Facts about Evinrude/Johnson racing outboards made my OMC

[peterse90]

Here is the second (larger) Goat Boat. PS 100's race Toronto, Ontario 1974 .

I consider myself pretty lucky. I got to see Jimbo in the small Goat Boat a few times in Peterborough, Ontario. Got to see him in the above Goat Boat and then also saw Jimbo drive a Rotary for an exhibition run in Peterborough (wish I had taken pictures).

I have also met Jimbo a few times here in Canada and also at the Havasu reunion in 2021. Both Jimbo and Cathy are really nice people and Cathy is really fun to talk to about their visits to Canada.

[Rotary John]

Here is the second (larger) Goat Boat. PS 100's race Toronto, Ontario 1974 .

I consider myself pretty lucky. I got to see Jimbo in the small Goat Boat a few times in Peterborough, Ontario. Got to see him in the above Goat Boat and then also saw Jimbo drive a Rotary for an exhibition run in Peterborough (wish I had taken pictures).

I have also met Jimbo a few times here in Canada and also at the Havasu reunion in 2021. Both Jimbo and Cathy are really nice people and Cathy is really fun to talk to about their visits to Canada.

He also ran Provo with a rotary on the Goat boat.

[WaterZebra]

He also ran Provo with a rotary on the Goat boat.

Besides the Goat Boat, what hulls did the rotary end up on?

[Rotary John]

Besides the Goat Boat, what hulls did the rotary end up on?

As far as I remember all were Scotti's except for the 1 James Beard ran at Windemere; Cougar and the Goat boat at Provo. I'm not sure what Sanders ran in S. Africa, but I believe it was Scotti also. That was one of the biggest problems with the rotary. The boats were old 175 HP V-4 boats. These boats ran 90/100 MPH with the V-4 and now were pushing 120 + with the rotary. Newer pickle fork Scotti's were run in late '74 at Paris, but Scotti only had V-4's for development. Beard's Cougar in '73 ran the rotary for the first and only time on the boat. As I have said before, OMC racing in the '73-'75 time frame, was put the motor on the back of a boat, try a couple of props and go race. Virtually no system development. It didn't matter if it was for a 9 hr. endurance race at parker or a 3-pin short 20 minute sprint, the same boat and setup was used.

[WaterZebra]

As far as I remember all were Scotti's except for the 1 James Beard ran at Windemere; Cougar and the Goat boat at Provo. I'm not sure what Sanders ran in S. Africa, but I believe it was Scotti also. That was one of the biggest problems with the rotary. The boats were old 175 HP V-4 boats. These boats ran 90/100 MPH with the V-4 and now were pushing 120 + with the rotary. Newer pickle fork Scotti's were run in late '74 at Paris, but Scotti only had V-4's for development. Beard's Cougar in '73 ran the rotary for the first and only time on the boat. As I have said before, OMC racing in the '73-'75 time frame, was put the motor on the back of a boat, try a couple of props and go race. Virtually no system development. It didn't matter if it was for a 9 hr. endurance race at parker or a 3-pin short 20 minute sprint, the same boat and setup was used.

I am beginning to see why the OMC factory driver situation ended up where it did from 1976 on. Scotti's death put a huge dent in whatever plan they had. Barry Woods was the sole distributor for Scotti hulls in the USA. No surprise to me that Molinari, Hering and Velden transitioned to OMC from Merc. It's very curious that the rotary never made it onto a Molinari hull? Velden? Not so much. Jack Leek probably had a lot to do with how things ended up and how the OMC V6 engine program would end any chances of the rotary's survival. Sounds like where ever the rotary went (UK & S. Africa) for demos, OMC had a veil of security around where the engines were and who had access to them? Aside from Sanders and Jimbo what other drivers were blessed with the chance to drive the rotary? Woods? Posey?

[lars strom]

Four OMC rotary powered boats in this race.

https://svera.se/blogg/the-omc-rotar...-new-pictures/

[WaterZebra]

Four OMC rotary powered boats in this race.

https://svera.se/blogg/the-omc-rotar...-new-pictures/

Appears that Windemere was nearly all Scotti hulls. Downard also got to drive one. Circa 1973 so Molinari was still with Merc. So history says that Molinari and the rotary never crossed paths.

[lars strom]

Correct..newer a Rotary powered Molinari.

James Beard in a Cougar / Evinrude Rotary.

[lars strom]

One more James Beard Cougar/Evinrude Rotary.

[lars strom]

... Scotti's death put a huge dent in whatever plan they had.

Scotti's death was late 1974 (October) in Paris..The year after 1975 Cees Van Der Velden won the UIM ON class World Championship race in his own built Velden boat.

[Rotary John]

The rotary was a stop gap measure for Strang. How do we beat Mercury till the V-6 is ready? Until the V-6 went to a looper, the rotary had more HP, particularly at lower RPM. The V-6 ran for the first time in Paris '74. Barry Woods/Jimbo in a rotary had a 15 minute lead on both Merc & OMC V-6's. The rotary ran for the last time in June '75.

[Rotary John]

You keep asking an 80 year old man to remember darn near 50 yrs. ago. Here goes. there were 8 drivers of the rotary Jimbo, Barry Woods Tommy Posey, James Beard, Mike Downard, Bobby Witt, Johnnie Sanders & Rick McKinley. The engine ran in 8 races in order. Parker; March '73, Galveston, Lake Carrol, Provo, Windemere, Paris So. Africa and Pewaukee; June '75.

[Rotary John]

I forgot one. Billy Seabolt's St. Louis race. Summer of '74 I think.

[Rotary John]

Seems I forgot another. It appears Scotti ran a rotary at Windemere in '73. I honestly don't recall him driving one, but media says he did.

[lars strom]

#15 Cesare Scotti in his Scotti-Craft with Evinrude Rotary power.
Windermere, UK 1973