MilesMaster Boat

[David Alaniz]

Once we found the secret she became very fast.

[tthibodaux]

What was the class name back then??

[Zonker1]

What was the class name back then??

Looks like "S" or "U" class Gotta luv the slacks! Polyester no doubt.
That was back when I had hair as well.

Was the Miles wood? Did it come from Mercury as well?

Zonker1

[David Alaniz]

Looks like "S" or "U" class Gotta luv the slacks! Polyester no doubt.
That was back when I had hair as well.

Was the Miles wood? Did it come from Mercury as well?

Zonker1

I remember the class as "U", unlimited. As for the slacks.....dig them! My coveralls were out of commision that day.

The Miles was wood. It did come from Mercury being shipped into the Port of Houston where it was picked up. Actually two came in....the other was for Freddy Bradshaw. Hiram Micke had recieved a white Molinari that won Havasu. We helped each other out in setting up the boats.

Freddy's was fast out of the box. Ours needed tweeking. But once we figured it out they were both evenly matched and out running the Molinari. Later some politics was involved and Freddy had to swap with Hiram. Both of those boats never ran the same again. After the Galveston race Mercury actually wanted Freddys Miles back. Oh yea, that didn't go over good.

[WharfRat]

dang David, probably met you back then, was always around Tommy & Flo Hathaway, Rick Clausen, Dave Pierce, Red Adair & Hiram as well...among others the cobwebs won't let me remember

[BrianSmith]

I drove with Cantek Racing in Toronto in the early 70's. Over the period we dad 4 \Miles boats and they were great....very fast as you know. Merc didn't like it much as they had their committment with Molinari.

[T2x]

Here's the "other" one, the Bradshaw boat that was pulled back by Mercury due to "politics"......( Me I guess).

It was the worst P.O.S. I ever drove. It had "Hard" chines ( perfect for barrel rolling in a choppy turn ( I did that at Picton)....and it had a "lope" that didn't go away until you reached about 95........ if you caught a gust on the "up" stroke....This happened.

T2x

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Wow! You gave those little boys on the bank quite a show. And look at the guy in the white T shirt with his arms in the air. I wouldn't have the guts to push a boat with a lope to that speed.:eek::D

[T2x]

Wow! You gave those little boys on the bank quite a show. And look at the guy in the white T shirt with his arms in the air. I wouldn't have the guts to push a boat with a lope to that speed.:eek::D

I'd like to say it was guts. In truth it was a combination of stubborness (I'm German/American and it comes with the territory) and my mediocre ,yet dramatic, driving style. By the way The flip occurred right at the finish line........ I actually got points for that mishap...:D

T2x

[T2x]

The Rest of the story.....

As you can see there was a bit of a steep bank alongside that course.....

The impact knocked me woozy....... and I wound up floating toward shore. One of the officials shouted out "Don't move until the medics take a look at you!". In my semi lucid state I studiously obeyed....... When the rescue boat arrived, a 16' aluminum, flatbottomed, john boat with about a 10 hp outboard on the back and 2 eager, panicky, volunteers on board, I had already floated into about 18" of water about 20 feet from shore. The guy in the bow pointed frantically in my direction and the guy in the stern, who apparently couldn't see me, followed his directions perfectly, and wound up placing the boat........right on top of my chest and legs. At that point they jumped in the water and one of them observes "He must be seriously hurt....he's not moving!" (see instruction from official above:confused:).

Finally I was placed in a stokes stretcher, and 4 or 5 emt's and volunteers started to carry me up the bank to an ambulance at the top. This wound up being a keystone cops adventure as they kept slipping and sliding and the stretcher, acting like a bobsled, repeatedly slipped back down the incline. At about this point, I snapped out of my daze, and asked them to unstrap me. I got out of the stretcher, led the group in getting it up the hill, got back into it......and got some oxygen and a trip to the hospital as a reward. Sprained shoulder, dislocated hip, and a broken coccix (which I have to this day...... plus a trophy for second place......

You can't make this stuff up.

T2x

[Zonker1]

I'd like to say it was guts. In truth it was a combination of stubborness (I'm German/American and it comes with the territory) and my mediocre ,yet dramatic, driving style. By the way The flip occurred right at the finish line........ I actually got points for that mishap...:D

T2x

And the judges award a 9.8....good execution, good form,...bonus points for total destruction and scaring the %^$# outta us!

Very impressive performance from the East Coast Team! They will do well in the Finals!

Sorry T2X...it was right out there,,,I had to jump on it..it's my sick nature!

Zonker1

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I gotta say T2X, that being so close to the finish line it's human nature to keep your foot in it and I would have done the same.;):D What a great story to tell (notwithstaning the pain and expenses). I could picture the whole keystone cops scenario as you explained it. This story should have a link to Russ's BS Boat Racing thread. Not saying that it is in the actual BS category, but in the "Now this ain't no &#*+"" category.

[BrianSmith]

Quite a "spill" and story............I have read quite a few stories about how "unforgiving" the Miles boats were. I drove 4 different ones over the years, won a lot of races (including region 2 championships and Cdn. Nationals in U and S classes) and had only 3 mishaps.......2 were my own fault racing with Andre Savard where once he hooked in front of me in a corner and I drove across his cowl, and the other at Parry Sound where I should've backed off and let him thru the first corner ahead of me instead of trying to turn like the OMC drivers and barrel rolling in the backwash off the breakwater. (I drove the following weekend with broken ribs and a punctured lung in a Region two river race and lapped everyone except Spencer Dunn).
The third was kind of my fault too at the start of another river race in Ohio when Dick and I wanted to see how close we could be to shore while leading the pack to the first turn. I didn't see the partially submerged log untill the last minute which of course immediatly tore off the lower unit and with it all steering!
Like in slow motion the boat slowly swerved toward shore and climbed a steep imbankment between trees and people and came to rest on a gravel road. I turned off the ignition, climbed out and got a ride back to the pits with a stunned lady in a volks wagon!
I really loved those boats. They treated me very well and we beat many Molys and others of course.

[David Alaniz]

Here's the "other" one, the Bradshaw boat that was pulled back by Mercury due to "politics"......( Me I guess).

It was the worst P.O.S. I ever drove. It had "Hard" chines ( perfect for barrel rolling in a choppy turn ( I did that at Picton)....and it had a "lope" that didn't go away until you reached about 95........ if you caught a gust on the "up" stroke....This happened.

T2x


Well I don't know about all those problems but the one we had was a good actor. As I brought her up she would lay down and build from there on, just like in the pictures. Only had one episode, (not my fault, I don't think). Racing in Conroe one year. There were some engineers at Nasa that talked my dad into using a special "go-go" juice they blended in the fuel (tax payer dollors at work). We added it before arriving at the race because we didn't want anyone seeing what we were doing. I went out for a test run and came back telling my dad...#%$@&*. Speed speed with no lose of power in the turns.

I got a late start maybe the fuel. Once I got going I stayed to the outside with all the speed so I didn't have to deal with all the slower traffic. It didn't take long before I was in second. The first place was a Miles (don't know who). Since I had "excess" speed I decided to stay behind him to see how he ran/reacted etc. He kept looking back at me on the turns so I would try to get in his blind spot. I just wanted to know how he would react before I approaced.

Now, Going down the back stretch a large house boat decide to pull up anchor and leave. I saw the first place boat go over the wake. I started slowing down...but....I hit the first wake and she lifted. I leaned forward hoping for the best and she slowly started coming back down only to land in the middle of the big wake. This shot me straight up. It got quite and lonesome real fast. I knew it was going to hurt when all of a sudden she rolled again right side up and landed transom first. So there I was still in the cockpit looking at the rest of the pack coming my way. They all missed me and that was the end of the day. Freddy's Miles was smaller than mine, perhaps that is why it had some of those probems.

[BrianSmith]

Some Cantek Milesmaster racing hulls from the early 70's;

Brian could tell the story about each one better than I can.

I think the full-front picture was taken at St. Jean 1972, the #988 at the Welland kilo runs (105.934 mph) and the #588 with the Twister II was the PS 100 in Toronto September 1973.
Attached Thumbnails

[T2x]

Well I don't know about all those problems but the one we had was a good actor. As I brought her up she would lay down and build from there on, just like in the pictures. Only had one episode, (not my fault, I don't think). Racing in Conroe one year. There were some engineers at Nasa that talked my dad into using a special "go-go" juice they blended in the fuel (tax payer dollors at work). We added it before arriving at the race because we didn't want anyone seeing what we were doing. I went out for a test run and came back telling my dad...#%$@&*. Speed speed with no lose of power in the turns.

I got a late start maybe the fuel. Once I got going I stayed to the outside with all the speed so I didn't have to deal with all the slower traffic. It didn't take long before I was in second. The first place was a Miles (don't know who). Since I had "excess" speed I decided to stay behind him to see how he ran/reacted etc. He kept looking back at me on the turns so I would try to get in his blind spot. I just wanted to know how he would react before I approaced.

Now, Going down the back stretch a large house boat decide to pull up anchor and leave. I saw the first place boat go over the wake. I started slowing down...but....I hit the first wake and she lifted. I leaned forward hoping for the best and she slowly started coming back down only to land in the middle of the big wake. This shot me straight up. It got quite and lonesome real fast. I knew it was going to hurt when all of a sudden she rolled again right side up and landed transom first. So there I was still in the cockpit looking at the rest of the pack coming my way. They all missed me and that was the end of the day. Freddy's Miles was smaller than mine, perhaps that is why it had some of those probems.

The whole time I ran the boat, I kept hearing that it needed low rake props and preferably two blades, which is what it was designed around. At that point all Merc had were three blade high rakes...and the boat didn't like them...obviously. One day at Picton a guy walks up to me and says, "We ran Miles hulls exclusively..... and you need this prop". He unwraps a towel and has a low rake two blade cleaver in his hand. I ask him what he wants for it....He laughed and walked away.

What a guy....!

T2x

[BrianSmith]

The whole time I ran the boat, I kept hearing that it needed low rake props and preferably two blades, which is what it was designed around. At that point all Merc had were three blade high rakes...and the boat didn't like them...obviously. One day at Picton a guy walks up to me and says, "We ran Miles hulls exclusively..... and you need this prop". He unwraps a towel and has a low rake two blade cleaver in his hand. I ask him what he wants for it....He laughed and walked away.

What a guy....!

T2x
I would guess that "someone" was Dick Summerfeldt! Having raced in Europe (where he was seriously injured) Dick of course met many of the Mercury people, Phil Rolla, Freddy Miles and others.
You of course know the "secret" of the Miles boats. The original rocker boats used large diameter (by comparison) cupped, zero rake, 2 blade props from Phil and re-worked by us. The others used varying degrees of cupping and rake depending on the conditions. We tested many others and Merc of course wanted us to use theirs, however the Miles were either undriveable or really slow (lower unit too far in the water) with the "standard" 3 blade props

[T2x]

I would guess that "someone" was Dick Summerfeldt! Having raced in Europe (where he was seriously injured) Dick of course met many of the Mercury people, Phil Rolla, Freddy Miles and others.

No it wasn't Dick, I met him a few times, but it could have been one of his guys. Freddie Fincham and I were pretty close in those days and he was constantly trying to find an older prop for the Miles. Bob Patterson worked on it as well, to no avail. Bottom line, I never got that thing propped out and hated it....... By the way, I barrel rolled the b*tch the following morning at Picton in testing and ran the race with one side of the boat duct taped back together.



however the Miles were either undriveable or really slow (lower unit too far in the water) with the "standard" 3 blade props

Mine was undriveable, except in rough water, where the chop "spanked" the lope out of it and gave it reasonable acceleration. The day before I flipped it in NJ as shown in the pictures above, it actually ran pretty good on a snotty course in North Carolina. I ran for 1/2 an hour with Buck Thornton in a see saw battle and basically had him on the straights..... The turns were another story. The bloody Miles actually rolled up on its inward hull side in one memorable maneuver which makes sense if you have too much blade area and torque transfer going on. WE actually wasted the time required to convert the thing from a T2 to a T2x and the fun really began then as we had even more excess torque to play with......
Merc quickly provided a string of Molinaris as a gesture of peace and they rode and handled like sportcars compared to the feeling of sliding downhill backwards in a wheel barrow that the Miles provided.

Sorry to go on and on about that P.O.S., but of the dozens of hulls I raced, I can honestly say that was the only one I ever hated. I often referred to it as " a British thing, from the people who gave us warm beer and won World War 2".

T2x

[BrianSmith]

No it wasn't Dick, I met him a few times, but it could have been one of his guys. Freddie Fincham and I were pretty close in those days and he was constantly trying to find an older prop for the Miles. Bob Patterson worked on it as well, to no avail. Bottom line, I never got that thing propped out and hated it....... By the way, I barrel rolled the b*tch the following morning at Picton in testing and ran the race with one side of the boat duct taped back together.




Mine was undriveable, except in rough water, where the chop "spanked" the lope out of it and gave it reasonable acceleration. The day before I flipped it in NJ as shown in the pictures above, it actually ran pretty good on a snotty course in North Carolina. I ran for 1/2 an hour with Buck Thornton in a see saw battle and basically had him on the straights..... The turns were another story. The bloody Miles actually rolled up on its inward hull side in one memorable maneuver which makes sense if you have too much blade area and torque transfer going on. WE actually wasted the time required to convert the thing from a T2 to a T2x and the fun really began then as we had even more excess torque to play with......
Merc quickly provided a string of Molinaris as a gesture of peace and they rode and handled like sportcars compared to the feeling of sliding downhill backwards in a wheel barrow that the Miles provided.

Sorry to go on and on about that P.O.S., but of the dozens of hulls I raced, I can honestly say that was the only one I ever hated. I often referred to it as " a British thing, from the people who gave us warm beer and won World War 2".

T2x
Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experiences..............mine obviously were quite the opposite. If you didn't get the prop from Dick or myself personally.....it wasn't one of ours. I drove a few Molys too............each one seemed slightly different to me. The boat, set-up, confidence, etc. did have a great bearing on how any boat ran.

Does anyone know if Freddy Miles is still around?

[T2x]

Sorry to hear of your unfortunate experiences..............mine obviously were quite the opposite. If you didn't get the prop from Dick or myself personally.....it wasn't one of ours. I drove a few Molys too............each one seemed slightly different to me. The boat, set-up, confidence, etc. did have a great bearing on how any boat ran.

Does anyone know if Freddy Miles is still around?

Brian:

The guy never gave me the prop....he simply showed it to me to bust my chops.

T2x

[Ron Hill]

John Schubert and I drove #14 Molinari owned by Jim Briggs... I was boxing some pictures the other day...and thought...WOW!! Look at my engine angle on the Molinari, then look at the engine angle on the Miles Master...I NEVER drove a Miles Master, though they often looked fun...Gary Peacock, as I recall, would run those boats on the prop....Bob Holloway made them look good...Bob was a Mercury dealer in Modesto, California and he bought lost of Record low Rake props....

Dick Summerfeldt! So, 988, twin Molinari is NOT Dick Summerfelt. IS Dick still around? I first met Dick at Essex, Maryland, 1967. He was running D Runabout and wanted to buy a prop...I told him $150 new or he could try it and bring me $200....He took the prop...about an hour later he came back and handed me two one hundred dollar bills...

I guess, Dick raced a Molinari Mercury in Paris that year, 1967, and either blew over or barrel rounded. He managed to get his leg tangled in the steering cable, which the end result was that he lost a leg...

I never saw Dick again until Havasu, 1971. Dick had blow a twin Molinari over....like number 988, and the patrol boats picked him up....he was not talking well, and they thought he'd lost his leg in the accident...The patrol boat put him in the boat and hauled out just in front of me...I hit the patrol boat wave and blew over...totally *** OVER TEAKETTLE.....I was leading single engine at the time..

I've never seen Dick since Havasu, 1971...

ADD: Molinari Boats...Jimbo McConnell and I agree that the most fun boat to ever drive was the HIGH RIDER Molinari like #14. T.A.R.T. Driver John Schubert and I drove #14 in Paris...The next week Jimbo and I drove, in Berlin together...Schubert had to go home to a job...that he got fired from, and Jimbo had wrecked his boat in Paris...So, Jimbo and I won the 1970 Berlin Six Hour....That style Molinari would go where you wanted it, when you wanted it, never was rough in the cockpit...You want to go faster, trim her up....just a FUN BOAT.....about 90 is all I ever went in a High Rider...

Prop is much like the low rakers of the day...

[BrianSmith]

John Schubert and I drove #14 Molinari owned by Jim Briggs... I was boxing some pictures the other day...and thought...WOW!! Look at my engine angle on the Molinari, then look at the engine angle on the Miles Master...I NEVER drove a Miles Master, though they often looked fun...Gary Peacock, as I recall, would run those boats on the prop....Bob Holloway made them look good...Bob was a Mercury dealer in Modesto, California and he bought lost of Record low Rake props....

Dick Summerfeldt! So, 988, twin Molinari is NOT Dick Summerfelt. IS Dick still around? I first met Dick at Essex, Maryland, 1967. He was running D Runabout and wanted to buy a prop...I told him $150 new or he could try it and bring me $200....He took the prop...about an hour later he came back and handed me two one hundred dollar bills...

I guess, Dick raced a Molinari Mercury in Paris that year, 1967, and either blew over or barrel rounded. He managed to get his leg tangled in the steering cable, which the end result was that he lost a leg...

I never saw Dick again until Havasu, 1971. Dick had blow a twin Molinari over....like number 988, and the patrol boats picked him up....he was not talking well, and they thought he'd lost his leg in the accident...The patrol boat put him in the boat and hauled out just in front of me...I hit the patrol boat wave and blew over...totally *** OVER TEAKETTLE.....I was leading single engine at the time..

I've never seen Dick since Havasu, 1971...

ADD: Molinari Boats...Jimbo McConnell and I agree that the most fun boat to ever drive was the HIGH RIDER Molinari like #14. T.A.R.T. Driver John Schubert and I drove #14 in Paris...The next week Jimbo and I drove, in Berlin together...Schubert had to go home to a job...that he got fired from, and Jimbo had wrecked his boat in Paris...So, Jimbo and I won the 1970 Berlin Six Hour....That style Molinari would go where you wanted it, when you wanted it, never was rough in the cockpit...You want to go faster, trim her up....just a FUN BOAT.....about 90 is all I ever went in a High Rider...

Prop is much like the low rakers of the day...
Hi Ron:
I raced with Dick and drove the single Miles boats. As you can tell from my posts they were great boats for us......very fast and handled well. The first rides in our sprint single were pretty unnerving as it would totally clear the water at high speed and run on the prop! Took awhile to get used to after the rocker boats but at least you knew when you were going fast! I am sure we met also in Maryland and in Havasu. (988 was his number for the twins). The Blowover to which you refer was actually our original Glastron that we had sold to Paul Fingold and driven by a guy whose name I can't remember; by then we had the new style dual with the seperated engines which Dick drove there and we took to Johannesberg the following year. I believe we broke an engine on it and I broke a sponson on the single. Jim Cascadden Co-drove with Dick.
I haven't seen Dick myself in a number of years however he is still in Toronto (I'm in Mexico near Cancun now) and communicates with Mark Rotharmel. We used to meet with our snowmobiles from time to time.