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Thread: Russ Hill's Epiphany on Boat Racing's Future

  1. #1
    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default Russ Hill's Epiphany on Boat Racing's Future

    My brother wrote this EPIPHANY several years back, and made me promise to only show it to the Hill Family. Well, my brother has passed on, but I feel his words need to be spread the future boat racers. Tana Moore felt this Epiphany might be more of an EPITAPH, both are about the same.

    Recently Ade Bloomfield bought two Ever Crafts from Australia. These boat are class 6 Liter and are an approved UIM Class. State of the art boats, with DODGE Penske NASCAR motors and capsules. This is a class my brother would have embraced. There is a least one electric motor company actively supporting boat racing.

    Here it is:
    Attached Images Attached Images

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    Russ was right that document doesnt need a date stamp is will be correct in any period

  3. #3
    oldalkydriver
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    In the last fifty years or so, I've watch two sports (maybe I should say 2 hobbies) that I participated in ALL BUT DIE! In my pre-teen and adolescent years I lived, ate and breath Outboard Boat Racing. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't only boat racing, but more the social outing. Being from San Diego or (North Tijuana) I really looked forward to our weekend trips to the boat races. Most of our regions races were in the Los Angeles area, but included Bakersfield, Fresno, Kingsburg, Lodi and Sacramento. Notice I didn't say Family outing? As my sisters got older, they chose to stay home rather then travel. So most of my trips were with my dad, oldest sister and the neighboring San Diego participants. Wow, they were some good trips. Parker Arizona, Salton Sea, all nothing but memories. Even though I was raised in a racing family, my racing career was short by any ones standards. My oldest sister Peggy, raced 'M' hydro's. She ended up with Eric Mollenar's outfit. When she had enough of racing, I also got started in being a spectator on the water! Yup, that is what I called it. I don't see how any kid got experience in driving such a short distance? Russ, I think you would have to eliminate 'M's' if you wanted to run all races in a three hour time period. The only experience I got from an 'M' was pulling the rope, 60 lbs. bony frame out on the front of the hydro trying to get on a plane. Driving to the race coarse, then repeating everything. Those so call engines were better use as anchors, paper weights. 42MPH! When? Mine never got past run.

    Then came the magic age of 12 and 'A' Hydro. WOW, now I'm really speeding. 51 MPH! Really moving. Putting all my driving expertise from 'M' Hydro to use. I was so shocked my first race in 'A'! I won. First place! Naturally it was my vast experience, but I don't remember ever having the lead. First heat I ran a respectful 4th place. The second heat, because of my start I was LAST! Only problem was everybody jumped the gun except me. I was more then a half lap down and that was before the start. Yup, won my first race in 'A' Hydro. My head was so big, I was ready for Nationals. Actually won my second race at Hansen Dam thanks to Glen Campbell. He put another rev stick on for me before the second heat. Ran 3rd first heat and lead from gun to gun in the 2nd heat. And you thought my head was big before? The rest of my racing before I joined the army was kind of a blur. Coming home from the service, with the injury to my left leg, I thought both of my hobbies were finished. I tried to race again, but my left leg had minimum flex ability. My skating career took a different turn. Although I couldn't preform as well in the artistic events, a pro taught me peed skating. And my career blossomed. Plus there were other boat racers involved. When I made nationals, there were the Smalls out of Florida. Although a lot younger then I, they were involved. I meant them and their dad the following year at roller nationals.

    Which brings me to the disagreement I have with Juniors article. For me, when I was young it was the social event and racing. As I grew older and on my own it was joined by another factor, affordability. I bought my first outfit on my own from a guy in Merrietta Georgia. I worked for Atlanta Dairies Ice Cream Wholesale and that was my district. Ralph Donald sold me a 'A' Konig of which I knew nothing except they went fast. That only lasted a few races, then I was off to California again. I arrived back in California in 1968. It was the end of the racing season. So in '69, I hooked up with my dads old partner in racing and my mentor, John Toprahanian. I mostly pitted for him. When I had the cash, I bought a 'C' Racing Hydro and John helped me with the motor. Although my leg was getting better, it was still difficult for me to kneel. So in the early 70's, I just called it quits. My reasons were #1 my leg, #2 boats were just getting too fast for my comfort zone. If age wasn't a factor, now that I can more or less afford anything I want, I find myself longing for the noise of the 30's motors, the relative safe speed (60-75MPH), and the smell of the alkies. For me the difference between the stocks, alkies, and modified stocks. Alkies generally were 5mph faster then stocks. Loved their low level bellow for noise. Modified Stocks too loud on these old ears. So, I'm one of the people that are bad for racing as I loved what we had then. Even spectators could afford to buy in if they wanted. Just my personal limited feelings.

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    thats whats Russ is saying
    Young people today look at a new 300 BRP and it looks good to them, how to get kids to race antique engines that they watched their grandfathers race.
    Kneelers are an engine class for enthusiasts, that may be well and good and a great family activity but...
    Who cares about Nascar engines, ( until recently also antiques) as they race the car not the engine.
    IMHO boat racing also has to be a boat race and not an engine race.

    There are more people that think they could drive a nascar than there are who think they can build a nascar engine for example, so if the 2nd point was a requirement for the first then the entry list will get very small

    PS I do love the engineering that goes into kneeler engines...

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    Default Russ Hill's Wisdom and even more reforms needed

    I only spoke to Russ a few times and that was during the last year of his life. He had encyclopedic knowledge about all aspects of our sport. He was helpful, a clear thinker and a friendly person. Some of what Ron shared of his notes is what he told me. I was of the same mind years before before I started to talk with Russ and many of my BRF posts make many of the same points. I have some additional thoughts as well.

    When I quit racing the main reason was infighting and acrimony that persisted for many years and got progressively worse amongst the driver groups in region 11 where I was living at the time. I think that the infighting took a big toll causing my quitting because when I quit I was racing three classes, mentoring 3 new drivers, was an APBA referee and race organiser and the past vice commodore of the local club. The kind of persistent infighting that turned me off still goes on in APBA and its clubs, no matter what the cause. For example it grieves me to see the ranks of the Crackers so splintered.

    I tried to return to racing and still consider it and although I remain an avid spectator I still have some resistance about a return. Part of it is due to my age, I admit. Here is my list for outboards: infighting, no electric starting, no seats, too few competitors, antiquated technology, expense, to many remote race locations, courses are too long and wide and not close to spectators in many cases, excessive speeds in the larger classes and safety.

    My attempt to return to racing a few years ago was to my mind a fiasco. For my tastes and concerns it seemed like Sport C was perfect. Several region 11 drivers recommended one rig as an available fairly priced and competitive. I purchased it. I tried to compete at Cooperopolis. Folks were very helpful. Ron loaned me a great wheel, RJ helped me with setup and someone else loaned me a helmet. Darryl helped by storing my rig. The first heat I did not get started because I failed to know or remember to open a gas tank vent. By the second heat I was unconscious from sunstroke with some longer term health problems from the 105 degree heat.

    I was prepared to continue my return to racing in Sport C irrespective of my flawed re-debut. Then I learned the truth: the rig that everybody had recommended to me was not legal. It had been ported beyond APBA specs and everyone that recommended it to me knew it but never told me. Then I learned that they all had done the same thing to be competitive but some had truly stock power-heads just to go to races where they were sure to be inspected. The leader in the class had sent his motor back east for $5,000 of legal rebuilding in this supposedly "stock" class. It was the lack of honesty of the drivers particularly from those who encouraged me to buy the rig, the sham of calling it a stock class and finally the fact that all Sport C races were in Norcal and I lived in SoCal that prompted me to withdraw from racing a second time. After that I strongly considered reentry again in COR but there were problems for me in that class. I was not comfortable for what seemed to be dangerously high straightaway speeds for open cockpits. I also noted that the winning rigs required an investment north of $12,000. Finally to win, one could not buy a whole motor but had to find and piece together a professionally prepared 120 competition motor to a club foot.

    I have a few more notes to share.

    I enjoyed old alky racer's post very much. It takes me back to those great old alky races. I agree about the thrilling noise. I loved watching the FRRs that were so very exciting. Their deep-throated growl. One point of disagreement about his comments about M hydro. In the early days, as slow as they were spectators loved the class because it was populated by a rarity in those days: women drivers. THe races in the 50s and 60s were fun for the social and camping aspects despite the infighting aspects.

    I like the 6 litre boats that Marlee helped bring to Long Beach. I agree that they could be the future for big inboards for those who can afford the price. Their engines are big bore and they are not a big bore in competition. Like everyone else I love seeing the K boats in action and the 6 litre class seems almost as exciting and a bit safer when I consider that half the K boats are flat bottoms and many still don't have capsules. I thrill and cringe every time the un-capsuled Ks are in a heat.

    For safety and good looks I like the idea of fiberglass factory-built v shaped like the aussies small displacement outboard and inboard jet classes. Sorry about that, Ron.

    Although his post has focused upon many things that need changing in boat racing I point to one bright spot. Here in region 12 many races are well run and a spectators dream. They surpass most of the events that I have spectated at or participated in since I was a lad in 1955. Although good heats well populated by enough drivers are rare, very few people across the US and for all of racing history have been witness to the thrill of the Crackerboxes and the modern K boats.

    Even though they were too fast and hard to put together for me the COR racing has been superb bright spot in outboards right up until the accident. The Long Beach course has excellent spectator attendance and is wonderful and exciting for spectators to view. San Diego is from time to time racing nirvana. Where else in the US, the entire world or throughout history can you see outboards, inboards, unlimiteds, pwcs, drags and ocean racers at one event on a course in a major city next to a beautiful 2500 acre park next to the ocean with 30 to 50 thousand spectators?

    I still am waiting to drive in that truly stock, out of the box, affordable, easy to buy new, sit-down, electric starting, not too fast, well populated, inboard or outboard racing class in a club with sellers that do not deceive with a sanctioning body and club that is not in constant turmoil and conflict. That is a tall order and expecting too much, I know. Never-the-less I hope it comes in my lifetime for me to drive in or at least to watch if age catches up with me.

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    There are some good points here....

    Being that I am totally new, the only reason I was able to get my kneeler runabout rig going is because I am a absolute "wizard" when it comes to clamp on outboards of old. Also, I am highly proficient and experienced when it comes to building plywood or any other kind of boat (a family thing). There aren't many people that would be able to do what I could do in those respects. It would likely be intimidating for many folks of my (later generation) to try and tackle the obscure and little known world of kneeler outboard racing from raw materials, reviving and tuning an old engine to race like new, and knowing the tools and hardware to get it all together with. I guess I'm a rare one.

    But since this 6 litre class is a new wave that was mentioned, I believe that this would only be a "high stakes professional" class. Guys, just the engine alone would be over $50,000.00.......trust me, I know. And furthermore, you cannot build these engines yourself. These aren't vamped up 360 cubic inch small-block mopars here. These engines are very unique. They have a strange offset rocker arm arrangement. The block is a one of a kind. You could only get them from an outfit like (Petty Enterprise) just to name one. How many average people do you know that could or really would pour that kind of money into such a boat as these are? Remember, just the motor is worth over $50,000.00.....and it is probably not openly available to just anyone in America. You likely have to be a bonified race car team owner just to get one, otherwise NASCAR would probably have a raging fit about it. I cant imagine how the builder of these boats is able to do this (getting these engines), but they are putting them together so far. Never the less, this isn't going to work for regular guys at all as I fore-see it.

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    Default correction for myself

    Quote Originally Posted by champ20B View Post
    There are some good points here....

    Being that I am totally new, the only reason I was able to get my kneeler runabout rig going is because I am a absolute "wizard" when it comes to clamp on outboards of old. Also, I am highly proficient and experienced when it comes to building plywood or any other kind of boat (a family thing). There aren't many people that would be able to do what I could do in those respects. It would likely be intimidating for many folks of my (later generation) to try and tackle the obscure and little known world of kneeler outboard racing from raw materials, reviving and tuning an old engine to race like new, and knowing the tools and hardware to get it all together with. I guess I'm a rare one.

    But since this 6 litre class is a new wave that was mentioned, I believe that this would only be a "high stakes professional" class. Guys, just the engine alone would be over $50,000.00.......trust me, I know. And furthermore, you cannot build these engines yourself. These aren't vamped up 360 cubic inch small-block mopars here. These engines are very unique. They have a strange offset rocker arm arrangement. The block is a one of a kind. You could only get them from an outfit like (Petty Enterprise) just to name one. How many average people do you know that could or really would pour that kind of money into such a boat as these are? Remember, just the motor is worth over $50,000.00.....and it is probably not openly available to just anyone in America. You likely have to be a bonified race car team owner just to get one, otherwise NASCAR would probably have a raging fit about it. I cant imagine how the builder of these boats is able to do this (getting these engines), but they are putting them together so far. Never the less, this isn't going to work for regular guys at all as I fore-see it.
    Correction: I looked and found that one can buy these engines. But they aren't cheap at all. You can get an old surplus dodge NASCAR motor in the $8000.00-$15000.00 dollar range if you want to chance it. It would likely be well worn though and not a winner at all. This would be costly or very chancy altogether.

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    Maybe the class needs a crate engine and someones marinising kit and then bingo, mail order race boat.

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    Team Member smittythewelder's Avatar
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    I don't understand why your brother would not have wanted these ideas put up for discussion. We're all sorry he isn't still with us (and able to argue for his ideas).

    I gather that Russ' racing was mostly or entirely done in the Stock and Outboard (PRO) divisions, and that these are the divisions he wanted changed and "modernized."

    But it seems to me that another APBA division, Outboard Performance Craft (in my day, Outboard Pleasure Craft) already offers everything he is advocating: a range of dealer-available motors and boats that can be put together in turn-key configurations for new racers. Looking at the APBA website, the OPC division already offers half a dozen entry-level possibilities that are just what Russ seemed to be asking for. Turn-key racing of production boats was why the OPC division was created fifty-some years ago. So why should the Stock/Mod/PRO divisions be changed to versions of what OPC does already? For that matter, if Russ' "computer geeks, lawyers, and mailmen" want dealer-available turn-key powerboat racing, there is also jet-ski racing (for the mailmen?) and Offshore (for the lawyers and the more successful computer geeks!!).

    Seattle Outboard recently ran a local club race with eliminations in four or five classes, with 24 C Stock hydros, which would suggest that Russ' "old junk" hasn't lost its appeal for a lot of folk. Are local OPC races seeing eliminations in several classes? Would not the practical test of Russ' ideas be that the dealer-available OPC classes be hugely popular and growing?

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    As far as stock, mod, and especially that called PRO......there are plenty of new engines available now for any of them. You have Sidewinder, Tohatsu 50, Yamato, and the J/A Mercury. There are four brands of engines available for PRO that I know of. The fact that old stuff is still run as well does make it possible for the more financially challenged beginners. I couldn't have built mine if I had to shell out over 1500.00 total for my engine. And come to think of it, most people interested in this are either gearheads, or potential gearheads. There are very few folks of the non competitive nature who would even be interested at all.

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