ON A SAD NOTE:
Marion Beaver of Parker, Arizona passed away June 21, 2007 at age 90. Marion was PODH class National Champion, 1952-58; ERR National Champion 1955 and 225 hydro National Champion, 1959-60, 1962 and 1964. He set eight APBA world records. His “Arizona Navy” boats included the 225’s, UNCLE GUMMY, GUMMY’S GHOST and AWFUL GUMMY. Marion Beaver co-founded the Parker 9-Hour Enduro in 1963, was inducted into the Gulf Marine Racing Hall of Fame in 1965 and into the APBA Honor Squadron, in 1968. The family requests donations be made to: Town of Parker Centennial, Town of Parker, P.O.Box 609, Parker, AZ.85344. Godspeed, Marion. 
 

BOB SILVA’S WEST COAST REPORT:
The following is a story written by Bill Walti for the California Speedboat Association’s July 2007 vintage newsletter. Bob Boehm Jr. dominated the 136 class record books from 1955-58. Today the 136 class is known as 2.5 Litre stock.

Bob Boehm Jr.and JERKY
136 cu. in. hydroplane sensation of the 1950’s
by BILL WALTI

In 1955, Bob Boehm and his 1952 Rich Hallett built hydro “Jerky”, named after a family pet, a white tail buck, raced under the affiliation of the California Speedboat Association. Jerky was the hottest 136 hydroplane in the USA. The 13’6”, V-8 60 Ford flathead engine powered racer won 15 races and 23 of the heats she entered, usually by large margins. Every race had 11 or 12 competitors in the field, which included such stars as: Tommy Caldwell, San Mateo, CA in “Blue Blazes”; super builder—racer, Rich Hallett, Downey, CA in “Holiday”; Oakland’s Gene Souza driving “Scatterbrain”; Morey Hale of Modesto in “Joker” and Allan Ford of Hayward, CA in “Nonchalant II”, (who would set records driving “Lanky” after Boehm retired). Bob won the High Point Championship, was ranked third on the APBA All America Racing Team and raised the straightaway record to 81.271 mph. in that year. Before his racing career was over, he set six world records: three 5-mile competition and three 1-mile straightaway records. In 1955 he towed Jerky 15,000 miles to racing waters at Hart Memorial Park, Bakersfield; Oakland’s Lake Merritt and Airport Channel; Long Beach Marine Stadium; Lake Washington, Seattle, and Lake Washington, Sacramento; Lake Tahoe; Lake Yosemite; Turlock Lake; Lake Millerton; Newport Harbor and the Salton Sea. When asked if he had a secret to winning he said, “I filed my spark plugs and no one knew.” Today that comment seems humorous, as every racer squares off electrodes and indexes plugs. Did Bob use some other plug shaping technique? There’s no one left to tell. 

Bob’s parade-leading wins annoyed his fellow racers so much that the 136 owners took turns putting up protest money. They couldn’t believe a stock class racer could win by such a large margin and “inspection attacks” found a tarp spread on the ground where Boehm removed and placed every part of his V8-60. No infraction was ever found.” If there was a secret, it would have to be his meticulous preparation and TLC.  His crew included his brother-in-law, Laurel Mussellman, of whom Bob said, “Laurel was the best at figuring out how to make a boat go faster,” and Frank Palmieri, a wizard with carburetion and ignition. “He was the best in California,” Bob said.

But there were other “secrets” in his preparation. Boehm was fanatical about reducing weight. He didn’t use a speedometer because it would add weight, and because “I didn’t want to know how fast I was going.” He removed the Hallett tailpiece-cowling to further reduce weight and he faithfully kept his own weight between 172 and 178 pounds during racing season. He also reduced his liquid intake a day before each race. He moved the engine and seat several times to get perfect balance. The heads were milled at an angle to increase compression. Bob was also highly skilled with machinery and tools. He designed and made all the hardware that hadn’t come with the hull.

His sister, Florence Mussellman, who went to all of Bob’s races, recalled that her future husband, Laurel Mussellman, and Bob spent hours in the barn-boat house every night, talking and tinkering with ways to make the boat go faster. They either “shaved” or “added a wedge” to the sponsons, but she couldn’t remember which.

The straightaway propeller was a two-blade 10x18 Pitchometer with a hook on the trailing edge. The last 1/4” of the prop’s trailing edge was bent at 90 degrees to improve out-of-hole acceleration.  Frank Palmieri said Bob used several props - Hi Johnson and Johnson Oakland (O.Js. were an outboard design that worked well in 5-mile competition) and that Bob reworked them: There was also someone in San Jose who built props for Bob, but Frank couldn’t recall who that was. 

Besides his immaculate preparation, Bob was a top driver. He said, “I was blessed with unusually good depth perception.” His timing was precise. Morey Hale remembers, “He almost always got the jump on the field, and when he didn’t he just picked us off, one by one.”

At a race in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Bob heard a rumor that the field of 136 hydro racers planned to box him in at the start. Instead of trying to win the start, his sister Florence said, “He hung back. After getting a long, late run at the start he still was able to pass the field with a flying start.”
 
At another race in the Valley, the field crowded Boehm into a grass and tule–filled outcropping that forced him to slow for the start. Bob’s sister recalls, “No one could find Bob, but grass and tules were flying everywhere in a plume of water, as he ran through the marsh to beat the field to the start again.” Boehm said, “You haven’t lived until you’ve taken chances to win.”

Bob christened Jerky at Clear Lake, CA in 1953 and sold the boat and retired from boat racing in 1958. He raced only six years but left a lasting legacy. Could Jerky have gone faster? It did, but not officially, and it was never documented. 

The town of Healdsburg, CA remembers Bob and cherishes his memory. An engraved pedestal stands in Healdsburg, California’s Plaza Square to honor the town’s five Hall of Fame athletes that includes four track stars dating to back to 1919 and Bob Boehm Jr., hydroplane champion.
Bob Boehm Jr. ? June 25, 1918- November 7, 2001
 

VINTAGE HOT BOAT OF THE MONTH This classic Kent Hitchcock photo captures a dramatic moment in 136 ci. class history, during the 1954 Salton Sea regatta. New up and comer, Bob Boehm Jr. driving JERKY 50-S, passes a determined Tommy Caldwell in BLUE BLAZES 37-S, as the two drivers battle down the front stretch. Caldwell and Boehm traded the 136 class 1-mile straightaway record during the ’54 season, all the while dueling for heat wins, up and down the West Coast. Caldwell sold BLUE BLAZES to Maryland’s Don DeVault, who went on to win the 1955 Nationals. Boehm would continue to set world records with the JERKY through the ’57 season. (Photo courtesy of Bob Boehm III).   ©2007 Bob Silva & Bill John III