Rudy Nielson sent in a few more photos of the neat Wickens he raced back in the early 1960s to his webpage. Included with those pics is also a news article on the race in Tonawanda on July 1967, some hydro race tidbits, and more pics of his other hydro he campaigned after the Wickens
Rudy’s family posted their home movies and you can watch the Wickens and other hydros running back in the 60s.
Bob Schroeder and his F-188 hydro winning the Southland Sweepstakes 266 class.
(Thanks to Brent McLean for sharing!)
Some good tidbits of information (and a good refresher) on towing a trailer with electric brakes.
Bill DeGlopper send in a couple pics from his family’s long tradition of boat racing.
Above photo is from the 1947 CNE races in Toronto. N-39 returning to the pits. N-39 is my Dad’s hydro being driven my his brother Ray DeGlopper. The boat leaving the pits is Bob Chalmers carrying the N-1 number (US class champion).
This is how Dad traveled to the races. He raced at the Canadian Exhibition in Toronto.
John O’Mara (of New York) built this radical design for this hydroplane in the late 1940s in Dayton, Ohio. The boat was built using magnesium sheeting over a wood frame design. We don’t know where the idea for this design came from. It could have well been one of those ideas that got started on a the back of a bar room napkin. The boat registered in the A modified class in the A.P.B.A. to campaign under the name / number Red Witch A-56. The boat’s design entails having the driver to lay flat on the bottom of the boat and steering with his feet. Read more here.
HYDROPLANE RACING BOOKS FOR SALE. First come, first served. Contact Bob Senior at 206-364-7432 for a price list. Reasonable prices and he pays the postage. This offer expires at 9:00 pm on Sunday, May 5th.
Four books by David Williams: Hydroplane Racing in Seattle, Turbine Racing in Seattle, Hydroplane Racing in Detroit, and Hydroplane racing in the Tri-Cities
The Madison Regatta, by Farley and Harsin
Winningest, by Wil Muncey
Unlimited Hydroplane Winners. Photos and Fun Facts by David Johnson
Roostertails Unlimited, by Andy Muntz
What Were They Thinking?, by Doug Ford
The Guide to High Performance Boating, by Joanne Fishman
The Oregon Wolf, by Don Peterson
Speed and Spray. The Art of Bob Carver
Roostertails 99, hardbound and/or softbound
Hydros 2000, hardbound and/or softbound
This Is Hydroplaning. 1959, with 102 photos.
June 1 & 2. More info at the California Speedboat Association’s facebook page.