An Amazing Story: Part 2

[David_L6]

No argument from me on who said it. I don't trust my memory that well. I do remember you telling me that someone had told you something to that effect though.

I also remember you showing me the boat with the turn fin that could be raised. I believe that you said Kenny Bayer had something to do with that?

I think it's cool just to have set a record, but one that hasn't been broken in over 20 years is something else. :cool: The only record I have ever set is a 3 mile, 4 lap (3/4 mile course) AOF record in E hydro. I should have the 3 mile, 3 lap record too but a buoy jumped out in front of me. :rolleyes:

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

David:

Kenny Bayer had everything to do with that movable fin. I purchased it from him when he and his Dad stopped racing, as I thought it would be a desirable item to have to help acceleration coming out of a corner. A deep sponson fin will have a detrimental effect on the boat accelerating quickly out of a corner, as there is drag involved on it until you straighten the boat out on the straightaway, which in turn scrubs off some speed until you get the boat going straight again. The fin was movable, or could be raised to accomplish the removal of that drag. The down side was if someone was on your outside, and you didn't notice them, you could very quickly be in their boat with them, because the boat would really accelerate when you lifted the fin. but it would also drift sideways as there was nothing to hold it anymore if you had any sideways headway at all. I never tried to hide or conceal the fact I could raise or lower it under way, as it was obvious to other competitors what the result could be if they were too close on your hip on the outside coming out of a corner. Whether it intimidated anyone to not be there in a race, I have no idea, but it would have given me second thoughts if one of my competitors was running one. Kind of like my friend Henry Tietge from Iowa with only one good eye, that used to race with Midwest Power Boat. He would never tell you which one it was, because as long as you were not sure, you didn't know which was his "good" or "bad" side and you didn't get too close to either. The fin was an either/or situation, in other words up or down completely, you could not "feather" it part way. I stopped using it in competition as I felt it could possible cause an accident if someone was not in plain sight on my outside, or worse case the actuation mechanism failed and the fin failed to return to the down position when entering a corner.
It used a simple air cylinder on a pivot to raise and lower the blade, and I used a small can of freon to actuate it. This was before the time of stopped sale of freon because of environmental concerns. I also have heard, that fins that are movable while the boat is under way are now illegal from a safety standpoint. I am not sure about that, but it was legal at the time I used it.

I still have it, but since it is about the only thing from the combination that set the record that I still have, I think I will keep it for awhile. I do still have the faster prop also.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That's some good history Bill Van. I remember the origins of 350 class, but the RB was coming along the time I was dropping classes and heading in other directions. I still have the rules for the probationary class that you provided at either Ceasar's Palace or the Portland, Oregon Convention.

Jeff...I am glad you put the story to my notes. At that time Greg, Glenn Coates and Roy Alexander were putting time and effort into getting the international racing going. And while I didn't think Greg had gone to Italy that late in the year, I was a little confused because of the other references. Since those guys were getting into the UIM racing, I think Greg must have filled me in on other news. The notes were from my journal, and I knew at the time what was going on, but too many years have passed. This just is another example of the kind of information you can get here on BRF. Just a passing journal entry from a long past date has led to a very interesting boat racing story, and I think we may be able to track down a photo to cap it off. PM me Greg's number and I'll see if I can get him to come to Lake Alfred.

ADD: Notice in the last color pit shot who was pitted to our left.

[Jeff Lytle]

PM me Greg's number and I'll see if I can get him to come to Lake Alfred.

ADD: Notice in the last color pit shot who was pitted to our left.

Yup.............saw that. Also saw Henk Engels "Slipstream Racing Team" trailer there as well. Henk ran 250ccH, boat #97, a Rawsoncraft / Butts copy.

Greg's email address is: greghall@remponline.com He is a member here too: http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/member.php?u=2916 just hasn't posted yet. His stats show he hasn't been here since 09-14-2007.

Member's Name
Greg Hall
Location
Maitland, Florida
Interests
Pleasure boating, Sports cars, Travel & whatever kids are into.
Occupation
Residential Mortgage Broker. Owner of "Real Estate Mortgage Professionals in Maitland, FL
Biography
Raced 250ccH, 350ccH & 500ccH in Canada & US (Region 2) from early 70's until 82.
Boat racing number
153

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Picture # 3 is Jim Teitge from Cedar Rapids, Ia. Looks like a flathead on his boat, and if only RB and F-350 ran, he may have been either racing or testing his RB rig. He is a dentist and now lives on the east coast and is a college professor in a dental school, can"t remember where. N. or S. Carolina I think. After moving and quitting boat racing, he still needed something exciting in his life, so he started brewing beer. And I don't know "the rest of that story"about that.

Picture #4 I am sure is Bill Rucker driving one of Doc Collins runabouts. Billy was one of those drivers that was easily recognizable because of the way he kneeled in the boat and also his spiffy racing goggles. Think he won the SST-120 class Series Championship a couple of years ago, that they run with the Champ Boat shows.

After looking at those pictures after all these years, with the water conditions the way they were, there is no doubt the right decision was made to cancel the Nationals scheduled there, and I don't remember any doubt at the time.

[Jerry Peterson]

I agree that the La Crosse nationals were the absolute worst ever. When the site was first announced, I was very vocal against it. I didn’t want to seem like a rabble-rouser, but had been on the river in that area in the past— it was bad news. Here’s a picture of Fred Petter at a race 40 miles downriver from La Crosse—at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, in 1979. That was a far better place to race, but still no candidate for a nationals. In the background is Fred Schletty (referee), and the lady at the far right is Allan Feddersen’s wife Ruth Ann. In 1961, the NOA championship race was held on the Mississippi at St. Paul, Minnesota. Fred Petter was very involved in this race, and it turned out very well. I was just 14 at the time, but can vividly remember Jim Schoch winning F Hydro in a very impressive manner. I couldn’t believe a boat could go that fast.
It seemed as though people either loved Fred or hated him. I always thought he was OK, but then again I was very young. Maybe Tim Chance can add more information on Petter, as he was enough older than I and more involved in Midwest Power Boat Association.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

What a great picture of Jerry with his post about Fred Petter. And he posted a picture also, in only his 2nd or at most 3rd post. I have been making a fool out of myself on here for 2-3 years, and I'm lucky to make myself understood, much less pictures also.

Great to have you here Jerry. I'm sure it will help pass a lot of cold Minnesota nights for you this winter.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I agree with Bill Van, Jerry. It's great to see your posts.

I do remember your being very vocal about the venue, and I had a notation about your feelings in my journal going somewhere back to before the race at Laredo. I didn't mention your thoughts at the time, because I don't do that without asking first. We were familiar with river racing at Beaumont. If there is a flood, or lot of high water bringing down debris.....it is not good to race. Since you were familiar with the area, my Dad had great respect for your thoughts and that's one of the reasons he flew home after Dayton. He figured there was a high probability the race would not go off, and he had too much to take care of due to the big boom going on in the oilfield.

Look forward to more of your stories and pictures.

[Jerry Peterson]

One high point of La Crosse was the time available (we sure weren't doing any racing) to talk with old friends. I hadn't seen Sandy Ball for many years. He drove for Joe Maltba in the late '50s and early '60s. They were both from the Madison, Wisconsin, area. The guy was really fast and not afraid of rough water. I watched him race as a young kid. He was full of questions about Konigs and offered to take my 700 Hydro for a ride. I declined.

[David Weaver]

He was full of questions about Konigs and offered to take my 700 Hydro for a ride. I declined.

Something I noticed that is unusual in the photograph, it that the exhaust is on the left side of the engine. IF this is a Konig 700, it is the only one that I have ever seen with the exhaust coming out the left side, where the carburation is usually located. Perhaps the negative was flipped?

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I had two Konigs, as did some other drivers, that had the powerheads reversed on the towerhousing to keep the carbs on the outside of the boat in the corners to try to eliminate "watering down" problems in the corner. Don't know for sure if that is the case here, but it was done in that time frame and previously. Also if the negative was flipped, the X-12 on Jerry's shirt would be also, would it not??

[David Weaver]

I had two Konigs, as did some other drivers, that had the powerheads reversed on the towerhousing to keep the carbs on the outside of the boat in the corners to try to eliminate "watering down" problems in the corner. Don't know for sure if that is the case here, but it was done in that time frame and previously. Also if the negative was flipped, the X-12 on Jerry's shirt would be also, would it not??

I guess I never noticed Konigs configured like that. It makes sense to protect the carbs. Did moving the weight of the exhaust change a boat's handling?

[aojesus]

I was at that race the day Greg stuffed his 500H, it happened at a race in Sydenham Ontario Canada, a favorite place for the Canadian Formula Outboard Division to run.
He was leading, flying and pushing hard knowing there were 700's behind him when it happened.........It looked really bad from the beach where I was standing, and the rescue boats was on the move as a stuff was as serious as it gets.

Jeff,
Would this have been around the 79-80 era? We were talking with Dad a few days before he passed and the Sydenham crash came up. The one we saw started about half way down the back stretch and pieces landed at the entrance to the turn. We were pitted on the point and I remember a sea of drivers and crew responding to the Meydey.

Mom seems to remember it as being the Canadian Nationals. If this is the same crash I have never seen another one like it.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I never ran Konig pipes on my Konigs, only ZAK pipes, and they were much shorter in length, not only insofar as the "pipe" section, or sheet metal portion, but also the manifolds were entirely different, allowing the pipes to be very short in comparison to the Konig expansion chambers of the day. The pipes, because of the manifold design, extended more outward from the side of the motor instead of back from it. If anything I think it would have helped the boat handling compared to the Konig pipe setuup, as there was very little wgt behind the transom, and the majority of the wgt of the pipes was toward the inside if the boat. As previously stated, I have no basis for comparison as I never ran the Konig pipes, but the combination of Harry Zak's engines and the R&D Hydro made for a VERY fast boat thru the corners compared to other boat/motor combinations of the day. This was in the '72-'74 time frame.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Bob Rhoades had the switcheroo also on his 500 hydro. He was fully loaded with ZAK equipment too. As Bill Van stated, this was 72-74. Later Dieter made castings for dual use. Motorcycles and outboards. The motorcycle heads had an angled boss so spark plug threads could be drilled at an angle and plugs were screwed in at a degree that they would not make contact with the asphalt. These motors were designed so that the exhaust and rotary valve intakes could be swapped. Look at Jerry's motor. You can see where the flat casting would accomodate a rotary valve.

[deanwilson]

Actually, all that is required to do is swap the headers, front to back, and turn them around to point the other direction. Then make a slider bracket.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

In the very late 60's or early 70's, Kay Harrison had a C Konig that had the powerhead turned around, but instead of pointing the pipes backwards, they pointed forward and were located alongside the lefthand coaming of his boat. He told me at the time why he did it, but I no longer remember the reason. It could have been to get the weight forward, or the carbs to the outside of the boat, or both, but it surely did look strange with the pipes running parallel to his left side while he was driving the boat. Of course when he turned to the left the pipes would have come closer to him as he was in the boat, but he never said whether that caused a problem. I know I burned myself several times on pipes without even trying, so I would not have been happy with that arrangement myself. Perhaps someone else who saw his outfit in that time frame could comment.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Kay Harrison at LaCrosse in the first pic. Here is the motor you were talking about Bill Van. This was taken at Hot Springs in 1972. I am not sure though that the powerhead turned. I have several pictures and in all cases the motor and pipes are straight ahead. I meat to ask Kay about this in DePue, but I forgot. I need Denny to send me his E mail. Ever since my E mail got messed up and fixed last year I haven't gotten anything from him.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Wayne:

Are you sure that is a Konig? Looks to be one of his engines, as it is considerably taller than a 4 cyl Konig, or at least looks that way to me. Also some other things in the photo make me think it is a two cyl, alternate firing engine, such as carb location, or what appear to be carbs, and also the pipes are very far apart vertically, not like I remember the 4 cyl Konig I saw. I thought I had some pictures somewhere, but I think they disappeared between marriages.
Re Denny contact:
I have a phone number if you want to give me a call.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

No Bill Van.....I am not saying it's a Konig....I noticed the same thing you did. What I was doing was posting the picture of the motor you were talking about. 1972 is the only time I remember Kay running with the backward pipes. He also had that setup at DePue that year. I will look to see if I have a closeup so maybe we can figure it out.

I don't need Denny's number. I need to call him or Joe Flow to get Kay's E mail. But thanks.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A couple of more pics. The black & white is another from Hot Springs in 1972 and the color is also 1972...the very first AOF alky race at Gravois Mills, Missouri. Unable to tell anything much from either of these, but I know there's a closeup somewhere.

[F-12]

I remember seeing this engine with my Dad and his comment to Kay was "Looks like you could possibly get an exhaust enima from that one."
Leave it to Doc.....................

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Wayne:

The more pictures you put up of Kay's rig, the more uncertain I am whether this is the rig I saw at Monroe, La, on a river race there, which is where I saw the motor he had turned around. The boats don't look big enough for C boats at the time (note the afterplane dimension on both Kay's boat and the one dead in the water in one of the pictures) and also the picture of him running seems to show a carb on the front of the engine, as does the first one you put up, which I believe was the configuration of a Harrison/Anzani type motor.
I do know one thing for certain, is that the rig I have in mind was one I competed against in C Hydro at the race mentioned, and I remember it to be of the 4 cyl, horizonal opposed configuration, so I think it was a "C". I only know of one time Kay attempted to post something on this site, and he had a problem of some type, the material he was posting "disappeared" and he said he would come back later and try again. I have never seen any more posts from him. I am sure he could add a lot, especially on the threads about the Harrison/Anzani's, if he was so inclined.

[Dan M]

Bill/ Wayne,

I also remember seeing Kay with the pipes facing forward. It was a race in Chicago in the lock basin between Lake Michigan and the Illinois river. Had to be very early 70's. If my memory is any good, the one I remember had pipes that were much closer together than the one Wayne has pictured above. Could have been Konig. I also remember some comments from Ray Hardy about the "warming effects" of that set up.

Dan:D

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

I have heard of and seen an Anzani running with the cylinders in the raceboat and megaphones still hanging out the back as near as usual in the crescent shape in the North West. These Anzani engines with their cast iron blocks and steel megaphones with steel supports had such heavy overhangs they broke their alluminum towers at the mounting flange leaving engines hanging from their steering bars, cables, fuel hoses and throttle cable.

This is the first one be it an Anzani or Harrison-Anzani hybrid I have seen running expansion chamber exhausts at speed in the pict but in the raceboat?? Seems no fear was involved here! Seems no fear of their BBQ rotiserie action or being branded like Qui-Chang-Cain on the swingby at turns like some bovine steer! The racket of the end of the stingers must have driven the driver bonkers too? That sure put the weight on the inside of the raceboat that is a for sure! :)

Where are you Kay Harrison??? These pictures and that engine cry out for explanation in postings.

[Jerry Combs]

That sure looks like an Anzani or Harrison-Anzani hybred to me. There is what looks like a mag hanging off of the front of the engine and the carb is in the normal position for an Anzani, it looks as if the pipes are above and below the cylinders. I notice that the stinger tips were bent away from the cockpit probably to help keep the noise from being unbearabe while driving.

[Tim Chance]

I remember the set-up that Kay had on his B Harrison (Anzani) with the pipes facing forward. The motor was fixed and the steering bar only turned the gearcase. Kay told me it was very hard to drive.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

What a find for you John. I took this picture only 5 months after I bought my first Nikon following the full refund on an engagement ring I had just bought.:eek:;):D I wasn't filing pics then. Just sticking them in a carousel.

Bill Van----Kay won C hydro at Monroe, but I don't think he had two motors rigged like this. Check out the steering bar. I imagine the torque would have been very different than with the weight of the crank helping with a gyro effect.

Thanks to you guys alertness and persistence, we cracked part of this story. Now to get Kay to fill in the details. Hopefully soon.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Way back then in the 1960s I heard about such an engine that stayed put and had only a turning gearcase but never seen one. Bill Tenney was working on the same principle while developing expansion chamber pipes that were on huge and long rearward support frames coupled to the powerhead that stood still with some sort of turning gearcase on the bottom. The extensive and heavy exhaust pipes frames I have but no parts related to a turning gearcase. The overall weight of the engine must have been horrendous and prohibative.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Wayne:

If there ever was a hybrid Harrison mine eyes do see that sure is one and probably one of the most unique ones at that!

From the picture I don't recognize the head on it (could it be a Konig cylinder head) though the cylinder bock and crankcase sure look / are Harrison. The number of carbs looks confusing too. On the one side is a Tillotson HR on the block and in front a Tillotson HL facing a crankshaft rotary valve openeing. Looking forward there appears to be some more carbs but the picture is not clear enough to ascertain if there is?

What an exhaust system!! If there ever was an experimental hybrid engine in so many ways this was sure one of them.

I hope Wayne and the Moderators don't mind but I would like to copy the picture and place a copy of it on the Harrison thread. I hope Kay Harrison would speak to this hybrid and flesh out its story. :)

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Wayne: (Master Oil)

Would you please copy the picture of Kay Harrison's hybrid on to the Harrison thread here on BRF so people can see the relationships of engines in their development. It would sure help flesh out the work Kay Harrison was into. With that hopefully Kay Harrison would go on to the thread and flesh out the story on this hybrid engine. It looks fanatastic and a credit to his engineering skills! :)

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I will John when I get back to a scanner. The reason is I found two more views from an angle on the front which I will include. It's not as close, but it will have more detail.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

Wayne:

Thanks for the photo of the Harrison alternate firing 2 cyl. I am even more certain now after reading Danny's post, about him remembering the engine at a race in Chicago that there was also a C Konig involved in the same type configuration, as I also remember the pipes being much closer together than the ones on the picture of the 2 cyl you posted. Put that memory together with the fact I competed against that rig with my C in Monroe, Kay had a C at that time, and logic would seem to indicate there was another engine of the same configuration, only it was a 4 cyl C. I seem to remember, as Danny did, there was about the same difference horizonal space wise between the pipes as there would have been if they were pointing backwards. The engine I saw definately did not have that much space between the pipes. If Kay accomplished the forward pointing pipes on the C by turning the powerhead around to face the other direction, it would not have required much modification in the way of a bracket, and they would have been basically the same spacing as when they pointed back instead of to the front. The same Y type manifolds could have probably been used, with a modified bracket, and possibly a slight alteration to the angle of the collector pipe on the elbows.

If you look closely at the cast elbows attached where they allow the pipes to slide within them, it is obvious on this engine at least, there was a lot of thought and effort/expense went in to this configuration. Would be interesting to know exactly what the reason was, wgt forward, on the inside of the boat, etc.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Wayne:

That would be a great pictures post on the Harrison thread. That engine sure took a lot of thinking, theorizing, planning and doing alright. The results sure look impressive though like any hybrid there would be teething problems. :):)

Bill:

Around these parts we heard of engines that did not move but gearcases on some kind of gizmo that turned them and in one rumor as your kept either going straight or around a turn the actions would also involve tilting the gearcase either kicking the unit in or tilting it away from the transom. Never seen any of them just lots of rumors (something like the twin block Anzani C Alky). Any pictures and a story to go along with them? :)

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

John:

I did not pay that much attention to the engine that I have been referring to insofar as the lower unit. My memories about it are looking at it on a boat stand while it was partially in the water on the river bank in Monroe, La. It is possible that the lower unit was in the water and I did not notice that the powerhead was fixed, if that was the case. Please also remember that the engine I have been referring to (my memory at least) was not the one pictured, but a 4 cyl Konig in a similiar reversed configuration. I have no idea whether that gearcase swiveled independent of the powerhead.

Regards changing trim while the boat is under way mechanically, it is my understanding the Russians had a mechanical linkage, or something like a kickout bracket on the transom of their boats (tunnel hulls with a center pod running the length of the boat) that when the motor was turned in a certain way it kicked it out and allowed more accelleration out of the corner, and then as the wheel was straightened out, it tucked back under again. Never saw one, so that is the best I can describe it. Perhaps someone like Ralph Donald who has had extensive racing experience in Europe can lend something to the answer to your question.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Bill Van...while searching through my pics I came across a couple of more that surprised me. I haven't looked closely, but it may have something to do with the C you are talking about. Remember...these were taken 36 years ago and I had forgotten about some of this stuff. My best pictures during this learning curve were loaned out around 1974-75 never to be seen again. Check out John's Harrison thread for a couple of pics in about 3 minutes.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Bill:

Thanks for your reply. Never heard about the goings on in Europe but heard a lot of rumors about a North American gizmo that did that sort of thing.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Check this out Bill Van and Dan. DePue 1972.

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

I knew I wasn't completely "round the bend" insofar as my memory is concerned. Now we just need to find out if the Kirt's loaned that engine to Kay or if he had one of his own. Also not sure that is a C, because of the size of the boat, although if that is Danny it could be possible.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Was the overhang from the pipes on these engines (Konigs etc) so bad steering wise that they had to get them facing into the cockpit of the raceboat? Or was this engine stationary too with its gearcase turning on some kind of gimball platform-joint?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

It is a B Bill Van...I have another photo of Dan next to Doug Thompson who won B hydro that year. But that's not to day that it wasn't done with a C too.

The steering wasn't bad because of overhang John. I just think that this was an idea that popped up and was tried in 1972. So far, that's the only year I have pics of such motor setups. It all could have come from a Kirts/Harrison collaboration or who knows what. All those guys in the manufacturing centers of the upper midwest had connections to build things if they couldn't do it themselves. The only time we had handling problems because of pipes was a B hydro around 1971 that was very fast, but it had 4 stationary pipes hanging off of it. It was extremely quick down the straights, but when I would back off and try to put the Marchetti in a turn, the inside chine would lift and I would have to correct a little right, then get back into the turn and do that once again until the boat settled in. I could literally feel the leverage of all that weight trying to pull the boat over. The less weight factor and sliding pipes instantly obsoleted the stationary 4 pipe set up. Although it would have been a real asset for a kilo run at that time. Between the cans and sliding pipes, we mostly ran ZAK STAKS and they were pretty compact and close in to the motor.

[John (Taylor) Gabrowski]

Master Oil:

When I was in Florida I believe in 2001 trip Elmer Grade had a C-Konig 4 cylinder block that had ZAK pipes in particular the ZAK manifolds were alluminum alloy cast with ribbing for strength and fixed (non sliding twin pipes) pipes. After seeing loads of sliding pipes in racks and barrels there I thought these ZAK pipes as some experiment we never did talk much about. It turned out that they were some really good pipes in their day.

[Mark75H]

We are getting a little long on this one ... get ready for Part 3 in a few days.:)

[Bill Van Steenwyk]

They were EXCELLENT pipes in their day. Various motors driven by several different drivers, such as Homer Kincaid, Bob Rhoades, and Ray Hardy won National Championships and also Bob won the John Ward Trophy for C Hydro (now 500 Hydro) which was a World Caliber Award. In addition, in the early to mid 70's time frame, Konigs equipped with ZAK pipes and other modifications by Harry Pasturczak, set C and D Hydro Competition records at Yelm, Wa.

If there was a "knock" against them, it was that they did not slide, except for the stinger in later versions. There were a few attempts to make the longer section of the pipes slide within one another. I think this was only tried with the B motor pipes. There is further information about this on Wayne Baldwin's posts. When the Konig block design was changed to put the exaust port openings closer together, top to bottom cylinder spacing on the same end, that change of course changed the spacing of the cast manifolds Harry was using to collect and dump the exhaust charge into the sheet metal pipes. He was just starting to break even on the pattern costs of the cast manifolds, and that change would have resulted in him having to make new patterns for the manifolds. He decided it was not worth it financially and did not make any more. The same thing happened on his heads for the Konigs also, in that the design was changed and obsoleted his patterns.

He was very disgusted about this, and wondered if it had been done purposely to eliminate competition to the factory. Knowing him as well as I did, and others can also testify to this also, the things he did for the sport were not for financial gain, but to make the motors more reliable, dependable, and also of course improve the performance of them. He did of course make a living from the motor work he did for boat racers of the time, but he certainly did not get rich, or even well off from it. He did it for the love of the sport and to help the average guy compete better than he would have been able to on his own.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Knowing Dieter and Harry personally, and having some personal insight as to the cost of patterns and casting....Dieter did not make a change to obsolete Harry's efforts. To get the aluminum castings done, I am sure that both Harry and Dieter bought the minimum. As things can change rapidly with advancing technology, and buyers are a very limited market, you cannot get any kind of price breaks at all with such small runs. Harry made a wooden pattern (looked like metal turned on a lathe) for my Dad's venturi safety device which we outfitted our trucks with. It was only because of our friendship and a close relationship that Harry had with a small foundry that my Dad was able to get 250 sets of his venturi base cast. That was around 1972. When we shut the doors in 1994 we still had about 150 sets left that got hauled off to a scrap dealer. Harry could be very proud of what he did, and of course his name will be legend among alky racers for his skills. Like you say Bill Van....he didn't get rich, but his name will always be out there.

Now for John's post. When I first started, noise regulations in Europe caused Dieter to develope a can that enclosed the open exhaust megaphones and included a water hose coming from the top front of the motor to the can for the extra purpose of muffling noise. These cans could be set at a fixed position or slid on the manifold. The two cylinder A's had fixed expansion chambers but without the middle cylinder for sliding. Harry Pasturczak came out with the ZAK STAKS that you described and later modified as Bill Van mentioned. They were superior than the Konig exhaust at that time as they were better on acceleration and provided about the same top end. Harry also had a series of different rotary valves. They were much thicker than the Konig rotary valves which tended to flex and hang up on the closing port of the housing. Harry had a set of several stinger lengths that could be quickly changed according to the course. The sliding Konig pipes brought a wider range of torque and higher rpm's that allowed different prop selections and thus killed the growing market for the fixed ZAK STAKS.

Now Sam: I've been wondering when this Part 2 might get too big before started causing problems. I had figured I could have ended it by now....especially since my racing was coming to a close. But I have to say that all these sidelines have made it much more interesting. Whenever you're ready........:cool:

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Looking over my notes I found we got a lot of publicity for our Master Oil boats and were doing some successful promotions. I had to keep track of all that stuff for IRS purposes. Gene Whipp and Mike Poppa were using Master Oil in their lower units of their offshore boat, Billy Seebold in his lower unit and as an oil additive, Harry Pasturczak in his machine shop and selling to snowmobilers as an oil additive, not to mention the extreme lube grease he made. Of course Tim Butts, Ray Hardy, Steve Jones and other alky racers were using it and Bill and Jo Ann Ellis were running it as an oil additive in their mod equipment. Jo Anne had called on Septemeber 3rd and told me that she and Bill had won 3 Mod National Championships.

The next day Tim Butts called and said the 1100 hydro record was upped to 115mph, but I didn't write down who set it. Rats.:mad: But this next entry has me confused. A guy by the name of Red Taylor was running for PRO VP and proposed to break away the OD class for running UIM races. I don't remember a Red Taylor, and I don't recall anyone outside our Hydroplanes International group that interested in OD racing and UIM. There was a brief period during that time that the Pro Commission had toyed with eliminating 700 hydro, but it never happened. I called Fred Hauenstein the following Monday, possibly to do with this as well as other UIM business.

My Dad had left over the weekend to haul the boats and motors to Olympia, Washington for the 1100 hydro nationals to be held at Yelm. There were a a couple of memorable incidents that occurred on the way. He had bought 40 dollars worth of jerky and had it in a paper sack sitting in the front seat. He also had an identical sack he was putting trash in. He pulled over at a roadside park in west Texas to get rid of the trash. Instead of dropping the whole bag in the garbage can, he turned it upside down and shook all the contents out so he could save the bag. A little way down the road, he reached in the jerky bag and found it full of trash.:mad::D

More serious though was when he woke up at a motel in Oregon a couple of mornings later, he found his suburban had been broken into. He had arrived very late at night, got a room and went immediately to bed. He had left everything in his suburban, including his suitcase which was gone. He was in a panic. He was too large to just walk into any clothes store and find anything that would fit. He bought all his clothes at a Large and Tall Man's store. Then he happened to see something white in the bushes next to the parking lot. There were a lot of trees, native grasses and bushes adjacent to the motel. He walked over to find that it was one of his shirts. Then a few yards away was more of his clothes. He followed that trail until he found all his clothes and the empty suitcase. The last item he found and recovered was his 12 guage Browining over and under shotgun.:cool:

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I flew into Olympia, arriving on September 11. We stayed at the Bailey Motor Inn. My Dad Baldy and I did some Master Oil promotion and had dinner a couple of nights with Henry Wagner and Harry Bartolomei. Bob Rhoades ordered a 5 gallon can of Master Oil having been familiar with it in the past. He was getting into offshore rubber craft racing and wanted to try it there. We also gave samples to Ray Holiday, Ralph Hildebrand and Tom and Dave Hansen. Tom and a guy named Russell Birchen (SP?) both raced E mod and wanted to try it in their motors. Dave had gotten a sample from us in 1976 and tried it in his machine shop. He was very impressed with it and tried to get the purchasing agent to buy some. Back in those days the petroleum based oil was much cheaper. With the increase of petroleum oil prices, it was more in line with other cutting oils during these days. Unless someone tried it, they didn't realize it was more economical that the cheaper products because of extended tool life and a finer cut for a better finish. One of the highlights of racing at Yelm was the Olympia beer. We had gotten turned on to that at the 1976 Oly Pro Nationals at Winona, Minnesota.

One other thing I forgot to mention about my Dad's trip up was the utter devastion that my he saw of the Mount St. Helen's explosion. He tried to describe it, but I think it would be impossible for anyone who every personally witnessed the magnitude of that disaster could ever find the right words to do that. I only saw the remains of the volcano from the air still smoking. Among the tragic loss of life was Reid Blackburn who co-authored Rusty Rae's "Speed & Spray" which chronicled the largest Stock Nationals ever held. Reid was an extremely talented and young photographer. The boat racing world lost one of its finest the day Mount St Helens blew its top off.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I took only a few pics at Yelm this year. I don't know who this is. I zoomed in and it resembled Rusty Rae, but I don't recall him ever running anything but stock, and maybe mod.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

While looking for more pics of Yelm I came across a misfiled sheet. All the remaining B&W negs have no contact sheets or dates. I discovered a few rare negatives of our shop. I reget I never took any pics in Jack Chance's shop. I can still see it clearly in my mind. I remember my first session there where he guided me on rebuilding a four carb c Konig. That was in 1966. I did not have any date, time or place on these negatives, but I think it goes back to the last time Jack Chance worked on our motors. Marshall Grant's D 41994 that we bought was still faster and more powerful than our new 48mm carb Konig, but we couldn't shut off the water. We had a small leak around the top rear head, and maybe some place else. It would run great while milling, but when the time came to race, it would not come off a corner good. A high speed race was not so bad...but if you had to back off much....the power loss was apparent.

I think I must have realized at the time that Jack would not be doing our motors anymore and that's why I took the pictures. All the long nights we spent, all the stuff Jack taught me. All the times I wished we were through. I would give anything to have more photos of Jack Chance working his magic. These pics were taken just before we went to Dayton. Ron Anderson had gone through Tim's motor. Jack had told us he could not keep us on top anymore. It was after the race at Yelm that my Dad sent our 48mm carb D motor to Ron Anderson. It was very powerful after he went through it.

[J-Dub]

Looks like "Rotten" Ralph Hildebrand in what I assume bas his B.

J-Dub

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Probably. I remembered him from DeLake in 1979 and at Yelm, but I had forgotten what he looked like.

[J-Dub]

Ralph was a deck rider with Howard Anderson who he also worked for when he was younger and then he later worked at The Prop Shop with Ron Anderson.
He also made quite a few pipes for some guys out here being he is a very talented welder.

J-Dub

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks for the info J Dub. I was wondering if you ever heard of "Fireball" DeSouza. He is in the next part of the story. I never got a roster of drivers from Yelm and my notes only mention a "Fireball" DeSouza. That's all I heard him called. Might that be Steve DeSouza?

[J-Dub]

"Fireball" is a one of the exutives of Joe Gibbs Racing. As I understand he runs the Nationwide Series team of JGR. His brother-in-law Drew Thompson races CSR out here and gives a report now and then on 'Ol "Fireball." He IS a member on this site too.

J-Dub

[Master Oil Racing Team]

That's interesting. Well "Fireball" DeSouza plays a part in this next story. It was the last time I wrote any extensive notes on a race. I was so pumped, I wrote it down on my flight home.

Since we got our new laydown Butts Aerowing, I had not spent much time in it. We were blown out at the first race in Laredo, all the motors were down in power in Acapulco and I backed off just to help make a show with the other boats, we had a good couple of heats at Dayton, and LaCrosse was cancelled. So here was a good time to see what it would do on fast water with a surveyed course. I was disappointed the water was too low for the 1 2/3rds mile course. I would have liked once more to try to break 100. Anyway, we would get a chance to put it through its paces.

It was the first heat of the 1100 hydro Nationals held on Saturday September 13, having been awarded to Yelm after the cancellation of La Crosse. It was a cold and rainy day, with the temperature around 55 degrees F. I don't know why, but I was wearing dark glasses under my yellow tinted goggles. We generally wait until 3 minutes on the clock and in this particular heat, we waited almost too long. While our motors generally start right off, especially with my Dad snapping the rope, our motor didn't want to start on this cold, damp day. Part of the reason was due to this particular motor. It was the 4 carb, dual rotary valve motor we bought from Marshall Grant. You could squirt gas all the way through the motor and out the other side if you didn't hit the crank. In my book I wrote "The motor did not want to start & on the 15th or so pull it grudginly began to rev." I pulled out of the pits and ran down the back straight which was straight out of the pits.

I looked back at the clock and didn't see any lights. I never heard the gun go off or saw any smoke. It must have gone off right after I pulled out of the pits and while I was looking back to check the tattletale for water. This was my first time on this course since 1977 and had forgotten about the clock. It had a black background and I thought it was one of those "pie clocks" which rotates white, becoming a fully white circle at the last second. All the other boats were grouping down at the bottom of the course and I kept looking for the white disc. I slowed down and started to come around for another pass. The main problem I had with the laydown Butts was milling before a start. I couldn't see around as well so I stayed clear of other boats, and I made terrible starts. Then I happened to see that they were lining up for a start. I turned back and stared very hard at the clock and then I noticed a red hand with only about 5 seconds left on the clock.

I had already committed to the infield and so was required by local rules to go around the third turn bouy to make a legal start. When I came out of turn 4 and began to accelerate the lead boats were already going into turn 1. I was half the race course behind. Ron Anderson put the stop watch on me and said that I started 35 seconds late, but was only 4 seconds behind the winner "Fireball" DeSouza at the finish with a second place. He said one more lap and I would have won.

A couple of things are indelibly etched in my mind about that heat. The first was the incredible speeds with which that laydown Butts could corner. I can still remember how the outside sponson would pound the water. The boat felt as if it never set. It felt as if the inside sponson was flying and the boat pivoting on the turn fin and the outside sponson would slap the water and come back up. When it hit, my helmet would compress down and for a fraction of a second, block my vision. I don't know exactly how that happed because I always wore a snug helmet. And I don't know why it didn't dislodge my goggles. But it was bump, bump, bump all the way through the middle part of the turn. I let my body just drift to the right side of the cockpit. There was no way I could have ever stayed in Shadowfax in a turn that hard. Tim had also built a 7 inch tower housing so our center of gravity was very low.

The second thing was the fish. I don't know what kind it was, but it was about two or three pounds. It jumped out of the water in front of me....just one of those typical jumps arching over and ploppiing back into the water. But from my vantage point, however, it looked as if it were a missle launched from a sub. When I first saw if leap out of the water it was a little speck of a fish. When it flashed past me on my left, it was considerably larger. The whole thing took only about a second....not more than two. It passed between the left picklefork and the cockpit and just about the top of the plexiglass windshield. At the time I was just amazed at what appeared to be a fish that was shot at me and was about the weirdest thing I ever saw during a race. I never slowed down or even thought about what might have happened if it would have been a couple of feet more to my right.:eek:

That was one race I'll never forget. Rusty Rae caught some photos of the race and sent me this pic.

[Mark75H]

Follow this link to part 3 (http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showthread.php?p=62100)