Hot Multi's - Pictures

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Originally Posted by lilabner

Mike also ran some GN races..I think he was at the Galveston destruction marathon...he always had some good rides.

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Butch: Galveston Destruction Derby (1969?). I think that was a two day event with separate races for single outboards, multi outboards, and GN boats. Some things that comes to mind, Merten's "Wet and Wild";http://forums.screamandfly.com/forum...cons/icon9.gif Bill Sirois in Mike Gordon's "Fish Peddler", a Big Block Mercruiser powered GN blew everyone away till the battery died ('Thunderbolt'. No twelve volt, no sparks): (Willabee, wasn't that the race the triple Jones were using the 'improved' carburetors?); Bill Cooper in the twin Jones made the rest of us multi outboards look like we were running in the wrong class.

Mike Reagan also ran OMC outboards Offshore, 1984 Miami to New York challenge against Doc, neither boat ran more than 200 miles, including idling back to Miami (long, long night).
Gene

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Originally Posted by GENE LANHAM

(Willabee, wasn't that the race the triple Jones were using the 'improved' carburetors?); Bill Cooper in the twin Jones made the rest of us multi outboards look like we were running in the wrong class.

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Yes, 69 was the year .....I think those carbs were on all of the boats we brought from Oshkosh, but we didn't install them on any of the rigs that we met at the race site. They were designed to prevent stall-out on the tight turning tunnels, so we would not have put them on a Wing and when we saw the sweeping turns at Galveston, decided that they were not necessary for that race.

Cooper did win, but that race should have been between Joe Habay in the triple Jones and Jim Merten's 18' Wing. I set the Jones up for Galveston and had driven the Wing, so I knew they both had an easy 10 mph on Cooper's twin for those long straightaways and would not have lost much in those turns. Habay tried to complete his 250 miles testing before the race and, I think, failed a gearcase during the event and Merten had that horrible accident :( . Note: That same triple Jones did win that race the next year with Merten doing the driving :) and I believe the twin Jones was back, this time with stackers and Bill Petty behind the wheel.

Here's Merten's Wet and Wild at Parker and Cooper's twin Jones......

Willabee,

Is Bill Petty still living? Do you ever talk to him? I knew he had several companies in the Wapokenata, OH area (home town of Neil Armstrong). I remember he used to have a private jet based at the local airport.

SCT

I don't remember the tunnel boat that year..The first few boats were pretty close. Bobby and I were third overall for about an hour, when the steering cable snapped. Wallace was first,who can ever remember second but second..I just remember about five boats flipping in a 15 minute time period, running out of ambulances, and I think the last driver died. They took him off in a van, beating on his chest. A poorly run event..

Butch

[quote=willabee]Yes, 69 was the year .....I think those carbs were on all of the boats we brought from Oshkosh,

Willabee: 'improved': I was thinking maybe of the pressure/floatless Tillotsons-------didn't Sirois test/race a triple Jones in addition to driving the GN boat on Sunday? Golly, only been 36+ years----

Gene

I'm pretty sure Bill ran a Jones..I was talking to him before the race..don't remember how many engines, but I think it was a triple, like Coopers..he was all smiles..It was the first time I had seen the latest Mercs since 63..

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Originally Posted by SCT

Willabee,

Is Bill Petty still living? Do you ever talk to him? I knew he had several companies in the Wapokenata, OH area (home town of Neil Armstrong). I remember he used to have a private jet based at the local airport.

SCT

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I sure think so, but I haven't talked to him for quite some time. Last time we spoke, he told me that the twin Jones that he ran for a few years ( the same one that Cooper raced ) was lost in a fire. Mercury had given him that boat after they stopped supporting multi engine racing.

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Originally Posted by GENE LANHAM

Willabee: 'improved': I was thinking maybe of the pressure/floatless Tillotsons-------didn't Sirois test/race a triple Jones in addition to driving the GN boat on Sunday? Golly, only been 36+ years----

Gene

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Gene, you're making me look pretty bad here.....I don't remember the carbs you're describing and I don't remember Sirois in a Jones :o. We only had two triples at that time, the blue trimmed one that Habay drove and a yellow trim that Pruett drove. I also don't remember Pruett at that race, so it's possible that Sirois ran his boat. However, if I had to bet, my money would be on Sirois in the 21' Molinari that he ran at Havasu that year and again in 1970. Like you said, it's only been 36 years :).

Hey, I just remembered something from that race !!!!! Patty Duke was in town filming a movie and staying at the same hotel we were at and I got to dance a slow number with her :cool:.

Sirois finishing 3rd at Havasu in 1969......

Willabee:

Maybe it was Sirois helping Joe 'test' the triple. I do remember a big problem with a new carb, I think the guy from Tillotson was there.

I'm old enough to remember Patty Duke. I'm impressed!!!http://forums.screamandfly.com/forum...cons/icon7.gif

Gene "throttleman" Lanham......

Found this shot in the January, 1973 Powerboat......Pictured, left to right, are Gene, Carl Kiekhaefer, Richie Powers, Carlo Bonomi and Bob Magoon. Gene was co-driver with Magoon when they won the 1972 Miami-Nassau Race. Back in the day, the only guys that received any ink were the "drivers of record", some of which never really drove. Here Gene has a full head of black hair......I wonder, is it all gray now or just all gone :)

Commodore's Regatta - 2 hour in Miami Marine stadium - 1972....

Here's a shot of Paul Felsch driving his 21' Glastron Molinari Tweety Bird to first overall.....Gary Peacock led this event with a single Molinari / TI when he threw a prop blade and blew the engine just before the finish......Lanham must have been Offshore racing that day :)

Good to see a picture of Paul in here. He was one of the mainstays of twin engine racing in South Florida back in the day. I think he had a auto body shop in Naples. I know his boats usually looked good and he could tear one up and get it fixed up pretty quick.

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Originally Posted by willabee

Gene "throttleman" Lanham......

Found this shot in the January, 1973 Powerboat......Pictured, left to right, are Gene, Carl Kiekhaefer, Richie Powers, Carlo Bonomi and Bob Magoon. Gene was co-driver with Magoon when they won the 1972 Miami-Nassau Race. Back in the day, the only guys that received any ink were the "drivers of record", some of which never really drove.

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Here Gene has a full head of black hair......I wonder, is it all gray now or just all gone

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:)

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Willabee:
I still have most of it, and gray is supposed to be distinguished??? I see Doc Magoon often, and he is always wearing a hat-----
Gene

Some pictures from that era.

Miami Race 1969??

Bill Petty--Jones twin----Ernie Threkeld--Switzer wing

Kenny Kitson---Switzer wing

Picture of the only other 20' Switzer wing known to have been run with triples. Don't think the two wings ever met on the race course... would have been interesting. I think this picture was taken around 1970~1971 at Havasu. In a speed kilo run it was reported to have been clocked at 123.~ MPH running twins.

here is a color shot.. Same boat..
Driver reported to be Ed Stewart out of California. Havasu 1970.

Jeff

OPC Nationals, Miami - 1972.......

Not a very good picture, but here is Reggie Fountain going past Billy Don Pruett on his way to winning the UU class at the Nationals. Fountain took three titles that day, U class in a Team Molinari, UU and T in his 21' Glastron/ Molinari. This was his 2nd race in a team supported boat, and these results put him on his way towards achieving his goal of becoming a full-fledged Team driver.

Reggie Fountain.......

Found an article in Powerboat, January, 1973. It is such a "glowing" report on Reggie's early success that it makes you think that he might have been the author :).

It says that he "set the boat racing world on it's ear in 1972, his second year of competition." It talks about the three national titles he had just won in Miami and his win in the T Class in the 3 hour marathon in Washington. N.C. the next weekend. He set three world speed marks with those four wins. It says that he began racing in 1971 with a new 21' Glastron/Molinari and won 15 of 16 races that year....his only second place finish being at the Outboard World Championships in Havasu, where he was named Rookie Driver of the Year.

Claims he was named to the Mercury driving team August 22nd. Says he is 32 years old, a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, combines real estate brokerage and a life insurance business with his law practice and races only on weekends.

This is the photo that accompanied the article......

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Originally Posted by willabee

Reggie Fountain.......

Found an article in Powerboat, January, 1973. It is such a "glowing" report on Reggie's early success that it makes you think that he might have been the author :).

It says that he "set the boat racing world on it's ear in 1972, his second year of competition." It talks about the three national titles he had just won in Miami and his win in the T Class in the 3 hour marathon in Washington. N.C. the next weekend. He set three world speed marks with those four wins. It says that he began racing in 1971 with a new 21' Glastron/Molinari and won 15 of 16 races that year....his only second place finish being at the Outboard World Championships in Havasu, where he was named Rookie Driver of the Year.

Claims he was named to the Mercury driving team August 22nd. Says he is 32 years old, a member of the Million Dollar Round Table, combines real estate brokerage and a life insurance business with his law practice and races only on weekends.

This is the photo that accompanied the article......

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Did it also mention that he is very shy ....humble......and kind to old ladies?

:p :p :p

T2x

Reggie was successfull because he had 3 things going for him. 1 A lot of nerve both on and off the race course 2 A certain amount of talent(some of which is overshadowed by item 1) and 3 Plenty of start up money. While I am not his biggest fan there were far worse drivers than Reggie getting factory rides back then.

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Originally Posted by 2us70

Reggie was successfull because he had 3 things going for him. 1 A lot of nerve both on and off the race course 2 A certain amount of talent(some of which is overshadowed by item 1) and 3 Plenty of start up money. While I am not his biggest fan there were far worse drivers than Reggie getting factory rides back then.

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Well put........ The thing that annoyed me the most about him was that he could, indeed, drive at a pretty good level. It would have been much more entertaining if he couldn't. Generally, people with his kind of "personality" are much more talk than action. While Juan Fangio, Fireball Roberts, Dan Gurney, Bill Seebold, and Dave Villwock combined couldn't have backed up Reggie's "self assessment". He was, at the very least, a fine driver.

On the other hand...... without item's 3 and 1 above (in that order)....... we would not be writing this today....... IMHO.

T2x

i think some of you guys with the stackers should get ahold of the great lakes boat club & set up a nostaliga run on laborday weekend during the opc natonials. there are a lot of guys racing who never seen one let alone heard one. they just might be able to get a permit. just a thought:D

I Had A Chance To Talk With Kenny This Weekend In Florida And Actually Put My Hands On Miss Diablo 3.....how Nice To See It All In Person !:)

ya its pretty neat. after we got done working on her we took her to the river for a test run. lynn simburger driving & me with a radar gun in the pickup boat we saw 94mph. i was hopping for 100mph. but 94 without setup changeing and no prop selection i guess that pretty good. bob has a nice piece there & im glad he shares & shows it like he does. thanks bob & kenny.

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Originally Posted by mike farmer

i think some of you guys with the stackers should get ahold of the great lakes boat club & set up a nostaliga run on laborday weekend during the opc natonials. there are a lot of guys racing who never seen one let alone heard one. they just might be able to get a permit. just a thought:D

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Or

Just show up at the Antique Raceboat Regatta at Clayton, NY this summer ... noise is encouraged; no permit required, no questions asked :)

champboat schedule's st louis on that weekend. or clayton falls on st louis weekend however ya put it:D

Any body got a pic of Dangerous Don P. and the Canadian setting their altitude records in their Molys?

Merc asked Glastron to build a light 21" Glastron/Molinari for this race. It was driven by Bill Petty and Tinker Collinge. The boat ran well, probably better than any of the regular 21'ers they produced, but not well enough to make them want to continue with the glass boat project. Design changes from Renato Molinari and Ron Jones for the increasing horsepower was the route they chose to take.

I recall Petty coming in for the scheduled fuel and driver change at the two hour mark on Saturday. When we finished fueling, Tinker was still messing with his helmet or something. Petty looked at me, smiled and lit the fire on those two stackers. He ran all four hours on Saturday, so Garbrecht decided that Tinker should get all four on Sunday. Fun stuff .....you wait all year to race at the Outboard Championships and when your turn to drive comes you are not quite ready!!!! That's when you find out that your co-driver didn't want to share his ride with you anyway :p.

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Originally Posted by willabee

Merc asked Glastron to build a light 21" Glastron/Molinari for this race. It was driven by Bill Petty and Tinker Collinge. The boat ran well, probably better than any of the regular 21'ers they produced, but not well enough to make them want to continue with the glass boat project. Design changes from Renato Molinari and Ron Jones for the increasing horsepower was the route they chose to take.

I recall Petty coming in for the scheduled fuel and driver change at the two hour mark on Saturday. When we finished fueling, Tinker was still messing with his helmet or something. Petty looked at me, smiled and lit the fire on those two stackers. He ran all four hours on Saturday, so Garbrecht decided that Tinker should get all four on Sunday. Fun stuff .....you wait all year to race at the Outboard Championships and when your turn to drive comes you are not quite ready!!!! That's when you find out that your co-driver didn't want to share his ride with you anyway :p.

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When was this image taken?

I recall John McCall building a twin engine " Molinari" looking boat back in about 1969. I got the idea that it was ordered by the "Factory" and Jeff Titus was to be one of the drivers. Never saw it run or heard of it after that. What was the story on that boat?

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Originally Posted by khasmoth

When was this image taken?

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Havasu, 1970.....not 1969 as originally posted :o......it finished 8th.

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Originally Posted by 2us70

I recall John McCall building a twin engine " Molinari" looking boat back in about 1969. I got the idea that it was ordered by the "Factory" and Jeff Titus was to be one of the drivers. Never saw it run or heard of it after that. What was the story on that boat?

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I remember that boat also.....it, like the Glastron/Molinari's was "patterned" after the 21'er that Bill Sirois won with in 1970. The Molinari came over in late 68 or early 69. Bob Thompson ran it at Parker in 69 and Sirois at Havasu that same year and, if it had a good driver, it was a great boat. Merc recognized that the tunnel was the way to go and asked several US manufacturers to produce something special. The Molinari may have been "left" at Lake X between Parker and Long Beach and John may have been there testing something else at about the same time......you know that Merc wouldn't "give" someone Molinari boat dimensions.

Anyway, if memory serves, John built the twin in 69 ......it, with boats from Sidewinder, Desilva and a couple of others sat in the storage building in Oshkosh for a while. Finally, one by one, they were rigged and tested. The twin McCall was not a fast boat....it didn't really compare to the Molinari. It looked great, typical McCall craftsmanship and very little black paint for trim, but I think it was heavy. Jeff Titus ran it at Havasu in 69. I'm not positive, but I think John Henry Price ran it at Parker in 1970. Not sure of this either, but I think it was blown over, sent back to McCall for repair and sold.

The 21' Molinari with Sirois at Havasu in 1969 & 1970.......the McCall looked a lot like this, it just didn't run like this.

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Originally Posted by willabee

I remember that boat also.....it, like the Glastron/Molinari's was "patterned" after the 21'er that Bill Sirois won with in 1970. The Molinari came over in late 68 or early 69. Bob Thompson ran it at Parker in 69 and Sirois at Havasu that same year and, if it had a good driver, it was a great boat. .

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Now.... is this a different boat than the open cockpit twin McCall that Bob Thompson had...and, I believe, Steve Stepp drove at Smith Mountain Lake?

T2x

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Originally Posted by T2x

Now.... is this a different boat than the open cockpit twin McCall that Bob Thompson had...and, I believe, Steve Stepp drove at Smith Mountain Lake?T2x

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I'm not sure, did Thompson's look like the Molinari (I'm pretty darn sure John only built one) and was the Smith Mountain race you're referencing 1970? It would sure make sense that Thompson bought it after his ride in the Molinari at Parker....he said he really liked that boat and the McCall would have been the closest thing to it he could have purchased at that time.

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Originally Posted by willabee

I'm not sure, did Thompson's look like the Molinari (I'm pretty darn sure John only built one) and was the Smith Mountain race you're referencing 1970? It would sure make sense that Thompson bought it after his ride in the Molinari at Parker....he said he really liked that boat and the McCall would have been the closest thing to it he could have purchased at that time.

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It may have been '70 but I think it was more like '68-'69..... We (George Linder and I) were running year old twin 1250 bp's on a 16 Eltro vee. Thompson's boat was a big McCall pickle fork (at least 18 feet)...all varnished wood. I think the driver was kneeling, but I could be wrong. That same year, Pruett ran the triple Jones, and Culver had a twin Jones... Joe Habay was there as well running a twin Switzer Vee Hugger. Kitson ran triples on his wing at that race. There were a couple of twin Sidewinders there too.

T2x

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Originally Posted by T2x

It may have been '70 but I think it was more like '68-'69..... We (George Linder and I) were running year old twin 1250 bp's on a 16 Eltro vee. Thompson's boat was a big McCall pickle fork (at least 18 feet)...all varnished wood. I think the driver was kneeling, but I could be wrong. That same year, Pruett ran the triple Jones, and Culver had a twin Jones... Joe Habay was there as well running a twin Switzer Vee Hugger. Kitson ran triples on his wing at that race. There were a couple of twin Sidewinders there too. T2x

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My guess is that, once again, your mind has merged two events :p. I know you remember that Billy Don and Broadway Joe both brought triples Jones boats to the Smith Mountain 6 Hour in 69. That was when they managed to fill their tanks with white gas and ruined three powerheads before we arrived. They were told to decide which boat was going to race since they only had three powerheads left between them and that they had to get that boat ready by themselves......they were very upset with that, but that made me pretty happy :).

Habay in a Switzer V would have been the blue metalflake twin with 1250 BP's in 1968, his first ride in a Merc Team boat. I remember trying to drive that twin before Habay showed up to test. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop it from walking. I couldn't make it to the 2nd bridge without having to back off. First time Habay got in, he nailed the throttle and disappeared, never backed off once :(. Kitson with triples......ummmm, on the black Wing?......didn't finish? Seems he won with twins in 69, but got disqualified for some kind of course infraction at the very end of the race and the win went to Jim Merten driving a 20' Jones that crow-hopped around the couse all afternoon. The McCall you are describing is definately not the one we have been talking about.

Or.......is it my mind that has merged the two races :confused:.

The kneeldown twin engine McCall was "Just Add Water" owned and driven by Bob Thompson. I think he named all his boats the same. I saw it run once at Tavares and Thompson was complaining to John about the boat. John told him he wasn't driving it right and proceeded to go out and show him how it should be done. John promptly blew the thing straight over and wound up with a major rebuild of the boat but lucky for him he did not get hurt too bad. I seem to remember it at once at the Marine Stadium also.
When John was building the 21 twin boat he didn't seem too happy about it. I got the impression that he would rather have done it on his own from scratch.

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Originally Posted by willabee

My guess is that, once again, your mind has merged two events :p. I know you remember that Billy Don and Broadway Joe both brought triples Jones boats to the Smith Mountain 6 Hour in 69. That was when they managed to fill their tanks with white gas and ruined three powerheads before we arrived. They were told to decide which boat was going to race since they only had three powerheads left between them and that they had to get that boat ready by themselves......they were very upset with that, but that made me pretty happy :).

Habay in a Switzer V would have been the blue metalflake twin with 1250 BP's in 1968, his first ride in a Merc Team boat. I remember trying to drive that twin before Habay showed up to test. No matter what I did, I couldn't stop it from walking. I couldn't make it to the 2nd bridge without having to back off. First time Habay got in, he nailed the throttle and disappeared, never backed off once :(. Kitson with triples......ummmm, on the black Wing?......didn't finish? Seems he won with twins in 69, but got disqualified for some kind of course infraction at the very end of the race and the win went to Jim Merten driving a 20' Jones that crow-hopped around the couse all afternoon. The McCall you are describing is definately not the one we have been talking about.

Or.......is it my mind that has merged the two races :confused:.

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Your right...my mind has merged two Smith Mountain Lake races into one leaving you dazed and confused.....:p and 2us70 seems to have sorted out the fact that McCall built two twin engine boats..... The Moli copy and one that Bob Thompson "wasn't driving right";)

T2x

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Originally Posted by 2us70

The kneeldown twin engine McCall was "Just Add Water" owned and driven by Bob Thompson. I think he named all his boats the same. When John was building the 21 twin boat he didn't seem too happy about it. I got the impression that he would rather have done it on his own from scratch.

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I think his marine business in Indianapolis was named "Just Add Water" and his boats were named after it. When he decided to be an owner rather then a driver, he had some pretty good talent race for him.....Ken Stevenson and Ben Robertson quickly come to mind.

I think you had the right impression about John's enthusiasm in building a Molinari copy.

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Originally Posted by T2x

2us70 seems to have sorted out the fact that McCall built two twin engine boats..... The Moli copy and one that Bob Thompson "wasn't driving right";) T2x

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Make that at least three......here'ssssss Johnny

Like I said, I'm not sure, but Thompson may have ended up with the McCall Molinari.