Coolest racing engine of all time???

[Mark75H]

I agree, Martins beat Mercs at the specific event well remembered by Martin fans. It was used extensively in Martin ads ... but you won't find it in any magazine articles or APBA's Propeller, etc.

The first Hot Rod racer was 1949

[Ron Hill]

Carl paid my dad's way to the 1953 Winnebagoland Marathon because he'd heard my dad was an excellent motor "Measuer" inspector.

When my dad got home from the race he had great stories. He talked about these two young engineers, Charlie and Edgar. He said Charlie lived with his mom, and they were REALLY nice people.. Anyway, my dad talked about Wisconsin steaks, that Edgar had "MADE" him eat without using a knife.

Seems they had the Martin (B motor) on Merc's dyno at the time and they were trying to figure out what to do about it and the Evinrudes in the C Class. My dad told them to let him worry about those motors. But mentioned the 20-H.

By June of 1954, my dad was asked again to inspect at the Winnebagoland Marathon, and this time my dad drove taking my mom and me. There were 20-H's in Wisconsin in June, 1954.

By now Charlie, Edgar and Carl we're first names with my dad. Jimmy Jost was now working for Mercury, In think, by August 1954, at the DePere, Wisconsin Nationals, Jimmy Jost was already elected Stock Outboard Vice President of APBA.

I didn't get to go to DePere, but several things still stick in my mind.

1. The Californians had taken hack saws to thier new 20-H cowling and cut the hell out of Carl's gold cowlings. When Carl saw these California 20-H's he flew off the handle and demanded they be illegal and my dad should disqualify them. After my dad read Carl the rules, CARL OFFERED EVERY CALIFORNIAN brand new cowlings. They refused which pissed Carl off at California and my dad.

2. DIck O"Dea asked my dad to measure an A-B Quickie, it measured. The foot was legal but had a bushing tail cone. O'Dea ran the foot on his 20-H and Don Badducci protested the cone saying it didn't have a needle bearings and was therefore faster. The Commission help held the protest. My dad always blamed himself for this DQ, but O'Dea never did!

3. Jim Jost, I think,was Stock VP, was going out in the patrol boat, at the Nationals with four cases of beer in he patrol boat. My dad told Jimmy he couldn't take beer on the course and Jimmy and my dad got in quite an argument. My dad took an 8mm movie of Jimmy with the beer. (I'm getting the 8 mm changed into a DVD for Christmas)...Years later we laughed about this, but at the time, Jim was really mad at my old man for not letting him take beer on the race course...

So, the 20-H came out in early 1954, and the 30-H came out after the '55 Nationals in Devil's Lake, Oregon (Ron Loomis won the Cu Nationals in'55 with an Evinrude, by '56 he had a Mark 30-H) and pretty much so did the Hot Rod. As both, the Hot Rod and Mark 30-H, were at the Nationals in Cambridge, MD 1956.

[Danny Pigott]

Ron where an why did they cut the 20H Cowl. I have a 20H cowl that is cut for the Quincy open ex. but that was for PRO.

[Ron Hill]

For starters the took half the cowling off. Them back by the spark plugs they cut the other half of the hand off, so you could get to the spark plugs. Then, as I recall they cut the cowing so you could get to the upper left hand corner, so you could get the rewind starter off. If you recall the 20-H had the gas filter on top of the carb and getting the rewind off was a pain....

I'll look for some pictures...But, they were not cut to run "Stacks"...

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

For starters the took half the cowling off. Them back by the spark plugs they cut the other half of the hand off, so you could get to the spark plugs. Then, as I recall they cut the cowing so you could get to the upper left hand corner, so you could get the rewind starter off. If you recall the 20-H had the gas filter on top of the carb and getting the rewind off was a pain....

I'll look for some pictures...But, they were not cut to run "Stacks"...

Ron, I finished 4th in BSH with a Jacoby/20H when we started 16 boats. I don't recall Bob Parrish's 20H being cut. Bob won BSH & 3rd in BU with DeSilva boats. I believe that Ed West won BU with a repainted 20H maybe yellow & blue, but I sure don't remeber any cut cowls being allowed to race.

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

For starters the took half the cowling off. Them back by the spark plugs they cut the other half of the hand off, so you could get to the spark plugs. Then, as I recall they cut the cowing so you could get to the upper left hand corner, so you could get the rewind starter off. If you recall the 20-H had the gas filter on top of the carb and getting the rewind off was a pain....

I'll look for some pictures...But, they were not cut to run "Stacks"...

Here are some pictures taken at the dock after the 2nd heat of the finals awaiting inspectio. 519-J is me. In one pictuure you can see Bob Parrish to the left of Terry Deringer who finished 2nd. Dave Kough from NJ was 3rd. He won the first heat, claimed he saw hands up indicating a re-start in the 2nd heat which didn't happen. 2 weeks prior to the nationals, I set the competition record at the divisionals in Syracuse, NY. In the 1st heat at Depere, Dave & I started on the outside. I was pulling him to the 1st turn then I got airborne & almost blew over. My dad & Hal Kelly, who is in the picture with my dad by my boat(we went together to Depere), told me they could see me hanging on to the throttle & steering wheel & then I righted the boat & finished 6th. The 2nd heat I finished 3rd, tried every which way to get by Terry but just couldn't.

[david bryan]

john are going to let the facts get in the way of a good story

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

john are going to let the facts get in the way of a good story

I sure hope you were kidding, as the facts add life to a story as well.

[Ron Hill]

See in those days, California was considered one state out near Japan.

Carl wanted the new 20-H run as it came out of the box. That being said, I think that included keeping the cowling on in total. I just looked at the Boat Sport web page, and most 20-H's had the full cowling.

My dad and Red Thomas had goone to DePere together. Red ran AU, BU DU an DSH, but only took the AU-BU boat on the top of tghe car. Red was a Marine pilot and was called in the middle of the night, Saturday before the Nationals and told to return home as war was breaking out in Korea, and he needed to get home.

Eddie West went by Eddie West, Jr (A Northern California, Region 11 driver), Chuck Boring Jr and Bob Clement were also NorCal drivers. I'm pretty sure these were the guys with the cut cowlings and a John says, repainted cowlings.

I'm pretty sure that Bobby Parrish and Red Thomas' side cowling were on the floor of my dad's shop...


My dad, always said later, he should have agreed with CARL, that keeping STOCK, STOCK was best.


My main point of the post was to answer someone's question about when the 20-H came out. Reading Boat Sport this morning, it seems I was close to the FACTS, as they were tested in March of 1954 with 20-H's in Wisconsin.

ADD:


The A motor that Vic Bonnan was second with in A Hydro, became my motor that fall after Vic threw a rod that fall at Parker. In 1955, we loaned my motor to Bobby Parrish to take to Devil's lake for the nationals. Seems Bobby got two seconds for a third...

I was also wrong about the Stock VP, it was Merlyn Culver in '54 (A Mercury distributor).


Last ADD;

How old were you in 1954??? Dick O'Dea was just going into or coming out of the Navy??? Right? Did you have your side cowling off, too? (At the time, I think rule said, "Cowlings could be removed"....No exact rules on how they could be removed...


So, Hal Kelly and your dad are holding you there??? Cool!

Great pictures on the Boat Sport web site..Thanks for your pictures, John.


Last, last add:
That patrol boat is the one, in my dad's 8mm films that Jim Jost had the four cases of beer in, heading out to patrol....

[John Schubert T*A*R*T]

See in those days, California was considered one state out near Japan.

Carl wanted the new 20-H run as it came out of the box. That being said, I think that included keeping the cowling on in total. I just looked at the Boat Sport web page, and most 20-H's had the full cowling.

My dad and Red Thomas had goone to DePere together. Red ran AU, BU DU an DSH, but only took the AU-BU boat on the top of tghe car. Red was a Marine pilot and was called in the middle of the night, Saturday before the Nationals and told to return home as war was breaking out in Korea, and he needed to get home.

Eddie West went by Eddie West, Jr (A Northern California, Region 11 driver), Chuck Boring Jr and Bob Clement were also NorCal drivers. I'm pretty sure these were the guys with the cut cowlings and a John says, repainted cowlings.

I'm pretty sure that Bobby Parrish and Red Thomas' side cowling were on the floor of my dad's shop...


My dad, always said later, he should have agreed with CARL, that keeping STOCK, STOCK was best.


My main point of the post was to answer someone's question about when the 20-H came out. Reading Boat Sport this morning, it seems I was close to the FACTS, as they were tested in March of 1954 with 20-H's in Wisconsin.

ADD:


The A motor that Vic Bonnan was second with in A Hydro, became my motor that fall after Vic threw a rod that fall at Parker. In 1955, we loaned my motor to Bobby Parrish to take to Devil's lake for the nationals. Seems Bobby got two seconds for a third...

I was also wrong about the Stock VP, it was Merlyn Culver in '54 (A Mercury distributor).


Last ADD;

How old were you in 1954??? Dick O'Dea was just going into or coming out of the Navy??? Right? Did you have your side cowling off, too? (At the time, I think rule said, "Cowlings could be removed"....No exact rules on how they could be removed...


So, Hal Kelly and your dad are holding you there??? Cool!

Great pictures on the Boat Sport web site..Thanks for your pictures, John.


Last, last add:
That patrol boat is the one, in my dad's 8mm films that Jim Jost had the four cases of beer in, heading out to patrol....

My starboard cowl was removed as well.

I was 15, & Bob Parrish & Ron Loomis took me to the Depere fair grounds for a car race during the nationals.

Attached are pix of Ron & Bob from Boat Sport, a picture of me on the scales after breaking the record & one of Dick O'Dea receiving the high point trophy in uniform.

BTW I had one of the very 1st 20H's sold in NJ. Mt dad purchased it from Covals Sporting goods. We had it in March 1954.