Seattle's 1968 Nationals on Green Lake

[Clarkraft13R]

OK Pack Rats, I have a request for you.
I have been looking for boat racing magazines and newspaper articles that covered the 1968 Stock Outboard Nationals that were held on Seattle's Green Lake to get some scans of.
I am mostly interested in information on the the AU (Mike Boon) & BU (Clark Maloof) National winners.
Thank You

Don

[Ron Hill]

I raced Chicago-Milwaukee-Chicago son Sunday before Seattle, Flew home raced Seattle, went to DePue, then went to the Marathon Nationals in Trenton, Michigan. Came home raced the Needles Marathon, left left for Paris, Berlin races. Came home rested up, raced Bakersfield, then went to the Havasu World Championships.

Never read anything about Seattle except in the Propeller Magazine, maybe!!!


Seems Jimbo was passing Clark Maloof in BU on the outside when he barrel rolled. My dad and I had built that boat, we went home and changed our design, never did that again. Clark went on to win.

Jimbo ran 6 classes and failed to make the finals in any class. He had a ton of hard luck, plus in B hydro, the Hedlund boats were just plain faster than he ever dreamed possible.

Boone's "A" Runabout was so fast it didn't seem possible, as I think he'd bought the boat from Billy Rosado, the 1967 Champion and usually when people buy fast stuff, they seldom win. Boone did great. Then, maybe he moved to California???

Seems Wil Pergande, as I recall, won C and D Hydro with what appeared to be ease. I only ran C and D Runabout, but my D Hydo would NOT have had a chance against Wil, as I seldom beat Jimbo and he didn't qualify!

[Jerry Combs]

Ron,

No kidding those Hedlund's were fast, they passed me like I was running an ASH in BSH.

I remember Jimbo barrel rolling in BU. The lake was pretty rough.

[Clarkraft13R]

Wow Ron !
It seems like you had to take a nice relaxing ride in your D hydro just to get over your jet lag. Your memory is remarkable, what brand of helmets did you say you used ? If anyone runs across that issue of Propeller Magazine and could scan the article, I would really appreciate it. As far as "Boone's "A" Runabout was so fast it didn't seem possible", well it has slowed down a little over the years and now resides in my family room.
Thank you guys for recalling those wonderful memories.

Don

[MarkD]

I may have some stuff from that race - I was there watching and remember clearly be so amazed at how the Hedlund's just blew everyone away and cleaned up in both A and B hydro. For the next few years, you needed a Hedlund to win in stock hydros.

Mark

[Clarkraft13R]

Thanks Mark, if you run across some of your 68 Seattle race stuff, I would love to see a scan of whatever you find.
Thanks again.

Don

[smittythewelder]

The best racing of that weekend was in AU. Seattle's Dave Swanson, who held one or both of the records in the class with his Karelsen runabout (one of the few runabouts Ed built), ran deck to deck, for almost all of every lap of both final heats, with the eventual winner . . . who I remember seeing, but whose name I'd forgotten; I recalled Mike Mamano, but I guess it must have been Mike Boon (some foreigner from outside Reg. 10!!!). Dave was older and bigger, and must have spotted Boon a good 25-30 pounds overall, and Boon had the inside position in both heats. Maybe the closest two-heat race I ever saw.

Dave's dad and pit-man Lloyd was a fine photographer, so somewhere there are some outstanding black and white photos of that race. I believe that the master, Bob Carver, was still at the local races with his trusty Speed Graphic, as well. If someone knows him, Craig Fjarlie might have an idea where Carver's collection is now.

The Hedlands were very fast in the straights, but I looked at the elimination and final heat times for B Stock Hydro, and the two fastest heats of the four days were run by Seattle's Barry Lewis and Jeff Lowe, both running Marchettis, both (especially Jeff) well over minimum weight.

[Ron Hill]

Is Barry related to the current Lewis Racers???

When Rosado won in Essex, Maryland in '67, he ran what I thought was an OLD SID-Craft but I think it was an OLD CLARK-CRAFT.

Did Swensen's Karlesen have a long cowling on the deck? I'd love to see those black and white pictures...

Here is an interesting prop, I'm going to add it to my Virtual Propeller Museum, but for here, let me say, I was in Parker, last Wednesday, 1/5/10 with Dave Bryan. We were picking up a trailer from Bill Olsen. Bill is the son of Ed Olsen. Ed and Bill raced The Cream Puff is SK.

For some reason Bill had this Cary CR wheel. In 1968, Major Bob Smith was sent to Vietnam and he left his DeSilva CU behind. DeSilvas told me to race Bob's boat and sell it, because Bob wanted a new boat when returning from Nam.

To help me sell the boat they came me three Cary CR props to also sell, as they had been Cary dealers. I sold one prop right away, without ever testing it. I like this one the best.

I raced this Cary on C Runabout all of 1968-69 and also ran it on C Hydro most of 1969-70. I sold this prop to Ed Peters of Needles because he bought Major Bob's DeSilva.

Anyway, Nick Murphy bought a 30-H and prop from Jimmy Dawe. Nick left this prop will Bill about 15 years ago. And I found it last week.

It is the prop I ran second in C Runabout at Seattle, 1968.

[smittythewelder]

Yes, Swannie's Karelsen had a long cowling (not often seen on runabouts in those days) made of fabric over wood battens, same as the fore-decks on most hydros then. Almost all of Ed's few runabouts had this cowl, with the exception of what must have been one of the first raceboats Ed built, Jackie Holden's JU, which set both records in 1958 and might have been National Champion as well (I forget).

I don't know about Barry Lewis being related to any current Lewis racers. Carl Lewis has a son racing, I believe.

[Ron Hill]

1968 to 2010, 42 two years, and I remember that A Runabout with the cloth cowling. Ed Karlesen was quite a designer. I'll bet I could draw that boat. Seems it was mohogany with a polished KG-4 tank.

At the Divisionals in Orick, California, 1957, There were only two J Runabouts. Jackie Holden's dad loaned me a J engine, a transom block and paid my entry fee. I ran second, only J race I ever ran. Seemsed a little slow at the time, as I broke the AU straight away record the next day at 48.352 MPH.

Seems to me Jackie was hot in A in '59. '58's Nationals were in Miami, Florida. Don't recall what happened there as I wasn't there.

Well, maybe '58 is right, as Russ or Edmond Wolf ran away with J and A Runabout in Seattle in '59.

Ever see a 22" bottom with an 1/8 in the last inch, with no fin and cowling go like a mother in both A and J runabout???? Well, that was Wolf's runabout