Past "HISTORIC" Parker Mini Enduros at La Paz County Park

[Ron Hill]

The guy wearing the red sweat shirt is Kenny Scoville...This was the first Mini Enduro. No one expected a turn out like we had...5 Hours????? Or was it three hours??? It was at La Paz County Park.

1st Mini Boat Enduro

See, I had gotten Tohatsu into APBA racing. Well, maybe I got them into racing first.

Western Engine distributed Vovlo Penta Outdrives and did a pretty cool job of selling engines, drives and parts. About $8 million a year. This is back about 1984.

Western Engine was owned by a Wisconsin company that the name slips my mind right now, maybe Palmer Johnson, but they hired Mural to run the place. Mural was an old Wisconsin beer drinker.

Western Engine had great Fourth of July, Easter, Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentine's Day and about 20 other days for parties. They had a good budget, made good money and employees were happy.

I was making a Volvo Stainless propeller that worked great, but Volvo PARENT company never acknowledged that I was in the propeller business. I sent Volvo of Sweden like 6 props and they never paid me. Mural and Western Engine paid me.

One day, as I walked into Western Engine I saw Tohatsu motors in boxes, they were everywhere. Western Engine had become the distributor of Tohatsu Outboards.

I said, "****, fire, damn. We should race these motors." One way that Western Engine made BANK was they always had inventory and they sold engines to small boat companies. A company would sell a boat, get the cash and buy a VOLVO. Mercrusier had many more restrictions on small builders. So, most small builders, Sleek Craft, Bahner, Caliber, Witch Craft, Baker,hell I don't remember, all bought motors from Western Engine.

I guy named "TWITCHY" bought some Addictors and started putting Tohatsu motors on them.

I convinced Mural we neede to race to Catalina. So, we got Sleek Craft Bruce Nescher to take his 36 foot Sleek out and we got like 12 Addictors to race to Catalina. Willey Poole of Trailer Boat's Magazine won..but he was the only finisher...the other 11 ran out of gas.

That night over 6-7 Margaritas to told Mural, had someone drwoned out there, HE would have gotten sued for sponoring the race and what we needed was APBA. He agreed to pay all insurance cost for future races.

Ernie Dawe got C-NOD legalized that year under APBA (C National One Design). We had the first Mini Enduro and the fastest boat went maybe 50, my boat which got third overall...would go 44 with me in it and 48-50 with John Castelli or Bob Wartinger driving.

We had fund, speeds kept going up and people got hurt, Rick Hoffman, Blake Easu, then it disappeared.

My rules, are intended to keep speed under 60-70 at max. There is no class for 45 SS.

Fun and safety are my thoughts.

[RICK HOFFMAN]

Here's a pic from the first Mini Enduro . This was before the 3 cyl Yamaha's came out. this was the two cyl that we put two carbs on. the boat is a 8ft Kober Kat it ran 70mph at parker on radar.

[RICK HOFFMAN]

Here's a couple more of the glory days of mini boats.

Jimmy Johnson and I at the 1990 Mini Enduro. and me at Cypress Gardens Fl. in 1991 I Think.

[RICK HOFFMAN]

Here's one more.
Havasue 92

[Ron Hill]

For the record, Tohatsu's support (Sponsorship money from Western Engine) built the Mini Boat Revolution. Rick Hoffman, with the help of Jim Johnson, Jr. and Ed Lane built some amazing Yamaha motors. I always credit Ernie Dawe for allowing Tohatsu into APBA as to why the Johnson and Evinrude 15 A and 45 SS were built. But had Rick Hoffman's Yamaha powered Mod C not been SO fast, OMC may never have built the 15 A and 45 SS motor.

The 45 came right at Tohatsu and Yamaha in Mini Boats. The Hoffman 45 boat were "Star Wars" compared to every other 45 boat at the time.