Ask as many questions as you can. 
Any time you run into a person lucky enough to own one of these incredible machines - don’t let them go until they spill everything. The easiest way to find such a person is by attending any inboard hydroplane event. They are very easy to spot.  They talk non-stop about hydroplanes in an undeniable rhythm (I am also guilty of this). Many times they are sunburned, missing meals and generally forgetting about all else except hydroplanes when they are at one of these events. A person standing next to a vintage hydroplane saying ‘I remember’ is always an excellent candidate. Undoubtedly, at one point or another, this person has had a reason to turn a hull over. Sometimes the conversation will lead to flipping a hydroplane while racing. I have been told the directions for flipping while racing are very simple. They are as follows: Saying ‘I cant believe that guy is ahead of me’. or Saying ‘I can't believe I'm in the lead’.  Add in a few choice words after the aforementioned statements and your boat is perfectly flipped.  But that is not what we want to know. That is what we never want to know. Remember, focus on the ‘flipping in your shop’ part.

Review the many answers
That being said, after all my questioning of owners and trying to delve into these deep dark secrets, I found some very similar comments that came up on a regular basis as I thumbed through my notes.
Old tires were somehow involved.
The same friends that were ‘conned’ into flipping it upside-down were all very mysteriously on vacation when the boat needed to be flipped back over.
There was always one major injury…..however the injured person never admitted to it.
The process usually involved 12 people with only 5 to 7 doing the ‘actual work’.  I had multiple notes about a person maintaining the correct pressure in the kegger - must be a pressure system for lifting a boat or something like that?!
Everyone also agreed somebody should have had a video camera because it was the craziest thing they ever volunteered to do.

Consequences
With this in mind I was about to tackle my project - flipping a 16’ long x 7’ wide, vintage 280-class racing hull. So where do you begin when you realize you seemingly have to tackle this daunting task? Complicating the fear factor on a vintage hull is the fact you are probably dealing with a ‘one of a kind’. Now I'm sure back when you were racing, if you damaged your own hull while flipping it, you would be kicking yourself. Now if you damage the one of a kind, kilo record holding, national point winning hull in original condition, I'm sure some other people are going to be kicking you as well.  This fact in itself makes you think a lot more before saying ’Hey - lets see if this will work’.  I often found myself the last couple of weeks waking up in the middle of the night thinking - ‘How much weight can a sponson hold on edge before collapsing’?  ‘How much weight could the transom hold if I set the hull on it’? The answers are ‘I don’t know’ but if I ever do find out the maximum load I know I’ll be very upset when I hear the large snapping sound. The only guideline I have is to come up with a method for your particular situation that works the first time without any damage to your prized possession.

My Method
The following is what I did but it is by no means the only way to flip a hydroplane. The only thing unique about the process I used was the low number of people required for lifting (3) and nobody strained themselves in the process.  Why 3 people?  That number is everyone who answered my call of ‘Come over and help me lift a heavy boat’. Maybe next time it will be ‘Come over for free beer and lunch' and after they arrive, 'Oh by the way, lets flip my hydroplane over'. The way I see it, if this article helps answer some questions for another owner, a new comer or even just gives you a chuckle when you think back and remember how you did it - mission accomplished!

The Task At Hand
Remove as much weight as you can. The only thing that was still bolted to my hull at the time of flipping was the structural aluminum cross bracing.  Anything you can do to eliminate weight is recommended but not compromising the structural integrity of the hull is of the highest importance. Oh yeah. Take out the motor. This helps a whole lot! 
Build a rolling dolly.

I actually flipped my hydroplane in my garage with three people doing the lifting and a forth playing the shuttle person for the rolling dolly(rolling being the key word). Build any kind of dolly you want. Just make sure it has capable casters and distributes the load over the structural members of the hull. Here is a photo of the rolling dolly I came up with (I added padding and carpet to the runners after this photo was taken).
 
 

The first thing we did was lift the boat off the trailer and get it on the dolly right side up. I had previously put an ‘I’ beam in my garage and we used that in conjunction with a hoist to lift the hull (A very low cost system and works great for yanking the motor in and out as well. See the photo of the hull hanging on my hoist just before we slid the rolling dolly under it.)
Once the hull was on the dolly it was surprising how easily such a heavy object could be pushed around with one hand.

Flipping methodology.
The theory we used was to put a heavy-duty tow strap (available at any automotive store, and rated at 15,000 lbs.) around the top of the ‘I’ beam to create a cradle for the rear end of the hull. I chose to go close to my cockpit where a structural frame was located.  The width and height of my hull at this location is 44” wide by 17” high. I also put an old flannel bed sheet on the strap to minimize any scuffing where it came in contact with the hull. The strap I bought was very soft and I ended up with no scratches whatsoever across a varnished surface. I believe the key is to make sure your varnish is dry and more importantly - hardened (let it cure for at least three weeks). Once the strap was in place under the hull we placed a heavy-duty plastic barrel under the rear end and shimmed the hull high enough (3.5’ for my hull plus a little extra for the strap stretch) so that if you flipped the hull on a horizontal axis the
front sponsons would not hit the ground. To adjust the height of the sling I simply added or subtracted wraps around the ‘I’ beam. Two large ‘C’ clamps were placed through the sewn loops at the ends of the tow strap and we were all set. Why two? Two is stronger than one, use three if you like! However, I would recommend at least one wrap around your beam or whatever so the strap actually cinches on itself and does not actually load the ‘C’ clamps. 
I suppose any lifting point high enough and strong enough would do the job just fine (I heard many stories involving a tree ‘Because the barn would have collapsed if we'd tried it’). Once the rear end is at the proper height supported by the cradle, the barrel can be removed and three lifters on the front of the hull can easily (I say this now) pick the hull up and the dolly can be immediately slipped out. At this point the strap is doing a good portion of the holding. Once the dolly is slid out the same person can slide a mattress (to prevent any scraping or cushion a disaster) directly under the hull when it is being flipped. I saved an old queen mattress I was going to throw out and it worked great.  Now the lifters in front can begin to turn the hull. As the hull rotates, it becomes too tall for one of the three lifters to still be able to help so he or she proceeds to the back of the hull. It is much easier to apply a torque to the rear which greatly helps out the two remaining lifters in front. The whole process takes only about 20 seconds. Move quickly but carefully. It was at this point that I saw one of the craziest sites I’d ever seen. It is the equivalent of taking something the same size as the car you are driving and turning it over - pretty nutty. I think you 7 litre racers are something else. Once the hull is finally upside-down, rapidly replace the dolly and breathe a big sigh of relief. At this point, maybe this is where the special person monitoring the pressure in the kegger comes in?  I'm not sure. 
This photo depicts the strap set up and the barrel we used.
 

Conclusion
All of these people were key to doing the job safe and getting it done right. The photo of the 3-man lifting team was taken by Lisa Cook, my very understanding girlfriend/chief dolly and trailer puller. Left to right - Tired Agitator pilot, my good friends Wally Hinman and Frank Pozar. I will guarantee you  this…..if you have ever flipped one over,
you will never forget it. So what are the benefits of flipping a hydroplane you ask?  Friendship, an excellent demonstration of teamwork, being faced with a problem and solving it (a great feeling for any engineer), realizing you are almost complete with your restoration, being able to finally inspect what is really between you and the water…..and oh yeah…..a much easier way to varnish the bottom of your hull without it dripping down on your head.

Have A Safe Flipping!
©2001 Alan Radue

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