds were in the 110/115 MPH.

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Originally Posted by Rotary John

We actually ran a rotary on a Molinari. We used a twin engine Molinari as our endurance test boat prior to Parker. Rick Mc Kinley dove it most of the time till he blew it over; Jimbo finished the 10 hr run. Speeds were in the 110/115 MPH.

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Does Rick still work for BRP?

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Originally Posted by powerabout

Does Rick still work for BRP?

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If I'm not mistaken, Rich McKinley died a year or two ago. I always get he and Ric McChesney mixed up. Ric still works for BRP. Of course at my age I get a lot of thing mixed up.

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Originally Posted by willabee

:D Ya, I think I recall a little about Provo, would you like me to share that story with you ...... again? :D

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If I recall correctly, Peacock never passed Woods in the Rotary till he was dead in the water. Woods lead the race from the start till he broke; about 1hr,15 into the race. Sander broke in the first 30 min. due to a broken crank (my mistake in trying to salvage the crank) and I don't recall where Jimbo was. He was driving the goat boat and broke the engine prior to the end. Posey, however prevailed and endured till the end in FIRST place.

[QUOTE=willabee;2684598][QUOTE = Rotary John]To my recollection, Johnnie Sander went to So. Africa, not Jimbo. Johnnie knew how to put on a show for the crowd. To think a In line merc could run down a Rotary is absurd.[QUOTE]


Maybe Brian is right about McConnell being there after all, it sounds like Jimbo & Johnny were both there?



[QUOTE]In the mid 70s, An American guy came out to race in South Africa and brought out a beautiful twin Molinari. It was extra pretty in that it had a narow rear cowl and two small fairings for the twin mercs that looked to me like they were spced wider apart.

Quote:

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impala was talking about this twin inline powered Molinari and Brian was saying that it was driven by Dick Summerfelt and that it almost caught the rotary. I don't know what the water conditions were, but if they had any kind of rough stuff to get across, that big twin would be running over it a bunch faster than the little Scotti. On calm water the rotary would have been faster, but on rough race water I'd put my money on the twin.

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impala was talking about this twin inline powered Molinari and Brian was saying that it was driven by Dick Summerfelt and that it almost caught the rotary. I don't know what the water conditions were, but if they had any kind of rough stuff to get across, that big twin would be running over it a bunch faster than the little Scotti. On calm water the rotary would have been faster, but on rough race water I'd put my money on the twin.

Wila/Jackie/Impala: It sure would be nice to hear back from IMPALA or someone who was there................This is kinda like all the folks who beat up on the MILES boats! They were great for me personally and other than the time I did dumb things always were VERY fast Just ask folks who ran against me...........

Hi guys, I found a couple of old Molinari pics on the net the other day and thought maybe you experts could shed someAttachment 307004 light on them?Attachment 307001Attachment 307002Attachment 307003

A couple more pics for the expertsAttachment 307005Attachment 307006

The event I was on about had both Johnie Saunders and Jimbo running a rotary and What I thought was a Johnson V6 but maybe a V4. They killed the field and were a joy to watch. That rotary sounded gorgeous . Scotti boats if I remember correctly and I heard that motor stayed in South Africa?

I would like to have one of those Kiekhaefer PSI gauges. Wonder what the readout box inn the bottom was for?