Amazing old ASR kilo record D Lake

[arcticracer]

Smitty-

So you remember the Needle Nosed Cast Iron Magneto..... Dad won 2-US in CU, but I don't recall if he made in in DU. Think it was only one year. I remember how hard it is to run enough races, and win enough of them to get Nat. high point. Even harder to do if you don't win at Nationals which Dad never did. I have a lot of respect for racers that do it over and over again, in multiple classes even.

Back in the day there was a very active racing scene in Alaska, stock outboard, mod, and probably alkys too. You are right, things were changing by 1970 and there is no organized racing in Alaska other than the Fairbanks club which has been around since 1964. Fairbanks Outboard Association. You were probably hearing about the Yukon 800 which started as the Yukon 700 in 1964 as a bar room bet when they raced "tin boats" from Circle City to Ruby, the entire course was on the Yukon River.

Today it is still run on Summer Solstice weekend from Fairbanks to Galena, 400 miles one way on one day, then return the next day. I have written quite a bit about the race just search on Yukon 800 or go to www.yukon800.com. You will freak out when you see the boats, quite unique. There is some stuff on Youtube too.

The guy with the D hydro, yes I know about it. There is another guy in town with a laydown C hydro and Yamato C, Jackovich I think is his name. I was talking to him one day and he told me about the D boat, it was in their companys storage building so I went to have a look, was for sale. It was unfinished, and sort of expensive as I recall. I passed on it. The fellow did pass away who owned it that is all I know. Now and then Jackovich can be seen making a run down the Chena river in town with it.

Here is a short clip of one of the boats, having some fun at the finish of a 440 mile race in Fairbanks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf1vetwBfKE

[smittythewelder]

Interesting. There are quite a few "swamp-boats" to be found around Alaska, so it's not surprising that some version would be devised for racing. However, in the '50s there were regular APBA-type outboard hydros and runabouts, such as Hal Kellys and Swifts, being raced in Alaska, both closed course and marathons. Big Lake, out of Anchorage, was one place they ran. My understanding was that racing was on a long slow decline in the Anchorage area until 1978, when I sold them on the Yamato 80 with a long letter, and shipped them four or six engines. For some years after that, you could find a report of club activity in Anchorage in every issue of "Propellor" magazine. Maybe it has all disappeared by now. Jet-skis and bass-boats have killed traditional outboard racing in many places. Where a kid used to build a Minimax or Skeeter from a set of plans, and then a Hal Kelly boat, now his folks buy him a turn-key jet-ski. If it weren't for guys like you whose dads raced outboards, this sport would go extinct in no time.

[Mark75H]

... in the '50s there were regular APBA-type outboard hydros and runabouts, such as Hal Kellys and Swifts, being raced in Alaska, both closed course and marathons ...

Smitty is exactly right ... here is a picture from Alaska someone sent me years ago when I was first researching on the internet:

[smittythewelder]

Oh man, Sam, can you imagine some poor hunter out trying to get an animal for the freezer, hearing the shriek of those six pipes! "Call of the Wild" has to be the most perfect possible name, for that boat, in that place!

[carl lewis]

Here are 2 pics from Lake Lawrence I'm guessing '72-'73 when Gerry set the B hydro record. The first shot is waiting for the heat Walin in the boat and Jim Hallum in the waders. shot 2 is Walin , Hallum, Rich Koch launching and Ralph Hildebrand with the rope

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Those are some priceless and historical pictures Carl. I can especially appreciate the first one with Gerry sitting on the side of the cockpit with his head down waiting for the gun. That is a very telling pic. Knowing that it ended in a spectacular record run just makes it that much better.

[Ron Hill]

For many years Keller (Leonard) would write a short story on each invoice that he included with each speedometer....and he'd say something about the "FANTOM". For many years were never knew who the "FANTOM" was....Here is Gerry Walin in his boat with "FANTOM" on the side...Classic picture for sure, Carl....thanks....

ADD: Anyone know anything about Ralph "Hog Body" Hildebrand??? IS he alive? Is he doing ok?? Lost track of him when he moved to Havasu!!! Heard he might be in like Arkansas????

[RichardKCMo]

No problem on L O Ozarks Don't have a problem with air boats anymore since a couple were shot. Haven't had one here for several yrs.
I wonder who that water belongs to anyways??? Them that live on it or them that use it??
RichardKCMo

Oh man, Sam, can you imagine some poor hunter out trying to get an animal for the freezer, hearing the shriek of those six pipes! "Call of the Wild" has to be the most perfect possible name, for that boat, in that place!

[Mark75H]

Carl, those are great

[Jerry Combs]

Carl,

I think those pictures are a bit older than you think, when I raced in the Western Divisionals at Moses Lake in 1970 or 1971 Gerry was running bounce pipes on his Anzani, I was running a Koenig that I had gotten from Marcell Belleville on one of Fred Hauenstein's old Bellcraft C-D boats that had blown off the trailer on the way back from the Nationals. I can still remember Gerry and I hitting the start line in the first heat of AOH full bore and flying past everyone else, we had both taken very long runs at the clock and were really aired out................best memory I have of my racing, both of us were very closely matched speed wise............first turn I threw a prop blade and Gerry lost a pipe..........we both sat and watched the race. Second heat Gerry had the pipes from his B and I was running a prop from my B, neither one of us was really competitive the second heat.

I sure miss that Koenig and Bellcraft, it was the best running combination that I ever had. Sure wish I had a picture of it.

Jerry