NOTES:
Bryan Milazzo of Bow, NH is currently designing a web page for skiffs. His email is jerseyskiffinfo@yahoo.com He hopes to have it up and running within a month. Brian can use any pictures and other info that folks would like to contribute. (603) 229-1650
 Dave and Joe Johnson from Madison, IN. participated in the Madison Race Parade with their restored Sooy designed 225 ci hydro Close Shave II. Talk about fun, Joe tells us that Mr. Loren Charley, the boat builder, at 73 years young, had a blast riding in the boat seat during the parade. “He was just like a kid with a new toy”.

CHALLENGES:
Dave Johnson wants to get a hold of Milner Irvin formerly of Miami, FL? He lost track of Milner about 12 years ago. Dave’s email address: Djohnson@indot.state.in.us
 A big thank you goes to Joey Nolan for responding to our challenge to locate Artie Ross. Artie runs a cam shaft design engineering company in Baton Rouge, LA. Ross also owns a vintage SK Patterson hull powered with a 392 ci Edelbrock Chrysler sitting on one of Bob Patterson’s exquisite wooden trailers. Artie can be reached at (225) 357-9760. I talked with Artie yesterday; he has a wealth of information especially about the Super Stock, SK, and E-Racing Runabout classes and their power plants.

RACE SITES and EVENTS:
 Sept 21-23  Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Contact Hank Why at (603) 569-2212 or email: hankwhy@aol.com
September 22  Irving Lake, CA 2nd Annual Boat Racers Reunion Contact Richard Parks or Betty Sherin at (909) 943-2752
 Oct. 6th  Cypress Gardens, Florida - Event cancelled due to low water.<

REPORTS:
Hydromania 2001, North Tonawanda, NY. One unlimited, eight inboard hydros, three outboards and 1 runabout represented the Vintage Class at this year’s event. The vintage display was outside the regular pit area. Spectators could see the boats up close and ask questions. Six vintage hydros ran flybys Sunday at noon right before the scheduled races.

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:          Shanty II - Too
In 1955 the Slo-mo-shun V thundered over Seattle’s Lake Washington during a Gold Cup qualifying run. Suddenly, at 160+mph, the 2 1/2 ton U-37 became the first Unlimited to do a blow-over, a full 360-degree back flip. The 48-year-old driver, Lou Fageol, was ejected from the boat and severely injured. The blow-over was the beginning of the end for owner Stan Sayre’s Gold Cup dominance with Slo-mo-shuns IV and V (Slo-mo IV would be destroyed in a Detroit crash the following year). Sayres sold the broken U-37 to a Seattle Syndicate for $15,000. Rebuilt and renamed Miss Seattle, the boat passed through several hands before Ken Murphy, a Sacramento scale manufacturer, purchased her in 1965 as his first Unlimited.
His friend, Bob Gilliam, introduced Murphy, who began racing in 1949 with a Pacific One Design Hydro (PODH), to Unlimiteds. Gilliam had designed and built a 280 ci hydro that Murphy raced in the 1960’s named Steel-A-Weigh III, 68-E. Ken was able to buy the former Slo-mo V for $2,500, just twice the amount he’d invested in his 280. The 15-year-old hull was renamed Berryessa Belle and repainted Red, White and Blue with Bob Miller the pilot. The following year Murphy sold the boat to Gilliam who registered her as Miss Tri-Cities. It was a surprised Murphy who picked up a magazine 20 years later and saw a photo of his former boat restored as Slo-mo-shun V.
Murphy spent a lot of his earlier racing days viewing the transoms of faster Fred Wicken’s built PODH’s. So when a Wickens built Unlimited became available he and driver Ron Kasper joined forces to purchase the hull. The $Bill, U-21, was constructed for 266 owner/driver Bill Schuyler of Lompoc, CA. Renamed Wanderer, U-45, (perhaps to signify its problematic handling characteristics) the now green and white Wickens spun out and sank to the bottom of Lake Washington during a test run. It perished on the muddy lake bottom and became a popular attraction for scuba divers.
It was not until 1980 that Murphy obtained his third Unlimited, the failed experiment named Shanty II. The 32-ft. hull, designed by Ernest Stout, was original owner Bill Waggoner’s replacement for his successful Shanty I, U-29. Driven by Col. Russ Schleeh to the 1956 APBA National High Points Championship, the Shanty I was demolished when it cartwheeled across the Potomac in 1957. Waggoner spared no cost on the all-metal construction of the experimental boat. The magnesium keel alone cost $14,000. The hull, patterned after the U.S. Navy’s Sea Dart, had no sponsons but was made to ride on a single hydraulic suspension step. The experiment that could revolutionize raceboat design if successful proved too much to handle. After initial testing Schleeh walked away from the bouncing, porpoising and diving side-to-side ride. Replacement pilot Guy Gidovlenko rolled her over in the first high-speed turn on Lake Mead. The Shanty II was never raced and was warehoused in obscurity when Ken Murphy came across her.
Now in Murphy’s possession she is being used as a guide in constructing a one-half scale boat which also incorporates modifications suggested by Ted Jones and Les Staudacher in 1959. A BMW motorcycle engine will power the 16-ft. hull. Cowlings and hull, which resemble an airplane model, are near completion. Murphy, who now resides in Mexico, says finding the proper materials has been a challenge. He would appreciate any leads on locating a BMW m/c engine for his project. His phone and fax #: 011-52-415-2-84-76.

VINTAGE HOT BOAT OF THE MONTH:
The Slo-mo-shun V, U-37, scored 10 wins, 2 seconds and one third in 16 heat starts. Winner of both the 1951 and 1954 Gold Cups, the 28 ft. Ted Jones designed unlimited was the sister ship to Stan Sayre’s Slo-mo-shun IV. The great Lou Fageol was severely injured when the U-37 did a 360 blow over while trying to qualify for the 1955 Gold Cup in Seattle, WA. The hull also raced as Miss Seattle, Berryessa Belle and Miss Tri-Cities before being restored by Dave Williams and the Seattle Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum Volunteers. Slo-mo-shun V now resides with her new owner Bruce McCaw’s Pac West Racing Group, Bellevue, WA. 

©2001 Tom D'Eath