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Motion Pictures Vintage Hydroplanes

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Ryan, Jun 22, 2015.

  1. brigrat
    Joined: Nov 9, 2007
    Posts: 5,615

    brigrat
    Member
    from Wa.St.

    glassichydro-1.jpg Going sideways .....................
     
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2015
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  2. fourtogo
    Joined: Jan 4, 2011
    Posts: 94

    fourtogo
    Member
    from long beach

    In photo looks like driver is already trying to get very small.
     
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  3. Rolleiflex
    Joined: Oct 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,243

    Rolleiflex
    Member

    All of this is making me very homesick for Lake Washington. From my parents house in Renton we could always hear the Allisons and I've spent many a good time out on the log boom or in Stan Sayers pits.
     
  4. Having been involved in boat racing in the Pacific Northwest,, although it was drag racing, I will never think this is O/T, as they are just hot rods of the water. Thanks everyone for all the contributions to this thread.
     
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  5. D.N.D.
    Joined: Aug 15, 2012
    Posts: 1,385

    D.N.D.
    Member Emeritus

    DSCN0494_008.JPG
    You are right Bowtie as these this are real Hot Rods on the water, like water borne sprint cars as you never know what they will do next

    Did the engines for Tom Patterson's crackerbox the ' Sparkler ' for 6 years , and had a great time
     
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  6. the Uncle has talked much about the pre WII days when his built V8-60's would ply down the Sacramento river.....on a Saturday beer run.....and didn't Elvis build one ?
     
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  7. Cusco
    Joined: Nov 10, 2010
    Posts: 63

    Cusco
    Member
    from Europe

    Great picture thread.

    Thanks for sharing!
     
  8. Yup, Hot Rods that skimmed over water. This is the Miss Desoto, first pic from it's early days and the last pic's after Butch Bailey of Ohio (Butch was heavy into 33 WILLYS back in the day) restored her. Potvin front mounted blown Hemi. How's that for Hot Rod
    miss_desoto_pkunxpix.jpg
    MissDesoto1.jpg
    MissDeSotoWheeling.jpg
    MissDeSoto5.jpg
     
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2015
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  9. 1EvilPaul
    Joined: Sep 3, 2013
    Posts: 74

    1EvilPaul
    Member

    I like the V-12 action.
     
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  10. unklgriz
    Joined: Sep 12, 2005
    Posts: 290

    unklgriz
    Member

    There is nothing quite like the sound of a v12 Allison humming across the water! We could hear them for Seafair week on lake Washington all the way over in west Seattle. I would love to see them here on Flathead lake, but of course the powers that be don't want the "noise". Thank you all for the great photos!


    Larry
     
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  11. seb fontana
    Joined: Sep 1, 2005
    Posts: 8,442

    seb fontana
    Member
    from ct

    Sorry, got excited...[confused with H-mod sport cars]..Would have been the 48 cu in inboard hydro, later 850cc...A book by Bob Foley, A Wild Ride about the little big boys would be an interesting read..
     
  12. iamq
    Joined: Feb 26, 2009
    Posts: 250

    iamq
    Member
    from Ma

    Nothing more than a sheet of plywood and an outboard... built one of these back in these back in the 60's, Mini Max
    Wasn't very good when the waves were more than 6-8 inches... submarined more then once...hahah NZ-1.jpg NZ-171.jpg
     
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  13. iamq
    Joined: Feb 26, 2009
    Posts: 250

    iamq
    Member
    from Ma

  14. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,215

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    Back in the early 60's my brother , our uncle & I built 1 of these "shingles"... had a 7 1/2 horse merc on it ...we thought we were really flying ,.... lost the fin 1 time , found out the damn thing would go sideways w/o turning ... what a blast !!!
    dave
     
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  15. falcongeorge
    Joined: Aug 26, 2010
    Posts: 18,341

    falcongeorge
    Member
    from BC

    They used to run limited hydros at Allouette Lake when I was a kid. I'll NEVER forget the sound of the chryslers reverberating off the mountains behind the lake. Man. Breaks my heart sometimes to think of all the things we lost that my daughter will never know...
     
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  16. fourtogo
    Joined: Jan 4, 2011
    Posts: 94

    fourtogo
    Member
    from long beach

    You want to see these Cracker/Box Boat in action this Summer / Come to Long Beach Ca. for Socal Speed/boat Clubs Circle Boat Races . (1) It's cheap (2) You never get closer to Boat Racing Action than Long Beach SS PS Grand National Boats and K-Boats .
     
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  17. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,253

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    Not sure about Eddie but Lou Meyer of Meyer Drake Offenhauser and his son Sonny held just about all the records and won all the races for the "Y" class (Crosley powered) in the 60's.
    I met them at a race on Greenlake in Seattle back then when we were running our 225 driven by Mira Slovak.
     
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  18. randyfloyd
    Joined: Aug 12, 2011
    Posts: 47

    randyfloyd
    Member

    I just got back from visiting the Maritime Museum in South Haven, Michigan, and they have a very cool hydroplane racer by an early builder named Century in their outboard motor exhibit. I thought this would be very much in the spirit of the original video posted and you can really get a feel for just how small, fast, and dangerous these little craft would have been. IMG_6117.JPG IMG_6118.JPG IMG_6120.JPG IMG_6124.JPG IMG_6125.JPG
     
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  19. George Klass
    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Posts: 1,076

    George Klass
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    A multi-step hydro, the pre-cursor to the 3-point hydros. I didn't know if these step designs would be considered acceptable for this thread or not. I love this style of race boat myself, and I have some cool photos, but I've hesitated to post them. Awaiting word from on high, or from a moderator...
     
  20. Pete1
    Joined: Aug 23, 2004
    Posts: 2,253

    Pete1
    Member
    from Wa.

    They looked neat but were way out of date designwise by 1951 as noted by the demise of the Quicksilver in the Gold Cup race on Lake Washington. Sad deal.
     
    dana barlow likes this.
  21. Damn. Boat turned onto itself at way over 100mph. Bad day to lose two good guys. Someone has a recreation in the works ... but I believe it is only in spirit, and name.
     
  22. George Klass
    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Posts: 1,076

    George Klass
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Quicksilver was an outdated design, however, I don't believe that's why it crashed. They were having issues the entire weekend in Seattle in 1951, and in fact, qualified with the slowest time. Videos show the boat porpoiseing down the straightways, which was uncommon with step hydros. Something was amiss, either with the balance or the prop, etc. Here is the AP report of the 1951 race after qualifying was completed and prior to competition. It's interesting to note that Miss Pepsi, another step hydro like Quicksilver, was the #1 qualifier, ahead of the 3-point SMS IV and V. After the crash, the race was stopped and the race winner was declared to be SMS V, since she was leading at the time.

    Seattle — (AP) — Chuck Thompson drove the super-powered Miss Pepsi around the three mile Gold Cup course Friday at a record-smashing 100 miles per hour to establish her as the chief challenger to Slo-Mo-Shun IV.

    Setting a new qualifying standard as it entered the list for today’s Gold Cup, the Detroit-owned Miss Pepsi averaged 104.247 mph on the fastest of its three qualifying laps. Official time was 100.5586 miles per hour for the nine-mile tour.

    Miss Pepsi became the sixth boat to qualify. Others included the defending champion, Slo-Mo-Shun IV (90.45) and her sister, the Slo-Mo-Shun V (91.37); Hurricane IV (90.06); Such Crust (93.34); Hornet (82.12); Quicksilver (68.04).

    (Reprinted from the Associated Press, August 3, 1951
    Miss Pepsi, with dual Allisons...
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 30, 2015
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  23. George Klass
    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Posts: 1,076

    George Klass
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    [​IMG]
    My Sweetie was another very competitive step-hydro. These designs were more than competitive on race courses that did not have very wide (multi bouy) turns.
     
  24. spooler41
    Joined: Feb 25, 2007
    Posts: 1,099

    spooler41
    Member

    Well this thread has brought back a flood of memories, my family moved back
    to Seattle in 1946 after spending '42 thru early'46 in Wichita . Dad was a engineering
    test pilot for Boeing, a B-29 Driver. I have many years of memories of the Seafair Races
    and the unlimited hydroplanes . I was a big fan of the Merlin/Allison powered hydros,
    there is nothing like the sound of a Merlin at full song . It stops me in my tracks every time.
    Thanks Ryan for bringing the subject to the top.

    ................................. Jack
     
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  25. George Klass
    Joined: Dec 31, 2007
    Posts: 1,076

    George Klass
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    As long as we are discussing step hydroplanes, here are some photos of the restored "My Darling". Like "My Sweetie" and also "Quicksilver", they were all from plans from Hacker, although the Hacker design for "Quicksilver" was an older design. During the transition period from step to 3-point designs (and in particular, the Ted Jones design of Slo Mo IV), these step hydros were very competitive.

    [​IMG]

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    Notice that the engine is facing backwards. It was designed to use a V-drive/trans.

    [​IMG]

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    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Some specs on "My Darling". 31'6" OAL, 7'8" OAW, and built at home in 1949 by the original owner from Hacker's plans, and a duplicate of "My Sweetie"
    .
    [​IMG]
    Here is a rare photo of "My Sweetie" from 1950. Both boats used the V-drive and mid-boat prop set up, with dual rudders.
     
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  26. flyin-t
    Joined: Dec 29, 2004
    Posts: 1,421

    flyin-t
    Member

    The racing in the film that started this thread was, I'm pretty sure, either lake Elsinore or Salton Sea here in So Cal, I can't remember which. The still that Ryan used, mentioned by someone else, is Marine Stadium here in Long Beach.
    Long Beach
    [​IMG]
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    Last edited: Jul 4, 2015
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  27. tevintage
    Joined: Mar 12, 2014
    Posts: 261

    tevintage
    Member

    A bit of propaganda from the local chamber of commerce. However a great pic of slo-mo-shun in action! TEB
     

    Attached Files:

  28. Model T1
    Joined: May 11, 2012
    Posts: 3,309

    Model T1
    Member

    Thanks everyone.
     
  29. unklgriz
    Joined: Sep 12, 2005
    Posts: 290

    unklgriz
    Member

    This is an awesome thread!
     
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  30. seb fontana
    Joined: Sep 1, 2005
    Posts: 8,442

    seb fontana
    Member
    from ct

    Three Flathead[​IMG]ad Mercs
     
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