User Tag List

Page 4 of 99 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 54 ... LastLast
Results 46 to 60 of 1478
  1. #46
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    6,079
    Thanks (Given)
    11
    Thanks (Received)
    17
    Likes (Given)
    213
    Likes (Received)
    98
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by willabee
    Thanks, glad you're enjoying
    Yes we are, thanks you
    22' Activator w/ 250xs Merc Opti, back home again

  2. #47
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Granite Quarry, NC
    Posts
    4,012
    Thanks (Given)
    5
    Thanks (Received)
    35
    Likes (Given)
    29
    Likes (Received)
    85
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by willabee
    Thanks, glad you're enjoying

    Havasu Outboard World Championships - 1968


    #T-10 - Ken Kalibat - Glastron with ( I think ) 1250 BP's finishing 4th
    .
    They were definitely 1250 BP's.... They wound up on my 16' Eltro after that race...

    After "seeing the future" Kenny went on to run a 21' Glastron Molinari....and Pruett ran over him with his Jones the following year at Havasu. Both boats wound up sitting one on top of the other cross ways in a turn........ and for an instant the two guys almost came to blows on top of the mess.

    Frankly....in that fight..... I couldn't/wouldn't pick a winner. Kenny was the strongest human being I ever met....They were both about the same size....and Pruett had a short fuse and a great right hand.... Probably one of those moments where both guys said........"maybe not a good idea".

    Rest in peace to each of you..... old friends

    T2x
    Last edited by T2x; 01-12-2006 at 04:23 PM.
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,105
    Thanks (Given)
    126
    Thanks (Received)
    245
    Likes (Given)
    128
    Likes (Received)
    686
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    More Havasu Championships - 1968


    #U171 - Jim Clinkenbeard - another one of those "belly beatin" V bottoms, a Glastron with triple 1250 BP's taking 1st in the Unlimited class ( don't think it was in the top 10 overall )

    #U105 - Roy Reeves - A Stylecraft with triple Chyslers finishing 2nd in the Unlimited class.....had 1st Unlimited locked, but ran out of gas in the final few minutes........I'm pretty sure that this is the boat that collided with Jim Merten's Wet and Wild Switzer Wing at Galveston the next year. Merten had passed him just before the pit turn, but came in too hot and spun right in front of Reeves. Reeves had no where to go but into and then over the Wing, Merten was seriously hurt.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Power Boat Mag 120.jpg   Power Boat Mag 121.jpg  

  4. #49
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,105
    Thanks (Given)
    126
    Thanks (Received)
    245
    Likes (Given)
    128
    Likes (Received)
    686
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    A Couple of Havasu Winners


    Just a couple of different shots of boats you've already seen.............Bill Sirois in the 1970 Molinari and Kenny Kitson in the 1968 Switzer Wing........a couple of boats and a couple of stories.......

    When we built engines for a race, the approach was always a little different depending on the race and the driver. For example, Gary Garbrecht gave me his list of who was going to run what at Havasu in 1970. At that time, our best engine was the 1350 water injected stacker on SSM units. During this period we ran counter rotating powerheads on the left side of the twins because the left hand SSM's design at that time would not take the horsepower. We were also playing with the 1350 silo and cowbell and his list included a pair of those for Merten's boat.

    From there I would figure out how many of each component we needed to equip all of the boats and how many of each assembly I wanted to take along as spares. Since this build is for Havasu, everything would be new, and I would order all of the blocks, housings and internal parts that we would need. If the next race was going to be the Miami 225 ( or any short event ), this Havasu equipment would get rebuilt...all new internals in the blocks and lower units rather than all new from scratch again.

    Here's where the driver came in. I would prepare a powerhead "build form" for each and for the spares. Sirois would always start his cold engines nice and easy, warm everything up and then test and he didn't put much time on his equipment testing. He used his trim to adjust how the boat ran rather than the throttle....he was easy on equipment, so we could build his powerheads with thinner reeds, remove the retarded timing disc, give him a little more spark and a little less jet, install a limitless switch box, etc. A bunch of little things that gave him more power and performance. Billy Don Pruett ( here he comes again ), no matter what instructions he was given to the contrary, would start his cold engines and be instantly at 7000 RPM. Once he was satisfied that everyone knew he was on site , he would go out to test. He tested a lot and drove with the throttle....he was very hard on equipment, so his were built just the opposite ( as bullet proof as possible ), costing some performance.

    Next, all of the components were prepaired for assembly. Rods were sent to Bob Hetzel's prop department to be ground and polished and returned to us for magnafluxing ( the polishing was only done so that we had the ability to find cracks along the I beam ). Pistons and rings were measured and marked, electrical components were assembled and tested as a group ( distributor,switch box,etc. ) for each powerhead. Blocks were deburred, ports ground, cylinders trued and measured so that pistons and rings could be matched for proper clearances. When all of this type of work was finished, the actual assembly per "build form" would begin.

    Sorry, this is getting pretty windy, so here are the photos.......I'll tell the stories later.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Power Boat Mag 072.jpg   Power Boat Mag 112.jpg  
    Last edited by willabee; 01-19-2006 at 10:09 AM.

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Location
    Annapolis, MD ragboat capital of the world
    Posts
    11,463
    Thanks (Given)
    591
    Thanks (Received)
    164
    Likes (Given)
    2428
    Likes (Received)
    445
    Mentioned
    2 Post(s)
    Tagged
    3 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by willabee
    Sorry, this is getting pretty windy
    I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Bellingham, WA
    Posts
    6,079
    Thanks (Given)
    11
    Thanks (Received)
    17
    Likes (Given)
    213
    Likes (Received)
    98
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark75H
    I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting
    Yes what he said
    22' Activator w/ 250xs Merc Opti, back home again

  7. #52
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,105
    Thanks (Given)
    126
    Thanks (Received)
    245
    Likes (Given)
    128
    Likes (Received)
    686
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Thank you for your comment, makes this guy feel pretty good........also makes me want to share another fun thought......

    I moved to Columbus in 86 and found this restaurant that I hang out at in 88. I've met a bunch of really nice people there over the years, but I've had a problem with the regulars for some time now. Whenever a new person joins our group and we all get to talking, something will be said that causes me to say " That reminds me of a Molinari story". Before I have a chance to continue, the regulars go into all sorts of gyrations.....some look at their watch, some yawn, some put their head down on the bar as if to go to sleep, some ask for their check and someone always warns the new person not to ask what a Molinari is. They say asking me that question is like asking someone what time it is and then having to listen to a dissertation on how to build a grandfather clock

    These folks ( and my wife ) tell me that they are just thrilled that " there are people out there that actually enjoy a Molinari story "......they say they won't have to suffer any longer as long as I don't give them reports about the stories I tell on S&F .

    PS: The regulars do enjoy the stories, but they enjoy giving me a ton of grief about them even more


    Quote Originally Posted by Mark75H
    I think most people are thinking it is getting pretty ..... interesting
    Last edited by willabee; 12-07-2006 at 10:05 AM.

  8. #53
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Belvidere IL, FARM
    Posts
    7,737
    Thanks (Given)
    102
    Thanks (Received)
    115
    Likes (Given)
    1556
    Likes (Received)
    514
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Like stated here and on other threads....Thank you Sir!!
    God, Country, and Fast Boats
    SPECIAL BOAT TEAM 12/ HSB'S SOC NSWU-1

    _____________________________________________

    Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. And when your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that they weep and pray for more time that they may live there life over in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a Hero going home.

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    wood river,il
    Posts
    345
    Thanks (Given)
    0
    Thanks (Received)
    0
    Likes (Given)
    0
    Likes (Received)
    0
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    ok now get out the shovel & throw some dirt
    "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    152
    Thanks (Given)
    1
    Thanks (Received)
    1
    Likes (Given)
    4
    Likes (Received)
    11
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I know this is older than you guys like, but here it is anyway. It's a Jav-Cat from 1964 with twin 1000's. Dick.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails August `64 #2.jpg  

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Phoenix AZ
    Posts
    728
    Thanks (Given)
    0
    Thanks (Received)
    1
    Likes (Given)
    1
    Likes (Received)
    6
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Willabee, we certainly are enjoying your stories and your not boring us !!!

  12. #57
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,105
    Thanks (Given)
    126
    Thanks (Received)
    245
    Likes (Given)
    128
    Likes (Received)
    686
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Agreed Mike, enough of that, time to get back to work.......

    A Couple of Havasu Winners ....continued

    So, in the engine shop, all of the powerhead component parts have been readied and powerhead assembly per "build form" has begun. The same thing is going on for the lower units....the deburring,measuring, magnafluxing and finally assembly. All of the boats in our possession go through the rigging shop prior to departure. Sirois' Molinari had been previously raced, so the DSH's are pulled, inspected and reassembled with new fasteners, bushings, etc. ( whatever applies to each style housing ). Then the guys start in the cockpit replacing trim switches, coil cords, etc. and work their way to the rear. The powerheads and lower units are sent to them and they get it ready to test. Depending on the weather, we may run it in Oshkosh or just have to wait until until we get to Havasu. For the boats that are out in the field, we load the parts we will need and perform this work at the race site.

    To my knowledge, very few people knew we built the powerheads that way. You couldn't tell the drivers because they would all be screaming that they didn't get the "hot" stuff. Couldn't tell the engineers because "No Engineering Degree" and I could get into some very hot water because I wasn't authorized to change specs. Didn't really say much at all about this to my boss for a number of reasons and didn't even tell some of the mechanics because they had developed their own relationships with different drivers. I did this mostly with Dave Beier and Bill Allen.

    During the build for this race, Beier and I were talking about Sirois, and the more we talked, the more ideas we got. Dave asked me to let him build a couple of special powerheads for him and I said no, let's build him four "throw-aways"....if he makes it through Saturday, we'll pull the first pair and give him new ones for Sunday. Turns out, that was exactly what we ended up doing.

    To be continued.......
    Quote Originally Posted by mike farmer
    ok now get out the shovel & throw some dirt
    Last edited by willabee; 08-08-2007 at 12:32 PM.

  13. #58
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    South Florida
    Posts
    2,296
    Thanks (Given)
    0
    Thanks (Received)
    154
    Likes (Given)
    1
    Likes (Received)
    541
    Mentioned
    11 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Jim . How old is that Jav Cat you have? Brooke Russell had one that was cut down to a pickle fork and had an adjustable wing in front. The boat was named "Escape Velocity". Last time I saw it it was rigged with a pair of 700 speedmaster motors for the around Key West Race. It didn't do very well and I never saw it again. Wonder if it's the same boat?

  14. #59
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Mesa, AZ
    Posts
    152
    Thanks (Given)
    1
    Thanks (Received)
    1
    Likes (Given)
    4
    Likes (Received)
    11
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    got any pics of your Jav-Cat? I'd like to see it. Dick.

  15. #60
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    2,105
    Thanks (Given)
    126
    Thanks (Received)
    245
    Likes (Given)
    128
    Likes (Received)
    686
    Mentioned
    6 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    A Couple of Havasu Winners....continued
    When we went to Havasu, we rented a home with a large two car garage and a big empty lot next to it. Four or five of us lived in the house for the week and we used it as race headquarters. All of our boats were kept there and the garage became our rig shop. Our rigging guys would begin the week by going through all of the boats that we didn't have in Oshkosh......replacing parts as I have described and installing new powerheads and lower units. While this was going on, the rest our our people were at the race site with the parts truck and the prop truck and final setup work was taking place.

    After the four hour race on Saturday, all of the boats were taken back to this house. We would perform a complete inspection on each one, using the race results to determine what was inspected first through last. This order of inspection was necessary because we may run out of time to get to all of the boats or we may run out of replacement parts before they were all checked.....no matter how well you planned, there was no way to predetermine what was going to have to be replaced. In the case of this race, the first two boats brought into the shop were those of Merten and Sirois.

    Unfortunately, we missed a power trim coil cord that was chafing on a screw under the dash on Merten's boat. It started an electrical fire just after two hours of racing on Sunday which cost him the win....we had to lock his trim in one position, cut the cord and send him back out. Beier and Jerry Kohnke were working on the Sirois boat. Dave came to me smiling and said the powerheads were shot....I smiled and said, well that was the plan, put the other pair on Turned out that we also had to replace both lower units, one DSH, a couple of trim cylinders and a pump before that boat was ready to run again. I don't think Sirois ever knew how much effort and special stuff went into his win that year.

    Every year at Havasu, there were several of us that never got to sleep on Saturday night.....just too much work to do. That year, Bill Seebold's single was the last boat to go into the garage ( around 6 am Sunday morning ). We discovered that his reeds were chipped, but didn't have a new powerhead to replace his. I told the guys that we'd have to use starting fluid and hope that we could get him started two more times before they failed completely. When Grandpa Seebold saw what we were doing to start him on Sunday, he went to Charles Alexander ( then VP Engineering ) and complained, justifiably so, and Alex came to me and chewed my backside up one way and down the other. I explained that we had found this problem, but were out of powerheads. He said that he thought that was very poor planning on my part. It wasn't until a few days later that it dawned on me that we had a new counter rotating powerhead in the truck.... we could have installed it and had him prop out on Sunday morning......that still bothers me to this day, just wasn't thinking clearly

    PS: We got Seebold started Sunday and he was fast, passed a lot of boats, but were unable to get him going after his fuel stop ( reeds were gone by then ).
    Last edited by willabee; 08-08-2007 at 12:34 PM.

Page 4 of 99 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 54 ... LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Chris Carson's Marine