DeSilva Boats: John, Billy and Ralph

[Ron Hill]

The APBA Nationals for ALKY, was 1956 at Long Beach marine Stadium...I was racing AU in those days, but I watched the ALKY NATIONALS as only a boat racing loving kid could...

Ann Strang, Charlie Strang's mother, had explained to my dad that Jerry Waldman was going to win A and B hydro with a Mercury...My dad explained to her that HIS A would win A Hydro with Orlando Toraganti behind the wheel and the Keith Sorensen in a Hubbell SR on a Terrill Hydro would win B Hydro and that Doc Ingels, with an engine that he fit the psitons for, on a DeSivla hydro, would win C Hydro...

Well Orlando won and and Keith won B... Tommy lead the first heat won, seems their were several restarts and won ....In between heats, Tommy discovered a broke point spring and he ran around like a "CARZY MAN" fixing the spring...(My brother will probably tell the correct story)...Anyway Tommy was a straight away a head, on the last lap, looking like a sure winner, when he barrel rolled this DeSilva hydro...

Tommy quit after this race...He said he was tired..He had raced most of his life. He was a dentist...In the Navy, during the war, he drove PT Boats, thanks to a man named R.A. Rust who got Tommy his Commission...

My brother saw Tommy about 15 years ago, Tommy had had Ralph DeSilva build him a new hydro just like the one in the picture...

Tommy's dad, Doc, owned an airplane and he's fly over my dad's shop and BUZZ us, if my old man wasn't busy, he'd way at Doc and we'd meet him at the airport...We'd go fly out over the ocean diving through clouds. My dad and Doc were great friends...

Doc had this fuel tank on his C that had castor oil stains all over it, and many prople carved their names on the tank....I thought this was pretty cool, as our tanks were always polished...

This DeSilva hydro was always very fast.

[Ron Hill]

I guess I missed these two pictures earlier...

Maizzy Millot 1935, later Maizzy Wiget

Ernie Millot, 1938

[Ron Hill]

Ralph says 1950 here and I doubt that...I thought Champion Hot Rods didn't come out until 1956.....

Anyway, I remember my dad driving Lowell Haberman's "FYLING SLINGSHOT" at Bixby Slough... My dad came in soaking wet, he said every time he hit a wake the water would come through the "SLOT" or if he turned...same thing...

Ralph had designed these FLYING SLING SHOTS with a lot of lift in them and they did run fast, but as the field would head to the first turn, if they didn't blow over, they got very high...from a distance the sqaure nose with the V looked like a sling shot...No one called these boats Pickle forks or salad forks, they called them "FLYING SLINGSHOTS"...Not sure how many they bilt, but as I recall they didn't meet much success....

In those days Wade Terrill could build you a boat for $100, and he'd do it in a week...DeSilva boats were probably $300 and took about 6 month for delivery...that is how booked up they were

[Ron Hill]

The Parish family was from Bakersfiled. The two boys were George and Bobby. The Old Man was Buck. Buck always wore blue farmer's shirts, as he was a farmer. The boys mother had died when the boys were young and Buck raised them with the help of a lady, that I can't reacll her nameright now...Buck said when the boys were little he'd wake up in the night and check to see if they were OK.

Bobby won the 1954 Natioanls in A Hydro and in 1955, Devil's Lake he ran my block in A Runabout and got two seconds for a third. Buck had three good Louie bauman Kamics for AU, after the nationals he let me test all three and let me take my pick of which one I wanted...

The family were farmers, but they contracted with Standard Oil to allow them to pump oil from under thair ground. About 1955057 Buck got into a dispute with the government about NOT growing cottom...The government wanted to pay him for not growing cotton...

He moved his family to Australia and they GREW COTTON be damned...

Boby married Rich Job's, my accountant, aunt. I saw Bobby's son, about 25 years ago at a boat race at Puddingstone. He looked just like Bobby when he was younger. He wore the same farmer hat that Bobby always wore...

They were a great racing family....

ADD: In those days we all ran the Needles marathon, but Jack Corner always won AU....This is Bobby in a DeSilva AU at the Devil's Elbow on the Colorado River....Ernie Dawe ended up with this boat, just an FYI!!!

[Ron Hill]

Johnny T. raced A Hydro for awhile. Then, he started a LOVE AFFAIR with F Runabout that lasted his whole life.

The picture of John, 1961, is with Hubbell "HORNS" on his Evinrude 4-60...Later, 1975, as ralph calls it a Yamarudy (Evinrude case and crank, Yamaha cyclinders).

George May and Jay Root drove for John...This is Ted May riding with George...Seemed to me that Ted always looked like he was ready to jump out, if need be, when he rode with George. I don't recall them ever having accident together. In fact, I only recall George having one accident...

After George retired from driving he was referee at Parker, havasu and for the V-8 Formula One Tour

[Ron Hill]

Ray Harris could do magic tricks...He's pull a quater out you your rear. He was a SHOW MAN and always wore a big comb/brush on his helmet. He raced F Runabout and F hydro.

Jack Corner had Ralph DeSilva build him a new A Ruanbout a few years back. Jack took a couple of rides in it and decide, at 77, it wasn't as fun as it used to be and gave to boat to Ed Hearn, who I think won a Nationals in it...

[Tim Chance]

Ralph and Bill once had Dale Kaus give me a pep talk. They told me that Dale was the only one to win a Nationals in one of their hydros? Is it true or were they lying for effect? I think he won B Hydro in the 1960's? Is it true??

I believe Dale won an NOA World Championship at McAllster, Okalahoma driving for Bill Tenney with an Anzani on a Swift Big Bee about 1958. I know that Dickie Pond won an NOA World Championship driving a Bill Tenney Anzani on a DeSilva Hydro.

I have attached a photo of Dale with the Swift/Anzani. I don't have a photo of Dickie with the Desilva but I can paraphrase what he answered to the TV reporter when asked if he needed to practice a lot in order to drive the boat like he did (NOA Championships, Mississippi River, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 1961); something like this: "I don't know, this is the first time I have ever been in this boat."

[Ron Hill]

Here is Dieter Konig and his wife, Mt. Carmel, Illinois 1956...Big Bee Swift Hydro..

Lee Sutter driving Rocky Stone's C Service at DePue, 1960's....

[Ron Hill]

Ralph says this is A Hydro, but I'm sure it is B, as harry never had an A until he bought my Quincy Looper....and We didn't combine classes in those days, because we had enough boats not to... This is Hart Park, in Bakersfield.....I think. Harry is driving a BULL NOSED DeSilva Hydro... and as usual, he ain't backing off...

Janet and Julie Herrick as I recall...Sisters who drove B Hydro and drove them hard and well!!!!

[Ron Hill]

My dad knew Marshall built motors and when John Carnakis stick his Grant C, John had my dad fix it for him...My dad found that Marshall had used MarineTex to stuff the case. My dad was so impressed...My dad always liked stuffed cases, and he later used MarineTex himself...