Dale Powell Sr. and Bob Montoya-Early Price Craft

[arcticracer]

Again, sorry for the quality. Picture is from around 1967? My Dad, Dale is on the outside driving one of the first Price Craft boats in Region 10. Bob would come to Region 10 to race now and then.

Joe Price came to live with our family, we built a 40' X 40' boat shop that became headquarters for our racing and Joe's work. Joe built dad a CU and DU which replaced his Castegnato CU. I think these are C's, not sure. Don't think Bob had a D. Soon Joe was building quite a few boats, and the rest is history. I think Tom Scheidt got some of the next boats.

Somewhere we have a photo of my Dad's Cast Iron Magneto (Castegnato) CU that had a funky extension built on tho nose so he could run DU with it.

[J-Dub]

I think three of those round sided Price Crafts still exists. My dad still has his (Schiedt's old boat) and I saw Mike Jones still has one and a third one is around the region somewhere. Also there are still two A/B boats around too. Pat Gleason has one stored in my basement and Lauri Gowin has my old one that I believe was also Schiedt's. The D that was new for Tom burnt in a fire a few years back.

J-Dub

[seacow]

Again, sorry for the quality. Picture is from around 1967? My Dad, Dale is on the outside driving one of the first Price Craft boats in Region 10. Bob would come to Region 10 to race now and then.

Joe Price came to live with our family, we built a 40' X 40' boat shop that became headquarters for our racing and Joe's work. Joe built dad a CU and DU which replaced his Castegnato CU. I think these are C's, not sure. Don't think Bob had a D. Soon Joe was building quite a few boats, and the rest is history. I think Tom Scheidt got some of the next boats.

Somewhere we have a photo of my Dad's Cast Iron Magneto (Castegnato) CU that had a funky extension built on tho nose so he could run DU with it.

Back in the 60s those Price-crafts were very competitive. Will Adams, Commodore of East Bay Boat Club in Reg.11 did quite well with his. They were great on the tight turns as well due to the rounded chines. By the way I had a Castegneto DU. One angled chine and one rounded chine. The one I drove held the competition record, made just before I purchased it.

Bob Montoya's boats were also very interesting and very fast. (He sometimes raced in Reg 10 because he originally hailed from Sedro Woolley WA. He moved back there some years ago and also was living in FL as well.) Bob worked at Lawrence Radiation Lab in Livermore CA in Reg. 11 and started the Livermore Outboard Racing Association.

Bob mostly raced DU. He designed and built most of his boats. He built them quickly and inexpensively and they did not have pretty finishes but they were innovative and fabulous to drive. One of his best DUs exceeded 14.5 feet, floated on the straights, was very fast and also a dream on the turns. It had an offset cockpit with a tight aft portion and a left notch forward for the driver to put his knee into the turn- not seen elsewhere back then.

Bob had a flotilla of boats and engines. He let anyone who was safe run a rig and thereby populated the races with robust classes. He shared parts and knowledge with anyone in need. He was a great driver. ( Note the 1-O on his boat in your photo) In one race at Red Rock on SF Bay, I won the first place BU trophy. But Bob had hopped in a BU as an unregistered entry just to show drivers how not to fear rough water and he was a full half lap ahead of me in white-capped waters at the end of one heat. It is for these memories that I was thrilled to see the early picture with your dad and Bob that you posted.

[arcticracer]

Seacow: My Dad held the 5 mile competition records for both CU and DU for awhile, which makes me wonder if you owned his old boat? It was 55+ for CU and 58+ for DU. It would have been around 1966.

[seacow]

Seacow: My Dad held the 5 mile competition records for both CU and DU for awhile, which makes me wonder if you owned his old boat? It was 55+ for CU and 58+ for DU. It would have been around 1966.

Sounds like it might be the one! I recall that I did purchase it in WA and it was the only one that I ever saw on the West coast. It was so long ago I do not recall who sold it to me, even though your dad was very well known to everyone. But you said he has a funny nose extension and this craft at least looked like it was built as a DU. I did well with the boat in Reg 11.

If I recall, it was painted yellow when I acquired it. It had a wide bottom at the transom and beautiful mahogany decking. I had it when I quit racing over politics in Reg 11 and stored it on my ranch. I was in the midst of putting together a 75H to see how it would run as an FRR. Then a brush fire hit the area my ranch was in and incinerated the Castegneto. The 75H was a puddle of aluminum. My trophies, my Hudson and my ranch were destroyed as well.

[arcticracer]

Seacow- I'm trying to get the old brain cells to remember back that far and having trouble! I think he had 2 White Castegnato's, a CU and DU. He earned 2-US but I don't remember if it was one class or both. He sold the DU first, and the CU got the strange surgery to allow him to run it in both classes, so I would imagine you owned his old boat. I was wrong about the Lawrence Lake records, they were 53+ and 55+ not the 55+ and 58+ I posted. He tried hard to get the Kilo records in both classes but never did. I think Ron Hill had the DU record at 70 and change, Dad was within 1 MPH.

I will be visiting him in a couple weeks in Oregon, I'll get into the photos while I am there and ask him since my memory is lacking, heck I was just a kid. He still has the UIM certificates for the records on the wall in the basement.

I really enjoyed reading about Bob Montoya and his boats, thanks for sharing.

[seacow]

Then for sure I had your Dad's boat! And it must have been him that sold it to me. I also purchased a 55-H from him with the boat. He and someone else assembled it from parts while I was there, probably at your house! The reason why I don't remember if it was your dad is that I was jet lagged from an overseas trip having returned the previous day and Abraham Lincoln could have sold me a water witch with an 8 foot pram and I probably would not have noticed anything at all.

Anyway, although I sung Bob Montoya's praises in this thread, it goes without saying that I admired your dad for his winning ways and that is probably why I decided to purchase his rig. To help my fuzzy memory, where was your family living in those days? Maybe that info will clear the cobwebs for me. Not remembering all the details makes me wonder if I am not as young as I think I am!

[arcticracer]

We lived in Eugene, Or. What a story, I will tell him when I visit. My memory too, is sketchy about a lot of this stuff. After a few decades of cramming new knowledge in the old stuff has to have someplace to go! Yes, Bob Montoya was quite a racer although I didn't know much about him. I also remember Don Gano was damn fast, and Tom Scheidt who came along somewhat later. Tom soon was kicking everybody's butt on a regular basis. There are so many others too.

Your story about getting that 55H put together from parts reminds me of a lot of engine work that was done IN THE HOUSE, even on the kitchen table. The good old days.... Anyway after family racing retirement in 1970 I got into racing dirt bikes, never got in another race boat.

[seacow]

We lived in Eugene, Or. What a story, I will tell him when I visit. My memory too, is sketchy about a lot of this stuff. After a few decades of cramming new knowledge in the old stuff has to have someplace to go! Yes, Bob Montoya was quite a racer although I didn't know much about him. I also remember Don Gano was damn fast, and Tom Scheidt who came along somewhat later. Tom soon was kicking everybody's butt on a regular basis. There are so many others too.

Your story about getting that 55H put together from parts reminds me of a lot of engine work that was done IN THE HOUSE, even on the kitchen table. The good old days.... Anyway after family racing retirement in 1970 I got into racing dirt bikes, never got in another race boat.

So that does ring a bell. I was at your home and it was your dad!

Sounds like bike racing is a good substitute for boats. Never-the-less, sorry that you never got in a rig again after the early 70s. For me there has always been a certain "high" from riding one or even watching a race. Although I must say the DU speeds that I, Montoya or even your dad were posting back then are exceeded by most pleasure boats I see these days outside my window here on the bay at San Diego.

[Allen J. Lang]

With pleasure boats obtaining the speeds now that were unobtainable back in the 50/60s, the racers I have talked to say they believe that it is the reason for the lower racing memberships now. I say that you can not get the thrill in a fast pleasure boat that a runabout or hydro gives.
Ye Olde Desert Geezer Al