The Vintage Hydroplanes

This boat is coming up for auction soon. Note from the Auction house states: “It was designed by San Diegan Steve Ball and set a world record of 101.47 mph at the Modesto Reservoir in 1975”.
Folks on Facebook are saying it was a fast hydro. It was seen as far east as Morgan City. Butch Kropfeld remembers running against it when he won the 1977 Nationals at Castaic Lake in California.
Another observation was – fast in the straights, but you didn’t want to be next to the whipping tail in the turns. (I can see that)
…….Definitely unique!

John Lawrence wrote up an ACBS article on his hydro.

Bill Bunn has passed away recently, his daughter Amy Dahan has informed us. She is trying to contact the owner of her father’s boat as she has some memorabilia she would like to pass on. If anyone has the contact info for Tracey Coleman of Gambrills, Maryland, please send her an email.

Here’s the Media sheet this website has on the boat.

Hello,
I recently acquired an older wood Italian race boat. This is what I know about the boat, but nothing more. I wanted to research it a little more. Any ideas where to find more info?
Thanks!
Anthony

• 

Rare Italian 22’ Racer. 125mph on a bad day. Sounds amazing! Custom racing engine. Vintage race ready! This was a museum piece for over 20 years.

5000 V-6 engine Hemi 5.0 Liter
22′ hull custom built by Molinari
Hand-laid mahogany hull with Fiberglass
Hemi heads
3 Weber 2-barrel carburetors
Stemdrive equipped with cavitation injection
Hydraulic trim
Spare lower unit
3 propellers

BPM and Molinari are two revered Italian names that will quicken the pulse of anyone who loves speed on water. Born in 1946, Renato Molinari has racing DNA. His father, boat builder Angelo, took up hydroplane racing as the world returned to peace after World War II. After a period as a teenage test driver for Glastron, young Renato took up the mantle and propelled the family name into the spotlight, becoming one of the most successful powerboat racers of all time—with 18 world championships including three F1 titles—as the leading-edge boats built by Cantiere Molinari on the banks of Lake Como dominated many racing categories on both sides of the Atlantic. As for Botta Puricelli Milano, better known as BPM, the company founded in 1932 has forged an enviable reputation in the field of high-performance and racing marine engines, along with surface drives and other ancillaries. 

Exclusive boatyards such as Riva and Abbate specify BPM for high-performance applications, as do most Class 1 race teams. It was in 1984, as Renato claimed his third Formula 1 World Championship, that Molinari created a 22-foot single-seat custom off-shore racer for Vincenzo Tiozzo. At its heart is a rare aluminum Oceanic 5000 V-6 with hemi heads and three Weber two-barrel carburetors delivering power via a stern drive with cavitation injection, along with hefty hydraulically operated trim tabs. 

There are three propellers to optimize performance in different sea conditions and a spare lower unit. A twin-axle heavy-duty road trailer with cradle completes the inventory. 

The Tiozzo BPM Molinari resided for many years in a major Italian private collection where it was stablemates with 60 powerboats and 423 classic cars including a long-nose alloy Ferrari 275GTB/6C. 

The 10th annual Gull Lake Classic Boat Show was held at Bar Harbor on Gull Lake, MN. The 2018 show, presented by the BSLOL Chapter of the ACBS and hosted by the Bar Harbor Supper Club, was titled, “Gold Cup & Race Boat Regatta” and featured many of the famous Gold Cup race boats. The show offered a great opportunity to see first hand the craftsmanship that was used to construct some of the world’s fastest racing wood boats that campaigned back in the day.

…as seen on facebook
Tom Klug carved a GT pro Tunnel Boat in his very first solo ice carving for the St Paul Winter Carnival. It even has the TCPBA logo on the back (Twin Cities Power Boat Association). It won’t be melting anytime soon, as the forecast is for breaking low temps on Weds and Thursday mornings (-30F)..It might even make it to their Forest lake race this summer.

I have this very nice Sterling Silver Speedboat Racing Trophy and am trying to get some information about it.
Winners in the past inscribed below:
Winner 1956 Wm. W. Franklin “Poop Deck Pappy”
Winner 1957 Donald Christy “A Devil” 
Winner 1967 Dusty Rhodes
 Thanks,
 Vincent Callahan

Ed’s Notes: R’cd this email and pic from Vincent and he is looking for history.
Very interesting concept for a trophy — as it shows three winner’s names in the plaques on bottom. Boats appear to be outboards, but you never know. Three boats that have the boat number on the side and one boat has the name and number, 2-E SHO-NUFF. Appears there is 4 more “wakes in the water” for future winner’s boats to be placed on top, with the others. The other interesting thing is a 10 year gap from 1957 to 1967. 

I did quick search for C.O.R.A. — and it brought up 3 Boat Racing Associations:
C.O.R.A. – Charleston Ocean Racing Association — ( sailboat racing series)
C.O.R.A. –  Canadian Outrigger Racing Association – (outrigger canoe racing)
C.O.R.A. –  Central Ontario Rowing Association – (classic row boating)
There sure is a lot of other boat racing out there besides the ones we all typically think about (ya know what I mean – the really fast ones, powered by internal combustion engines).

If you know anything about this trophy, please post here or send Vincent an email.

Click here to visit the APBA V&H website and find out who is on the V&H committee for 2019. Also take note – the American Power Boat Association has altered the Regions in the USA. Many folks who have been members of one particular region for many years may now find out that they are now in a different region. The 2019 Committee member’s contact list will include the new map.