Hot Singles ! - Pictures

[willabee]

willable,

did the twins use the quick steer ride guide?

All except Renato and Rasini, those boys insisted on cable.

[willabee]

All except Renato and Rasini, those boys insisted on cable.

Speaking of Renato, there were three 16' sprints sent over for the 1970 Miami 225. The #187 and #998 pictured above, and the third was #554, a green machine to be driven by Molinari. All three are in this photo, the 554 is towards the top getting ready to launch (note: the picture is erroneously captioned 1971). Tom Stickle's #254 may also look like a 16'er, but it's not a sprint. That boat started life as an 18' marathon hull, but Tom blew it over and caused some nose damage. When the wood butchers were finished, their repair job resulted in something just over 16' ..... Tom appropriately named it Stubby.

For me, Renato's 554 has even less history than Sirois' 998. Renato blew it over testing at Lake X (that's a story within a story). I had forgotten that it was able to be repaired and raced at the 225. I don't remember where it finished if it indeed did and don't recall what happened to it after the race. I can only guess that someone in San Paulo got a swingin' deal on the latest 'go fast' machine from Italy.

[Mark Poole ModVP]

I count at least 13 stackers in that pic. Had to be even more with non factory Mercs and Chryslers. By this time my dad had already taken me to several local races where there would be 3 or 4 stackers racing. But I sure would loved to have been at a race to hear 15 or 20 racing! That must have been a wonderful and unforgettable sound!

[willabee]

I count at least 13 stackers in that pic. Had to be even more with non factory Mercs and Chryslers. By this time my dad had already taken me to several local races where there would be 3 or 4 stackers racing. But I sure would loved to have been at a race to hear 15 or 20 racing! That must have been a wonderful and unforgettable sound!

Back then, when a bunch of stackers screamed by, we'd say "listen to that music". Today, we all say "What?" a lot .

[2us70]

The boat in the foreground shows Tom Sikes and Bill Marlin as drivers. Those two guys were partners in various stuff. Both met unfortunate ends.UOTE=willabee;3072995]Speaking of Renato, there were three 16' sprints sent over for the 1970 Miami 225. The #187 and #998 pictured above, and the third was #554, a green machine to be driven by Molinari. All three are in this photo, the 554 is towards the top getting ready to launch (note: the picture is erroneously captioned 1971). Tom Stickle's #254 may also look like a 16'er, but it's not a sprint. That boat started life as an 18' marathon hull, but Tom blew it over and caused some nose damage. When the wood butchers were finished, their repair job resulted in something just over 16' ..... Tom appropriately named it Stubby.

For me, Renato's 554 has even less history than Sirois' 998. Renato blew it over testing at Lake X (that's a story within a story). I had forgotten that it was able to be repaired and raced at the 225. I don't remember where it finished if it indeed did and don't recall what happened to it after the race. I can only guess that someone in San Paulo got a swingin' deal on the latest 'go fast' machine from Italy. [/QUOTE]

[willabee]

Back then, when a bunch of stackers screamed by, we'd say "listen to that music". Today, we all say "What?" a lot .

I remember I was talking to (or at) Merten right after we pulled his boat out of the water. A reporter from a local newspaper came over and asked if he could ask Mert some questions. He asked his first one, Mert looked at me and said "what'd he say?" I answered the question, the reporter made some notes and then asked Mert another question. Mert kind of wrinkled his nose and said "What?" The reporter repeated the question and Mert just looked at me with a bit of a blank stare.
I think we ran 7000 rpm limit switchboxes on the stacked 1350. After 3 hours at full song, Mert couldn't hear a damn thing. I answered the rest of the questions, the reporter and Mert were fine with that, they both just wanted to get the interview over with and go somewhere quiet.

Mert and the 16' sprint .....

[GENE LANHAM]

I remember I was talking to (or at) Merten right after we pulled his boat out of the water. A reporter from a local newspaper came over and asked if he could ask Mert some questions. He asked his first one, Mert looked at me and said "what'd he say?" I answered the question, the reporter made some notes and then asked Mert another question. Mert kind of wrinkled his nose and said "What?" The reporter repeated the question and Mert just looked at me with a bit of a blank stare. I answered the rest of the questions, the reporter and Mert were fine with that, they both just wanted to get the interview over with and go somewhere quiet.

Mert and the 16' sprint .....

THE NOISIEST SPORTING EVENT IN HISTORY—-

1969 Havasu—

[GENE LANHAM]

[QUOTE=2us70;3074008]The boat in the foreground shows Tom Sikes and Bill Marlin as drivers. Those two guys were partners in various stuff. Both met unfortunate ends.U

Substitute ‘crime’ for ‘various stuff’—-

[2us70]

Was it your Dad who represented Tommy back in the day?

[bernie]

THE NOISIEST SPORTING EVENT IN HISTORY—-

1969 Havasu—

I remember a Wide World of Sports anniversary show many years back - that was the only sporting event they ever covered where their sound equipment couldn't handle the noise!

[2us70]

As I have said before. I usually ran an E Class boat. In marathons the stacker boats, both singles and twins, would pass me several times a lap. This took a little getting used to. You could hear them coming up behind you but you had to pay attention to what your own boat was doing. Being passed by a couple of twin engine stackers at the same time was interesting, especially if you wound up with one on each side. That was when you got the full force of that sound. The grandstands at the Marine Stadium gave everybody a pretty good dose of that sound as well.

[GENE LANHAM]

Was it your Dad who represented Tommy back in the day?

Tommy’s dad had a used car lot in Lib City—my dad was Shorty’s lawyer for years—I bought my first car from Shorty-a 1950 Ford—

[jackiewilson]

Tommy’s dad had a used car lot in Lib City—my dad was Shorty’s lawyer for years—I bought my first car from Shorty-a 1950 Ford—

Ah Yes, I was riding a Triumph Speed Twin in 1950 Gene——— wasn’t old enough to drive a car—- but then you are a lot older than me !

[peterse90]

Thought I would try to get HOT SINGLES going again with one of my favourite magazine covers ( great story to go with it !!)

[willabee]

Thought I would try to get HOT SINGLES going again with one of my favourite magazine covers ( great story to go with it !!)

I'm always up for a good story, please do tell.