This picture was taken in 1946. The owner and driver is Benny Bass of New Orleans, LA.  I guess you could say that Mr. Bass was a charter member of the New Orleans Power Boat Association. He loved racing more than anything else. My Dad, Johnny Landaiche, was given this photo from Mr. Bass when he started driving for him in 1959. In that same year, Mr. Bass bought the Miami Belle, which became the Belle and later won 3 National's in '60, '64 and '68. Mr. Bass and my father became the best of friends. Rich Landaiche	A St. Petersburg City News Bureau photographer snapped this photo while on my boat during the 1974 Southland Sweepstakes Regatta's. The photo is of Lynn Zirkle in  Noter Critter A-812 in the first turn in St. Petersburg. Brent McLean
Wa Wa SK-247  Bill Ritner's Wa Wa with Henry Lauterbach driving. The photo was taken at the Orange Bowl 9-Hour Marathon in December 1958. As I remember, the boat was built by Bob Patterson of Van Nuys, California in six weeks time. She was powered by a Chrysler Hemi 392 with 6 two barrel carbs. She carried 60 gallons of fuel in 2 - 30 gallon tanks located on each side of the engine. The Wa Wa was co-driven by Henry Lauterbach and Bill Ritner, Jr. and won the 9 hour race. In 1959, Hot Rod magazine had a two page article on this boat. Brent McLean	Tinkerbell Y-117 "In the always exciting 48 hydros, Bascomb Grooms of Key West, in his Tinkerbell, walked  off with both heats, with l7-year-old Randy Harris of Miami placing second in his first official race. Sunny Jones was third, due to his inability to start in the first heat." The quote is from the ABPA Propeller July 1963 story on the Pelican Harbor Regatta in Miami, FL. Tinkerbell was 10 years old for that race at that time and still winning. Great stories to be relived by visting all the old APBA Propeller issues that are I have just started posting. Tinkerbell is now owned by Keth Brayer.	Hebe O-60 Hydro/Racing runabout hull with 136 ci Ford V8 "60" built in 1933 by Somerset. Owned by Kerstin & Jeff Buckley of Tega Cay, South Carolina. Hull is 14' long and almost fully restored. In 1975, it was clocked at 87.33 mph.
September 11, 2002 "Today is a very sad day also for us European drivers, who share your passion for the vintage racing boats. This year, as last year, the glorious American flag will be on our racers during the vintage boat race of next weekend in Cremona, Italy to testimony our solidarity. On behalf of the vintage racer drivers of Europe. Yours sincerely, Roberto Romani".	1958 Nationals - Buffalo, NY Hi, My name is Bob Jones. I currently live outside of Roanoke, Va. My father, Edgar Jones raced an E-service named Miss Bee Bee E-4 from 1955 to 1966 and won the nationals in Buffalo in 1957. She was a Davis hull from Manteo, NC. I still have lots of memorabelia from those days including many runabout and hydro pictures of racing on the east coast. My family was from Hampton, Va, and I grew up around such hydro greats as Curt Martens, Skeeter Johnson, Alton Pierson, Ronny Hearn, Rodney Brogden, and Runabout crowd including Harry Bickford, Enoch Walker, Bill Thomas, Dick Cooper. and Del Daily. I have attached a picture I have from Buffalo, including one of the finish in 1957 when the Miss Bee Bee swept both heats. In 1958, there was controversy as the first heat was thrown out due to a boat flipping (which dad had won), and both heats were run on Sunday. Dad was second in the first heat to Bill Engle's Rebel Rouser E-111 and won the second, only to lose by 3 sec. in total elapsed time. Sadly, the Bee Bee had jumped out of gear ( they had reverse gears in those days) in the last turn which likely cost the win. Also in the pictures are the Russ Kirtpatrick's Rock-A-Bye 10-E, George Klein's Baby Live Wires E-2, Jim Venor's Too Much M-12, Al Bingham's Seabiscuit M-1, and Wooday Rice's Bob-n-I. I would like to see if anyone knows the whereabouts of the Miss Bee Bee. She was sold to Arthur Jebson of Newport News in 1966 and raced as the Amy D E-87 for a couple of years. From there she may have gone to an owner in North Carolina, and likely on to Morgan City, La., which was the last hotbed of E-service before the class disappeared. Bob Jones	H-22 Record-7 On October 4, 1969, George Babcock in his H-4 Record-7 broke his own, old record, set 3 months earlier in that year (97.720) for the 5 mile Competition Speed Record for the H class hydroplanes. This was the first racing hull in this class to break the 100 MPH barrier when he recorded an average speed of 101.58 in Seattle. This cabover hydroplane was built by Ron Jones and utilized forced induction Chrysler power. Unfortunately, this hydroplane met it's demise at a race in Washington. Steve Parker photo.
Z-Z-ZIP Here is a picture of Joe Guess's Z-Z-Zip, driven by Sid Street. The photo was taken by Master Marine Photographer, Kent Hitchcock. My father, Bobby Sykes, Sr. built the Desoto hemi engine in the boat which broke dads own record in Guess's Guess Who. The interesting part of the picture is how Kent blacked out the backround. Apparantly he posed the picture after the sun went down and lit the boat up with plenty of lighting to get this masterpiece floating offshore on glassy water. Bobby Sykes Jr. Background on Sid Street and Z-Z-ZIP Gulf Marine Hall of Fame Member - '48, '49, '50, '51. Sid Street, in Z-Z-Zip won class high points, keeping Paul Sawyers, F-111 Belligero II from making a clean sweep of 266 class laurels for 1949. In the 266 Hydro class from 1956 to 1971, the King of Speed in a straight line was the Z-Z-Zip, later known as Iroquois Chief. The boat was designed and built by Joe Guess of California. Powered by a Bobby Sykes’ DeSoto engine. The first owner/driver and brain trust behind this package was Sid Street, the legendary racer of Kansas City, MO. Sid Street was responsible for two of the boat’s three records. The first one being set in Hollywood, Florida on December 27, 1956 at 132.600 mph. The second and most noteworthy, quite a milestone, was set on December 29, 1958 at an astonishing speed of 146.945 mph.  Bobby Sykes, Sr. clearly remembers a record attempt in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. “It was a foggy morning, and we had trouble starting the Desoto using those injectors on methanol. So we borrowed a heavy duty battery out of a taxi cab. The engine was turning 7000 rpm with the 10% O.D. when Sid set that record in an irrigation ditch that wasn’t more than 50 feet wide. It was a sight I’ll never forget, seeing that boat go so fast.” The amazing thing, besides Street’s record shattering 146 mph run, was that “Sid was really disappointed that he didn’t go 150 mph! He was such a great competitor,” Sykes said with much admiration. Sadly, the beloved Sid Street died while competing in the 7-Litre Nationals only eight months later. After Sid died, the boat was purchased by Gordie Reed of Grand Island, New York. This long time boat racer virtually duplicated and slightly bettered Sid’s run some eleven years later in the same boat at St. Petersburg, Florida on January 31, 1969 at a speed of 148.638 mph. This record held until 1971, but actually the class had changed at that point to 302 cubic inches then known as the 5 Litre class.	GP-31 El Bandito The boat was owned and driven by Norm Phillips. The photo was taken in Cocagne N.B. Canada in August 1986. I'm not sure about the origin of the boat, the only thing I am sure is that it's a Ron Jones hull but not positive what was the boat's name originally. I thought it may be Tool Crib Special of Paul Sparrow, but I am really not sure about that. If you have any info, please let Benoit know. Editor's Note: Photo sent in from Benoit Lemay who is the webmaster for The Hydroplane Photo Gallery.	Gone Heavy F-95 Here is a picture of a Lauterbach built hydroplane that was owned by Ron Brown, (Les Brown's son). This 5 litre class hydro campaigned under the name Gone Heavy F-95. Drivers were Roger & Tom D'Eath and Butch Kropfield. Photograph was taken in Miami 1977 with Roger driving. Photo by Chris Hall. additional info came in 5.29.02: It ran both 5 litre and GP class. They would change engines between classes, from the 302 to a 350. from Tom D'Eath 6.6.02: Roger D'Eath was the first driver of the new Lauterbach Gone Heavy. He won the Grand Prix at Valleyfield, Quebec and also drove the boat at other races and then retired. I started driving the boat for Ronny in the mid 70's. Butch Kropfield also drove the boat on a couple of occasions. This is the boat that I won my first Canadian Gold Cup in 1976 at Picton, Ontario. The same year that I won the APBA Gold Cup in the Miss US, Unlimited Hydroplane at Detroit, Michigan. Ron Brown, the owner of the Gone Heavy was the crew chief of the Miss US that year. The boat was fast right from the time it left Henry's shop.  Everyone who drove it, won with the boat. Tom D'Eath. (Part One)
Tru Colors The vintage hydroplane is now in New Zealand. Nathan Mills sends us this photo of the Lauterbach. She was campaigning as Goldfinger. Kerry Smith June 4, 2002: "I have only just found this site. I am from Christchurch, New Zealand and I own the old Gone Heavy F-95 it is now called Tru Colors and runs a 427 big block carbed Chev in Grand National class and is still very competitive in this class. The boat has had 4 owners in NZ including Peter Knight. I know a lot of history about what the boat has done in NZ but would like to know what it did in the USA. Any info would be appreciated."	Kelp Cutter This hydro belonged to Richard F. Rupe, a machinist friend of mine and neighbor who recently passed away. It was originally a 280 with a Y-block Ford and this is it's debut and demise at it's first race as a 225, powered by a 221 Ford. Dick was injured but recovered. The boat was rebuilt and sold but I don't know who purchased it. It was a Jack Colcock design built by Harold Mansfield who also ran a 280 and built Mansfield Campers in Tacoma, WA. Dick was a charter member of the Tacoma Inboard Racing Assn.  Randy Wold Editors Note: Photo by Bob Carver This one does not appear in his book, "Speed & Spray:The Art of Bob Carver". In my opinion, a must-have book. The book was compiled and is available through the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum.	Miss Supertest III  The fate of this 1959 unlimited hydroplane, which is the only hydroplane in history to finish first in every race it competed and also won 3 Harmsworth Trophies seems to be in question. Please feel free to participate in the Forum for the latest Vintage News regarding it's future and the concern of all vintage racing members for this important racing hulls future. Ontario Science Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Photograph by Alan Radue in 1990.
Wildcard E-148 Hi, My name is Durward Wilson. I owned the Farmer Hull you now have, I knew it as Sweet Pea E-148. Enclosed is a picture in racing form at Millville N.J. I bought the boat from a police officer who lived in Maryland, he campaigned the hull as Super Fuzz, and he acquired it from Chris Oliver. I changed it to run as a 280 hydroplane putting in the 265 cu in Chevy engine. I also put on a three blade Roberts prop on it, the hull would never turn left, it would go like a bandit straight but you had to make it turn, I would be black and blue with bruises around my waist after a weekend of racing. I sold the boat to John Parone a Navy Captain who sold it to Bill Martin. I'm wondering if it still has the 265 engine I put in it. It had a balanced assembly from Crankshaft Co. of California with Jahns forged pistons. I like the new paint and hope you enjoy it. I won Region 4 High Point Champion with it in 1982. (Editors Note: This is an email that Marv Hart received from a former owner who "stumbled" onto The Vintage Hydroplanes website..)	Miss Bedeli Driver/owner Mr. Brunet at the helm.     Italian-designed racing hydroplane. Power for this racing hull is an Alfa Romeo engine fed by twin webers. Hervé Fressard of France is currently restoring this vintage hydroplane.	Moonshine Baby E-54 A Rich Hallet hull that seems to have disappeared. This is the 280 class Moonshine Baby E-54. Note the enclosed cockpit on the hull. The engine cowling is in the background against the wall. This photograph was taken just before leaving for the 1959 Orange Bowl Regatta. Dallas Kremer built the enclosed cockpit and only raced it at the Orange Bowl. He soon did away with the canopy as he stated it was a rough ride and the sound was like being inside the a Bass drum. Photo by Cliff Wartman
Golden Nugget A Lauterbach that no longer exists. This was the 7 litre Golden Nugget, driven and owned by Butch Kropfeld (Jim's brother). Chris took this in 1978 in St.Petersburg, Florida right before the Southland Sweepstakes 5 minute gun. Photo by Chris Hall	APBA Vintage  & Historic Division In the pits at the The Gold Cup Detroit, Michigan 1992	H-54 Moonshine Baby Early 1960's Photo by Phil Kunz

Photos from a Moment - Table of Contents
Home