Life at Lake X in the '60s

[tminnigan]

Hi Steve,
Great stories. My Grandmother had a home in St. Cloud. From 1960 when I was 9 years old I would have my father drive me to Lake X hoping to get in. Instead we would only have the guard at the gate take our picture. Every year I would drive buy but it was never open to the public. My uncle was fortunate enough to visit one year when it was open to the public. He said it was the only time it was ever open to the public. Good timing on his part. He took some movie pictures (8mm no sound) and they were great. When I went to college in 70-72 I was hoping to get a job on weekends at Lake X. My Grendmothers neighbor was a race driver for Carl. I got to check out the boat when he ran the race arount Long Island. He said he could get me a job just driving the lake but unfortunately just at that time a high school age driver fell asleep while driving on the lake and was killed so they stopped using students. That is what I was told anyway. I always hoped to get a view of Lake X.
This past April we visited St Could again. Had not been back to Fla for 10 years. Took a ride down Melbourne Hwy to see what Lake X looked like now but the road was blocked off before you could get to Lake X. I was told it was sold. Hated to hear that. I am 56 now.
Thanks,
Tom

[1966 Thunderbird]

I was wondering if anyone had some color photos of the turbine maritime from 1966 or 67. Also if anyone knows where the turbines went to? I just bought the boat from a person in new jersey who bought it from billy martins. Any help or info on this boat would be greatly appreciated. I would like to restore it to original if possible. I do have most of the original drives. It is currently powered with two 454's with dual turbochargers and arneson surface drives.
thanks
jim

[seeroy]

Nostalgia - On my way to Kissimmee today, I drove by the Lake X gate. US 192/441 is being widened as you approach the Old Melbourne Highway. But you can still access it. The "Lake X road" to all the old farts, is still open all the way to the old gate. Several deer ran along side the road as I approached. The gate itself has protective covering over it so you cannot see in very well. You can see the flagpole sticking up behind the gate. It was just getting dark and a security guard was parked just outside the gate. I talked briefly with him and told him he was standing at a historical site....He didn't have a clue what had gone on there years ago. Nice chap though. As for Me.......The old memories came flooding back. I have attached a picture of the gate taken only 3 hours ago. I have also attached a picture of the "Brass Rail" in Narcoossee where I celebrated my 21st birthday on the evening of June 22, 1964 (and well into the wee hours) . I have also attached a picture of "Big D's Bar" in St Cloud. You old farts will remember it as the "J&A Bar". As Always, Best Regards - Steve Sirois

[AwesomeBullet]

Steve, all that protective covering on the gate is a recent addition...I was out that way just a few months back and it was not there...

The property is in a trust now that Mr Kirchman has passed away. The last I heard they were still waiting for permits so that he could be buried on the property, the only way that he could ensure that at least some small part of the property will never be developed.

[Flat_Out]

I drove by the Placida facility several years ago when it was still in operation. Was there an airstrip on the right ,parallel to the road that came in from the East and led to the facility? Also, how far up and down the intracoastal did the test boats go? Steve mentioned working at the Siesta Key facility. Where was that on Siesta Key?? Gary Larson

Back when I was running the test boats in Boca Grande (1996 - 2001), We had four courses to run. One of the courses was the Intercoastal waterway (ICW) south to Fort Myers Beach. The other was ICW North to Venice. The other was the Gulf of Mexico North to Siesta Beach and the last was the Gulf to Fort Myers beach. There were days that the Gulf was like a pond and we would run down to Wiggins pass in Naples and then come back. If the Boss found out that we ran that far, We would probley have lost our job. Then there were the times that we would make the run to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and back.

BTW, just heard that the Placida Test base changed hands again. It was sold in 2001 for 14 million. It just sold again for 34 million. Brunswick is kicking themselves in the arse right now hearing that.

Here are a few pictures of the test dock in operation. Keep in mind that there are 5 fixtures running against the dock in this picture. Each fixture had 2 225 efi's or 250 efi's running at wide open throttle 24/7 including holidays. That is 10 3.0L outboards running against the wall (300 gallons of fuel + Oil and Hour!). At this time of testing, it these motors were running only to test the gearcases.

[nianticgary]

Well, now I know why I seemed to see you guys all up and down the intracoastal all those years. You really were all over the place. When did Merc stop painting the test boats yellow? And for you older drivers, do any of you remember running Power Cats? Like to find some good photos of them. Are there any good photos of the Boca Grande facility? Gary

[fountain1fan]

man what a great thread . think you all .wish i could have been thee back in thelate 70 early 80 . sad to here it is now gone . robbie

[cbgann]

Hi Steve, Thank you for a great visit into outboard history. I agree, you should author a book on Lake X Insight/Memories. I realize it was slightly before your time but; do you have any good stories about the 50,000 mile endurance run? Like how many Reveau boats, Lower units, Props did they go thru? I know they ran 24hours a day but did they run 7 days a week? What routine? maintenance was performed? Thanks, Bill

[afr]

i just want to subscribe to this so i can come back and read it
if i am right i think i am
the lake x your talking about is in my back yard
thanks keep posting
ill catch up

[Stinky]

When did Merc stop painting the test boats yellow? Gary

Most of the boats are still yellow. They run out of X-Site now in Panama City.

[transomstand]

Are there any good photos of the Boca Grande facility? Gary

I may have some from our trip in 1999, stayed on Little Gasparilla, one of the best boating areas I've ever seen

[Mark75H]

... stories about the 50,000 mile endurance run? Like how many Reveau boats, Lower units, Props did they go thru? I know they ran 24hours a day but did they run 7 days a week? What routine? maintenance was performed? Thanks, Bill

Bill, 1 boat and motor ran continuously 7 days a week without stopping. However, they cheated on a bearing and connecting rod replacement on the other motor. Other than that, the second boat and motor also ran continuously for the whole event.

Boats:2
Lower units:2
Props:2
Connecting rods & bearings:13

[warrior74z]

Sam, in the book, "Iron Fist" it is stated that a complete powerhead was replaced. Do you recall if it was indeed replaced completly or opened up and just replaced the rod and bearings. Also it was stated in the book that Mercury technitions could reproduce the seal that the SCCA or the sanctioning body had used to make sure the engines were not tampered with. It was stated that Mr K would take the SCCA officials to lunch while the techs worked on the engines, then resealed them. Also on this subject, if you read the book, what is your best guesstimate of the accuracy of the events? Give us a percentage of accuracy. You other guys that were there, lets here your opinion of the book.
I'm not trying to prove or disprove anything written, as it is an excellent read, but you know how the entertainment business is...

[bernie]

I have not seen them, but a friend who works at Mercury says there are 2 of the original endurance motors in the Exhibits storage area - and they have the identical serial number. This certainly would have been the easiest thing to do - just swap the whole engine while the inspector(s) were away.

[seeroy]

Picture #1(map) still shows Midnight Pass</ST1 open, as it was in the 60’s and prior times. I think it closed up sometime in the 70’s or 80’s. By the way, we knew <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comMidnight</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st=" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Blind Pass Road</st1:address></st1:Street> as “<st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Roller Coaster Road</st1:address></st1:Street>”. It was sand and had big humps. If you drove it fast enough, it was like riding a roller coaster. Picture #2 shows the area as it is now. I have placed an arrow where I think the actual pass was. Picture #3 shows the site where the Kiekhaefer Siesta Key Salt Water Test Station was located. The endurance shop was actually built over the channel. We could pull the boats into the channel, into the building and close garage type doors at each end. There was a wooden bridge inside the building and over the channel where the bridge in the picture is. During “cold” weather, huge snook would come into the channel and you could see them laying lethargically on the bottom. Depending on the tide, the water in the channel was only a few feet deep. Mr Kiekhaefer had a house on the property and the <st1:City w:st="on">Anderson</st1:City> family (Joe, Red[Joe's wife], Jake, and Pete) lived in a house at the gate. Just outside of the gate was the fish camp that Richie Powers referred to in an earlier post. A short distance up the road was the “Happyland Restaurant”. Sometimes we would do lunch at the fish camp or Happyland. Then, after work, we would stop and tip a few brews. When I was younger, my family would occasionally eat at Happyland when they had “all the lobster you can eat” nights. We even celebrated my parents 25<SUP>th</SUP> anniversary at Happyland. - Steve Sirois
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