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| When I bought the Full House Mouse from John Lyle in 1967,
there were three propellers included in the deal: an Oakland Johnson
A Special elephant ear wheel that was good for short courses with tight
turns, a Hi Johnson 8 X 12 & 1/2 that was another good short course
prop, and a Stannus Surfacer that made too much lift. I soon bought
a prop for longer courses, a Cary 8 &1/2 X 13 that I relied on for
most of my racing. In July 1971 Jack Schafer, Jr. told me about
a Crosley engine for sale and mentioned that there were some propellers
for sale also. The seller was Tom West from Orange County.
I got Tom’s phone number and gave him a call. The engine was a basket
case; a racing Crosley that had belonged to Alex Kuroda. There were
no carburetors and only three pistons, but supposedly the engine was otherwise
complete. Included in the deal were four Hi Johnson props in various sizes,
all suitable for a 48 cubic inch or 850 cc hydro. I made an appointment
to meet Tom one evening that same week. Then it dawned on me that
the date agreed on was Elladine’s birthday! What to do?
I decided to make the best of a tricky situation. Elladine has always
preferred going somewhere special to receiving material gifts. The
conversation went something like this:
“Hey, Thursday is your birthday, huh?” “Don’t remind me!” “How about going out for a nice dinner?” “OK! Where are you taking me?” “I was thinking about driving up to Orange County and going to a nice steak house.” “Orange County! What’s going on in Orange County?” “Your birthday, remember?” “Why Orange County?” “Well, there’s a guy with an engine for sale and I’d like to take a look and see what he has.” “Um hmm. Don’t you have enough engines?” “Well, he has some props for sale, too.” “Props don’t take up much space. Are they good props?” “One way to find out. Go look at ‘em.” “If they’re good props you’d better buy them.” So on Elladine’s birthday we drove up to Orange County, bought a basket case Crosley and four good Hi J props for $150, and then went to dinner. “Happy Birthday, Honey.” “You’re welcome!” |
Webmaster Note:
Bob is the current owner of 2 vintage hydroplanes,
Full House
Mouse Y-116 and Hang In There Y-55. Here's a note
from this long time owner/driver of limited class hydroplanes.
"I am writing a book about
my adventures in limited inboard racing. It will be a humorous (I
hope) narrative with plenty of photographs and anecdotes about boats, engines
and engine explosions, people, water snakes, unplanned swimming, etc.
The above story is a true
story. I'll bet there are a lot of racers who have had similar experiences."
©2002 Bob Foley
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