BS - Boat Stories

[russhill]

Most of the threads here are started by my brother, so I thought I'd start my own. I'm 73 and been around boat racing all my life. I like to think I'm technically qualified to talk about engines, or was a great driver, but I’m neither; however, that doesn’t stop me.

What I like to talk about here are some of the good old stories about the good old boys. I’m not claiming they’re true or accurate, but they’re good stories.

I like to divide my stories into two categories: Mother Goose Stories and Boat Racing Stories. The way we tell them apart is Mother goose Stories start with “Once upon a time,,,” Good Boat Stories (BS) start with: “Now this is no **** …”

I’d like to tell you about Carl Kiekhaever’s dentist, how Lake Ming (Bakersfield) got its name, how the Winter nationals got its name and more as the spirit moves me.

Respond here if you’d be interested. You can fill in facts, but you can’t argue with them, because I probably don’t believe them either.

[Skoontz]

That sounds like the time he fired the Coke man, Russ....Do tell us, please!

[russhill]

One of my favorite stories is the Stock Outboard Marathon National Championships. Now Freddie Miller had started the Stock Outboard Marathon National Championships concept. I loved old Freddie like a brother. We were close—there was never a subject that ever came up that we agreed on. We could disagree on anything. (Freddie Miller has done more for APBA Outboard Racing than any two guys I know)

Well Old Freddie started this Marathon Nationals concept in about 1963 and they held three successful Championships in 63, 64 and 65. I teased him about it being a Michigan State Championship, since all the races had been held in Michigan. So I got a rule through the APBA Council that said in essence that in order to be a “National” Championship, more than one state must host them.

And separately, I had Needles bid to make the Needles Marathon the “Nationals”. The Commission had to go for it, there were no other states bids and Michigan couldn’t keep them.

I said we’d like to schedule the race for the last week of September, like the Needles Marathon had always been scheduled. The weather was nice then, generally less than 100 degrees. No, the Mid-West bloc said “we ALWAYS hold them in June.” I said, “OK”. I didn’t mention that the temperatures could be well in to the 120s at that time of year.

So, a lot of Mid-Westerners came to needles in June 1966 and learned what HOT meant.

I’ll go into some details about the race in my next BS

[Ron Hill]

But his 1966 Marathon Nationals story took place in Needles, California...FAR, FAR from the Trenton River.....

[russhill]

I thought I'd post the following--this way you can skip all the russhillian drivell in one click:

RON HILL: Since Ron does most of the writing for the Hill family (and everything else in this site), I thought I'd tell you all more than you ever wanted to know about RONALD LLOYD HILL.

Ron is the quintessential boat racer. His first race boat was a rocking horse he received for Christmas a few months before his second birthday. He immediately converted it into a race boat. He took the eyes out of the horse and inserted spark plugs. He removed the rope tail and bolted a propeller into the hole. And he made obnoxiously loud engine noises.

He went through boat race tricycles and bicycles. He even suggested the local gardeners have a power mower race. When he was nearly eleven, he was given his first real boat, an A Stock runabout (then called Utility). Since he was a big boy and had, essentially, 10 plus years race boat experience, he officially began his racing. Twelve was the minimum age for class A, but due to a parental clerical error, he started at eleven.

About six months after he starting racing, a Sunday afternoon live TV show started. It was called SPEEDBOAT RODEO and ran for 39 consecutive weeks. "Ronnie Hill" hadn't won any races yet, but the TV show did hold a Most Popular Driver contest, soliciting postcard votes. He won with more votes than the next ten other guys combined. I was 3rd or 4th with several thousand votes. His number was around 30-40,000 votes.

One other little rule "infraction" occurred when he was 15. He was running several Stock Outboard classes by then, but a rule was passed that, for safety, 16 would become the minimum age for Class D. That presented a slight enforcement dilemma for the officials: He was reining D Runabout National Champion, National High point winner, and held the straightaway and competition world records. That rule kind of got laughed off the books

Well, 50 years later, he hasn't lost an ounce of that enthusiasm that won him the TV popularity contest in the Speedboat Rodeo, so I'll summarize a little by listing some of his racing accomplishments:

• Seventeen times Nation champion in various classes.
• Two time World champion.
• I don't know how many dozen world records or National high point championships, but they would be counted by the dozen.
• He only won the Parker 9-hour once but he was 2nd 4 times, and had a 3rd and a 4th. Was also the first outboard to lead the 9-hour, when it was clearly an inboard event.
• He won the Berlin 6-Hour, Jimbo McConnell was his co-driver, who drove the middle 2 hours. He ran 2nd in the Paris 6-hour with Ted May.
• He won the Milwaukee to Chicago race in a boat that literally sunk when he stepped out, it was so broken up.
• He was inducted into the American Power Boat Association’s Honor Squadron (Hall of Fame).
• He won 12 consecutive Needles Marathons.

The Needles Marathon was a phenom in itself. It was the first stock outboard marathon ever run and was Needles' biggest event of the year. Studying all sports strings, I have never found a run of victories quite 12 years long. He loves Needles to this day, and rightfully so. It's been at least 20 years since the last Marathon there, but when Ron Hill walks down the street in Needles, lot of (the older) people still recognize him and are happy to see him.

I fancy myself as Mr. Absolute Facts, but I am a Hill. Most people have learned that Ron never lets facts stand in the way of his good stories. And he's into self improvement, which means that the more often he tells the story, the better it gets. I've probably embellished a little here and there, but hopefully anybody who would know the difference is dead, anyway.

We're pretty close brothers. I'm 10 years, 6 months and 4 days older. I can still tell him what a dumb **** he is. But don't YOU even think that in my presence.

Jimbo-

I probably have nothing to add to the history of this great gentleman, but I'm going to anyway. I had mentioned this before but here I go again.

My Late Wife got Jimbo started in boat racing. He showed up at a little race we were having at Needles with deserted-dilapidated boat and an engine note quite that good. He had just sold a motorcycle and had $13 and wanted to race. With entry fee, club dues, APBA, etc., it cost a lot more than that to enter you first race. Judy who was the registrar reviewed the pocketful of wrinkled bills and said, "just exactly enough." And the rest is history.

He lived with my dad and Ron for a year or so when he went to college before he got drafted and had to go to Viet Nam. By then he had graduated slightly above his desert ****-box boat.

Two things my dad said and did for Jimbo was: 1. He told me "that boy is never going to make it as a boat racer." 2. Man dad also told Charlie Strang, when Charlie asked him about a good team driver, for the OMC racing team, my dad didn't hesitate --Jimbo Mc Connell. And the rest of that is also history. (There was some time in between.)

My personal favorite occurred at Blue Water, Parker, AZ, at the site of the start and finish of the Parker 9-Hour that Jimbo won 3 times in a row. Well, anyway this was long before his involvement with the OMC team. I raced D Stock Hydyo (and several other classes). I was never very good, but consistent and was generally on the podium. Of course I beat Jimbo--he wasn't really a contender. Well this time at Parker he beat me and after the race pulled in right next to me and jumped out of his boat in armpit deep water and asked me if he’d done anything wrong or dirty. I said, no Jimbo you just beat my ***.

Jimbo lives about 3 houses from my niece’s (Ron’s daughter) river house and I see him once or twice a year. We always hug and cry.

The Hauensteins--

In California there are a lot of important and significant landmarks: Sequoia, Yosemite, the Pacific Ocean, and the Hauensteins. The first three mentioned didn't contribute much to boat racing. The fourth one did.

Old Fred, who just died last week was indeed the patriarch. I have a bunch of sketchy memories of Fred Hauenstein, but the first real memory was in October 1949 at Lake Mead. He beat my Dad in C Racing Runabout. They both had 6 Stud Cs. Unless you're well over 50 years of age you've never even seen one run.

So Old Fred and Francis had 3 sons. I never reallly knew Donnie, the youngest, but the other two probably should have their busts in the Boat Racing Hall of Fame as the "Hall of Fame--Hall of Famers".

To enumerate their racing accomplishments is not what I intend to do here. I just want to say that a major piece of California's and the rest of the country's Outboard Racing has just lost one of the Kings of the Sport--The patriarch of the Hauenstein Family.

Russ Hill

[racnbns]

I know those other 3 guys [Ron, Fred and Jimbo] but you must have been off the race course when I started in 1967. Weren't you into politics--APBA vice president or something? My initials are BS so I guess I qualify for this thread.
Bruce

[tthibodaux]

Coming from a boat racing family, I,ve known the name Ron Hill all my life. All I really knew was that he was an accomplished boat racer and one of the best prop guys in the country. This is what BRF is all about,boat racing has lots of great racers someone should tell us stories about. Thanks Russ, this is truly GOOD READING.

[russhill]

We left of with Needles winning the award to host the Nationals. September was a good time for Needles, but the dumb bastards (Freddie Miller) said “NO” Marathon Nations are in June. So I said OK.

Needles gets warm in June—maybe 110 -120 each day and cools off to 105 at night. Now picture this: Nobody in the Mid-worst had air-conditioned cars in 1966. (Maybe still don’t).

These “marathon racers” were hard-asses. They raced in Levis and work type shoes. They raced in lakes that let you know why the Pacific Ocean is call Pacific (peaceful). They dressed in proper regalia and headed for Californy. Many had Tee-Nee trailers with 8’ wheels. In case you don’t know, 8’’ wheel spin about three times as fast as the car pulling them.

With road temperatures in excess of 150 and spinning three times the car speed—well you guess what happened to the bearings. Good guess -- more than half the guys had wheel bearing problems. Enough. Ultimately they got to Needles.

We Californian only race on water flat as a nun’s chest and slicker than snot on a broom handle. We would cancel a a race on their smoothest day. These poor guys couldn’t pick up a tool without burning their hands. But they still wore their “racin’ clothes” (Levis, work boots, etc.), and got ready to race.

And it gets worse. Especially designed for the Needles Marathon were the “Floater” boats. They were runabouts, built like an airplane wing and would probably outrun a hydro. They couldn’t turn in a forty-acre field, but they’d go fast. Some guys would drop off a plane, turn and get going again.

I don’t think one westerner was beaten by one mid-worstener. One guy had three APBA shields on his deck. Marathon National Champion ’63, ’64 and ’65. He ran 7th. Why? There were only 6 California boats in the class.

It was a fun race. Of course there were “ISSUES’ for which I was blamed.
Probably rightly so. But we’ll talk about that later if anybody really cares.

[Moneypit]

You really expect me to believe it gets 110-120 in NEEDLES in June? Good stories all around, but 120 degrees in Needles, I heard it was 122!!!!!...MP

[Ron Hill]

Bruce, my brother was into APBA POLITICS and was Senior Vice President...He ran for President in 1973. I actually found his campaign flyer, the other day, and was going to reprint it for the APBA Convention in LA.......Then thought, well, people didn't buy into his ideas in 1973, they probably would see the ideas today...

One thing, my brother wanted was Split in SANCTIONS. Basically a Hobbyists Sanction and Professional Sanction. As he felt then as he feels now...certain Divisions of APBA don't really draw spectators and as a result, should have a lower priced sanction fee. Professional Sanctions would be what Series and Title Series.

Anyway, Bruce, Jr. was always at Parker....One year, when Bunker was about 13...The OMC crew was yelling to back my car down.....and no one was moving, Bunker jumped in. backed the trailer under the boat and pulled it, then, after the repairs were made, he backed it in again...He'd never driven a car, backed a trailer or driven a stick shift...Bucker was an amazing kid...

The year I lost parker by a foot, Russ Jr. told me at the time Dewy Berghauer was driving, that he's figure we could win, IF I could keep it right side up and keep my foot in it....I drove 7 hours and 40 minutes, and lost by a foot.

Here is a picture of Charlie Slough's FLOATER...I borrowed it for the Blythe Marathon, I won....I was the kilo record holder at the time...at 64 MPH. With FULL Marathon tanks, this D Runabout showed me 70 on my Keller...I never got a chance to run this boat in a kilo.....but when I went 70, with my runabout, I felt this floater would have gone 75....