wboxell
07-19-2007, 08:55 PM
i had run e-mod hydro for a couple of years(75&76). i had crewed for mike o'brien and kurt kubler(sp) for a few years before that. kay harrison was driving hydros for mike and kurt. kay was going to run c alky at depue in 75? i went and it was over. i had to have one of those pro hydros. tim butts had built me a boat for the new johnruid(omc) e in mod. i went to winnioa minn in 76 to watch. i came back with a 350cc round block motor on the back seat of my car. tim said my boat would be big for a b and small for a c. i really wanted a c but didn't have the money for a new boat. i bought the motor from a guy tim was going to build a new c boat for. the three of us are talking and the east coast guy says, tim you take his (me) check for the deposit on my boat. i wrote tim a check took my motor home. i went home and beg, borrowed, no i did not steal the money to cover the check.
during the winter(i'm 23 at the time) tim and i keep in touch. i keep thinging about a new boat. how much can i borrow on my car? then the american express card shows up. tim tells me he wants to run OD at dayton in 77 and he will sell me the a/b boat he had built for himself. he hand picked the wood. lightest boat he has ever built. you will fly with this boat. i lost control. ok tim i'll buy it.
when i picked up the boat it was -400 degrees. i lived in indy, i grew up and my dad and mom still lived about a 100 miles north. i stopped by dad and moms got dads pick-up and went to tims to get the boat. when i saw the boat WOW WOW WOW. never seen tiger strips like that. lots of bench racing then throw it on top of the half shell(could have done it myself i think) and take in home(dad and moms).
should have had tim turn key the boat(no $). he told me when i picked it up what to do. he told me on the phone many times what to do. when it was together i had an extra part. didn't??? ask tim about that. the boat was ready just before the western divisionals at marine creek lake in fort worth june 4-5 1977. i (dad, sister inlaw) took the boat to a lake near the home place. it was wee hours and wow it was everything i thougt it would be. it's flying but when i turn it craps out. dad would pick me up with his electic trolling motor. did that a couple (long) times and i said good enough i'll fix it in texas.
time to load up for fort worth. i have the front, dad has the back and up it goes onto the half shell. when dad raises the back he hits the tail shroud on the garage door. the boat is on the truck and i loose my mind. you(dad)killed my boat. go? dam? it. how could you hurt the best looking boat in the world. dad did not say much other then sorry. he was not a timmid guy and if about anything else would have hit me in mouth but he new what that boat ment to me.
i head to indy to pick up my roommate(free ride on amex) and go to tx. the wind was blowing a 100mph. i can see the tip of the forks over the hood of dads pickup. they are moving then the boat tries to jump off the truck. fu?k!
the boats front had swung up over and landed down on the half shell roof rack. i had a hole about 1 inch round, dead center of the bottom, a couple three feet back from the leading edge. i stop, get out, lift the boat off the only thing that had kept it off the highway and roped in down hard. guess i'll fix that in tx also.
the race course was great. i really didn''t know anybody(tim wasn't there) but everybody was friendly. i duct taped my bottom damage and went for it. wow it's flying but it craps out in the corner. tim had told wayne(i think)to keep an eye on this rookie from the midwest. wayne comes buy and is looking the boat over(really lots of people had looked it over) and asks how it''s going. i told him about my problem. he looks things over and says i think maybe(he's being kind)you have the fuel tank in backwards(pickup). i turned the tank around and now i get to drive this sucker. every time i go out it seems faster. the back end is dancing but hel? this pro hydro racing.
it's race time. i come down for the start in my normal spot on the outside as i never had the ba?ls to charge the inside where races are won. the start looks great. pipes up, full tilt, peak inside and i think it would have been good. the back of the boat is dancing(it's pro, fu?k it) then water in the eyes. my crew guy said as i hit the starting line it looked like the connon shot me out of the boat. when i stopped bouncing i was looking down course and the field was coming out of the second turn. i checked to see if all body parts were there. they were. then i think, my boat. tims perfect boat. maybe i just got pitched and i'm going to turn around and see it setting priddy on the water. not! i see a piece sign(forks),fuel tank,tail shroud, and stuff. i'm only x feet from shore and start that way when here comes the basket. not to be stopped they skoop me up and darn near walk onto the boat ramp. i answer the stupid human questions and i want to get up. at that time i hear a nice female voice say are you ok? i'm looking up at a few girls with cut off tops saying are you ok. answer, i'm getting better.
then what makes racing, racing happened. anybody, and everybody helped recover my boat, load my stuff ect. my roommate(pit crew) had no clue and it didn't matter. ray hardy came up and gave me a gallon(big glass)of what ever it was and said you are going to need this. i took the medication as precribed. greg(roommate)drove us up to ok somewhere that night. when i awoke i could not move. i think my toe nails were sore. greg drove home and i worked on pain killers.
the extra part i had was the clamp on the torque tube that keeps the motor from going up. sure was getting faster till it went to far.
i got the boat home(dad&moms) and dad said i guess your not mad at me anymore.
i think tim was ill when i got it back to mich
welcome to pro racing. i sure new a lot more folks when i left tx then when i arrived
during the winter(i'm 23 at the time) tim and i keep in touch. i keep thinging about a new boat. how much can i borrow on my car? then the american express card shows up. tim tells me he wants to run OD at dayton in 77 and he will sell me the a/b boat he had built for himself. he hand picked the wood. lightest boat he has ever built. you will fly with this boat. i lost control. ok tim i'll buy it.
when i picked up the boat it was -400 degrees. i lived in indy, i grew up and my dad and mom still lived about a 100 miles north. i stopped by dad and moms got dads pick-up and went to tims to get the boat. when i saw the boat WOW WOW WOW. never seen tiger strips like that. lots of bench racing then throw it on top of the half shell(could have done it myself i think) and take in home(dad and moms).
should have had tim turn key the boat(no $). he told me when i picked it up what to do. he told me on the phone many times what to do. when it was together i had an extra part. didn't??? ask tim about that. the boat was ready just before the western divisionals at marine creek lake in fort worth june 4-5 1977. i (dad, sister inlaw) took the boat to a lake near the home place. it was wee hours and wow it was everything i thougt it would be. it's flying but when i turn it craps out. dad would pick me up with his electic trolling motor. did that a couple (long) times and i said good enough i'll fix it in texas.
time to load up for fort worth. i have the front, dad has the back and up it goes onto the half shell. when dad raises the back he hits the tail shroud on the garage door. the boat is on the truck and i loose my mind. you(dad)killed my boat. go? dam? it. how could you hurt the best looking boat in the world. dad did not say much other then sorry. he was not a timmid guy and if about anything else would have hit me in mouth but he new what that boat ment to me.
i head to indy to pick up my roommate(free ride on amex) and go to tx. the wind was blowing a 100mph. i can see the tip of the forks over the hood of dads pickup. they are moving then the boat tries to jump off the truck. fu?k!
the boats front had swung up over and landed down on the half shell roof rack. i had a hole about 1 inch round, dead center of the bottom, a couple three feet back from the leading edge. i stop, get out, lift the boat off the only thing that had kept it off the highway and roped in down hard. guess i'll fix that in tx also.
the race course was great. i really didn''t know anybody(tim wasn't there) but everybody was friendly. i duct taped my bottom damage and went for it. wow it's flying but it craps out in the corner. tim had told wayne(i think)to keep an eye on this rookie from the midwest. wayne comes buy and is looking the boat over(really lots of people had looked it over) and asks how it''s going. i told him about my problem. he looks things over and says i think maybe(he's being kind)you have the fuel tank in backwards(pickup). i turned the tank around and now i get to drive this sucker. every time i go out it seems faster. the back end is dancing but hel? this pro hydro racing.
it's race time. i come down for the start in my normal spot on the outside as i never had the ba?ls to charge the inside where races are won. the start looks great. pipes up, full tilt, peak inside and i think it would have been good. the back of the boat is dancing(it's pro, fu?k it) then water in the eyes. my crew guy said as i hit the starting line it looked like the connon shot me out of the boat. when i stopped bouncing i was looking down course and the field was coming out of the second turn. i checked to see if all body parts were there. they were. then i think, my boat. tims perfect boat. maybe i just got pitched and i'm going to turn around and see it setting priddy on the water. not! i see a piece sign(forks),fuel tank,tail shroud, and stuff. i'm only x feet from shore and start that way when here comes the basket. not to be stopped they skoop me up and darn near walk onto the boat ramp. i answer the stupid human questions and i want to get up. at that time i hear a nice female voice say are you ok? i'm looking up at a few girls with cut off tops saying are you ok. answer, i'm getting better.
then what makes racing, racing happened. anybody, and everybody helped recover my boat, load my stuff ect. my roommate(pit crew) had no clue and it didn't matter. ray hardy came up and gave me a gallon(big glass)of what ever it was and said you are going to need this. i took the medication as precribed. greg(roommate)drove us up to ok somewhere that night. when i awoke i could not move. i think my toe nails were sore. greg drove home and i worked on pain killers.
the extra part i had was the clamp on the torque tube that keeps the motor from going up. sure was getting faster till it went to far.
i got the boat home(dad&moms) and dad said i guess your not mad at me anymore.
i think tim was ill when i got it back to mich
welcome to pro racing. i sure new a lot more folks when i left tx then when i arrived