Ron Hill
06-10-2007, 10:55 AM
In 1959, I managed to finish second in DU at the Seattle Stock Outboard Nationals, I was 15. Most Region 12 Boat Racers, thought I'd won the 1959 Nationals...but I won't go there, now. I had finished second with a borrowed prop. It was Charlie Slough's Kamic, and Cliff Bedford had "Pounded" a little speed into just before the final heat...we never tested it, after the "Pounding" but assumed it helped as I was very fast...
In the winter of 1959-60, Bob Martin was race Cahirman of SCOA. He worked with the "Land Swindlers" at Salton Sea. Bob got some "SERIOUS" money, at the time, to put on races during the winter months at Salton Sea. The "Land Swindlers" liked to bring bus loads of people from LA, wine them, dine them and sell them a LOT. Part of their sales and marketing plans, was to show these LA people that Salton Sea had "ACTION" all the time and was "GROWING".
The races weren't really big, but the club made good money on each event, and by making money racing at Salton Sea, SCOA had money to sponsor other races. The races were always on Sunday, so Saturday was testing all day...and if the sea was calm, she was "Flat as a Nun's a Ch&%t" and that's pretty flat...
So, we'd "TEST". The Old Man ASSUMED we could not BORROW PROPS and win Nationals, so he bought ONE, $32 Kamic, from Mercury. We had NO CLUE how fast DU's were supposed to go, as we'd never used a speedometer in a DU. We knew what a CU should go, as I'd raced CU all 1959.
In 1960, they'd passed a rule that a DU driver had to be 16, and I would not be 16 until April, so, we weren't even sure I could race DU again until April....But had been racing until were heard from APBA.
So, we had been borrowing Ted May's " CUT CARY" (The reason it was CUT, was that Ted had manged to run a ground, one of the thousand of times he did this...). (Ted never seems to realize that just because there was water, the water might not be deep enough to run a boat in...). D Hydro wheel and see how fast it would go...I had borrowed it for the last two or three races, which I had won, a string of DU races that lasted 56 in a row....in Region 12...
My dad wasn't going to pay DeSilva's NO 90 DOLLARS for a Cary, too much money he said....On a SIDE BAR HERE!!! Cary props had an unconditional guarantee because they were "hand forged"... What Cary didn't think of, was Ted May thinning them down like paper, rechroming them, and when a ear came off, going and getting another one....Another story, for another day...
Anyway, Ted's Cut Cary went about 58 MPH. So, we figured, "Hell, we won last month, 58 MPH must be pretty good..." So, we put on this new Kamic and she went 55....MPH
Now, my OLD MAN wasn't one to admit defeat easily, but he did know that 58 was much faster than 55, considering my CU would go 53-54 MPH...
So, my dad smeared "LIMPSTICK" on the blades. It was Ted May's idea, he said we could see where the prop was working...He told us not to use "Non Smear" lipstick or you'd have to run 50 laps before it wore off.. He said, "Always use the cheap lipstick."
Ted May was famous for stories, most didn't seem true at all,, but they were so good we didn't care if they were true or not. This "LIPSTICK" on the blades seemed like another "TED MAY STORY"...But the Old Man couldn't return his $32 Kamic now that it was used and coming up with $90 dollars for a Cary seemed "Out of the question"...NINETY DOLLAR FOR A PROP????
So, we borrowed some "Cheap" lipstick from Mary Anderson, best looking woman in the pits, but she admitted to wearing "Cheap" lipstick...
Well, I come in an the lip stick is gone, except all around the trailing edges. Ted's got this five pound block of lead and a brass hammer. He and my dad, talk this over and they start pounding on the trailing edges of this prop....A lot of "GOOD CLEAN CUSSING" going on and I stay away...
Finally, they yell, "Ronnie, get your jacket and helmet on." Now boat driving, I like...
Out I go, I think I see 57 MPH...but had run for about five miles, in the smooth water right on the shoreline....So, I come back and say, "56 for sure, maybe 57...." Hell, of course, no one put lipstick on the prop....
So, we quickly smear on lipstick and I take a "Quick" run and "Bump" 57 on the Keller....
We lift my DU out of the water...I weigh about 165 at the time, DU weight is like 550 or 575...and taking the boat out damn nears kills Ted May, me and the Old Man...We ALL look at the prop, and "DAMN" still a lot of lipstick on the trailing edges...
Ted and My Dad, go to work pounding on the blades...Now they are using Car Keys to see what they are doing...as gaining even an HONEST mile per hour is BIG TIME...This time, we smear the prop with lipstick and I don't get far and see 58 MPH, now I'm thinking, "Damn, Ted May and his ideas.."
We lift that DU out again, and there is still quite of bit of lipstick left on the wheel...I tell The OLD AMN, give me another mile and we'll have "US" a prop...Ted and my dad always worked together with a "LOVE HATE" relationship....A lot of Cussing, as now Ted and My dad have become "EXPERTS"....
To make a LONG STORY SHORTER, it is near dark, and I see 62 MPH... Then, my dad, knocked it down to 61.....he said he could put the mile back...I asked him if he was sure...As I said 61 was DAMN GOOD and I could win with EASE...He said he could put it back... And he did...As the sun was going down, that March Saturday, I came in with a 62 MPH Keller reading...
7 MPH increase with a day of HAMMERING.... That night, we were staying the Hoffbrau House, Ted and My dad tried to pound on Ted's "CUT Cary"...Ted and My dad, are down of the floor of this Hotel pounding on this CARY PROP and the SUMBITCH won't bend.... (No one thought of using a torch on a props...They must of hammered on Ted's "CUT CARY" for two hourss, they were mashing fingers, dirtying up towels and cussing like you'll seldom hear... But they never got the Cary to bend...
I've taken some pictures of this prop that I set fastest time in DU (Won the Pat Ryan Trophy for fast DU time at the Nationals)..at the 1960 Beloit, Wisconsin Stock Outboard Nationals...I won the first heat and lead four restarts, before FINALLY being DQ's for gun jumping, Dean Chenoweth said I started 9th...
I sold this prop to John York when he ran C Runabout, I got this prop back for John York last year...If you look at the trailing edges you can see how uneven they are, but this uneveneess is due to pounding on the prop with a small brass hammer...This prop is 48 years old...The red is like the lipstick was then...
NOTE: My dad slotted this prop to run on a Yamato, you can see his stamp on the prop...
Last Add: That Salton Sea day, changed my life forever, as it became clear to me, that propellers were not "MAGIC", that "Magic" was in the eye of the man (men) with the hammer...Thanks Ted and dad...
In the winter of 1959-60, Bob Martin was race Cahirman of SCOA. He worked with the "Land Swindlers" at Salton Sea. Bob got some "SERIOUS" money, at the time, to put on races during the winter months at Salton Sea. The "Land Swindlers" liked to bring bus loads of people from LA, wine them, dine them and sell them a LOT. Part of their sales and marketing plans, was to show these LA people that Salton Sea had "ACTION" all the time and was "GROWING".
The races weren't really big, but the club made good money on each event, and by making money racing at Salton Sea, SCOA had money to sponsor other races. The races were always on Sunday, so Saturday was testing all day...and if the sea was calm, she was "Flat as a Nun's a Ch&%t" and that's pretty flat...
So, we'd "TEST". The Old Man ASSUMED we could not BORROW PROPS and win Nationals, so he bought ONE, $32 Kamic, from Mercury. We had NO CLUE how fast DU's were supposed to go, as we'd never used a speedometer in a DU. We knew what a CU should go, as I'd raced CU all 1959.
In 1960, they'd passed a rule that a DU driver had to be 16, and I would not be 16 until April, so, we weren't even sure I could race DU again until April....But had been racing until were heard from APBA.
So, we had been borrowing Ted May's " CUT CARY" (The reason it was CUT, was that Ted had manged to run a ground, one of the thousand of times he did this...). (Ted never seems to realize that just because there was water, the water might not be deep enough to run a boat in...). D Hydro wheel and see how fast it would go...I had borrowed it for the last two or three races, which I had won, a string of DU races that lasted 56 in a row....in Region 12...
My dad wasn't going to pay DeSilva's NO 90 DOLLARS for a Cary, too much money he said....On a SIDE BAR HERE!!! Cary props had an unconditional guarantee because they were "hand forged"... What Cary didn't think of, was Ted May thinning them down like paper, rechroming them, and when a ear came off, going and getting another one....Another story, for another day...
Anyway, Ted's Cut Cary went about 58 MPH. So, we figured, "Hell, we won last month, 58 MPH must be pretty good..." So, we put on this new Kamic and she went 55....MPH
Now, my OLD MAN wasn't one to admit defeat easily, but he did know that 58 was much faster than 55, considering my CU would go 53-54 MPH...
So, my dad smeared "LIMPSTICK" on the blades. It was Ted May's idea, he said we could see where the prop was working...He told us not to use "Non Smear" lipstick or you'd have to run 50 laps before it wore off.. He said, "Always use the cheap lipstick."
Ted May was famous for stories, most didn't seem true at all,, but they were so good we didn't care if they were true or not. This "LIPSTICK" on the blades seemed like another "TED MAY STORY"...But the Old Man couldn't return his $32 Kamic now that it was used and coming up with $90 dollars for a Cary seemed "Out of the question"...NINETY DOLLAR FOR A PROP????
So, we borrowed some "Cheap" lipstick from Mary Anderson, best looking woman in the pits, but she admitted to wearing "Cheap" lipstick...
Well, I come in an the lip stick is gone, except all around the trailing edges. Ted's got this five pound block of lead and a brass hammer. He and my dad, talk this over and they start pounding on the trailing edges of this prop....A lot of "GOOD CLEAN CUSSING" going on and I stay away...
Finally, they yell, "Ronnie, get your jacket and helmet on." Now boat driving, I like...
Out I go, I think I see 57 MPH...but had run for about five miles, in the smooth water right on the shoreline....So, I come back and say, "56 for sure, maybe 57...." Hell, of course, no one put lipstick on the prop....
So, we quickly smear on lipstick and I take a "Quick" run and "Bump" 57 on the Keller....
We lift my DU out of the water...I weigh about 165 at the time, DU weight is like 550 or 575...and taking the boat out damn nears kills Ted May, me and the Old Man...We ALL look at the prop, and "DAMN" still a lot of lipstick on the trailing edges...
Ted and My Dad, go to work pounding on the blades...Now they are using Car Keys to see what they are doing...as gaining even an HONEST mile per hour is BIG TIME...This time, we smear the prop with lipstick and I don't get far and see 58 MPH, now I'm thinking, "Damn, Ted May and his ideas.."
We lift that DU out again, and there is still quite of bit of lipstick left on the wheel...I tell The OLD AMN, give me another mile and we'll have "US" a prop...Ted and my dad always worked together with a "LOVE HATE" relationship....A lot of Cussing, as now Ted and My dad have become "EXPERTS"....
To make a LONG STORY SHORTER, it is near dark, and I see 62 MPH... Then, my dad, knocked it down to 61.....he said he could put the mile back...I asked him if he was sure...As I said 61 was DAMN GOOD and I could win with EASE...He said he could put it back... And he did...As the sun was going down, that March Saturday, I came in with a 62 MPH Keller reading...
7 MPH increase with a day of HAMMERING.... That night, we were staying the Hoffbrau House, Ted and My dad tried to pound on Ted's "CUT Cary"...Ted and My dad, are down of the floor of this Hotel pounding on this CARY PROP and the SUMBITCH won't bend.... (No one thought of using a torch on a props...They must of hammered on Ted's "CUT CARY" for two hourss, they were mashing fingers, dirtying up towels and cussing like you'll seldom hear... But they never got the Cary to bend...
I've taken some pictures of this prop that I set fastest time in DU (Won the Pat Ryan Trophy for fast DU time at the Nationals)..at the 1960 Beloit, Wisconsin Stock Outboard Nationals...I won the first heat and lead four restarts, before FINALLY being DQ's for gun jumping, Dean Chenoweth said I started 9th...
I sold this prop to John York when he ran C Runabout, I got this prop back for John York last year...If you look at the trailing edges you can see how uneven they are, but this uneveneess is due to pounding on the prop with a small brass hammer...This prop is 48 years old...The red is like the lipstick was then...
NOTE: My dad slotted this prop to run on a Yamato, you can see his stamp on the prop...
Last Add: That Salton Sea day, changed my life forever, as it became clear to me, that propellers were not "MAGIC", that "Magic" was in the eye of the man (men) with the hammer...Thanks Ted and dad...