V-bottom racing in OPC, 1970-1985

[Smokin' Joe]

The title should read 1977-1985!


I drove EP and Mod VP, occasionally also JP, from 1977-1985 and am posting a few pictures here. I invite my old competitors to add their own photos to the link.

Best wishes,
Joe McCauley
(EP Class record at 70.560 mph)

Picture captions

1. My and Jay Cox's boats at the factory in Louisville, Tenn., on the way to Eufaula in 1977. My blue/white rig won both closed course and marathon nationals in 1977,
and the marathon nationals in 1978.

2. On the way to Havasu in 1979

3. 1982 13' Allison on the left. this was the best -turning and fastest EP bpat. Record setting XR-14 on the right, the
70.560mph EP record was never broken.

4. Start of the 1977 season at Lake Dallas

5. Darris, Paul, and Lucille at Eufaula, 1977. Someone told me that Paul came to watch me, I'd
known him since 1958 and this was my first year to race since 1960.

6. Jay Cox. I drove Jay's rig in GP, it was the fastest boat on the course by far, but the transom jack broke
before I made it to the first turn. John Calley bought the boat and raced it 1978-1982, when Terry Strack bought it.

7. Joe Burgess' EP rig. Joe didn't take EP seriously but was always competitive in GP with an older
narrow pad 15' Allison.

8. Driving Louis Collins' former Laser at Havasu in 1981, but the rig wasn't competitive. However,
it handled like a dream, I turned inside of everyone on the course.



3. Havasu 1979, motor (160 c.i.) courtesy of Tom Ireland and Jim Nerstrom. Bill Muncey got a similar Evinrude
and Kenny Shaw (who won) got the Johnson. Tom was really hacked off that I didn't win, so the motor had
to be shipped to someone else, who bought it.

4.

[Barry Strawn]

Cool stuff. What hull model is that in JoeMcCauley3.jpg?

[Smokin' Joe]

XR-14 Allison, experimental boat. Three made, all destroyed after 1982 so far as I know. Mine still holds the EP record at 70.560 mph, was never broken. Fast, but trouble around the buoys (chines too flat). A lightweight XR-14 with underwater pickup, set up with gearcase above the water like a tunnel (built, owned and driven by Allison-Craft employee 'Pedro' Kizer), set the NOA 40-70 class record at over 80 mph with a stock Evinrude 75. The third XR-14 was driven a few times in GP by Louis Collins, and if my memory isn't false was used as the mold for the 1980 "EP-15" fishing boat shown below. I took that boat out of mothballs last fall. It runs over 41 mph with a rebuilt nearly stock (150 psi compression) 1983 35 Johnson, speed read via a Garmin GPS.

Added Nov. 2009: with a lot of prop work and raised another 1/2" to 19.5" I got it to run a consistent 2 way avg. of 41.5 mph, over 41 mph both into and with the wind. Not bad for a 35! But it takes a long time for the prop to 'catch' and lift the boat downwind, 2nd added photo shows boat before that happens.

Cool stuff. What hull model is that in JoeMcCauley3.jpg?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe...I looked back in some old files for 853 to see if I had old pics, but I saw some other numbers. I will look again. I had asked in a pm to you awhile back if you were at Waco for the kilos in 1980. But you never answered...but that doesn't surprise me given the unreliability of Hughes. They always change things around and stuff gets lost. Anyway....I was adding to the "Amazing Story" and I thought I remembered you were there. After I posted that part of the story, I found the "Propeller" and, I think the District 15 notes to show that you had set the EP record. Jimbo set 3 that day and got the headlines. But...I was wondering.....is that where you set it...or did you bump it someplace else?

[Smokin' Joe]

Wayne, I set the record in the XR-14 in Waco in 1980. I have no photo of the boat either running or at rest and wish I had one, especially of the former. The motor was set back 15" from the transom, with a correspondingly long transom jack. I ran it at a transom height at the limit of pumping water, meaning I could only split the bullet at water level. Run like a tunnel with the gearcase out of the water (with under-gearcase water pickup), the boat would have run 75-80 mph. Jimbo was trying to sell us amway products that day. I thought: under-paid by OMC! What really impresses me in the end of the financial system of the last 30 years: small companies like Arens motors in Berlin. I think small boats, motors, cars, small machine companies can make a comback with the right U.S. policy. If you send me your email address I'll send you an op-ed blurb I wrote based on my finance market research of the last 9 years (went over from physics to economics). Joe (jmccauley@uh.edu)

PS The record setting boat has temporary nr. 248 in the above photos, but had my nr. 853 after 1978.

Joe...I looked back in some old files for 853 to see if I had old pics, but I saw some other numbers. I will look again. I had asked in a pm to you awhile back if you were at Waco for the kilos in 1980. But you never answered...but that doesn't surprise me given the unreliability of Hughes. They always change things around and stuff gets lost. Anyway....I was adding to the "Amazing Story" and I thought I remembered you were there. After I posted that part of the story, I found the "Propeller" and, I think the District 15 notes to show that you had set the EP record. Jimbo set 3 that day and got the headlines. But...I was wondering.....is that where you set it...or did you bump it someplace else?

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Joe, my E mail is mort73@hughes.net. Wow...going from physics to economics seems like something that could crack your block. One disipline in which theories can be proven...the other, theories that can be manipulated by self serving scumbag politicians and agenda driven agents because most people can't understand it.

No wonder I couldn't find a pic of your boat. The last OPC race I went to was in Lake Charles 1979, but it was only tunnels. And unfortunately, I didn't take any pics at Waco.

[Danny Pigott]

Joe i never thought i would go to a OPC race an not see V bottoms running. I still have a 1970 15' Allison an Caldwell SE tunnel.

[Smokin' Joe]

Danny, did you get my first reply mentioning your Dad, the downhousing, etc.? I want the downhousing. Please write me at

jmccauley@uh.edu

Best wishes,
Joe

Joe i never thought i would go to a OPC race an not see V bottoms running. I still have a 1970 15' Allison an Caldwell SE tunnel.

[Danny Pigott]

Joe i sent you E mail let know if you got it

[Barry Strawn]

This was Parker 1982 and I think was the last time I saw a VP run. Don't remember the names. I do remember it was uncomfortable watching this thing run 50 feet from the spectators.

Joe - Thanks for the info on the XR-14. I had heard of them but never even seen a picture. I still have my XR-2002 from 1983.


Barry