Jimbo McConnell--The Wizard of OZ

[Jeff Lytle]

I only had the priviledge of meeting him a few times when he came to race (Dominate!) in Canada. He always took the time to speak to me, and never seemed rushed to finish our long conversations. I was in my teens, and am ever impressed by this man, and his racing ability.
I took this picture in Picton, Ontario, Canada after Jimbo had single handedly whipped Team Mercury's best by a full straightaway. He had the race clearly won, but never lifted untill the checkered, and when it did, he pulled out an American flag from his boot and flew it proudly in front of the croud, judges stand and pits upon his return.
I had a pic of that--It was so good I sent it to Propeller and they printed it. Wish I could find it now!!

[Ron Hill]

I could write a 500 page book and never cover half of the things people would be interested in about Jimbo McConnell.

Few would know that we were having a race in Needles, my brother's late wife, Judy, was Chief Scorer. This kid came up to her and said, "He's just sold his motorcycle for $25 and he thought he'd try boat racing."

Well, Judy was a school teacher, and taught me a lot about many things, besides how to be a good teacher....She looked at Jimbo and said, "You're in luck because it will cost you $25.00 to race." (Which even in those days wasn't that cheap...but Judy knew a smile when she saw one and figured this kid Jim might like to race)..

Jimbo had an AU, a Kean Craft (No relationship to McKean in Texas, Ray McKean in fact was the builder...)..lime green same as his El Camino. Jimbo wasn't called JIMBO by anyone, in fact, he was called Jim...His brother's name was Bubba, and still is...called Bubba by everyone...

Jimbo ran last I think, but was determined to run the Colorado River Marathon that October...

Jimbo's mom was full blooded Cherokee Indian and his dad was full blooded Irish... Sue McConnell and Mac McConnell....How they ever got together, I don't know, but they had been divorced for many years, when I met Jimbo in '59.

Mac had had several drinks the night before the Marathon and was going to paint something like Jim's boat on the side...But he didn't plan ahead...and only got JIMBO on the side, big red letters with big drips...Lime '59 Chevy green boat, red letters is how I remember it...it wasn't pretty and didn't run fast...but eveyone loved JIMBO and he's been JIMBO ever since...

I spent a lot of time at Jimbo's house on Route 66. His brother, Bubba "Pete", had a "T" Roadster which was loud and fast, we seemed to always have girl friends when we drove that Roadster...

Mac owned a couple of MOTELS in town and people would leave cars there....Jimbo and me, well, were figured that someone left them because something was wrong with them...

Usually, we'd figure out what was wrong the hard way...like we'd jump the battery, and get one started only to find out she didn't have any brakes...

Jimbo's mom owned the Shamrock Cafe and she had a new Cadillac Eldorado, and Jimbo had the El Camino, but wasn't supposed to drive it much...so our favorite car was a '52 Chevy with Powerglide...because we could get her stopped by throwing her in reverse.....and the emergency brake worked GREAT!!!

Jimbo had this Indian Motorcycle, why I decided to paint it white, I have no clue, but I did, tires and all...I was only 16 and didn't drink or do drugs...just seemed like I should paint it...didn't run anyway...Jimbo was mad at me for painting his motorcycle. I told him, "Hell it don't run anyway." He said, "It'll run." Well, for the next two or three days we tried to get it running.

Finally, (Jimbo and me could have been BRAIN SURGEONS, if we didn't race boats)...we decided, it has gas, it has compression and it has fire, the SOB HAS to run. We decide to pull it with the '52 Chevy. We take Bubba's ski rope out of his boat...(We didn't ask because he'd have said NO!!!)...

So, Jimbo gets on the INDIAN and ties a knot that only kneel down boat racers could understand...(One that is huge and takes 15 minutes to untie...)...I pull Jimbo about block and all of a sudden that MOTHER lets out a huge BANG and a cloud of smoke that covered Jimbo and the sky....I see Jimbo coming for the car, so I floor it, it is clear to me we are in real trouble, because he is going a lot faster than the Chevy and the ski rope ain't THAT LONG, he passes me like Jack the Bear and he's trying to untie the rope while he'd driving. I'm gaining speed but he coming to the end of the rope fast....I figure, when he gets to the end of the rope he's going down, I'm trying to figure how I'll miss him...All of a sudden the rope goes slack and Jimbo disappears down the street, the smoke is still coming out of the exhaust....

I lose him, so I go back to the house...The motorcycle is there, not running, not sure if it ever ran again....Jimbo just said, "See I told you it would run." Both of us knew, we were about as lucky as anyone can get, without getting killed...

We got in the Chevy to go get an A and W Root Beer, Jimbo asked if we're still dragging the Bubba's ski rope, rope...I say I don't think so...Jimbo stops the car and gets out to see, the car starts rolling (no brakes remember)...Jimbo had left the door open, he starts running for the car, I don't see him running, I pull the emergency brake and Jimbo is running with his head down trying to catch the car and his head goes through the closed window...we still laugh about the day Jimbo rode his motorcycle...glass went everywhere.

In '65 when Jimbo went into the Army and was heading for Vietnam, the weekend before he left, we rode motorcycles all day Saturday and Sunday with just our bathing suits on, we went almost to Havasu on the old dirt road... we drove like crazy guys, racing by laying down and pointing our toes...Jimbo and I figured if he got killed here, at least he wouldn't die in Vietnam... Monday, he on the bus...it was a sad day for me...I wondered if we were doing right in Vietnam... and was it fair that COLLEGE students, like me didn't have to got...

Jimbo enjoyed Vietnam, actually..he drove trucks loaded with bombs... He turned a truck over once, said he "Dug a sponson" another time some Viet Cong were shooting at him, so he hid behind some bombs...all in all it wasn't that bad, he did want to get back to the USA to race!!!

JIMBO's 1959 ElCamino, and a Armstrong BSH, with full length aluminum air traps, my trailer and 1-C Morehouse, A-B Sid on top!!!

Jimbo told me this is the only picture he has of his mother's house in Needles....Christmas, 1960.

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo bought my brother's Big Bee Swift...He bought the Pearly Gates, a BU. When he was living at my parent's house, Jimbo won the Needles Marathon in BU and I won in DU, 1962, that was...

This is a picture I always like of Jimbo, I'm pretty sure I took it myself. This is a Ted May, May Craft boat, and the last race we ran this cowling on our Evinrudes... We had a HYDRO marathon this weekend...I had just gotten back from the Hudson River Marathon where I'd spend about three days with the Berghauer Boys (Denny and Dewey)...They told me what they did to their Sid Crafts to make them fast....didn't believe them, but went home and did it to my Sid, didn't test it, just put a six gallon tank in the boat and raced. I won the D Hydro marathon... Jimmy Dawe was second, Jimbo or Ted was third...only D hydro race I ran with that boat after I changed it to what the Berghauers told me...

This picture was of Jimbo after he won the OPC part, 1968. Pretty sure this was the race I promoted, where Ed Lane got his arm hurt driving Jim Johnson's Carlson..

[Miss BK]

Lauren getting advice from Jimbo..wow, how cool is that!

I'm so glad to see Jimbo and Cathy are getting back into boat racing. The boat racing world sure has missed them. A few years back I got to write up a story for Hot Boat mag on Jimbo McConnell. Unfortunately, I didnt get to do the interview, but Hot Boat sent me the tapes and I got to transcribe them. What a rush it was to turn on the recorder and hear Jimbo's voice after all these years, telling a funny story about when he asked Bill Seebold to give him his belt at a drivers meeting... And then, Bill actually gave it to him!

Jimbo wore that belt for years....was even wearing it at what would be his final race.

The emotions flowed when Cathy retold the nightmare story of that horrible, horrible day in Sacramento.

But then an even bigger surprise came at the annual Bowden pit party at the San Diego Unlimited/Champboat races in 2003. I saw Jimbo and Cathy strolling through the crowd! That was way too cool! Glad I had my camera with me :)

[Miss BK]

Last year, the OMC racing fraternity had a get-together in St. Louis on the same weekend as the Champ Boat races. The event was called "OMC LEGENDS". And sure enough, Jimbo McConnell was there along with a flood of OMC celebrities (but where the heck was Ron Hill and Ted May?) :)

Here's a couple of those "Legends" who will be remembered for eternity: Jimbo McConnell and Mike Downard, August 2004

[Jimboat]

I too, had the wonderful opportunity to meet Jimbo on several of his many visits to race with us in Canada. I can honestly say, that I have never met a man that is more of a gentleman than Jimbo. He certainly did what ever was necessary to win on the race course - but always had time to spend with anyone and everyone on the shore. He is a legitimate hero. Here is a pic that Massimo Scotti (Cesare's son) gave me of Jimbo driving the Scotti with the Rotary in Paris 1974.

[Jimboat]

This is one of my favourite pictures of Jimbo..

[Miss BK]

one from the past

[Miss BK]

From Havasu

[mintominto]

Here's a pic of Jimbo I'm guessing it's about 1974

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo's only brother, that I know of, is named Pete...but everyone still calls him "Bubba"...The name Jimbo gave him when he, Jimbo, was about three...

Pete would be 84 years old, and had worked on the Santa Fe Railroad for 46 years. He races blown jets on the IHBA Drag Boat Series...He raced kneel downs for awhile until he was hurt. He got a broken pelvis from a D Hydro accident...After that, he seemed to favor Jet Boats. He has a Classic twin engine jet Sleek Craft and about 14 other boats at his shop in Needles...Pete also collects cars, he has a 1938 Ford Roadster, and about 5 Classic Pontiacs.

I'm not postive Jimbo was born in Needles, but I know he was there when he was three....

Spent two enjoyable evenings over the Thanksgiving Holidays with Cathy and Jimbo...Claims he is working on a book, as he doesn't want me taking pictures of his pictures, but........we'll see!!!

Can't even begin to retell the stories we told, as they took two days to tell...I could tell how Jimbo got arrested in Illinois for not having Illinois plates or and Illinois driver's license.....but it ain't that good of a story!!!

The judge let him go!!!! (But Jimbo was late for work that day)...

[Jimbo Boat 191]

Okay, here's the answer to the last question........Jimbo was
not only Born in the USA, he is one of the few,of his age group,
born in downtown NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA. When he is sitting
on his patio now, he can see the building that use to be the
hospital where he was born, (now the BNSF railroad offices).
Where his house sits, near the river, was where he and some
of his friends roamed around doing whatever boys do, or did,
when they were growing up in Needles. If he looks out to the
left of where he was born, you can see the Needles Cemetery.
According to Jimbo, he can sit and see where he was born
and where he will be buried..........the nickname of his house
is "Casa of Many Miles"............it has taken many miles to come, full
circle, back to his (and Cathy's) roots.
I'm not so sure about some of the "stories" Ronnie remembers,
and tells............some are true........some are questionable.......
how much do you want to believe from a guy that can't even
remember being in Jimbo and Cathy's wedding in 1967 ???? :rolleyes:

[Jimbo Boat 191]

P.S.----Forgot to comment on Post #12----
The boat (#14) is one of the first of the second
series of pickle-forked Scotti's. The picture was
made in Bristol, England, at the Embassy Grand Prix
in 1973 near the docks in downtown Bristol. Shortly after this pic.
was taken..........there was a BIG "OOPS" and a
VERY BIG splash........it barrel-rolled in the bottom
turn. Condition of the boat wasn't too bad,
Condition of Jimbo was a cut on the foot and a
very WET ego. The lesson was learned, however,
on HOW to turn a Scotti pickle-fork and Jimbo
NEVER barrel-rolled another one. Jimbo still ended
up 5th Overall for Formula I in the race. :confused:

[peterse90]

P.S.----Forgot to comment on Post #12----
The boat (#14) is one of the first of the second
series of pickle-forked Scotti's. The picture was
made in Bristol, England, at the Embassy Grand Prix
in 1973 near the docks in downtown Bristol. Shortly after this pic.
was taken..........there was a BIG "OOPS" and a
VERY BIG splash........it barrel-rolled in the bottom
turn. Condition of the boat wasn't too bad,
Condition of Jimbo was a cut on the foot and a
very WET ego. The lesson was learned, however,
on HOW to turn a Scotti pickle-fork and Jimbo
NEVER barrel-rolled another one. Jimbo still ended
up 5th Overall for Formula I in the race. :confused:

Jimbo, I don't think Scotti made very many pickle-forks and few made in over to North America. If I remember you had one here in N. A. that ended up in Canada driven by Sid Goddard. That one totally blew apart as Sid was coming into "the fountain corner" in Peterborough.
Here are 2 pictures of your Goat Boats...boy were they one of a kind.
In Peterborough 1973 two more laps and I think you would have passed Hering in the pickle fork Molinari. In Toronto 1974 you were amazing.
Although I was always a Merc guy, you were my favourite driver.

[Jimbo Boat 191]

Thanks for the nice words, Peter. You are right....the
Goat Boats were pretty special. I remember the
Toronto race very well........got to bring some of
those "Canadian" dollars back home......:)
The Peterborough race was one of my all-time
favorites, especially when I got a 2-lap late
start because the engine wouldn't start. You are
right, I just needed a couple of more laps.......:(
Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

[mintominto]

Found this in an old Embassy Grand Prix programme the other day.
Looks like it might be the barrel-roll described earlier in post 20.

[Ron Hill]

July 1968 Powerboat magazine...Hmmm..Needles, Arizona???

[russhill]

1/05/2007 I probably have nothing to add to the history of this great gentleman, but I'm going to anyway. I had mentioned this before but here I go again.

My Late Wife got Jimbo started in boat racing. He showed up at a little race we were having at Needles with deserted-dilapidated boat and an engine note quite that good. He had just sold a motorcycle and had $13 and wanted to race. With entry fee, club dues, APBA, etc., it cost a lot more than that to enter you first race. Judy who was the registrar reviewed the pocketful of wrinkled bills and said, "just exactly enough." And the rest is history.

He lived with my dad and Ron for a year or so when he went to college before he got drafted and had to go to Viet Nam. By then he had graduated slightly above his desert ****-box boat.

Two things my dad said and did for Jimbo was: 1. He told me "that boy is never going to make it as a boat racer." 2. My dad also told Jack Leek, when Jack asked him about a good D Hydro driver, for the OMC racing team, my dad didn't hesitate --Jimbo Mc Connell. And the rest of that is also history. (There was some time in between.)

My personal favorite occurred at Blue Water, Parker, AZ, at the site of the start and finish of the Parker 9-Hour that Jimbo won 3 times in a row. Well, anyway this was long before his involvement with the OMC team. I raced D Stock Hydyo (and several other classes). I was never very good, but consistent and was generally on the podium. Of course I beat Jimbo--he wasn't really a contender. Well this time at Parker he beat me and after the race pulled in right next to me and jumped out of his boat in armpit deep water and asked me if he’d done anything wrong or dirty. I said, no Jimbo you just beat my ***.

Jimbo lives about 3 houses from my niece’s (Ron’s daughter) river house and I see him once or twice a year. We always hug and cry.

[Ron Hill]

I was looking at this picture, that is Jimbo next to Jimmy Dawe...But that is Glen Chambers, behind them...All three were Needles Boat Racers...

[Ron Hill]

Ted May and Jimbo ran second to Mike Wallace.

[Ron Hill]

I guess I'd forgotten much of this...

[Ron Hill]

First person to average 100 miles per hour in an OUTBOARD.....WAS FREDDY HAUENSTEIN........I guess I never knew that!!! (Read next post)..

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo was close to his dad.. "Mac" loved boat racing from the first time he saw the Needles Marathon...Mac always told Jimbo the difference between junk and and antique is ten years....

[Beale Tilton]

I was referee at that Portsmouth race. We were working from a barge on the side of the course. Several times we were contacted from shore asking us to adjust schedule of the Mod U class in the program without explanation as to why, except one of the factory drivers might have to change his travel plans.
If I remember correctly we had Jimbo, Buck Thorton, Reggie Fountain and Hauenstein entered. It was without the best heat of Mod U I ever witnessed.
The guys were going after it so hard and running so light we all backed away from the side of the barge nearest the course in fear one of them would lose it.
When the heat was over Jimbo idled over and asked for the checker flag. Being an unusual request I didn't react immediately and he added "My Dad died today, I want to run a lap for him." We all stood in silence as he ran the lap. After the lap he returned the flag, thanked us and headed for the trailer.
I'll always remember that day his request and the fact he was so sincere in expressing his thanks.
That's all I remember about that day except it was the last race I referred prior to moving to Florida

[tthibodaux]

Wanted to share a couple pics I found of THE MAN himself.:D

[tthibodaux]

A few more.:cool:

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo has been writing down the boats he raced in Paris, Havasu and Parker, the years, the boats and motor (s), and what place....ADD here: Jimbo struggles with writing because of his injured right arm. He flies his RC planes with his left hand....

We thought he won Havasu and Parker three years in a row....

Grreat pictures of JIMBO... Keep posting ANY pictures you have....

Last Add:

Jimbo and I were talking, over a beer, last Firday....He said you know we've never been REALLY mad at each other in the 50 years we'ver known each other....I said, "Are you sure? What about the time I spent your Indian Head nickles?" He said, "Well, I didn't stay mad." I said, "Well, I'm mad at you for messing with those RC planes when you could be messing with boats..." Jimbo said, "Well, it is easier to go pick up the pieces when you fly a plane..." Then, I added, even when I painted your motorcylce white???


Jimbo DIDN'T say he wouldn't go to the DePue Boat Racer's Re-Union...Though he never raced there...And, if Jimbo doesn' MAKE UP HEIS HEAD, he maybe thinking of going.....I told him it would be MORE than WAY COOL......for him to show up....

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo said, the steering was EARLY hydralic, and to make the corners, it took 24 turns from lock to lock. He said, at about two thirds of the way down the straightaway, you'd have to start backing down and start turning the wheel. The boat would still be gaining speed but he'd have to "SET Up" for the corner...if it started to "HOOK" you'd have to spinning the wheel to the right like a WILDMAN... AS a RESULT, JIMBO had to BABY it through the corners. With today's steering, he could corner like a Formula One tunnel...

The main problem with outboards running against the inboards, as the inboard didn't want them....and they (Inboards) made the rules....


I, myself, always felt a four engine HYDROPLANE would have kicked Miss Budweiser's BUTT and still have half the throttle left...

I was running my Scotti on Modesto's (Turlock Reservoir),I could run 107 on the straights, Jim Hauenstein had a Marcel hydro, same motor AS I had...and in a three lap heat, Jimmy could make three laps, while I made two.....That's how fast a hydro is on good water compared to a tunnel...

[tthibodaux]

1972 Jimbo and Ted May win Parker.

[tthibodaux]

Pretty cool pics.:D

[tthibodaux]

Man this looks like fun.:eek:

[Ron Hill]

Funny, I only raced in Miami Marine Stadium twice, though I was there three times.

In February, 1972, there was a 225 Mile Marathon scheduled in the Miami Marine Stadium. My wife worked for TWA, at the time and when OMC asked me to drive, we flew down on another airlines, that I can't remember its name, but has long gone broke, but we flew for free...

My wife's parents wintered in Florida, so they came up to the race...As I recall, it was one of those three or four day weekends that teachers get because of dead presidents... So, on Thursday.....I had learned...ask John Schbert, that the guys who got there early, got the good stuff....The later you got to the races, the more junk you got....

Anyway, the boat I WAS ASSIGNED by ANN STRANG...I mean Jack Leek, was Jimbo's Havasu Scotti (black and white)....I went out in this Scotti, and having never been in it before (Oh...I carried my own Keller with me in those days...as the guys now carry a GPS)...And after a lap or two, I saw speeds I'd never seen...Of course, I came in and lied to Leek at what I saw, but I loved the BOAT....

Of course, I never tell anyone what I'm thinking.....So I make it clear to Jimbo that I will win this race.....no questions asked....

Well about Friday the wind starts to blow....We put the boat in and I make a lap or two....I tell Mouse, this boat and I will win this weekend...Trust me, Mouse, I say...

In the bar, Billy Seebold tells me he's putting on a race in St. Louis (First St.Louis Gran Prix) and he wants to pay $25 a lap for the leader, like Indy and Parker....(In those days they paid lap money for lap leaders at Parker)...

I tell Seebold I'll take $200 worth of lap money, because I told him I was going to win this weekend....that this Scotti "KICKED ***"...

Funny, I had never realized that Coconuts grew on trees in Florida...(California has tons of palm trees, but never any coconuts) I assumed they grew somewhere else. My father-in-law and I went to the Miami Boat Show and we were crossing the street to go back to our car...and this coconut falls off a tree and hits the ground with a "THUNK"....I mean it missed his head by about six inches....

My father-in-law looked at me....We both said, "Hell, if it hit you, it would have killed you..." No bull here!!!


Anyway, the damn storm came through and they never ran the race....


Three weeks later is Parker...I called Freddy Hauenstein and tell him we'll win Parker...Oh, I forgot to add, Jimbo was going to run a black and yellow Molinari at Miami...See my Avaitar....As that Scotti "ROCKS"....I tell Freddy...


Well, when I get to Parker.....The Black and White Scotti had number 191 on it...OMC did run 1st and second....but Freddy and I drove the YELLOW and Black Molinari (We got second)........Damn near makes up for me selling Jimbo's Indian Head Nichols...

[Ron Hill]

I called Jimbo and told him I wanted to come over, Saturday morning, and talk about Jack Leek....We started at 9 A.M. and talked until 9 P.M. John Stoker stopped by and we talked other stuff besides Jack for awhile, but Jimbo and I decides we'd leave Thursday and drive up and go to Jack Leeks's Memorial Services...

Here are some pictures I took at Jimbo and Cathy's house...Cathy didn't yell at me this time...Jimbo did get a briefcase or two out and showed me some pictures I'd die to post, but he's still holding out...

Jimbo's wall. John Stoker... and some pictures of Jimbo...

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo and I spent last Saturday talking about Jack Leek (March 17, 2007)...Jimbo is half Irish and half Cherokee Indian...We came close to missing one of the Irish's favorite day... Lucky for us, we could talk and celebrate St. Patrick's Day...at the same time!

Jimbo's voice isn't as strong as it used to be, he speaks in a loud whisper..he is able to breath pretty well...something the doctors worried about for many years after his accident...in 1985.

Jimbo would start a story about Jack, then get to laughing so hard, and before he finished the first story, like Ronnie Hill, he was off to the next story....I will try to tell his stories as he told them to me...as I laughed all day...

1967: (fourty years ago, this November)...Unlike me, where Jack Leek was a house hold word....of which was held in high esteem. Jimbo had never heard the word "Jack Leek" and when he was told to go to Havasu, to find Mr. Leek, he didn't know Jack's first name, as he'd forgotten what it was...

Jimbo said he showed up at Havasu on Wednesday before Thanksgiving Thursday, and saw what looked like some race boats... Jimbo was driving a milk truck in those days, and had had to make a milk delivery to Claypools in Havasu, so he figured he could meet Mr. Leek, test the boat and get back to work...

Jimbo said he left the diesel milk truck running as to not let the milk spoil, he was wearing cowboy boots, Levi's with milker's chaps (Leather things that keep milk off your Levi's)..flannel shirt (It was November, and the desert can get cold)...a cowboy hat, with a big Indian feather sticking out of the band...

He walks up with his Mrs. Hill blue and white life jacket, Bell helmet with his "BUBBLE" shield in his hand and says, "Is there a Mr. Leek here?" Everyone looked at each other trying to figure where this "COWBOY came from...and who did he want to see??? Jack Leek???

Mr. Leek said, "I'm Jack Leek." Jimbo says, "I'm here to drive your boat." Jimbo says Jacks looked him, like ONLY JACK LEEK could and he didn't say anything, but it was like, as Jimbo said, "What the hell did Russ Hill send me??"

Anyway, Jimbo starts to get the boat, and Leek won't let him in with cowboy boots...They argue, Jack finally said, "Just don't step on the decks with them, or you'll fall through"... Jack says, "Now go out and get use to the boat, take it easy, drive as long as you want....but don't put too much time on the motor"A line Jimbo will hear many times in the next 18 years...

Jimbo came back and said he'd gotten almost 70 MPH, which he figured later, Ray Nydahl had gotten and told Jack...They changed gearcase and prop. The rig would only go 67, but Jimbo told Jack he really liked that gearcase and prop and the way it handled...(The boat was a Schultz, and Dieter had raced it in Paris, and had actully pulled out of Paris because he said the water was too rough)....... Jack then explained that in four hours, 3 MPH would be 12 miles or three laps.....Jimbo explained he still liked the 67 mph set up best...Jack said, "Well I respect the driver's opinion...but ARE you sure you want to give up 3 MPH?"

118 boats started the race...Twins and triples started ahead of the singles....Jimbo said he never saw 55 MPH the first day and was leading Single Engine...Jimbo nose dived this boat later on Sunday and Ted May finished off the driving....But Jimbo had won the 1967 Single Engine World Championships...Single Engine... Jack Leek figured, Jimbo could drive....cowboy boots, Indian feather and all!!!!

ADD; Jack had come up with the idea of using a left foot gas pedal, thinking that when you went around the corner you could brace yourself in the boat and use your left foot as a gas pedal.... This Schultz had a left foot gas pedal.....

As Jimbo is getting out of the boat, after the first test run...He says, "Who was the dumb S%^T would put the gas pedal on the left?" Jack says, "Well that was my idea." Jimbo said, he learned right then and there to keep his mouth shut until he knew more details...

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo said this is about his favorite Jack Leek story, though he got side tracked about four times before he finished it...

[Jeff Lytle]

There is another story developing on the S + F Board about a Canadain driver who had a boat built on the same laydown principals. Spencer Dunn was a great guy, and a fantastic driver too.........gone long before his time.
The thread has been started by his Son Jeremy, who was about 8 the last time I saw him.

http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127074

[Ron Hill]

I wanted to talk to Jack, this summer when we went to the Stock Nationals in Moses Lake, Washington....

Anyway, Jimbo said this Lay down was actually a good design, but when he laid down to drive it all he could see was SKY...

If you look at the pictures I posted of the Lay Down, you'll see a DUCT TAPED Burger King Cup on the nose. Jack taped this to the nose so Jimbo could see the horizon when he was driving.

Jimbo came in after the race,and on the launch ramp he told Jack, "This is the first time I ever got TRIPLE OVER TIME to lay down on the job."

Jimbo didn't say what place he got in the race...but he didn't win, and this was Jack Leek's last race boat that he ever designed...

[Ron Hill]

When Jimbo starts thinking back, he reflect that Jack Leek had a LOT of PRESSURE on him.

Checking my notes, Jimbo mentions Spencer Dunn. Jimbo said, that OMC sold the plans to Spencer Dunn.

The lay down of OMC's was the last boat the Wilbur McDonald ever built for OMC...

Bob Nagode and Walt Graham built boats, later, that Jimbo drove and OMC owned....

Jimbo didn't see Jack on a daily basis. Jack usually gave Jimbo a PROJECT and let Jimbo work on it... One time, Jimbo said Jack came by the "BOAT HOUSE" and he and Bob Nagode were sanding a boat.....Jack said, "I want the boat PAINTED, not restored..." It was quarter to five, quitting time...So, Jack left and Bob and Jimbo said, "Well, he wants the DAMN boat painted, not restored. So, let's paint it..." They sprayed it white and at 5, they went hoime...Boat didn't look too bad from 30 or 40 feet....

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo and Jack went to Provo, Utah to test the rotary before the Provo 250....

Jimbo took the first rotary out and made a lap and she blew... So, they put the second one on and Jack told Jimbo to take it easy. He did, and she blew in about four laps...

Well, they thought, maybe it was a "FLUKE", so they put the third one on and out Jimbo went...only to stick it on the first lap...

They put the last one one, and Jimbo made about four laps and it locked up tight...

Jack was pulling Jimbo back to the shore in a "Kicker Boat"...He said to Jimbo, "We've just blown up a million dollars worth of Wankels." Jimbo says, "Does this mean I'm fired?" Jack says, "No, it but probably it means I'm fired."

[Ron Hill]

When you live day to day, you never really think about things being funny, or cool or historic....When Jimbo and I went to Jack Leek's memorial, we got to laughing about my dad.


My dad was a natural teacher, but Jimbo and I weren't natural learners...The Old Man seldom got mad at us...when we did stupid things, which was all the time....

If you notice, my dad is changing spark plugs in my 55-H. The wrench is very short. My dad got mad at Jimbo and me for striping plugs. Jimbo and I would always tighten plugs tell they got loose, then back them off a half turn.

My dad, just sawed the plug wrench off and said, "Go ahead and tighten them as much as you guys want to..." We never striped another plug...

I was and still am a THRASHER with tools...I guess that is why I liked working on props becasue the bigger the hammer the easier the job...But my dad (And now Chad) really loved their tools and took great pride and respect in keeping their tools good...

Jimbo and I were halping my dad cut a door between a kitchen and a garage....My dad said, "Now you guys, be careful with my hollowground blade....when you cut the hole.....I started sawing with Jimb's help...I hit an electrical wire and I kept sawing melted all the teeth off the Old Man's saw blade.

My dad took one look at that blade and just got that look that my Old Man could get....Jimbo and I knew we'd screwed up for sure...That was the last job we worked for my dad!!!

Pictures are from Green Lake, Washington, 1968 Nationals. 19-C on the trailer is my new DeSilva CRR/DRR boat, the hydros next to me is Jimbo's trailer. Jimbo had three new Hill Runabouts, (B-C-D) and Three Sid-Hydros...

The kid in the Golden Shores Winternationals shirt is a YOUNG RICK MINER..(Roy's son)...

[MN1]

Jimbo in one of his Mod 50 boats.
Mark Nelson

[peterse90]

Jimbo in one of his Mod 50 boats.
Mark Nelson

Same boat, Welland, Ontario 1977.
Mark Rotharmel in background as Mod U's and Mod 50's ran together.
Pretty sure Jimbo's Mod 50 boat is a Seebold hull with 'Velden' styled cowls.

If I remember Jimbo showed up in Canada a few times with both a Mod 50 and Mod U boat on a trailer with the U boat below and the 50 boat on top.

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo was telling me, he was working for OMC and was basically their NUMBER ONE driver, but when he ran MOD 50 at LOCAL RACES, Jeff Brown would basically "KICK HIS BUTT"...

Jimbo was never a "BAD LOSER" or a "SORE LOSER", but he never took losing well...externally, maybe, but internally, he wanted to be NUMBER ONE.

Jimbo started replacing his steel bolts and nuts, on his Mod 50, with aluminum bolts and nuts. It was only after he'd won the MOD 50 World Championships (And I forgot all the details, but he said Tom Ireland and Jeff Brown is why he won the MOD 50 World Championships....)...Did JIMBO tell Jack Leek, his boss at OMC, that he'd replaced all the bolts and nuts with aluminum bolts...Leek got a little "SIDE WAYS"...and EXPLAINED TO JIMBO THAT OMC ENGINEERS DESIGNED THAT MOTOR and he was a PAID DRIVER...

Jimbo did say, that MOD 50 Racing taught him more about Boat Racing than any other class had taught him...

Jimbo has some great MOD 50 pictures, but he keeps TALKING ABOUT A BOOK.....I tell him BRF IS A BOOK!

[NERSTROM]

That's right, the black boat was one of the SE Seebolds built for the race of champions. As a MOD 50 it was a handfull, took someone with Jimbo's talent to drive it. I think the 313 boat is Jeff Brown. There was some really good racing between the two of them. The story about the aluminum nuts and bolts is true, I think Jimbo drove the MOD 50 without shoes as well.

During the early days of MOD 50 we had problems with the carbs going lean out of turns. I got into the back of the black/white boat and Jimbo took it around Fox Lake so I could watch the carbs. Here I am trying to stand on the stringers while holding to the gunnel and looking at the carbs with the cover removed. Jimbo thinks this is great fun and decides to show me just how hard he can turn! Can't write what I said to him, but we never did it again.

During the same time Terry Leatherby was driving for Lou Eppel and got a new Broughton. I kept getting nasty comments for giving the best stuff (motors) to Jimbo so we finally traded powerheads at one of the races. Turned out Terry's new boat was a dog. The rivalry between Evinrude and Johnson was as bad as Merc and OMC.

[Ron Hill]

Well, if Jimbo actually writes his book, many MOD 50 details will come up.

But, from what I understood Jimbo to say.....Jack Leek WAS HEAD OF RACING...everyone knew this. But some YOUNG Engineers, YOUNGER EMPLOYEES wanted to RACE....So, when some of these Engineers worked 8 hours a day, like TRUE BOAT RACERS, just because the factory closed at 5:00, they continued to work....

I don't know, if Fred Hauenstein Jr., was at Mercury, yet or still with OMC....But, Yes, Jeff Brown was getting some SERIOUS HORSE POWER out of the OMC FACTORY, not the back door, as they only had a side door....

At some point, Jim Nerstrom's engine abilities became apparent to Jack Leek...It may well have been because Jimbo was getting his lunch handed to him at every LOCAL RACE by Jeff Brown....

At some point Nerstrom got semi fired, but was promoted at the same time...Jim became the head of race engine building...or something. Maybe, Jim could enlighten us here, or maybe at the DePue reunion, I'll get his story and take notes...Jimbo told me exactly the whole story, but one beer, two beers, no notes, I forgot most of the story....

[peterse90]

Jimbo has some great MOD 50 pictures, but he keeps TALKING ABOUT A BOOK.....I tell him BRF IS A BOOK![/QUOTE]

If Jimbo ever writes a book I hope he includes a few stories of his racing exploits in Canada. I'm sure he enjoyed the racing here and we sure enjoyed both Jimbo the person and Jimbo the racer.

Here are some pictures (wish they were better quality) Of St. Louis 1980, Mod 50 m
Molinari...I think this the rig that Jimbo found ways to save every ounce of excess weight...including his shoes!

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo's Short Sponson Sid Craft was more than very fast. His mag arm dropped and he didn't finish either heat....He had the start, as this picture shows....I found this clipping on my garage floor this morning....if I don't post it now, it WILL BE HISTORY.


Jimbo's dad, Mac, the ex mayor of Needles, found this Mark 55-H in Utah, it was almost brand need. My dad took the Carter carbs off, and put on new Tillsons, he also installed solid rods and flat top pistons. This 55-H was one of the best in the country.

My dad later figured out how to maching the mag arms, install a set screw and to wnd cap o-rings and the mag arms never dropped after that.

Jimbo never won a STOCK Nationals, even though he had the equipment to do it...Winning ANY Championship takes all the right stuff and a LARGE PIECE of luck!!!!

The Sid-Craft with the dark shield is 8-W, Denis Berhauer, I think....next to Denis is 101-R, I also think, is Louis Wheeler, the winner of DSH!!!

[MN1]

Jimbo and Curt Todd 1981 Kankakee, IL.
Mark N

[Ted March]

Rockford, IL - 1981

[Ron Hill]

1968, Seattle, Washington: Jimbo managed to NOT qualify in SIX CLASSES. He was passing Clark Maloof in BU on the outside and spilled....I re designed our runabouts because of Jimbo's spill. In DU qualifying, Jimbo knocked a whole in the chine of his boat...My "OLD MAN" duct taped it back together, figuring if Jimbo could qualify, we could fix the boat in the parking lot...(Jimbo thought he'd hit something in the water...I always felt we'd built the boat too light on the outside chine....JIMBO was never one to blame anyone for HIS TROUBLES).

You should hear JIMBO, today 2008, tell about getting a PERFECT START IN BSH and figuring he'd win his qualifier...when FOUR HEDLUND HYDROS WENT BY HIM ON THE WAY TO THE FIRST TURN...

I ran a NEW DeSilva at Seattle, as they had given me two boats, and I was trying to promote DeSilva Boats...

I almost went to JAIL at Green Lake, that year....I was walking down the beach and saw a PERFECT SKIPPING ROCK...I picked it up and skipped it across the water , it skipped about four times and then hit a duck in the head, broke his neck on impact...then went on to skip about three more times...

I felt as bad as all get out...and the Rangers were going to give me a ticket. Old Sid Viera, Bobby Viera's dad told the Ranger..."Son, I saw it all, the kid (ME) was walking down the beach and actually passed the rock, then, went back and picked it up and skipped it...he had no intention of killing that duck."

The Ranger took a statement from Sid and that was the end of my duck killing. Ain't never killed another one....

I raced at Green Lake twice, once in 1959 and then in 1968, I thought what a BEAUTIFUL place to race...Green Lake, Seattle, Washington....

[MN1]

Another from 1981 at St. Louis in OZ class. What's up with the long snout on the front cowl? This photo shows the bump out on the CCC mid too.
Mark N

[Sam La Banco]

When I first started working at OMC back in 72, I found out the race boat shop was in the back part of our engineering lab area. It was suppost to be off limits for the rest of engineering and always had the door closed.

I would try to do my testing as close to that door as possible, hang around and wait for someone to come out, so I could talk my way in.

I could hear Jimbo, Goat and John Hervat working back there, but never saw them. Finaly one day, I met Jimbo and told him I was racing stock outboards.

From that day on, I would eat lunch back there when I could (had to knock on the door) and druel over the boats and listen to Goat and John tell stories, Jimbo was always smiling.

I wonder if he remembers giving me 2 stock outboard prop boxs he was making for himself, when he figured he wouldn't need them anymore?

There was always a boat upside down in there, but the thing I remember the most, is John Hervat working on Jimbo's mod 50 boats, John would work on things for days to get them to weigh as little as possible, I remember a seat John made out of Aluminum that was impossibly light. I think he worked on that thing for a week.

I bought a MOD 50 Molinari out of there that I believe Bob Hering changed the bottom on which did not work, I reworked it for my first Sport E boat.

I got it thanks to Jimbo and Goat, of course, I think it was just taking up room
on the racks that all the boats were stored on back there, and they were glad to see it go.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A surprise birthday present Jimbo. I had some time this evening and was looking through some Powerboat issues to see if I could find any reference of who owned that Molinari that blew over with twins and was recovered 20 years later. I haven't found that yet, but in the April 1972 issue of Powerboat I found this. I am not sure if Ron has posted any part of this before. I have looked at too much stuff to remember. If he has Sam....you can wipe this post out.:) If not......again happy Birthday, and many more.

p.s. You did good too Ron.

[Ron Hill]

Everytime I see that black 191 I get mad at Jimbo. That was the boat I was to run at the February Miami 225, when we got blown out. I left Miami thinking Fred Hauenstein and I would drive that black and white 191.....Seems, well it is all history now and I should let it go....

Jimbo says he's only been mad at me twice in his life...The first time, he can't remember why he was mad,, but I think it was when I painted his Indian Motorcycle white, with house paint and brush...whole cycle, tires and all...seemed like a good idea at the time....It didn't make the motorcycle look any better....

The other time he got mad is when I wouldn't stop and let him eat lemon morenge pie for breakfast in Oregon.....He says he'll never forget that...

For a guy that says he doesn't care about boat racing anymore, he sure seemed interested in MY D MOD RUNABOUT project....Said, "He'd get a hydro if 'n he was me..." Wanted to know how Jeff and Tammy did in New York...wanted to know when we'd be testing (In Needles) the new B and H J Hydro I bought.... Seems to me, if someone wanted to race boats and win, all they'd have to do is move to Needles and hang out with JIMBO....and ask questions and THEN LISTEN TO THE ANSWERS....

He thanked everyone for the birthday wishes.....I didn't thank him for 50 years of friendship, he'd think I was dying or something....

NOTE TO LARS: Needles could be a good headquarters for your Formula One team...Nice winter home...Hire RJ West, J. Michael Kelly, J DUB Meyers...or Tony Lombardo to drive...or Mike Perman. John Peeters will not leave the O'Boy Oberto Team....I could go to the races and complain....

[Ron Hill]

Well, I spent just a couple of hours with Jimbo, Friday......He said if I'd find him a Short Sponsor D Sid Craft, he'd take a ride....I'd like to call his bluff...

Dam fool tried to kill me in his Jeep...He drives that thing like he was trying to win the Six Hours of Paris. Something that Jimbo and I never did...

I know where a Sid Son C Hydro is and I may go get it....tell him it is a short short sponson Sid....

Jimbo's health is good....at least he told me it was!!!!

[Ron Hill]

I met Brett Bane the other day. He's editor of Performance Magazine, he said he'd done an article on Jimbo when he was at Hot Boat...He added how much fun the article was for him to do and wondered out loud what a follow up article would be like....Jimbo was hurt in 1985...24 years is a long time for fans to remember....

I found this picture of Jimbo in the 1970 Beloit Stock Nationals program....Mrs. Laura Hill Life Jacket, Bubble shield...Hill Boat...Can't see Jimbo's face but you know damn good and well he's got a smile you can see for a mile!

Jimbo and dominos?? I can see him with Dominos pizza....

Thanks for the memories of JIMBO!!!

[Ron Hill]

See, OUT WEST, we do things differently. My dad made SCOA's clock using a Bar-b-Que spit electric motor. He made many parts, but to power the clock's arms and not have the wind blow them willy nilly he hooked the electric motor to the main clock shaft with a Gillmer belt (Same belt that drove the 30-H and 55-H mags.) My dad spent a ton of time on this clock getting it to take a polariod picture at the exact time the clock hit 60.

Well, the OLD MAN's tests worked great with an almost dead battery. But with a full charged battery we had a 53 second clock. Which probably saved many a driver over the years, but it would also slow down toward days end. Sometimes we had a 65 second clock.

Jimbo, Ted May, Ernie Dawe, The Davidsons, and me, ran many classes and we learned the camera didn't lie, but the clock sure as hell wasn't always right, but the clock with always the clock.

We learned over the years, to WATCH THE CLOCK and don't watch anyone else. I'll ask Jimbo, but I doubt he ever used a stop watch to time a start when he raced in Region 12.

But the words "Drive your own boat" are my father's words to Jimbo when he first started. Jimbo was always the most popular driver in California, even though he wasn't always the BEST DRIVER......and He never forgot that fact. Old and young racers, never mattered, Jimbo always had words of encourgement.

ADD: You do know that every little black Mercury on Jimbo's Goat Boat's cowling was for a race he'd won beating a Mercury!

[Jimbo Boat 191]

The black and white Scotti boat that John referred to in the previous post was not the Scotti used in the Introduction of the Rotary in the Miami Marine Stadium. The Scotti boat that I used for the Introduction, as well as running in Parker, Az. in 1973, was the boat Scotti had built for himself to run at the Lake Havasu World Championships in 1972. After the Havasu race the boat was painted the Silver, Blue and Red scheme that everyone is familiar with at the Introduction and the 1973 Parker race.The black and white boat that John has referred to was used in the testing and the development of the Rotary, before and after the Introduction of the Rotary and the Parker race. That Scotti boat was featured on the cover of the PowerBoat magazine in April, 1972, when Ted May and I won Parker,1972, with a V-4 on it. That boat was destroyed during another Rotary endurance testing session, also in Stuart, but after the Introduction of the Rotary in Miami and after the Parker race where the Rotarys were run for the first time. It was being driven by Rich McKinnley. I was not there, since I was scheduled to be in Brugge, Belgium. When Jack Leek arrived in Brugge and I asked, "How the testing went", he opened up his briefcase and tossed me a little chunk of black & white wood. My first concern was for Rich, and Jack said he was fine, but the chunk was all that was left of the front of the boat. It was a blow-over and the boat was never repaired.

[Ron Hill]

Dave Bryan and I went to see Jimbo last Thursday...He didn't want me taking pictures of himself or his stuff...I told him I was going to anyway. The Prop Nuts plaque is an original that my brother cast circa 1952 when he worked a George Peak's Foundry. George was a F Racer. I think Russ made 24, later Ed Peters made a few copies in 1969. This maybe be he only one left.

o!

[Jeff Lytle]

Some interesting footage showing Jimbo winning his 1st Unlimited heat at the 1983 Houston World Championships. There are other videos in the series as well showing both Jimbo, and Renato Molanari running outboard tunnels in this race.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LDEgJnv8EZc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[MN1]

A good photo of Jimbo.
Mark N
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm315/MN392/Jimbo.jpg

[Ron Hill]

This 99-C is Jimbo's Horse Chamber AU, January 1, 1961. This was an era that we felt Jimbo would never make it in this boat racing world. Jimbo ran four classes this day and failed to make a podium finish in any class. Everyone loved Jimbo, but we didn't think he'd make in this boat racing world.

[Ron Hill]

This was in July 1970, just before Jimbo and I both happened to buy new 1970 El Camino's, both also happened o be gray.

Jimbo and I show up at the Needles Marathon, September, 1970 with new El Camino's. Ted is driving his Ford Ranchero. I just happened to ask Ted, "When are you getting your El Camino?" Jimbo, over hearing our conversation, walks over to me an elbows me hard and says, "Nice weather."

Monday morning, Ted is on the phone to Jack Leek at OMC wanting to know, "Where the hell was his new El Camino..." It was a few years before Ted ever believed that Jimbo and I "Happened" to both buy new gray El Camino's.

Of course, Jimbo and I kept "Turning the screws" with Ted.....

ADD:

Ted knew that OMC had paid me $.25 a mile when they used my 1968 Chevy wagon, and that OMC basically paid for my car. How that 25 cents a mile got started, i said, "Look Jack, this is a new car, Hertz charges you gave 25 cents a mile for a rent car. You want me to pull a boat to Miami for just gas money??? I ain't going and Ted's truck won't make the trip...I said, 12 1/2 cents a mile for me and 12 1/2 for Ted is a bargain..."But the time my '68 wagon got back to California, it had an extra 8,000 miles. OMC paid my $2,000 for that trip to Miami, to Waukegan, to Texas, to California. Plus they bought the gas....Hell, no wonder OMC went broke!!!!

I think I only paid $3,800 for the car when I bought it.

Probably, not a day goes by without me thinking of Ted May. Something always happens and I say....."Ted May."

LAST ADD:

I loved those twin and triple engine boats. The crowds loved them, they were a real "Blast" to drive. They weren't that fast, 108 or so, but would get through some very tall water with ease. I always thought Single Engines "Sucked".

[Ron Hill]

I left Ted May and Paul Drake with my '68 wagon in Miami. I rode to Waukegan in the OMC Race truck with Rich McKinley. Paul and Ted went to a race in Texas, then came up to DePue and met me.

Paul was from Massachusetts and his speech was always a bit hard to understand, plus he may have had a speech problem. We all knew Ted May had a speech problem....Paul and Ted are talking about all the water moccasins at the race in Texas. THEY SAID THEY WERE OUT THERE AND WATER MOCCASINS WERE EVERYWHERE.

I don't think I ever knew the true story until I met Joe Rome at the LSBRA Reunion in Texas......Hyacinths, not moccasins.....Trouble was, once you got used to "TED MAY STORIES" it was hard to figure out the truth....I never believed they were racing boat near water moccasins.

[Ron Hill]

More details later, but this is Jimbo driving his D Runabout in the Mojave River. What do you know about the Mojave River?

[Ron Hill]

The Mojave River is the only river west of the continental Divide that does not end up in the Pacific Ocean. What water that is there goes out in the desert and drives up. When you go through Victorville on your way to Las Vegas you cross the Mojave River, usually it is two to six feet wide.

During a flood in the winter of 1968 Jimbo drove his D Runabout on the Mojave River, probably the only power boat to ever run on this river. Where Jimbo ended up with Dave and Phil Nichol's DeSilva, I don't recall. So, Jimbo has the D Runabout Speed Record on the Mojave River.

[Ron Hill]

Jimbo and Cathy as staying busy. Jimbo is restoring rifles and Cathy is restoring Needles. Jimbo is getting to be a pain for pictures.....He keeps this stuff up he'd find out that I know how to use a rifle......Seems Marlee Hill is taller than Jimbo!!!!!

Jimbo and Cathy's house is really a Boat Racing Museum. If Jimbo finishes his book, I'm betting it will sell a ton!

[Ron Hill]

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Needles-California/109445265741832?fref=ts

Jimbo is Needles's most famous person, but Cathy, his wife, is the "SPARK PLUG" who DOESN'T want Needles not to become a ghost town...

Jimbo used to fly RC Airplanes, but because of his racing accident, isn't able to use his right arm very well, as a result, he crashed a "**** Load" opf RC Planes.

Now, this is where the story gets intersting: Cathy tells me this isn't true. But Jimbo told me he want to buy an OLD FORF VAn to carry his airplanes in, as the smelled with Castor Oil and such. Cathy saim "In case you don't know who you are, YOU ARE JIMBO McConnell and You ain't driving no sticnk Ford Van" So, She bought him a new Cadallic Escalade.

Cathy says, "This isn't true." I say, "Really??? Why does Jimbo have an Escalade??? It sure looks like my brother, Russ Hill, Jr. and Jimbo in front of Jimbo's house...and a Cadiallac Escallade

[Lake X Kid]

Early 1970s photo.
Nice feather hats.
51933

[Lars Strom]

Check this..more here..!!

http://autoshotcar.com/boat_gallery/boat.php?Qwd=./BOA-33-809&Qif=BOA-33_72.JPG&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=L

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

Jimbo's the one! Was very friendly, never arrogant in my experience.

Jimbo's so highly recognizable, but who is that with him?

[Lars Strom]

I do not know John..but I know for sure the driver of this extreme Scotti boat/Evinrude Rotary from the same web site..!!:D

[Ron Hill]

It is very difficult for some of us to post pictures nowadays Lars. The old way doesn't work. I have been able to post some, but it's not sizing right, and hard to remember the correct pathway to post. Just have to experiment, and try the quick way??. Just because you download it that doesn't mean it will post. you have to get the blue box into the rectangle, otherwise it will not work.

What has been working for me, I use my iPhone, take a picture, email it to myself, download the picture to the desktop. Then it will post from the desktop....

If there was new software available, I would buy it. But there doesn't seem to be any new software available 9/10/2017.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

What has been working for me, I use my iPhone, take a picture, email it to myself, download the picture to the desktop. Then it will post from the desktop....

If there was new software available, I would buy it. But there doesn't seem to be any new software available 9/10/2017.
Jimbo & I somewhere neither of us remember where, but might have been Peterborough, Ontario Actually a test to post & no problem whatsoever for me.

[MN1]

I found this photo of Jimbo in his Baby Blue Molinari Mod 50. Kankakee, IL 1981
Mark N