My 1st Boat..........

[Jeff Lytle]

1978, just a kid (Remember what Ron said: C Service is for Gentlemen!)

I learned alot in this class----Be on the clock, don't back off, don't get intimidated, and if they wont leave you room at the pin--MAKE ROOM!!

[Jeff Lytle]

Taken at Cardinal Ontario in the St. Lawrence River. We had to stop the races about every hour when a ship came through. 6' swells!! :eek:

That's my Dad on the right, and my best friend Lawrence Theoret who now lives in Austrailia.

[Jeff Lytle]

Man, I did alot of growing up in that class. The boat had the patches and scrapes to prove it too!

I remember being at a race that year, and one of my icons, Todd Brinkman comes walking down the beach and takes a look at my boat. Turns out it was built in 1958 and used to belong to his Grandfather!!

He sold me some Smith props that day that turned that old DeSilva from a 4 - 5th place finisher, into a consistant winner again.

[Ron Hill]

"MAKE ROOM" well with the 12" rule for side height, a GENTLEMAN could MAKE ROOM and there would be no harm...

Give us the details on the DeSilva....and Speedtwin.... Let me guess...13' Desilva, 24" bottom, 12 X 14 OJ propeller... NOT a Tommy Newton motor!!!

ADD: Let me guess how you start the motor...


1. Wrap the "COCKING CHORD" (Starting rope).
2. Tickle the float needle, choke the carb.
3. Rock the motor 14 times.
4. Check the spark handle, just right, too much sprak will kick you,
5. Pull up against compression, turn on switch.
6. Crank...

Hang on!!

[Jeff Lytle]

Good for you Ron---
what more needs to be said!!

I ended up selling that boat to Karl Williams who took it apart to make patterns for other boats he was building. When he and the Antique Outboard Racing Assn. were the hot ticket in town, he was supplying a new boat, a C Service Evinrude engine-lower unit and prop, APBA membership, and 5 Gallons of fuel for under $1000.00. What a GREAT what way to attract new blood. Sadly, from what I heard, AORA / APBA politics ended the AORA.

When I ran C Service, there were 3 main hotbeds for the class; Ontario- Canada, Michigan, and Washington State. We in Canada used to have at least 12 per heat on a regular basis, and the same when I used to run in Michigan.
We Canadians had a bit of a reputation there. I had heard they thought we were a bit soft and would move when pushed. When I first raced there, I was warned by more than 1 person to "Watch out for so and so" and "Whatever you do, don't give so and so an overlap" and things like that.

Again, not wanting to be intimidated, I just went about my business and was there to race.
The 1st heat was interesting..........I used a stopwatch to time my starts. It made alot of my competitors snicker, but it was deadly accurate when used properly.
I was watching the clock, and not the boats around me--They were ALL early, and I knew it. The water is rough as hell when you are last in a heat of 12 C Service Runabouts, but I won the heat, and it was worth the beating.

The 2nd heat was the same, but in reverse--I had the clean water this time. They were early again--all lined up and literally chugging to the line. I heald back and waited for the right time to commit for the start and hit the line wide open. There wasn't much room to split the line, so I went for the biggest hole I could find. One of the drivers I flashed past (If you can call 50+ MPH a flash!) was Henry Wagner, and he was one of the guys I was told would run me down if I got in his way!!.
He came to me after the race, and shook my hand. Told me I won with my head----That meant alot to me coming from him----I was 17.

It was always a thrill running there. You could look up or down the beach in either direction and see wall to wall Evinrudes on both hydros and runabouts.

My engine was built by Stan G. MacDonald from Maxville Ontario, Canada.

[Jeff Lytle]

HEy Ron---You for got 1 thing !! :D

ADD: Let me guess how you start the motor...


1. Wrap the "COCKING CHORD" (Starting rope).
2. Tickle the float needle, choke the carb.
3. Rock the motor 14 times.
4. Check the spark handle, just right, too much sprak will kick you,
5. Pull up against compression, turn on switch.
6. Crank...
7.BLOW OUT FLAMES !!

[Ron Hill]

You only get flames. if you've turned he switch on, and don't hold the engine agains compression. Your cyclinders are charged, if you allow the engine to rotate backward, the exhaust posrts open and the fuel ignites when the air comes in the exhaust posts.

Forgot one more thing, make sure the fuel is turned on.

My brother gave me those instructions in starting his six stud....it always started on the first pull...we oftern wondered what we would have done had she not started...but she always started on the first pull...

Here's a picture of Junior and the Six Stud...Really, it was my dad's motor...

[Jeff Lytle]

"MAKE ROOM" well with the 12" rule for side height, a GENTLEMAN could MAKE ROOM and there would be no harm...


After winning Canadian High Point, I decided to get a KR DeSilva........1st one in Canada, so Ralph said. Took a bit of time to set it up as it was completely different than the conventional runabout--alot lighter too! :)

The very 1st heat I ran it, we were up to the old game of "Push and shove" in the 1st corner. KR's were not built as strong on the sides as the staight sided cousins so I learned. It carried the duct tape scars with her the rest of the time I owned it.
I had to modify my 1st turn driving style after getting that boat-----No Secret!! Get to the 1st turn 1st!! :D

[Jeff Lytle]

Well, this was taken YEARS after I owned it. I sold it to a cottage racer when I was 1st getting into hydros. It turns out--It was discovered by the same man I sold my engines to about the same time. His name is Ken Kirk,( on the right) and he totally rebuilt her stem to stern. He called me up and asked if I would like to take her for a spin in Clayton N.Y at the Antique Raceboat Ragatta.

Man..........I was sore for days!!

[Jeff Lytle]

That's my Dad in the white hat.

[Jeff Lytle]

All went well....same starting sequence I had learned years before (NO flames though!)

[Jeff Lytle]

UNTIL THIS !!

I had forgotten how rough the St. Lawrence could get. It was all I could do to hang on. I took it real easy, not wanting to break a boat that no longer belonged to me.

[Jeff Lytle]

Here I am telling an ASR driver not to bother going out.

"The rollers are THIS high"