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Thread: Chris Chamberlain's Wetback

  1. #1
    Administrator Ron Hill's Avatar
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    Default Chris Chamberlain's Wetback

    Chris e-mailed me about a boat he was building. I told him to come to Long Beach to the races August 2-3, 2008. While I was at the races I borrowed Loud and Prouds gas powered golf cart to test drive...I managed to get up to the officials stand, and when I was turning around Paul Gritchar said he needed a ride...When he didn't get on, I asked him why??? He said, "You'll never back this thing up." I said, "Get your *** in and watch me..."

    Well, I backed it up OK, and almost ran over this guy walking...

    (Wasn't that close, the guy said he was going to hitch a ride with me.....).. Anyway, I tell this guy, get on and off we go...The guy asks, Gritch, "Hey do you know Ron Hill?" Gritch says, "What do you want him for?" He say, "Ron told me he'd get me in free and I need to find him..." I turn and tell him I'm Ron Hill......This guy ain't sure.

    Anyway, this guy, Chris Chamberlain, hangs with Hill Racing and we talk about his boat...

    Well, yesterday he brings his boat by. A Hal Kelly, Wetback (Which I'm sure is not a politically correct name...by Clark Craft. Chris his done a great job. He's made a steering bar, a shifter, and a throttle hook up....

    It ain't going to go 80 MPH, but I will help him with a prop.....

    The Wentz, Bowdens, Stokers, Hills, Boyes, Jimbo McConnell....to name a few started with a small boat.......

    Chris has a cool windshield that he didn't have on it...but maybe he'll post more pictures...

    This Yamaha says 28, but I think it is either a 25 or 30. Anyone know for sure?

    Welcome to BRF, Chris, I see you are our newest member...
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    Last edited by Ron Hill; 09-23-2008 at 10:45 PM.

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    Team Member JohnsonM50's Avatar
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    Nice Wetback Chris, is it a B? One of my pals built a B with a Clarkcraft kit, I got kinda involved in it too. I see you went to a safety throttle right away. He used a Merc fishing one at 1st. We started with my 58' 18 Seahorse, man was it under-powered. Then he got a Yamaha built Mariner 25 [alot like yours] & more like it. It was doin 38, then we adapted a prop I got from Ron and gps-ed 44+ 1st try.
    Back then the plan Clarkcraft sent was a copy of Hals plan that stated the boat should weigh I think 115. Now the online ad states the kit will weigh 175. Reeves's is 178. He now has a 31.8ci OMC on thats trimmed down to 86 and has the same prop from Ron. It can reach 50 but the Rs are high to do it
    Heres a look at it with the Mariner & 2 blade 13 1/2 p prop.


  3. #3
    John (Taylor) Gabrowski
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    Default Nice wetback, I used to have one and its still around.

    That is one nice Wetback hydro you have there. I bought one used and ran a Mercury 55H on it a few times and sold it to another person who did same but only raced it once in the 1970s and some years later sold it again. The it disappeared. Currently since re-appearing, the boat has again been restored and is running a short shaft Merc Mark 58 with a tall propellor putting it somewhere in the 50+ mile per hour range been run at his lake. The hydro seems to want last for ever. Yours will do the same. Enjoy!

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    Default Wetback for a hydro virgin in the UK

    Hi Guys, have recently discovered the forum...some advice please, I have recently got hold of a Merc MK40H (here in the UK they are like dragons eggs to find!), for the last 6 years or so I have been running a restored Hally Kelly Jinx B Utility for fun in classic events that was built here in UK in '61. I want to stay with Hal's designs and have a set of original plans for the Wetback...as a 'hydro virgin' here's the questions...
    1) With the Merc MK40H will the Wetback have to be built as Class D, about 12'6'' loa? the plans show a scale up for this
    2) the Merc is around 16'' transom height, I can adapt the build to suit...will the rig be any good!...?
    3) Any idea how it will perform?
    I don't want to build something that has inherent problems and never get it working. I am to old to start again!

    Advice/comments please...mad or what...?

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    Sam Cullis Mark75H's Avatar
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    A 40H is a rare beast anywhere! Definitely scale up the Wetback ... maybe even more than the plans call for, the 4 cylinder Merc has plenty of power. I think you should easily see speed in the high 50's ... and an exciting ride

    You probably want the transom on the boat to be 14 inches ... you can shim it higher if it works; at 14 you will still be running much of the prop out of the water (at 16 you would have more than half the prop out of the water)
    Since 1925, about 150 different racing outboards have been made.


  6. #6
    John (Taylor) Gabrowski
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    Default Definitely make it a D class size.

    Finding a Merc 40H in UK was a real scoop! My favourite sport here is finding British Anzani parts over here in Canada and USA.

    I built and ran a Wetback D with a 40H for a short while in the early 1970s. I used aircraft grade Birch plywood, which is a bit heavy. It is better built with marine mahogany plywood. It should be built as a D and no larger. I used a left sponson fin instead of a center bottom placed fin. It ran in the 60 mile per hour range with a 2 blade stainless Kamic eared hydro prop with the propshaft 1.5 inches below the bottom of the boat. Sam is correct about the 14 inch transom height. Shimming the prop height will give you best performance. I loved the engine and had 2 at the time, one for a hydro and one on a runabout. This same boat turned up with a Merc 55H on it I bought and re-sold years later in the early 1980s.

    In the late 1990s the boat re-surfaced in dreadful condition without the engine or hardware so I gave it to a friends son who has rebuilt it and runs a Mercury Mark 58 ski/fish engine on it and has a great time. The Merc 55H engine turned up again in 2005 has been restored and is now on display occassionally at the marine museum in Kenora, Ontario.

    Good luck, good building and enjoy!
    Last edited by John (Taylor) Gabrowski; 10-30-2008 at 07:43 PM. Reason: spelling & additions

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    Default Wetback for a hydro virgin in the UK

    Hi Guys, thanks for replying now I know that the rig will actually work I shall be going for it as soon as I can get the other projects out of the way, but still showing my innocence here I am afraid...I am completely thrown by the 14'' transom comment, I have just measured the MK40H leg, from the top of the transom to the 'cavitation plate it is 16'' so a 14'' transom would lift the prop nearly 2'' out of the water or have I lost the plot....? or are you thinking of a ultra short leg? Lastly for the moment anyway! Re the scale up on Hal's plans, he says the D is 20% bigger than the B/C in the text, however measuring the scales on the drawing it all comes out very close to 25% larger for the D, giving a loa of 12ft - 3 1/2 inches, which makes the B/C 20% smaller (at 9ft - 10 inches) is 12ft -3 1/2 inches therefore the correct length for the D?
    Thanks again, I look forward to your comments...Steve

    PS re 'Anzani, there's an old single fishing engine laying around here in a store nearby, any interest? don't know how you would get back mind...S

  8. #8
    John (Taylor) Gabrowski
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    Default Your 40H tower length??

    At one time in those early days of Merc 4 cylinder engines like KF9, KG9, 40H where there was a longer "Q" type tower and later there was the "H" type tower where both the Q and the H were racing towers both and they interchanged with all those above mentioned Mercs but also their lower units had the different drive shaft lengths to go with the longer Q or shorter H type towers. A "Q" tower requires a taller transom which would be around 16 inches where the "H" tower would require a 14 inch type transom. In either case the whole idea is that the propshaft with prop should be about 1 inch and a bit below the bottom of the boat running a 2 blade prop of the period be it a Kamic eared or Oakland-Johnson type prop. There were also Super Oakland-Johnson props around then too that were quite respectable running. If the tower is an H or a Q is going to determine your transom building height.

    Wetback hydros were named so for a reason. They would float under speed on the water quite nicely but given a burst of wind they could and did blow over real easy and really fast hence the name "Wetback". They were always the source of conversation in terms of accidents with them so many builders if they like Hal Kelly plans built "Ben Hurs" which ran good in their days as well as some super sized Hal Kelly's Jupiter which some say is still a Ben Hur??? others don't agree! If Ben Hur plans are available to you it is an easy to build cabover hydro more stable than the wetback and many a 40H was run on a Ben Hur really well. But if its Wetback then do the Wetback.

    There is a reader her from UK by the handle of "Twister" who also restores Anzani engines of various kinds. He will see this but I will drop him a email and he can contact you about it. Over here there was a vibrant class A and B Anzani Alky racing group in the late 1950s and 1960s where finally by 1970 they exceeded 100 miles per hour really twisting peoples necks. Quite an accomplishment for a brand of engine that started in a big way the whole loop charged 2 stroke revolution and they started it all with cast iron block!
    Last edited by John (Taylor) Gabrowski; 10-31-2008 at 03:15 PM. Reason: spelling

  9. #9
    Sam Cullis Mark75H's Avatar
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    From the cavitation plate to the clamps is 11" on a 40H, KG9H, 55H and 30H. 4 more inches to the center line of the propshaft on a D.

    A 14 inch transom puts the propshaft center line 1" below the boat on an H.


    As John says, there is an alternate racing tower and foot that is the same length as the fishing/pleasure unit. It would be the length you are measuring ... but you are interpreting your propshaft placement incorrectly. You would be 2 more inches down with a longer motor, not 2 inches up. I also think John is right, for driving at speed, the enlarged Ben Hur is a better boat. The choice would come down to whether you intend to spend more time driving it or looking at it.

    I am thinking you probably have a standard fishing/pleasure Mk40, not an H

    Got a picture somewhere?
    Since 1925, about 150 different racing outboards have been made.


  10. #10
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    Default Hydro virgin tower length and MK40H

    Thanks for the info on the towers, Doh..!! and I am supposed to be an engineer, got my up and down about face! I'll set it all up with the centre of the shaft about 1'' below the bottom but will include some packers so I can lower the engine as we test..sorted thank you both.

    I have hopefully attached some pictures of the engine, so what have I got hold off? your views please...the tiller is home made and the recoil start looks a bit 'engineered', no rear cowl but on the back above the top spark plug is a Mk55 badge on a little bracket!

    I take on board your comments about the Ben Hur, I intend to enjoy the build and then run the boat as much as possible, I know also that I will want to explore the performance as far as I can, I'll chew on this, but I hear what you say... don't want to get my bus pass wet.

    Look forward to hearing back, regards Steve
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