NOTES:
Thank you, Bob Silva, for your outstanding articles from the West Coast. Bob, please continue to submit your noteworthy reports. Our members enjoy them. The East and the Northwest coasts are Hot Beds of V & H restorations. Unable to report all the activity in these areas, we are looking for additional reporters from the East Coast and the Northwest. If you have an interest in submitting monthly reports and possible HOT BOAT of the month pictures, contact me directly at (941) 792-7554. 
 Mark Clemmons of Wilmington NC, located an early 50’s vintage hydro sporting fiberglass cowlings. This hull was stored in a barn for quite some time. The dimensions are 17’4” long and 7’9” wide from sponson to sponson. She has a Chevy V8 engine with OMC heads. Mark is having a challenge discovering this vintage craft’s racing history.

VINTAGE TRIVIA: 
Last months question: Does any member know what Skeeter Johnson’s first name is? No one responded to the trivia questions. Come on guys. This was easy!! Answer: Calvert (Skeeter) Johnson.

RACE SITES:
 May 17 - 18 Greenwood Lake, NJ  Static display and fly-bys.
 May 31 thru June 1 Detroit, Michigan  Chrysler 1997 APBA Gold Cup Invitations were sent. We hope that the participating members will enjoy their nostalgic Gold Cup course ride. 
 June 21 & 22 Celina, OH  Governor’s Cup Regatta  Vintage is on the schedule for static displays and fly-bys. The Governor’s Cup Regatta is a well-known event on the regular hydro racing circuit. The lovely town of Celina is located in central Ohio. A pleasure to visit. Contact: Mark Weber (810) 775-2219
 July 4 thru 6  Valleyfield, Quebec  ATTENTION!!! All Vintage members who plan to bring equipment to this event MUST contact Penny LaTour at (514) 371-6144. A.S.A.P. Valleyfield has limited docking and pit facilities. They need an accurate head count for flybys and static display. Your cooperation would be appreciated. We want this event to be a success!!!
 July 20  Sylvan Lake, MI Oakland County Boat Club 80th Annual Regatta. Contact: Bill Hickson (810) 682-6730.
 September 6th  Clear Lake, Iowa   Tentative. Contact: Jim Cummings Home Number(612) 391-6280.

MT DORA, FL REPORT: 
A long overdue ride was taken by my spouse, Judy, in the beautifully restored 72 ci hydro, Lil Leprechaun. In the seventies, Ann and John Fitzgerald campaigned this Lauterbach hull successfully earning National Championships and also becoming the APBA High Point Champion. The restored boat performed flawlessly in her debut. Pete Kreissle and Joel Jarvis took the Lil Leprechaun for a ride at Mt. Dora. This writer ran the WA WA Too testing out her newly modified steering system. Guest drivers in the WA WA Too were Jon Bartell and Peter Kreissle. Mario Scopinich of West Hampton Beach, NY ran his Lloyd 280 ci hydro SIN. George Baker and Doug Appy ran their Jersey skiffs. New member Pierce Massey of Columbus, GA ran his newly acquired Hey Y’all 42-P Crackerbox. Pierce was kind enough to offer me a ride, but time did not permit this. Hopefully I can take a rain check. Many raceboats participated in the show. A few raceboats were sold. Hopefully the buyers will become new APBA members.

VIDEO: 
Available thru the Vintage Division of APBA is a 30 minute video of Antique Race Boat Regatta ‘96 Clayton New York. This is by far the best of the three race boat regatta videos. Interesting underwater prop shots, dramatic helicopter footage, interviews of racing friends, bow mounted cameras, professionally produced by Matt Heinman. The price is $30 plus sales tax (Florida only). Send your check, payable to APBA, and your mailing address to Tom D’Eath 2011 74th ST NW.  Bradenton, FL 34209. This video is a must have! I have previewed the video and it is excellent!!

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:   WHEN YOU’RE HOT, YOU’RE HOT.
 In 1950, the Cracker Box class had been running under APBA sanction for only four years. When Carl Maginn, of Glendale, California stepped from the outboard ranks into the driver’s seat of the former Clyde Randall racer HOT BOX. Enlisting his cousin Don Oakley as a riding mechanic, Maginn raced HOT BOX for several years. Acquainting himself (and no doubt scaring his cousin) with the wild, seat of your pants driving style needed to race a Cracker.
 By 1952, Maginn was ready to move to a faster hull and he purchased a new Fred Wickens design from Jim Caldwell named HOT ICE. Although the new boat showed promise, it was at a 100 horsepower disadvantage to the new Dodge Red Ram engine that the Patterson Brothers, Bob and Tom, installed in their national champion HOT CINDERS. The Pattersons proceeded to erase both the competition and 1-mile records. Calling on Ed Winfield for technical help and a special camshaft, Maginn exchanged the Mercury flathead for a Red Ram. Thus began the Cracker Box “HOT” wars,  HOT CINDERS vs HOT ICE, the red-and-yellow Patterson versus the mahogany-and-green Wickens. For the next four years the two competitors re-wrote the record books. Running up the competition records on 2 1/2 and 1 2/3 mile courses. Pushing the 1 mile straight-a-way record higher and higher, with HOT ICE breaking the 80 mph mark at Seattle in 1955. She captured the National Championship in ‘54 and ‘56 and High Points in ‘53 and ‘54.
 Driving a Cracker provided valuable training for an even more unruly class - the E Racing Runabouts. Maginn’s accomplished driving skills shone when filling in at the helm for injured Paul Terheggen in his notorious rear-engine rocket, DONALD DUCK and the more conventional, but still unpredictable HOT DUCK.
 In 1958 Carl Maginn entered HOT ICE in a new sport sweeping Southern California - Drag Boat Racing. Discarding the mechanic’s seat, installing a 392 Chrysler Hemi equipped with an Art Chrisman supercharger. Adding a V-drive and lowering the shaft angle, and running a surfacing propeller, HOT ICE, the Cracker Box became HOT ICE the Drag Boat. Within two years HOT ICE became the first boat to officially attain 100 mph in the 1/4 mile. Before she retired she upped the record to 108 mph.
 Maginn went on to race HOT ICE TOO, a Rich Hallet drag hydro; compete in marathon endurance races; and drive his son Michael’s Super V offshore racer SATISFACTION. The late Carl Maginn’s grandson will be hitting the lakes with a brand new boat. This time competing in a different APBA division 1/4 scale radio controlled Cracker Boxes. And the name of the new boat? . . . HOT ICE.

DALE GLEASON SPECIAL REPORT:          GREETINGS FROM THE GREAT NORTHWEST
Last summer, the Seafair Unlimited Race on Lake Washington, held a vintage exhibition featuring the Hawaii Kai III replica, the beautifully restored Miss Thriftway and the Spirit of South Park. The Spirit of South Park was restored with the help of inner city youths from the South Park Community Center. The Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum of Seattle, WA has begun work on the 1971 280 National High Point Champion Buccaneer. This early cabover designed and built by Ron Jones was donated to the Museum by John Leach. They plan to restore the former world record holding E-101 to its original condition. Plans are to have this hull completed in time for the Chelan regatta in September.
 Another new boat was added to the Hydroplane Museum collection recently. Armand Swenson’s radical Miss “U” was donated by Armand’s widow, Irene. This unique hull featured a one point design with twin puller props. Three classic outboards have been added to their collection as well. A 1956 B Stock outboard built by Ed Karelsen, and 1957 C kilo boat built by Harold Tolford and Rusty Rae’s J stock.
 George Greer has spent the winter restoring his 1959 Lauterbach vintage 280 Miss Havana. This boat also ran as the Apache. George is looking for photos of this boat. He can be reached at (204) 439-7352.
 Joe Frauenheim is hard at work on the three time Gold Cup winner Tempo VI. The hull work is complete and Joe is ready to install the motor in this classic Ventnor race boat.
 HARM has received a significant grant from the APBA Historical Society to produce a book showcasing the work of Seattle photographer Bob Carver. They are collecting images for the book now and hope to be published by October. If you have or know of any Carver photographs, please let them know at: Speed and Spray, the Art of Bob Carver. C/O The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum 1605 S. 93rd Seattle, WA 98108.

VINTAGE HOT BOAT OF THE MONTH: 
HOT ICE  38-P   Carl Maginn and riding mechanic Don Oakley prop walk the Dodge Red Ram Powered Cracker Box HOT ICE  at Lake Tahoe in 1953. Six years later, using a supercharged engine, the mahogany and green Wickens hull became the first boat to officially reach 100 mph in the 1/4 mile.

©1997 Tom D'Eath