Agitator
Proudly owned, restored and driven by Alan Radue
 


Some how……and by some twist of fate……..this boat has survived a racing career spanning four decades.  It is in the group of literally hundreds and even thousands of inboard boats that were competitively raced in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s.  It was not a national high point’s winner or even a world speed record holder, but represented the passion and dreams of many previous owners/drivers.  All of which, for a brief time in their lives, were completely consumed by her.  How do I know this you ask?  From the absolutely fantastic and enthusiastic responses I have had in tracing the boats history and talking with drivers who made 30 years ago sound like it was just yesterday.  People thanked ME for calling and reminding them of such a great time from their past and shared the disbelief that the boat was still around……I tried to do most of the thanking but they would hear nothing about it.  I purchased the boat because of a long love affair with inboard hydro’s and a keen interest in history.  I never would have imagined I could have combined the two and have this much fun.  It has been quite a journey and I do not even have the entire history complete.  So look at the following photos and if you think you know anything (no matter how minor you think it is) about the hull - please send me an email.


 
Charlie Lloyd - History
Charlie Lloyd hydro    A-156 Charlie Lloyd was as master carpenter/cabinet maker from Pennsylvania who drove a friend’s hydroplane in the early 1950’s and because of the damage he inflicted on it became the immediate owner.  He raced it for the next year but was so disappointed with its performance he purchased a ‘better’ boat to race competitively.  Still unsatisfied he figured he could take the best ideas from both boats along with his skill and produce a really outstanding hull.  His first boat was so successful that in the mid 1950’s people began calling Charlie to design and build boats for them.  Charlie, realizing the birth of a new business, commissioned his son Mike to perform some of the monotonous grunt work/machining, his wife to sew/upholster the seats and keep the books…….and the business was off and rolling. Charlie also commissioned a casting house in Reading, PA to produce his custom hardware (shaft log, rudder, mid strut, etc.).  is parts are typically identified by his name ‘Charles-Lloyd’ and/or a 3 digit cast number (102, 104, 108, etc.). 
Charlie Llyod hydro     F-43 Charlie built many boats (possibly 150-200) from the late 1950’s until 1970.   At any one point, Charlie was said to have at least three boats going at a time at various stages of completion.Eventually, Charlie could no longer perform all of the manual planing associated with building his boats and focused his efforts on sprint car design - a passion of his son.   Charlie’s boats are very distinctive from the rear tail fin with a kick-up (rumored to have been taken from a 50’s Cadillac) as well as a very aggressively tapered transom.  Charlie was known to be a guy that if you had enough time and money.........could do practically anything.

Photos of some of Charlie’s early boats. 
The Sin A-156  is actually Charlie driving!

 
racing career
Too Much, Jr. E-199 The hydroplane has been identified as a very early 280 Charlie Lloyd hull (possibly the 2nd 280 he ever built).  It was built in the fall of 1955 for two brothers who owned a Marina (Smitty’s Marina) in Lake Hopatcong, NJ - Frank and Ronald Smith. After seeing the first 280 that Charlie built for himself. They just had to have one. This was by no means their first race boat, they held many records and titles in the smaller 48 class, but it was the largest class race boat they ever had. For a fee of 200 dollars, they commissioned Charlie Lloyd to build a partial hull (frames, sides, and bottom) and they fabricated the rest. Frank was responsible for designing and having Stan Warner (a good friend) custom weld the ‘one of kind’ stainless steel ‘S’ shaped exhaust headers that remained a trademark of the hull all the way until the mid 1970’s. The final step was to purchase Lloyd hardware and install it in place. It took them the better part of a year to completely finish the hull and she was up and running in the middle of 1956 with her name and numbers in place - Too Much Jr. E-199

This photo is Frank (standing in the cockpit) along with his ‘school chums’ at the davit at Smitty’s marina.

It was named after a service runabout they had previously worked on called Too Much.  The first test run proved to be quite an exciting event.  They had their friend Paul Flohn (an experienced 135 driver) take the first run with her. After a bumpy ride Paul was actually pitched out of the boat and the boat literally drove away. Realizing the need for a kill switch a little too late…….they were unable to catch the boat and it ending up driving out of site and carefully pulling up on a nearby sandy beach - without any damage whatsoever! A slight push off and the boat was racing once again! 

This photo is Frank motoring the boat in from a successful outing on Lake Hopatcong (notice the interesting cowlings - still not sure where they came from!).

E-199 in St. Petersburg, Florida 1957 The boat started its official racing career in 1956 (when the 280 class was first organized) and the following is a picture of her in Florida with Paul Flohn driving in early 1957 (note the more familiar Lloyd cowlings). After a few years of racing the Smith brother’s marina business was beginning to increase..this forced them to make a difficult decision…race full time or plug away at the family business.
 
The decision was eventually made to sell the boat and a gentlemen named Jim Burnham of Conneaut, Ohio purchased her in 1960. 
Jim raced the boat under the Too Much Jr. name and numbers for the 1960 season and this photo depicts Jim (in the center) battling it out in Madison, Indiana.
In 1961, Jim dropped the 1 from E-199 and raced her as E-99 as shown in the next photo taken in New Martinsville, W.VA.


In the off season, Jim stripped down the entire hull and gave the cowlings a fresh coat of paint.  Jim added the now infamous 'deck bumps' on either side of the engine cowling because he was not happy the way the deck seams took to the new varnish.  The 1962 season was met with a fresh looking boat renamed Ji-Mar (after Jim and his wife Margaret) and a new number was selected, E-172. At one point, Jim was injured during his job on the railroad and he had his good friend Jim Brewster pilot the hull. 

This picture depicts Jim Brewster in Charleston, West Virginia (the deck bumps can be clearly seen in this photo!).
Photo by Phil Kunz 1962.

 
Roy Kuhnhoffer racing Toot Sweet E-100 Jim eventually sold the hull in 1965 to Allen Reid in Denver, Colorado. Jim actually packed up his entire family and trailered the boat all the way out to Colorado from Conneaut, Ohio.  It is unclear how long Allen owned it or if it was ever raced, but it was sold to Roy Kuhnhoffer in Littleton, Colorado. Roy renamed the boat Toot Sweet E-100 and eventually moved to a small town south of Chicago. Roy was a one-legged hydroplane racer and actually had a prosthetic leg fabricated to simulate himself sitting in this hydroplane so he could race with two legs!  I learned of a hilarious story about Roy -  after flipping out of the hydroplane during a race…but before he climbed into the rescue boat…handing his leg first to the closest rescue crewman who promptly fainted on the spot - he obviously thought Roy was handing him his severed leg! 

I have no information on Roy’s career (or Allen Reid) but do have a photo of Roy from 1966 shown here.


Bill Whitlock driving Ron Synder's E-173 In 1969, a young Ron Snyder (of unlimited fame - Budweiser, Madison, Kentukiana Paving, North Tool, etc.) purchased her from Roy as his very first hydroplane from a small town located just south of Chicago. During his first season of racing he couldn’t make a race in Pontiac, Michigan and the boat was driven by a 22-year-old youngster named Bill Whitlock. This was Bill’s first time in competition in a three pointer and the following photo captures him in 1969 coming down the infamous ‘channel’ in Pontiac (If you look real close you can still make out the ‘E100’ under the ‘E-173’ from the previous owner along with the ‘deck bumps’ and ‘S’ shaped headers).Phil Kunz Photography
Ron Snyder running E-173
In 1970, the boat was said to been in very poor shape at this point  (much of the wood was rotted which makes sense with a boat from 1955 - 15 years old) and needed to be completely re-built over the winter. Ron had been saving for a new kitchen for his wife Susan, and as many racing stories go, utilized the entire savings for the new kitchen to rebuild his boat (I'm not sure how he pulled that one off!). As you would probably guess, the boat was very quickly named Suzies Kitchen as some type of recovery for the damage done.
Ron Synder owner/driver of Suzies Kitchen E-173
Here is a photo of Ron Snyder in 1971 battling in the newly restored Suzies Kitchen.
In 1973 Ted Williams helped put the boat back together for Ron and actually took his driver’s test in it.  The following photo is Ted Williams piloting the recently assembled Suzie's Kitchen.
 
Sculuce E10 In 1973, Ron sold the boat to Ted Williams and it was raced for almost three years as Scruluce E39.  At one point it had a pony keg as a gas tank and was nicknamed the ‘Stop & Go Race Team’ because of recurring problems which made for some hilarious stories - none of which were probably funny at the time!

This is a picture of Sculuce in September of 1973 just after being painted and ready to race in New Martinsville W. VA. (I actually have the sling shown in the photo!) It only ran this race as E-10 and the number was given back to a friend and was then assigned E-39. 


Ted’s father, who secretly was very proud of the boat but would verbally tell you how dangerous it was…….built an exact scale model of the boat which Ted still proudly displays to this day. Ted was also kind enough to let me copy his fathers original plans and sent me photos of the model.




 
The World Famous Paduka Champion in action on the Ohio River in 1974. A very interesting fact is Ted did pilot the hull to its only known victory to date -
The Dukes Cup Regatta
in Paducah, Kentucky  August 4, 1974. 
Ted is now known as the WORLD FAMOUS Paducah Champion in my book!.

Phil Kunz Photography

Another great shot of Ted in Scruluce with a picture perfect start at Columbus, Ohio on the Scioto River during the 1974 Griggs Dam race. 

Also in the picture is Stover Hire driving Hire Voltage E-37 (right) and Dave Sutton driving Yankee Doodle E-51 (left).



Dayton Motor Boat Racing Association
using photo of the boat in one of it's race event programs
 
 
In 1976 Ted sold the hull to Chick Langford who raced it as Agitator E39 from 1976 to 1980.  Even though the boat was built and rebuilt many times, I believe it was Chick’s re-build that kept her in great shape for the last 20 years. Chick said it was very difficult to keep up with the cab-overs so he was always trying to push it. One time Chick was so violently tossed out of the boat after he hooked it in a turn, they pulled him from the river and he was actually missing both of his shoes! One shoe was never recovered……the other shoe still remained perfectly positioned on the foot shaped gas pedal!  Here is Chick ‘The Pilot’ literally flying down the Ohio River to keep up with those darn cab-overs! The boat was raced in the 80’s but little is known about it from 1980 to 1987.  I have been told it was still racing in the mid 1980’s but am unable to find any information on it (go figure. Tons of information from 45 years ago. Nothing from 15 years ago - the search continues!)  It was not competitively raced from 1987 to 2000 when I purchased her from Dave Kryk out of Rochester, NY.
 
I want to thank everyone who has helped me so far in tracing the boat’s history.
The enthusiasm in the voices of everyone who owned this boat or previously owned a Lloyd hull is far greater than anything I could capture in text.




Agitator E-173
Alan Radue of Detroit, Michigan owns this extremely rare 1955 Charles Lloyd designed and built, 280 cubic inch class hull, measuring 16' 2" and is powered by a 265 cubic inch Chevy V8. 
 
 
 
 




This hydro raced competitively all the way up until 1980. Some of the names it campaigned under, starting in the late 50's with Too Much, Jr, the 1960's as Ji-Mar and Toot Sweet,  early 1970s as Suzys Kitchen, the mid 1970s as Scruluce [screw-loose], and ran from 1975 to 1980 as Agitator. The last owner put on new decks and sponson tops.
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

This is the 'I' beam hoist system I designed and put into my garage. 
Cost was 120 bucks (not including hoist/trolley) - works fantastic! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Picture of engine on stand!
Made it out without any problems! 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Cockpit interior before any scraping........doesn't look too bad in the photo.........but in reality it is a mess.......very musty and the paint is in poor shape.........moisture is trapped between paint and varnish.......the boat will seemingly never dry out! 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 

Rear compartment (under tail fin).
And yes, somebody actually had a bilge pump in there! 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 Engine compartment after minor scraping to make sure the boat was still there! 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Frame work - engine compartment - 
paint eventually comes off to reveal the wood under it! 
 
 
 
 


 
 Slowly the paint comes out, kinda looks like the scene of a fire!
Nope!  Just rotten paint! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 

In the large areas this works great.........wish I could fit this everywhere (only could be used on the bottom).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here is a puzzle worth two points:
Find the hydroplane (one point).....Find the idiot (second point).  Scraping out a hydro with the deck skins still on is not recommended unless you love your hydro so much you find yourself sleeping in it. Actually, I'm scraping up front in the nose of the hull and working on a patch on the inside of my sponson.
 
 
 

Here is a picture of my Dad and I when we delivered the 'I' beam we used to make my hoist.  I got a chuckle out of it and thought others might too!  Seems to 'humanize' all of our efforts..sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do!  If I had to guess how many states this is illegal in.....I would have to say ALL OF THEM. I recommend slow driving, very careful turns, flashing lights and many side streets when taking my transportation advice.
 

 

The inside after much scraping.  I chose not to use chemical stripers because of the difficulty of actually being able to get out all of the stripping residue before applying epoxy and multiple layers of varnish.  I wanted to make sure the penetrating epoxy and the varnish would not be repelled by anything left behind....especially in the joints!   
 
 

My original plan was to re-fasten the stringers to the frames at joints that appeared marginal.  There was really a 'mixed bag' of bolts, screws, washers, and nuts utilized over the years.........upon closer inspection they ranged from rusted blobs that were once bolts to fractured lag screws.  The more I looked....the worse I felt about each of the joints. After removing a few of the fasteners I discovered there was no actual bond between the frames and the stringers at ANY of the joints.  Therefore, I have removed, stripped and restored the stringers with penetrating epoxy. Here is my father and I getting the last bits of black paint off of them and ready for the epoxy.  I will re-fasten them with new stainless bolts, locknuts and washers. 


 
 
 
 
 

New coupler we added and front pin assembly we machined.  I made the pin removable if I ever need to change it down the road.  We also made some wooden accents to spruce up the trailer! 
 
 
 

Here are the stringers......completely stripped of paint/varnish and sanded down to bare wood.  They are still in great shape! 
 


 
 
 

Anytime you atomize epoxy you better have the right protection! I put on two coats of deep penetrating epoxy before building it back up with varnish. 
 
 
 


 








The interesting point of this photo is that I didn't fall off the roof when taking the picture and you cannot see any black paint in the interior! (this is of course from 15').

 

A new rear bumper has been added to the trailer along new with matching step boards on the sides.
 
 

Lisa made the mistake of coming out to the shop and saying, 'Hey - whatcha doing?'  She was immediately commissioned as the 'Chief Petrified Putty Remover' and was put to work.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Once all of the putty was removed, the next step was to back out all of the wood screws.  Upon inspection, the screws on the whole were in good shape but all of them were loose.  The actual screw holes were in great shape (none of them were stripped) but they did have a very thin layer of soft wood within the countersink.  I put a small collar on a modified drill (the point was ground to match the original countersink) and set it so that it just removed the thin layer of soft wood.
 
 
 
 
 


 Each hole was prepped with penetrating epoxy and a new silicon bronze wood screw with a Frearson drive was installed.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Once all of the screws were replaced each of the holes were carefully packed with putty and then hand sanded down to be flush with the bottom surface.
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Some of the main stringer attachments had what appeared to be a hand-made countersunk stainless steel washers under the heads of the bolts.  Keeping with the tradition, we made a quick hammer die and knocked out a couple dozen washers.
 
 
 
 
 
 

The washers give the main stringer attachment a nice finished look. The restoration will keep progressing throughout the winter in my new heated garage.

 

 Let me put it to you this way......if you own a wooden boat that is more than five years old I can just about guarantee you have some form of wood rot. However, sometimes you have to be like a detective to find it.  My hull cosmetically looked very solid but after spending so much time around it I was able to see certain clues that made me wonder.  I drilled some inspection holes in the sponson tips (this area was always hidden) and in one of them I was concerned enough to open it up.  AND THIS IS WHAT I FOUND!  Now....mind you......I was glad I did this but at the time of discovery I was a bit 'worried' to say the least!


After a little bit of clean up and after I started calming down....I was able to get a good look at what was going on.  It appears the sponson tip had multiple repairs to it, had very poor drainage and the years just took its toll.  What was encouraging (if anything??!!) was the fact that the rotten portion was confined to only the first foot or so of the sponson.
 
 
 
 

My first attempt in anything I do with my hydroplane is to try to preserve as much as possible and replace only what is absolutely necessary. Some people may have replaced the entire sponson after seeing this.....I just had to see if I could make a structural repair without doing just that. They key in this step is to keep removing (chisel & wire brush) the rotted wood until you get to solid wood - and then go a little more. This picture shows just as I was getting into the 'good wood'. Be sure to stagger those joints - makes for an easy way to fit the replacement pieces back in and provides for a strong section.
 
 
 
 
 
 The first patch of marine plywood goes in.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






 



The new pieces consist of marine plywood, Sitka spruce, silicon bronze wood screws and epoxy.  Most of the pieces could be fit in identical to what was there before.

 
 
 


 
 

All of the frame pieces in place and one perfectly placed drainage hole to guarantee the water that gets in can get right back out!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The finished sponson bottom with two sheets of marine plywood and the molding added back into place.  It sure does look much better then it did when I first opened it up.  I believe the fix will be 'better' than when it was new!
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

The next step is to cut out and fit the aluminum to the bottom.  I used 5052-H32 temper because of its toughness, its ability to take the shape of the sponson and it can be buffed out to a nice shine.  The pieces I'm using are .090" thick.
 
 
 
 

 

A photo of the finished aluminum pieces that have been painstakingly cleaned of varnish, cleaned of the now infamous 'black paint' and then shined back up.
 
 
 
 
 
 


Probably an old race incident fractured this frame in two right down the middle.  It then had wood braces nailed to each side and another wood brace nailed to the top.  All of this was mushed together with some type of old marine sealant.  When everything was scraped away I was left with the original frame.  I decided to go with a sandwich of 6061-T6 aluminum so it would match some of the other cross bracing in the hull.
 
 


 
 

The aluminum for each sponson has now been fitted, holes drilled and countersunk.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The first coat is penetrating epoxy and it went on very smooth.  Next I will build it back up with varnish.
 
 


10 coats of varnish later on the bottom and it looks great.  I also repainted the black on the sides of each sponson with polyurethane enamel.  Now......nothing like watching varnish cure!







 
 
 







The battle armor is now in place! The aluminum went on fairly easy...just a slow process. I pre-drilled each hole and prepped it with penetrating epoxy. I used 'black' 3M 5200 marine sealant so when it squeezed out it matched my black paint job. I'll let the sealant and the varnish fully cure and then I'll buff the aluminum.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 Another interesting shot showing the bottom design of my Lloyd hull with the new aluminum.... again....another successful picture outing up on my roof without falling off.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






Who says Lloyd didn't build a tilt trailer??!! 

Mine tilts just fine! 
Actually this shot depicts me bringing the trailer down from its 'winter storage' position which was up against the wall. 
I'm going to weld on new fenders and rewire it while the bottom varnish is in its final curing stages.
 
 
 


New suspension, added fenders, new electrical, added a deck, new wood accents and all kinds of other new 'stuff' has been added.  That's it - no more trailer work!  Yippee!  The trailer is now ready for some serious road trips to vintage hydro events!!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 







This is what is left of my old roto-tiller after I 'chopped' it up.  It is now known as the 'Agitator Pit Shuttle'.  It proved to be a life saver at Dayton when you had to stage your boat by yourself!

 
 
 




The plan is to have two motors (1956 265 Chevy V8's) rebuilt to stock as they would have been when the hydro was racing. Finding the original parts has been a very difficult process, but patience has prevailed. Here is an original 1956 2 bbl intake manifold I found at a local junkyard. I also found an original Rochester 2 bbl carb. I have rebuilt/restored both of them and here is a shot of the finished product. So far I have both blocks rebuilt to .030" over.
 


 
 
 
 
 

The first 'Stock Bullet' rolls off the Radue Pit Crew assembly line.  If it runs half as good as it looks.......I'll be all set!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





A neat photo of the bearing mount which displays the original hull builders name - Charles Lloyd.



 

Alan Radue's Agitator
Trip to Dayton Testing 2002 - Maiden Voyage
Here is the 'Radue Pit Crew' rig.  All set and ready to go to Dayton.......Did I remember to tighten the lug nuts on the trailer?.....Is the prop in the back seat?............Did I remember my helmet?......Where is Lisa?
 
 

 
 

We made it!!! 
To Jack Hines house that is.....
Lisa and I posing for a quick snap shot.
 
 
 
 

Everyone said the inside is WAY to shiny and we need to scuff it up a little.........this sent chills up and down my spine..................do you 
mean I can't race with socks on?






A young man and this very boat were the beginning of an OUTSTANDING professional hydroplane racing career.  Here stands Ron Snyder with his 'very first' hydroplane......a reunion after 30+ years.
 
 
 
 
 


Another unbelievable picture.  Ted Williams, a former owner of the hull Scruluce E-39 in the early to mid seventies, sits in his old office. Ted asked me 'Can I sit in it'?  What is amazing to me is you can actually leap from a standing position outside the hull into the cockpit - I wouldn't have thought this was possible but Ted proved me wrong one second after I said 'Sure'!  What great memories that must have brought back.....hard to imagine.
 
 
 


The Hines' hydroplane party Friday night was fantastic!!! Great food and great times and we owe it all to Jack and Nancy. We had 3 vintage hydro's at his place not including Jack's boats. Shown are the Agitator, Opeechee and Dinomytes. If you look real close in this photo you can actually see as the sun goes down the hydroplane B.S. is increasing!
 
 
 


 
 For the 10 seconds, The Johnson clan checks out the new Agitator bottom.  Travis on the left.....Papa Joe in the middle and Brian on the right.  You can tell by Joe's face he is wondering who that good looking guy is in the reflection that is looking right at him??!!
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

Lisa directing the crane operator.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Last minute advice............go slow.....turn left!



 
 

Here we go!!  Childhood dream in progress!!
 
 
 

Vintage action! 

 
The 'THRILL OF VICTORY
Coming in and pulling the plug on the 'magic carpet ride'.


Now I bet there are not too many ladies who would carry the lifting straps out to your incoming hydroplane in waders..........so you better treat those ones 'extra special'!!!
 
 
 

The Father & Son team...a very special picture for me.

My sincere thanks to Brian Johnson, Bill Fisk, Wally Hinman and Ted Williams who took the time to send me photo’s of this special day.  Thanks for the memories!



Everything You Do - You Only Have One First Time

By Alan Radue
I think it is a really good idea to write this article as fast as I can and get it out there.  I have no photos and I have no videos to shape my thoughts right now.  I have nothing to go by except the memory of what I have just experienced for the first time.  I bet every hydroplane driver can recall in detail the day’s events. 

Since this past Saturday I have so many things tucked in my memory banks I can already hear the phone ringing from Phil Spruit saying ”O.k. Al, I appreciate you writing articles but aren’t you going a bit overboard?!”  True to my restoration efforts and true to my passion for hydroplanes, here comes another one whether you like it or not.  This is not a polished story or a flashy one filled with pictures.  At this point I don’t think it should be.  Heck, I don’t think I’m even going to spell check it.  Here it is, the experience of my first time piloting a 3-point hydroplane….something I have looked forward to doing since I was 10 years old. 

First and foremost you have to consider the time and effort that has been put in getting to the point of actually making the first ‘fly-by’.  I will now attempt to recap in great  detail what I have done to this point.  JUST KIDDING - that will probably come out this winter and rival a copy of ‘War and Peace’.

So lets pick it up as we are pushing the ‘Agitator’ towards the crane.

I’m standing there running through the countless things that are going through my head.  Show Lisa how to undo the double release hooks that are on my lifting straps, make sure I remember to put a little gas in the carburetor before it goes up on the crane and then up pops a very familiar face.  It is the face of Phil Kunz.  He takes the time to remind me, ”Hey - you got wet sponsons…….make sure you idle out for ten seconds before you gas it…….you have to give them time to drain……then get on her and she’ll pop right up”.  Seems simple huh?  But the act of Phil taking the time to tell me this is what I really remember.  Isn’t it always easy to notice somebody who is passionate about something?  It has always been that way for me.  At this point I was all ears.

So here comes the crane ball hook coming down and then up goes the ‘Agitator’.  Now honestly, does anyone else who has built or restored one of these hulls not think this is the MOST terrifying thing they have ever seen?  It is the equivalent of grabbing your entire set of expensive fine china and then sprinting down the stairs.  You know it could probably be done without incident but you would hate to have a front row seat to such an event.  I felt a little easier when I started hearing ‘Hey - that looks like my coffee table’ and ‘WOW look at Al’s bottom’ with just the slightest hint of sarcasm.  The hull settled in the water and I watched the wet sponsons fill up with a feeling of great anxiety.  I hoped all the water going in was just in the sponsons!  Now I have to admit, I thought a 1950’s era Lloyd hydroplane looked good out of the water but I’ll tell you there is nothing like seeing it floating.  I can’t wait to get the pictures and I’m sure there will be a call for more web space once I get a hold of them!

So now in typical fashion Lisa was by my side in waders nonetheless and trying to figure out how to spin the hull around and get me in the right direction.  It was at this point when I noticed a very curious thing.  I was not nervous at all.  And I have a very good reason for it.  As Lisa spun me around I was facing the shore and I looked up on the bank.  I saw tons of faces and I recognized almost every one.  What a great feeling that was.  There was my Mom and Dad who made the trek down that morning to see their son doing something he has talked about non-stop for the past two years.  There were two good friends of mine that I have known for years……Wally and Ed….who also made the trek down that morning.  There was Ted Williams and Ron Snyder both former owners of my hull.  I saw Phil Kunz pointing ‘that famous lens’ right at me and thought…..gee….I hope I don’t look like at dork at this point.  There was my good hydro buddy Joe Johnson who despite not feeling that great treked his whole family down for the event.  Bill Fisk, Jack Hines…….and all the fantastic people I have met the past couple of years.  I almost felt like you could have pulled me out and I could have went home a satisfied man.

WHAT?!  Wait a minute! Are you kidding me?!  Lets get the show on the road!  But as Ted has told me ”Racing is all about hurry up and wait”.  This time was no exception.

When I heard somebody say “Alan you are clear to go” that was it for me.  Lisa spun me around, I hit the starter and she fired right up.  Ten seconds I waited and I could literally feel the boat getting lighter.  At about 15 seconds I was thinking ”Hey…am I on plane?”  The thought barely left my head when it looked like the front end lurched up at least six feet.  Probably only an inch or two in actuality but then I felt this wooooooosh and the back end jumped up and there you have it.  I was on plane.  Now I would like to say my motor was in tip top shape and the old Agitator and I just tore up the course.  In actuality, I didn’t do any work on it before Dayton (it was still in ‘as found’ condition) but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try and turn a few laps.  The first lap was crazy.  The main thought I had was ‘So - this is what it is like huh?!’  The boat slides around the turn in an interesting way.  I stayed to the outside as the man in charge told me to and entered the back straightaway.  The engine was still running and that was more than I could ask for.  At this point it was just pure luck.  I came on to the main straightaway and pushed the pedal down as far as it would go to see how much I had but unfortunately that was about it.  Just cruising speed.  Maybe 50mph or so.  I look back at it and I think it was a stroke of luck because it gave me time to really focus on what I was doing.  I reached over each side to feel the exhaust water….it was warm.  I noticed the nearly two gallons of water that filled my race suit as I walked out to my boat sitting in the hull bottom as I entered the back straightaway.  I undid the transom release levers and the water quickly disappeared under my seat.  I got to the end of the straightaway and then closed them back up.  I looked down and saw no more water and thought ‘Huh…they worked just perfect’.  On one pass of the front straightaway I noticed some guys on shore and the thought cracks me up even now.  They were waving their hats like I was leading Picket's charge at Gettysburg!  I just wish I could have had a little more in the motor but that will be for the next adventure.  A few times I looked over my shoulder to see Carl Wilson and Hal Laduc go thundering into a turn just 20 yards along side of me.  I thought to myself that anyone seeing a site like this would never forget it.  I now can see why all of the former drivers I have watched through the years made this a lifelong passion.  So I took an extra lap over the 5 laps they said we should take and when I saw the black flag come out I kinda smiled.  I pulled in and slowed down and noticed you can actually feel the boat come off plane.  It is similar to sinking in a hole and gave you the feeling like you just pulled the plug on a magic carpet ride.  I turned off the switch and coasted up to Lisa waiting for me and asked her ‘How did I do’?  She said something really funny.  “HEY - you looked really cute out there!”  Now if I was not committed to getting to my engine work before the next event I’d say now I’d hardly have the Agitator back in the shop before the engine comes out for a complete overhaul!  I walked on shore and thanked Phil Kunz for taking the time to give me last minute advice and that was it.  Just some quick thoughts of my experience.  I restored a vintage hydroplane sending not a single piece outside of my shop to have any work done.  I trailered the whole rig down.  I got in the water.  I turned 6 laps and came in under power.  I couldn’t ask for any more than that.  Of course I use ‘I’ in the aforementioned sentences but full well know there are too many people to list who helped me pull this off. 

I sat on shore and was already thinking about the TON of tweaks I have to make in the next couple of weeks when up walks Bill Fisk with a sly grin on his face.  He says ‘Great job out there Al’ and shakes my hand.  As I pull my hand back I notice there is something in it….a patch……in the shape of the classic ‘national champion shield’ it reads ’APBA - Driver’.  Enough said……….

Alan Radue
Driver - E-173 Agitator
APBA Vintage Class


 
The Gold Cup 2002
Alan Radue pilots the recently restored Agitator down the back straight-away (in front of the DYC) at Detroit's Thunderfest 2002.
 

 
Alan Radue's Agitator and Tom Bertolini's Country Boy ‘putting on a show’ at Detroit's Thunderfest 2002. A special picture for Alan for two reasons – this was a long time dream of his to be able to pilot a conventional hydroplane around the infamous Detroit course and also the park you can see in the back ground is where Alan watched the races from for many years! 
Photos by Wallace Hinman


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