Miss Peg
Saint Petersburg, Florida 1968
 

Miss Peg
Southland Sweepstakes Regatta
Saint Petersburg, Florida 1971 
 

Above 2 photos  - courtesy of Dennis Bowsher @ Roostertail website.
 
 
 

Jack Hines traveled to the deep south to acquire this hydroplane. 
He had to cut a path through the swamp to get the hydroplane out. 
The majority of the hardware came with the hydroplane. 
Note the sponsons rotted and fell off the hull.

THE REBUILD

The start of every vintage hydroplane starts with making the two motor stringers. 
After cutting and final shaping they are ready and become the backbone for every hydroplane. 
Jack was fortunate to get blueprints from the former owner.
 

The frames are bolted to the motor stringers and the skeleton of the hull is becoming apparent.
 
 

All hydroplanes are started out by building them upside down. 
The board Jack is drilling through looks like a setup piece of lumber for installation of the bolts that attach the frame to the stringers. 
Careful measurements are marked on the motor stringers for proper placement of the frames.
 
 

Looks like a couple of more frames to finish before installation can begin for the keel and battens.
 
 

Quality work is displayed is this closeup photo.
 
 

Clamping the chines.
 
 

The chine framing is in place.
 
 

A trial fit of the shear batten to locate the mortises that will be cut into each of the twelve frames. 
These mortises have two angles to them, reflecting both the vertical and horizontal curvature of the hull.
 
 

This view shows the keel  and bottom battens fitted to the transom.
 
 

The curved nose piece, laminated from three sections of marine plywood with keel and battens mortised in place.
 
 
 

Bottom framing is now complete and the hull is ready for its first turn over.
 
 

After some modification to the jig, the boat is turned upright and placed back on the jig. 
Deck beams and shears are to be fitted next.



A front shot of Miss Peg. It looks like Jack is almost ready to start fitting some of the plywood skins to this famed F-Class hydroplane. 
This Ron Jones design is simply in a class by itself. Very clean lines and smooth features is going to make this hydroplane quite special. 
I'm sure Mr. Jones would be very complimentary of the fine workmanship being put into this (new) vintage hydroplane. 
Below are more photos and text sent in by Jack.
 
 

Installing the front deck battens. 
Where the battens intersect the nose there is a compound angle that becomes more severe as you move away from the center of the boat. 
You also have to be sure the taper at the nose is even so the finished nose will be of an even thickness all the way across. 
I started with the short pieces to get the feel of fitting everything up. 
The two outside battens run almost the full length of the boat and are quite flimsy...a challenge in patience!
 
 

I wanted to include some wood from the original boat and have it be visible. 
Found some stringer parts that weren't too horrible. 
Denailed, planed them down, and bonded a piece of 3mm plywood to the back. 
These formed the longitudinal frames of the driver's and engine compartment.
 

I started to install the deck beams perpendicular to the bottom of the boat, this would have required fairing each batten off along its entire length. 
Both a lot of  unnecessary work and  weakening the batten. 
This tool allows marking of the mortise at 90 degrees to the tangent of the decks curvature, and to the correct depth. 
The adjustable part is about 1/32" narrower than the batten to allow fitting. 
A few strokes with a file and you are good to go. 
Depending on which end of the boat that you are working on, the mortise bottoms are tapered to reflect the deck curvature.
 
 

I was having trouble visualizing where the deck battens would run out through the nosepiece, so I made this notched piece of plywood. 
You bend the batten down until it fits against the nose, then you can measure up from the underside to calculate the finished thickness of the nose. 
To adjust, slide the batten fore and aft until you get the thickness desired.
 
 

I have finished fairing the left non-trip and most of the right. 
The next step is to get batten bonded, and finish up on the fairing and get some plywood cut.
 
 

There is a half batten on the right side that extends from the transom, forward 3 frames. 
This wasn't on the plan, but is on the boat.
 
 

Last weekend I managed to complete the right side plywood and rough cut the first bottom piece.
 

As you can see the aluminum has been fitted to the transom. 
I wanted to put this on first so the side plywood would cover the edge...it makes for a more finished look.
 

I decided to install the bottom of the hull in three sections. We had 10' sheets of plywood but either way the joint came in at the hull break. The length of this hydroplane is 19'. I flow coated the back of all the plywood first with a sanding sealer to smooth out the rough spots. I installed the rear sheet, about 6' long, first.  Using a slow hardener, I barely had enough time to get all surfaces coated before the resin started getting too sticky to bond well.                The next sheet was a full sized one and posed the intimidating problem of how to get all the surfaces coated in time.  Wasted quite a bit of time thinking about a solution.  Finally.......went with an extra slow hardener, turned the heat off in the shop and got a gang together. It went well, the only problem was not being able to clean up the squeeze out.                    The nose shown here after notching out for the sponson shear, went on without a hitch.                               Sanding, sanding, and more sanding. Plugged all the staple holes with resin mixed with plywood sawdust.               I blocked sanded down some variations at the seams. On one particular high spot, I used the belt (gouge) sander......never again!!! Continued on using only elbow grease. After the sanding work was completed, I applied two coats of resin to all surfaces after sucking up all the dust and wiping down with a tack cloth.               Gathered up the gang again and lifted the hull off its fixture and carried it outside. We built temporary supports on the jig to support the afterplane, carried the boat back in and set her down. Other supports were fitted to hold up the nose. We made everything for temporary use because the hull will have to be turned again to build the sponsons.        This has been the hold up, no sponson design that reflects those on the boat in 1968.  We are working to resolve this, hopefully after the first of the year. So...currently the plan is to clean up the inside, install engine compartment hardware, lifting rings, and transom/strut/rudder supports.

After turning the boat over last December 2001, the first order of business was to sand away the squeeze out left from bonding the bottom plywood. This turned out to be a larger job than I had planned, considering there are 16 battens across the bottom!! Even after using an extra slow hardener, couldn’t get it all removed before curing. Splitting time up between sanding; the engine compartment metal was cleaned up, new lifting eyes machined and all bonded into the hull.    The original boat had a steel rudder and strut reinforcement that was too badly rusted to reuse. I made up a new one from some aluminum plate. The welding didn’t go too good and the whole thing was badly distorted, I’ll have to cut it apart and find a better welder. Steering box was rebuilt and the other metal parts were made ready to install.   The entire hull was cleaned and wiped down; two coats of CPES were applied to seal everything up. This sealer really soaks into the wood, especially on the end grain. It works the same as an epoxy primer and is compatible with varnish or other epoxy surface finishes. CPES is a solvent based product so make sure a respirator is used.     The sponsons have been a major question mark since this project was started. They had completely rotted off the boat, and had been modified from the original design about 1967. After exhausting sources from former crew members, Ray Dong agreed to meet with Ron Jones Sr.  Several people had stated that the ’67 sponsons were very similar to those on the early Jones cabovers. Ron’s thoughts and recollections were noted. This information and data from plans were fed into a computer by Randy Linn (Linn Racing) and we had a design. Major changes were in dihedral and angle of attack. The longitudinal step in the running surface was also eliminated. Hindsight wise, building frames directly from this information isn’t the best way to go. Building frames from some inexpensive material and mocking them up on the boat would have saved time, money and aggravation. There were problems getting a fair line on the shear, several frames had to be adjusted to correct the line. I now have a large expensive pile of useless frames!!    The last two frames were bonded to an aluminum pan to carry the loads back into the hull. Laminated the shear batten in three pieces, one 3/4 piece of lumber wouldn’t make the curve at the nose without breaking. I was glad that the boat was right side, up made the job of fastening the frames easier and also visualizing the shear batten line.     December 5 was turn over day. This went pretty good considering an eight foot wide boat in a nine foot high garage!! It took four of us with the help of an overhead hoist. She went back on the original jig.       Frames were faired as the rear 32 inches is perfectly flat and to allow full contact with battens as they curve to the bow. Sponson battens are being installed in this view. Again the battens were split lengthwise into two ¾ square pieces to allow for the twist as they head to the front. No permanent fasteners were used. Screws that run thru the aluminum runner and plywood into the framing will be installed later. It’s difficult to visualize how the running surface and side of the sponson run out into the nose of the boat. I positioned the bottom shear where it looked right. Later, had to cut it loose and reposition at the bow. Only one side of boat was built at a time to avoid multiple mistakes.   Started fairing the side of sponson from rear carrying it forward, the running surface was done by the same method. I think it gives a sight line and a flat surface to work from. A long straightedge helps a lot.   The air trap lumber was fitted and bonded in, followed by its 6mm plywood facing. Scribing and fitting these pieces to the bottom profile of the boat took quite some time. The side plywood was roughed in and bonded, screws were removed just before the epoxy cured…don’t get caught sleeping!!  A final fairing of the running surface and the deck shear and we’re ready for the running surface. Planning on framing other sponson before covering this one, will be able to transfer dimensions etc.   Motor is also being prepared.......more to follow.

The rudder being machined.       Most of the great photos of this project have shot, by none other than the Master himself,  Phil Kunz, who has been photographically documenting the entire rebuild of the Miss Peg. Thanks for all the wonderful pictures!   After a painstaking rebuild of the entire boat in Dayton, Ohio, Jack traveled to Lake Palourde in Morgan City, Louisiana in July 2013, where the Miss Peg ran many races during its career under all its different names - Gun Shy, Tin Horn, Miss Peg, Delta Lady. A fitting tribute to have the boat's first run at its most raced venue. Those involved with the boat by incarnation were present - Gun Shy: Ennie Argence, Richard Landaiche (nephew to Ennie), Roy Wilson Jr. (Sr.) drove after Ennie hurt. Tin Horn: Jerry Bile son of Harry (owner),  Clayton Boudreaux driver.  Miss Peg: Pat Buntin Miley (Bill's wife), Sean Buntin (son), Damon King (daughter), Joey Nolan (Joe Nolan Sr. father crew), Denver Ray Mut ( Melvin Mut father crew), Kip Fabre' (son of engine builder Cliff), Jean Talliac (driver after Bill), Larry Farris (son of owner Lawrence).  Gun Shy II: Robert and Mike Herrington (owners/driver).  Delta Lady: Joyce Edmonston (wife of owner Joe?). Click here to view a 30 second (18 MB) video clip OR click here to view the same clip in HD (55MB) from a pass at New Martinsville, WV in 2013. You will need Windows Media Player. If you have any information, home movies or photographs on his hydroplane, please email Jack (Dayton, Ohio) © Jack Hines Back to the boats