It wasn't a class of its own such as the trihulls Tim. But yeah, when there was a big race, there were quite a few running....and winning. If you could ever get your hands on some Powerboat Magazines from around the mid sixties to 1970 or so you would see a lot of pics of them racing.

Pete DeLackner told me of the time he was going down the highway with a wing in tow that he was taking to his place for fiberglass work and someone in a car pulled alongside him. The other person signaled Pete to roll down his window, which he did. Then the guy asked "Is that the Bat Boat?" Rather than try to explain, Pete just replied "Yeah."