Hot Singles ! - Pictures

[willabee]

Where did this one come from?.....Nearly destroyed by Bob Van Epps in 1972 and I wound up racing it once with a T2x after repair........ (too much power...too little boat).....T2x

Sorry, I'm a little confused.....are you asking who drove that for the Racing Team.....are you thinking it's a 16'.....is that photo before or after you drove it .

[Zonkercraft]

Hey Willabee,
Do you know anything about a red, 16ft sprint that was sent to the northwest area? I want to believe that it was around '71, because it came from Oskosh with a T1, ready to run. It was followed closely by a 17ft full nosed boat with a T2. Both were bought by Les Potter, and driven by his son Dave.
Also, along with T2X's sprint, Mark Rothamel drove a 16ft sprint that was owned by Ted Quinn, I think. I think this was the same boat that came to Canada, with a T1. Mark ran it in SJ. Mark later ran a 17ft, full nosed boat, in U class.

Just my thoughts
Zonkercraft

[peterse90]

[quote=jackie wilson;1268698]
I had an idea Mark Rathmell out of Canada had the boat, and the last i heard of it was in Valleyfield 1976 when some mexicans turned up with it but were turned away because they were late for the drivers meeting.

Informed Mark Rotharmel to check out the recent posts on this thread.
Here is a picture of the Molinari that Mark Rotharmel drove in 1973. I forgot to ask him if it was a 16. He started out in SUI but when that class had too few boats he switched to SJ that I think in 1973 was a 140hp. Mark set a Canadian SUI kilo record in this boat at just over 86mph while completing the run blowing over.
Mark's 1973 Molinari was the same boat that Spencer Dunn ran in 1972 in S-class (Twister I - 'silo'). Spencer won the 1972 Canadian National Championship at Cherry Beach with this boat.
I don't think this is a 16 footer. To me it looks like one of the early non-rocker bottom Molinaris that I think were 17'...but maybe Willabee or Mark Rotharmel can properly ID this boat.

[David Alaniz]

I'll try to figure it out, it might help to know.....who is "we".....when did you guys get it.....are you sure it was a 16'?

I only recall two 16' sprints going through the Race Team in Oshkosh. The first race for both of them was the 1970 Miami 225.....Jim Merten won with the orange one and Bill Sirois drove the red one. The orange one set a record at the Miami Nationals that year, raced the Paris 6 Hour and then the 1971 Parker 9 Hour. Olegator says Harold Bartee bought it after that and he raced it for Harold. I don't know what they did with it and when, but I believe they painted the boat a different color and had to put a new (not Molinari style) rear cowl on it during the time they raced it. The red one was blown over before the Nationals, repaired and painted black and it also ran the 1971 Parker race. It was blown over again, taken back to Oshkosh and was destroyed.

Hard to tell from these photos, but I don't think the blue (#483) boat is quite the same style as the two 16' sprints that we had.....opinions anyone?

Here is the first pic we took in our driveway. Not sure how it had the number 138 (never ran with that). We had to change it to 483. She was orange when we received her. A couple of friends brought her down, still remember the icicles hanging off the sides. The "we" is my father (Pete Alaniz) who spoke often with Gary G. My motorcycle is a '71 so I am thinking (guess) got it in early '72 maybe??? It had always been referred to as a 16' sprint. Dad is getting up in age and can't quite remember the year. I guess I will have to dig some more......later. Oh, by the way, never blew it over - cloooosssssse. But, did barrel roll three times.

[peterse90]

[quote=David Alaniz;1269982] Not sure how it had the number 138 (never ran with that).

In 1972 #138 was Dennis Burghauer.

[peterse90]

Duane Berghauer also used #138

[jackie wilson]

David, i don't think that is a 16' sprint. They were tiny, even to the naked eye. I think thats one of the regular 17's. And if you got it in '71, Mercury would not have been selling any of their secret sh-t to a privateer. They only ever sold on the obsolete gear.
[ no ref to you Jim ]
Ask Willa, he knows more about hi-perf. and the antics they got up to, and he has a pretty fair knowledge of tunnel boats from 1970 onwards.

[T2x]

Sorry, I'm a little confused.....are you asking who drove that for the Racing Team.....are you thinking it's a 16'.....is that photo before or after you drove it .

It was a 16 and I drove it after Van Epps "modified" it as seen in the photo. Was this a new boat when he got it, or had someone else driven it? If you can't remember we'll just chalk it up to the shrapnel in the head you received at Gettysburg.

By the way I did hook it and exited stage right through the cockpit, leaving my fully tied sneaker on the throttle peddle. That is boat I had the "parachute jacket incident" in....Another long story, but you can recognize a certain consistency in my driving style........... by the debris I left on the race course

T2x

[David Alaniz]

David, i don't think that is a 16' sprint. They were tiny, even to the naked eye. I think thats one of the regular 17's. And if you got it in '71, Mercury would not have been selling any of their secret sh-t to a privateer. They only ever sold on the obsolete gear.
[ no ref to you Jim ]
Ask Willa, he knows more about hi-perf. and the antics they got up to, and he has a pretty fair knowledge of tunnel boats from 1970 onwards.

Thanks for all the response on this tunnel! Until I dig some more I am staying with '72. We didn't buy....it was a loving gift from mercury Also the new Milesmaster we later received was not purchased....and motor, gear etc. Actually two Milesmasters came to the port of Houston. The other went to Freddy Bradshaw. A white used Molinari went to Hiram Meike.

This all leads me to what Willa said he was told by GG and doing for others in different areas that mercury usually didn't frequent. My dad was told basicly the same thing and with our long record we earned the help provided we continue being independent. We had a tough OMC group to run against all the time with no mercury involment. Witt, Posey, Sanders, McConnel.

Take Care, David

[willabee]

Here is the first pic we took .....I am thinking (guess) got it in early '72 maybe??? .....It had always been referred to as a 16' sprint.

Boy, all of a sudden, everyone was running a 16' Sprint! Like I already said, I only recall two going through the Race Team in Oshkosh.

Let's try this.....the first sprints we received were 17', two of them, both were orange/red and ran for the 1st time at Havasu, 1969 with Stickle & Hering doing the driving. Great boats, Stickle set a single engine record on Saturday and Hering broke it on Sunday! Those were the last of the boats we rigged with ride-guide steering.

The two 16' sprints came after them, one red and the other orange and ran for the 1st time at Miami in 1970. Those boats were set up with cable steering. Your picture shows that the #483 boat had ride-guide when you received it, a clear indication that it was racing before the 16' sprints were even built. I doubt that anyone would have taken the cable steering out to install ride-guide, people were doing just the opposite.

In trying to figure out what it might be, I looked at the picture of Olegator running Parker in 71 in what he said was the orange 16' sprint that Merten won the 225 with in 1970 and was surprised to see that boat also had ride-guide steering. I'm not trying to make anyone angry, but that makes me think it's not the 16' sprint. Same thinking, we would not have removed cable in favor of ride-guide.

If this is correct, someone got the one 16' sprint that was still around, but I don't recall who. Maybe Olegator ran a 17' sprint at Parker and Bartee bought the 16' sprint, I don't know. There may have been some other 16' Molinari's, but I doubt they were sprints.....more likely built like the 18's of the day, but to run the Merc 1000 in OI (that's probably what Jackie had in Europe).

Your boat with ride-guide.....Olegator boat at Parker.....look at three things, the steering coming out of the front cowling, the twin gas caps and the aluminum plate at the transom (length of it and angle it was cut off).....maybe these are the same boat?????

[T2x]

Looking at the Rotharmel and Alaniz hulls, they both appear to be noticeably shorter than Spencer Dunn's hull, at least in the photos. David's point about hulls being imported to the states after use in Europe coincides with some of the Molinari marathon hulls we received (2 ex "Paris" boats....etc). Willabee, is it possible that additional 16's came in from Europe and never went through Oshkosh? A couple of years later Marty O'Neill's "Marlboro" Molinari was never raced in the States by anyone but him, to my knowledge, and my last sprint Molinari picklefork had one Bob Hering race on it when I got it.

T2x

[David Alaniz]

Sure looks like the #174. As for the Milesmasters that came into the port of Houston they were new, no seat, paint or rigging.

[willabee]

Hey Willabee,
Do you know anything about a red, 16ft sprint that was sent to the northwest area? I want to believe that it was around '71, because it came from Oskosh with a T1, ready to run. It was followed closely by a 17ft full nosed boat with a T2. Both were bought by Les Potter, and driven by his son Dave.
Also, along with T2X's sprint, Mark Rothamel drove a 16ft sprint that was owned by Ted Quinn, I think. I think this was the same boat that came to Canada, with a T1. Mark ran it in SJ. Mark later ran a 17ft, full nosed boat, in U class.

Dave Potter was a Jim Merten project. Mert was promoted to Race Team Mgr. after the 1970 Havasu race and may have started talking with the Potter's in 71. I don't recall a 16' Molinari going to Dave, definitely not a sprint. I do recall a new 17' marathon hull (not sure if it was red or white) that Dave ran at Parker.....1972 would be my guess. If 72 is right, TII's weren't available then, he would have run a TI.....pickle forks hadn't arrived yet either, they were all full nose at that time.

I'd guess the white wreck in the T2x photo is a 17'.....don't know about Mark's boat. Sorry, but that's the best I can do with your questions.

[willabee]

Looking at the Rotharmel and Alaniz hulls, they both appear to be noticeably shorter than Spencer Dunn's hull,......... Willabee, is it possible that additional 16's came in from Europe and never went through Oshkosh?

Looking shorter doesn't make them 16' sprints . I'll tell you what's even more possible.....they did come through Oshkosh and I just don't remember (the ol' shrapnel from Gettysburg problem)

[peterse90]

Rotharmel's Molinari and Spencer Dunn's Molinari are the same boat.
Spencer drove it in 1972, Mark in 1973.
Spencer was probably about 4 to 6 inches shorter than Mark in height which may account why it appears that Mark is sitting higher and further back than Spencer.