Quote Originally Posted by Ron Hill View Post
BUNKER:

The real story on the second DeSilva Wing was that Mac McCune had given DeSilva a grand deposit to build a wing...Jack Leek flew out from Waukegan and Mac flew from Denver and we all met at DeSilva. The "Wing" was just that a WING...Mac and Leek looked at it and DECLARED IT NO GOOD....and basically left DeSilva's shop saying they could keep the $1,000 DEPOSIT.

Grandpa Hill (My dad) wasn't one to listen to Jack Leek, considering some 15 years earlier, Jack Leek was writing him letters asking him how to "HOP UP" motors...He also liked "The Kids" (Bill and Ralph DeSilva), so he asked Ralph what they wanted for the boat...as is? They said, "1,000 would make us happy."

Well, we had the 18" DeSilva runabout that Fred Miller had blow the bottom out of at Parker, I had helped repair the boat at DeSilva's and raced it in COBRA, but I'd sold it for $1,000 and kept the trailer....and the motors...

We went home and got the trailer, Jimbo and his dad happened to be at the house picking up one of Jimbo's motors...Jimbo's dad said, "He'd go half on the DeSilva...and wrote my dad a check for $500 on the spot...

We went back to DeSilva's and picked up the boat and paid them $1,000.

Rod Zapf had just left the Navy to fly for TWA and had time to burn. We were hanging out and such, he told the OLD MAN he'd help...Rod worked with my dad for about 30 days straight. They built cowlings both front and rear, my dad painted the red and ROD painted every black and white check....Though it seems maybe Phil Nichols may have given us advice on the checkers...

I told Leek we had the boat "Totally Tits" and I needed some motors for Parker...I had added aluminum angles for air traps on the runners and sponsons...(Like the Berghauers had on their Sid Crafts). We tested the boat on a rainy day at Elsinore with the two engine (89.9 Inchers) off the 18 foot DeSilva...I saw 85 on your DAD's Keller......as it only went to 85 but it wrapped around to where I felt it was going over 90 MPH...(Nobody went 90 with two 89.9 inchers)...

We headed to Parker, where Leek gave us two new engines... I remember clearly, warming them up and slowly heading up to the dam and I made a wide "WING TURN" and then I got on the gas.....There may have been ten to fifteen boats on the river testing, big mother flat bottoms and all....I came whistling down past the pits at 110 on OMC's Keller....Actually, maybe 107...OMC's fastest twin was going 91 MPH at the time...Just as I started to back her down I broke a crank....

We replaced the motor and Freddy Hauenstein took her for a ride...It looked like a little D Alky Hydro....."PRANCING" down the river...

Everyone saw it and realized it didn't "HOP" like a Switzer, it just went around the corner and hauled ***..

We lead Parker that year, first outboard to every lead, and Ann Strang "sold" (Offered it to Carl and he took the offer)... the boat to Carl for $8,000, that same day........When Jack Leek heard that Mac McConnell and Russ were selling the boat to Mercury, he bought it...Jimbo drove the wing the next year, when I drove the Hallett...

That's the rest of the story!

If you sold it for big $$$ and it ran great why didn't you build another one ??