March 2002
BOATS UNDER RESTORATION: 
One thing is for sure: Unlimited Vintage hydroplanes are HOT in Seattle. Thanks to Dave Williams and the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, interest is at an all-time high. No fewer than six vintage unlimited hydroplanes are being restored or replicated. 
The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum Volunteer Crew are restoring the 1980 Miss Budweiser for Unlimited Excitement, LLC. During the first week of February, the hull was upside down with the finishing touches being put on the sponsons. The Museum has acquired two Griffon engines that need to be rebuilt. 
It is a short walk from the museum to the Jim Harvey shop. There we found Jim and Ron Brown restoring Unlimited Excitement’s 1982 Atlas Van Lines. They were both very excited and showed tremendous enthusiasm about this project. The repair work on the honeycomb stringers, frames and air traps had almost been completed. Jim has also been assigned the task of assembling the Rolls Royce Merlin engine. 
The boat will be restored as the 1982 Gold Cup winner. 
Another boat we saw on our tour was the Miss Thriftway II. George Compton of Kent, WA is building his favorite unlimited hydroplane, the 1956 Jones/Staudacher Cabover U-62. Ron Jones redrew the plans for the hull. The 34-ft Miss Thriftway II is completely framed up and waiting for the fuel tanks. George has also acquired several Rolls Royce Griffon engines, two gearboxes and a tilt trailer for the boat. Compton, a retired pilot, is working on the hull every day by himself. Progress is steady and coming along nicely. 
Although we didn’t get a chance to see the progress on the 1955 Miss Thriftway, U-60, we understand that a group from Vashon Island have taken on the task to completely duplicate this 1956 Gold Cup winner. We hope they will keep us informed on this project. 
Dixon Smith of Issaquah, WA has commissioned Mike Hanson to restore the hull of the 1962 Miss Bardahl, U-40. They are doing the Green Dragon restoration at Mike Jones’s unlimited shop. Dixon plans on doing his own Rolls Royce V-12 engine for this hydro. 
After the 1982 Atlas Van Lines is completed, Ron Brown and Jim Harvey have agreed to restore the 1976 Gold Cup winning Miss US, U-2. It is interesting that both of these talented crew chiefs are now restoring, or about to restore, the hydros that won them Gold Cups. 
Eric Mann and his Unlimited Excitement Group have purchased the Australian VS-222 Miss Bud, which was originally built by Ron Jones in 1970 as the Pride of Pay-n-Pak. This hydro is now back in Seattle and just needs minor restoration work. 
Barbara Carper, owner of the Miss Thriftway/Century 21, purchased several Meteor engines. Barbara and Ike Kielgass have taken on the project of adapting the Rolls Royce Meteor components to integrate them with the Rolls Royce Merlin engine. If this engine marriage is a success, it will create an available source of Rolls Royce engines which can be used in vintage unlimited hydroplanes. Dax Smith is providing technical advice. Ike will keep us posted on their progress.

NOTES:
We want to thank DeWitt Jensen for taking us on a tour of the Jensen Motor Boat Company in Seattle. It was particularly rewarding for me to see where my father’s 266 hydro F-29, Slo-mo-shun III, was completed. My dad, Al, had purchased the III from Stan Sayres in the early ’50s. This boat preceded the famous Unlimited hydroplane, World Record Holder and Gold Cup winner Slo-mo-shun IV. The boat works has not changed much in fifty years. If only its walls could talk, what stories they could tell us of the early days of the Sayres’ dynasty! 
The first thought that crossed my mind after touring this historic boat shop is that all the plans to duplicate the Slo-mo-shun IV are in existence. They boat shop is still there. The Slo-mo-shun IV is a two-passenger hydroplane and would be very desirable both on the APBA Vintage & Historic circuit and the ACBS boat shows. Why doesn’t someone have the Jensen Boat Works duplicate Slo-mo IV? The original boat is not for sale; it belongs to the Museum of History and Industry. A replica could be made, however, and it would be a showstopper wherever it went. 
Note: The Slo-mo-shun IV won all three 30-mile heats of the 1950 Gold Cup contest with Ted Jones driving. In the first heat of the day Slo-mo lapped the entire field, which included the 1949 Gold Cup winner My Sweetie. 
DeWitt Jensen has issued an open invitation to see his archives and visit the shop where the Slo-mo-shuns were built. Just call first to make an appointment at (206) 632-7888 or visit his website at www.slomoshun.com.

CHALLENGES:
Larry Lauterbach of Chester, MD has issued us a challenge. He is trying to locate the only ski/marathon raceboat that his dad built. All Larry remembers is that the boat was sold to someone in Florida sometime in the early to mid-1960s. Anyone who might have any information, please contact Larry at (410) 643-4521. 
Chris Hall is trying to locate a large or extra-large Gentex Life Jacket. Chris can be reached at 757-723-0793 

EVENTS: 
June 15-16 Brockville, Ontario - North American Championship including Vintage flybys. Contact Bert Henderson (613) 345-6751 or hydromarine@hotmail.com 
July 11 - 14 Detroit, MI - APBA Gold Cup Vintage & Historic. Contact Tom D’Eath (941) 792-7554 
July 5 - 7 Madison, IN; tentative. Contact Joe Johnson home (812) 866-8940 or email: drummerjoe_55@yahoo.com 
August 9 - 10th Lake George, NY Vintage Powerboat Regatta. Contact Teri Hoffman at (518) 371-8683 
August 16 - 18 Clayton, NY Antique Raceboat Regatta. Contact Charlotte Yehle at (315) 686-4104.

ON A SAD NOTE: 
Rudy Gurley from Hampton, VA passed away recently. Rudy’s Comet, A-47 was one of the top 150 cubic inch hydroplanes on the East Coast during the 1960s. Rudy won the Inboard Nationals at St. Petersburg, FL in 1965 with Ronnie Hearn driving. We were lucky to talk with him at the Hampton Boat Racers Reunion this summer. Rudy will be missed.
 

©2002 Tom D'Eath