Here is the June 1960 edition of Roostertail
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Here is the June 1960 edition of Roostertail
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Upon reading the story on page 3 about John Dortch I have a questiion , when did the kill switch become mandatory on all motors ? One more question as well , what was the difference between C runabout and C - 1 runabout ?
Back in those days, CRunabout and hydro were the PR engines or Merc and Konigs. The C-1 class was the Evinrude Speeditwins or P50s.
Dale, many thanks for posting the Rooster Tail. Wish I still had all my copies and the Propeller magazine also. A lot of racing history. Many names I either knew or raced against.
Same goes for me Al. I am amazed about how many guys I know were racing so long before I started. Johnny and Liz Dortch became dear friends of me and my Dad and spent a number of nights staying at my Dad's place. We talked some boat racing, but mainly we just talked about other common things we liked, laughed about, and had some good dinners. Johnny never talked about the incident with the throttle, or how many races he had won before we met. Glad to read that piece, and it goes to show that Johnny Dortch, though a Midwesterner, had the Code of the West. Do what's right and walk away.
As far as the kill switch goes Dale, have to look at some rules. Didn't take effect here or overseas at the same time, but it was within a few years of each other. Have to look at the first rule I remember, but need to go back and see what it said. It was NOA, and the best I remember was that it stated that there must be a means to kill the ignition if a driver left the boat. In other words, something attached to the driver that was also spliced into the ignition. There was no one making such a device at the time, and so everyone made up their own system. I made one that worked the first time I used it. This was in 1966.
Later on we started racing APBA. Don't know exactly what year the mandated the kill switch, but by then I had perfected mine to a totally different system that worked very good. This was 1972. UIM had put in the same rule also, but I am not sure when. Must be along the same time line, because the next year after I had my system worked out, Dieter Konig had the best kill button made. Simple to attach, no hangups, worked perfectly every time. In fact would kill the motor if you bounced too high off the deck{which I did }. That would have been in the same time frame of 1972 Europe..1973 USA. That's just my recollection Dale. Rule books can tell you when it went into effect, I just remember about when we did it.
Here is the July 1960 edition.
Here is the August 1960 edition
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Here is the October 1960 edition that contains the results of the World Championships.
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Good stuff Dale. First....I raced against Dick Davidson in California in 1969. I don't recall Dick ever running in NOA in the East. So I didn't know who he was until Ken and Gloria Steelman started sending me their publication and I read about him in Powerboat. Never met him except passing in boats with our helmets on. The article about Clayton Elmer marrying Doris was very special. It turned out that my very first Pro race where I actually got a starting flag with alky burning motors, we were pitted next to Clayton and Jack Chance. We happened to hook up on our first race, and have been friends ever since. A great and lasting friendship. Clayton taught me a lot.
Here is the January 1961 edition
Taken from the 1954 NOA rules book
Here is the March 1961 edition.
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Here is the May 1961 edition
9 - 16
May 1961 - page 13 - North South boxscore - the name Doug Earnhardt - any relation to the stock car Earnhardt family ??
not sure dad would bumbled something watching nascar.it is not a uncommon name in sc and nc
Here is the August 1961 issue.
pages 9 - 12
Here is the November 1961 edition which contains the recap of all 3 NOA National & World Championship events. The 1961 NOA championship from St Paul MN was shown on CBS television.
Pages 9 - 16.
I love the comment by Art Pugh in his For Sale ad in the Tradin' Post on page 14 but probably not the best endorsement for the Swift boat company !! His quote " I cannot catch Dub Parker running a Swift ." That would make me want to buy the boat , not.
Nov. 1961 - Page 5...A name from my past. Joe Maltba, Middleton Wisconsin.
Somewhere around 1956, my parents took the family of then five kids on vacation. We were going up North in Wisconsin to camp out for a week. Half way there from home in Chicago my dad missed a turn on a two lane highway and rolled over the car end over end. The car roof was flatten and the windshield busted out. For the family a few busted bones and such. My dad got the car running again and we were able to drive back home. Dad still had a week of vacation left, so a WWII war buddy offered his home on Lake Mendota to us for a few days. That war buddy was Joe Maltba. This was the first time I ever seen a race boat. Joe took my dad out on the lake in one of his hydros. My dad didn't like it at all. I watched, as a young boy and fell in love with it all!
Here is the March 1962 edition
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I see a name that ought to be remembered. About eight pages up, in the "Trading Post," is an ad by Dave Berg, one of the top racers in A Outboard Hydro in those years, offering his rig for sale. Maybe he didn't find a buyer and ran it some more, because the sad news was that he was killed in a race. Maybe someone who knew him will have something to add . . .
(EDIT) See below, the Oct., '62 edition, page 6.
Here is the August 1962 edition
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cont2 , you will have to read this from bottom to top to stay in order.
The Oct 62 edition
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