Inboard Drags-Early years

[Tomtall]

A story told by a brother of a early drag boat racer.Good pic's and story @ http://www.hotboat.com/hbcove/42/index.htm

NOTE - Link no longer active!:(

[Tomtall]

Been wondering about that drag boat you saw run that saturday afternoon when you were a kid growing up in California? Well Bob Foley has a few of those boats in his photo album over at "VintageHydroplanes.com"

Click on the link to see them again.:cool: http://www.vintagehydroplanes.com/foley.html
http://www.vintagehydroplanes.com/foley2.html
http://www.vintagehydroplanes.com/foley3.html

[Cameraboy]

Anybody recall a guy named Earl Bachant? Used to race drag boats out of Fresno in the 70's. Had a hard dump. and switched to the land version, wrenched with Ed "the Ace" McCullough for a few years.

[Tomtall]

One of my memories of drivers switching over from Boats to Rails was Eddy Hill. One hell of a Top Fuel driver. Had some wicked fast boats as well.

[Spike Morelli]

Hey Tomtall!
I love the shot of the drag hydro. This boat, "So Long", was a Hallett hydro driven by Tommy Fults,(amongst others), and appears to be racing at Oakland.
The hull still is with us, and is owned today by former Blown Gas Hydro record holding driver and owner, Don Edwards as "Golden Komotion". I could be wrong, but this may very well be the only surviving Hallett drag hydro still with us. I am a friend of Don's and I've seen this boat many times, and it's just plain cool.
Hydros are hard to hide, as they are built for one purpose, however, I wonder how many historic flatbottoms might be sitting in someone's garage somewhere, re-painted and re-powered as a ski-boat, their owners unaware of the boat's history and lineage.............
Spike Morelli

[Skyskier]

One of my memories of drivers switching over from Boats to Rails was Eddy Hill. One hell of a Top Fuel driver. Had some wicked fast boats as well.

I was at LB Marine stadium when Don Prudhome took a ride in a , I believe it was a sanger hydro ? didn't go too good for him :eek: the squirelier that boat got the deeper he got into it till it finally went up & over on him. I think that was his LAST ride on the water 1/4 mile :D

[Tomtall]

Denny - I never new Don tried boat drags. Thanks for the history lesson and welcome to BRF.:cool:

I know when Eddie Hill had his horrible crash in drag boat racing, that made him retire from the sport, he said he reviewed that video a 100 times and said he never did figure out what made him crash.

[Skyskier]

That's my Pop driving boat # 77, built by Ralph "Bunky" Muirhead, Unlimited Marine in Southgate about 1963 maybe 1965. The other boat we THINK is Jake Gilbreath whose son Jerry was a bigtime ocean boat racer. My 'ol man would run his boats in the ski races, the circle ( hot boat class ) at the ski races, the 1/4 mile at Long Beach, drove in the Parker 9 hour one year, the catalina race...... :D Hell, if we were at a lake on vacation, he'd hook me up on the racing ski and go out at dusk just "lookin" for somebody to run off with :D he just LOVES goin fast in a boat. He's 85 yrs old, has a place on the water in Coeur d'Alene Idaho with a Hallett 210 in the slip :eek: and gets REALLY pissed when somebody outruns him :eek: I keep expecting to show up in Idaho every summer and find a full blown BBC in the Hallett :D
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Popboatdrags.jpg

[Tomtall]

Very cool pic. Do you recall what he was running for power in the #77?

[Skyskier]

I think it was his 1st 427 Ford as that seemed to be "THE" powerplant for the ski racing boats. I was talking to the "kids" around the fire satuday nite about my Pop & his pals "racing days". They find it hard to believe that there were "NO" speedshops , per say. that a guy could walk into and "buy" ALL the speed equipt. known to man :confused: My Dad had a buddy that worked for Douglas aircraft as a machinist. I'll NEVER forget how excited the 'ol man got when "Pete the greek" showed up at the house one nite to deliver the new turnbuckles for the cavatation plate on this boat :eek: the ones he made at Douglas aircraft. You COULD have "bought" them I'm sure at that time , BUT these were just a bunch of "racers" building thier stuff in the garage at nite after work :D I know they bought a BUNCH of raw aluminum stock ( my Dad owned a steel biz in Paramount ) and made thier own motor mounts, driveline "tubes" an I don't know what all. Hell, our Dad's even made our 1st waterski's, as there again , there were NO waterski shops around.

[Spike Morelli]

Skyskiier,
Don Prudhomme did infact once try his hand at dragboat racing.
The boat was Rene Andre's, and it was a Hallett blown hydro called "Citation". This took place at Long Beach Marine Stadium on October 25, 1964. They tell me that it was Don's engine builder, Dave Zeuschel, that talked Don into trying dragboat racing. Dave Zeuschel built Prudhomme's dragster engines, as well as many boat racing engines, including "Citation's".
Prudhomme drove the whole quarter mile, actually setting a new BGH record (at that time) of 136.16, the boat flipped and rolled past the lights.
Since the boat was destroyed, the speed couldn't be backed up to make the record official.
Thankfully, Don walked away from the mishap, but he never took the seat of a dragboat again.

I loved the bit about telling the "kids" about going to a speed shop. I used to love to go into the speed shops. Most everything that was for sale was on display. You could touch it, actually see the part you were interested in (as opposed to mail order today). A handfull of speed shops also had a selection of used parts displayed, on consignment. Stuff like drag slicks, intake manifolds, carbs, Moon tanks, etc. You know.
I didn't even have my driver's license yet then, but I knew what I was going to do when I did............................. Spike

[Skyskier]

Well, it's NOT a BBC in his hallett, BUT, ..............my Pop's was at the riverpad in Parker last april, ....I left him there alone for 3 day's, ......he calls an ask's me "ya remember seeing that bitchen lookin Sanger at that shop in Parker (Dragboats unlimited)............he took it for a "test drive" on wednesday, bought it on thursday :D............1976 bubble deck, BBC v-drive, already yanked the engine out for a rebuild, new rudder, coming back down from Idaho 1st week of January,...........we'll be at Billy's flat bottom deal at Needles in Febuary :cool:................just what EVERY 87 yr. old ex-racer needs :D
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/18.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/7-1.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/2-1.jpg
]

[Skyskier]

A couple more pics of the Sanger.....................
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/21.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/16-1.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/31.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd289/skyskier/Boating%20Stuff/33.jpg