Ron Hill Family: Hill Marine and Signature Propellers

[Ron Hill]

Seems I'd bet that the tall pile of COORS CANS was MY PILE...

After looking at this picture, does anyone DOUBT the TRUTH about 36 drivers drinking DURING a race???

In case you never heard, in the 1963 or 64 Needles Marathon, I was passing Danny Schwarzenbach's 36, in my D Runabout, when I saw a Coors can fly out of his boat and land on a sand bar (Beer cans were heavier then)...About two laps before I'd seen a Coors can floating in the river and had wondered how a Coors can got in the middle of our race, as I knew the river traffic was stopped during the race...

I was in inspection after the race and I told my dad, who was inspecting with Austin Secor that Danny Schwarzenbach was drinking beer during the race. About then Danny finished and pulled into inspection...

My dad confronted Danny and Danny said, "Gall Dang, it's hot out there and the race was 90 miles, sure he was drinking beer...But he wasn't now cause the race was over".....My OLD MAN goes, "What the hell are you talking about???" Danny said, "The rule says no drinking before the race and no drinking until one hour after the race...Danny said, "Well it doesn't say you CAN'T DRINK DURING THE RACE"....He said, "We all (36 driviers) took a six pack with us..."

That fall, at the APBA National Meeting, as new sentence was added to the rule...

When I found those props at Apple Valley Marine a few weeks back....I didn't mention Ken Scoville's prop, but here it is...looks good all polished...

Old Ken wrote a MILLION words, at least, about boat racing. He could call the LA TIMES collect and give them our race results, which would appear in the L. A. Times next to names like AJ Foyt, Parnelli Jones....on Monday morning.

Old Ken retired to Needles and we rented a trailer ,next to him for many years....He loved 36 Runabout to the end...All the 36 drivers were hurt deeply when "THEIR" class was dropped from APBA....

[Ron Hill]

I was looking for something, and I see Fred Hauenstein shaking hands...I say, "Who is the Jack *** in the suit, in Miami, in July?" Then, I look closer, and realize that "JACK ***" is me...

See, my "Starter Wife" worked for TWA in those days....and I liked to LOOK RICH!!!! I was heading for the airport...

[Ron Hill]

It is official!!! Marlee Hill, Great Grand daughter of Russ Hill Sr. Is the first 4th generation Hill racer!!
Marlee had a great 1st run finishing second in a fleet of 4 JSH's at lake Ming. It was almost too much for grandfather, Russ Hill Jr. He was overcome with tears of pride for a job well done by his oldest grand daughter!

Way to go Russ and Marlee!!

Bunker

Broc Hill here:

Woohoo, Glad to see Marlee racing and she is a great addition to the Hill Racing tradition.

Posting a pic here because that Pops asked me too. He said him, "And I think he said, He and Ted May, (but I'm not sure) went to the store and bought some wall paper and designed this boat to full scale on the garage floor. Ron ended up setting the kilo record for A Racing Runabout at the time. Bitchen!!

[Ron Hill]

(This is really a story for Broc, but you all can read it):

I found the picture Broc posted (Above this post) in some stuff I almost tossed out...When I saw my dad's hand writing my mind drifted back to 1965.

In '64 I'd built a C Runabout....Well, I drew the plans and started it, my dad and I finished it. We managed to up the Kilo record from 60 to 64 which, was quite a jump.

That September, Ernie Dawe talked me into going to Flagstaff to college, that was the fall of 1964, something that NO MAN could understand how great Flagstaff was for a 6'5" California Kid...Anyway, that fall there was a Parker race and I went down from Flag to the race. I managed to catch the three day measles, and had it not been for my girl friend, I might have died in the school's infirmary (She'd slip in after hours with medicinal RUM...and) anyway, my blood pressure was up everyday and they wouldn't let me out, for a week)...

Carl Meyers was like a BIG BROTHER to me in those days. I had a BIG BROTHER but he was married and had kids...Carl TOOK CARE OF ME...When I needed BEER we had BEER...When I needed a motor we had a motor...Carl had been a fireman, but quit to be a gardener. His son was a Rhoads Scholar at Oxford....

Anyway, Carl "Hit ME Up" to design a B runabout for him...at this Parker Race...

Well, I told Carl I'd design him a BU. So, after I got out of the infirmary, Ernie and I went to the local paint store and got a roll of wall paper for us to design this boat for Carl.

Ernie had had a Foo Ling (Hal Kelly BU) and he had a Sid Craft (Not Bath Tub) that was pretty fast... So, in our house, where Erine, Wire and I lived ($55 a month rent) we put this wall paper, backward on the floor and designed this BU. I those days Ernie drank beer.....He hasn't drank in 26 years....and we'd have a beer and argue...

Finally, we drew this boat out on the floor of our house....and what a great house...Across the street from the college where there were two girls enrolled for every boy....Oh my god, I may have invented the word A.D.D.

Anyway, I sent the plans to my MOM. As my MOM sent me $20 a week. My money paid for everything....but my Mom sent me $20 per week was for "Extras"....

The first $20 check I cashed at Ruff's Liquor store. I took my cooler in, put a case of beer in the cooler, added free ice, and put a case of Coors on top of my cooler...I walked up to the cash register and handed them my Mom's $20 check (A case of Coors was $5.00 in those days)...I'd just bought two cases...One in my cooler and one on top the cooler...

The guy behind the cash register handed me some bills. When I got out to my car with my two cases of Coors, I realized he'd given me $15 dollars change....Hmmm, I thought, he didn't charge me for the case in the cooler...

Many of my friends often wondered "WHY" Ron Hill always had lots of beer to give away ....

[Ron Hill]

I roll home Easter week, 1965 with two twins from Newport Beach, the McConneville twins and two girls from Farmington, New Mexico.

There are quite a few people from Arizona over in Cal for Easter Week. The two young ladies from Farmington New Mexico want to go to HOLLYWOOD. Well, am I going to tell them I have NO CLUE where Hollywood is??? Somehow, me and four BEAUTIFUL young ladies head out for HOLLYWOOD. I know Hollywood must be near Los Angeles so I head for Los Angeles.

In those days, my '59 Chevy held about 8 people , four in the foruth and four in the back...Seems when we found HOLLYWOOD I had 8 people in my car, all from Arizona...plus me...By the time we returned from Hollywood.....I think the sun was coming up at my parent's home...

6:00 A.M. my dad was saying, ""Let's get started on Carl's boat.." I'm saying...."Let's see if I'll live through the day???..."

So, the OLD MAN and me work on MY PLANS all day building Carl's boat....These New Mexico Chicks and Newport Chicks sleep all day...they call me and want to go to Hollywood AGAIN....Hell, I don't know how we found Hollywood last night....but I say, "I'll pick you up in a little while..."

[Ron Hill]

This is Monday night... I've slept three hours since Saturday night...

I head to Newport to pick up the twins and the two Farmington New Mexicao Chicks, there are like four more chicks that want to go to HOLLYWOOD....

By the time we FIND Hollywood and go clubing until 2:00 A.M. and I take these CHICKS back to Newport, I roll into bed at 5:00...

My Old Man is getting me up at 6 to BUILD this BU....Seriously, I have no clue what day it is, we're sanding and grinding on this boat....and this is TUESDAY MORNING......

About 3:00 P.M. I'm close to dying...My Mom comes out and says your friends want to know what time you are picking them up top go to HOLLYWOOD....? Of Course, by this time, Larry Smith,'s CLUB".... Larry Smith of Scaarb Boat ownes this club...and he likes guys who bring "CHICKS IN"....Oh, The RAINBO ROOM, that's the name.....GUYS LIKE Wilt Chamberlin hung out there.

So, Tuesday night we're off to HOLLYWOOD again....(Party all night, build boats all day)...

Truth is I have no idea when I get home Tuesday night, but at 6:00 Wednesday the OLD MAN says we've got to finish this boat...for Carl. Had he said we need to finish it for me, I'd have said, "NEXT YEAR"... but for Carl...We needed to build the boat....

[Ron Hill]

By Wednesday, I realized I'd had about 8 hours sleep since Saturday.

My Farmington New Mexico chicks would sleep all day and were SERIOUS partiers at night. By Friday, I told the OLD MAN I needed to get back top Flagstaff to "Study".

[russhill]

Larry Smith and I go back a few years to the early Offshore days. Anyway, This "Club" Ron talks above was not where Wilt hung out, that was in Marina Del Rey. Anyway the best story is about Larry's club on La Cienega or somewhere like that. Larry was basically a restaurateur, not a Scarab boat builder. We hung out there sometime. Larry's place had no valet parking, but one time (I wasn't there) Larry always glad-handed his customers and this particular night, somebody said glad you're finally getting some parking. Larry laughed and said, "Yeah".

Later somebody said to Larry. glad to see you're finally getting some valets. Larry said, what the hell you guys talking about? Well some red vested entrepreneurs had been valeting. They successfully made off with a couple of Rolls, four Ferrari's and a few more high dollar cars. They didn't steal any Toyotas.

Russ Hill

Even you non-boat racers can dig that.

[Ron Hill]

Easter Week FINALLY ended and I headed back to Flagstaff with four young ladies.....(I mean I was trust worthy to get GIRLS back to their dorms...of course I delivered them for money...).

We had a race in Blythe the next spring. I brought Tubby and Wink down to Blythe, they were from New York had never seen a Boat Race before, they loved it.

Carl had me drive the new boat and coming around the second turn the boat took a "Hop" and split my chin wide open from hitting the deck...Jimbo decided I needed stitches, but we put duct tape on my chin instead.

When I got back to Flag I'd decided we'd built a "DOG". I thought, "Holly Cow, I spent my Easter Week building a boat that is a DOG"....

[Ron Hill]

College was tuff in those days. We had Greek Week, Intramural baseball, golf, ping pong, basketball, weight lifting. There were parties, on campus every Wednesday night, and the Sigma Chi's had parties every Friday and Saturday nights. Barry Goldwater was a Sigma Chi, he'd come up and talk on campus and "Hang Out". I had to play golf in tournaments in Phoenix...and all.

Almost every night we'd have to go to the LQ (Latin Quarter) and sing "Ira Hayes" by Johnny Cash and drink a few beers...

And of course, there were things to do being on Inter Fraternity Council and being in Student Government, and going to A O PI Formals with the Homecoming Queen....and Tri Delta Balls...

It really was hard keeping up with all this "ACTION".....but now and then, I'd think about that DAMN BU....

Ernie had this Sid Craft that had no after plane, and he's set the motor back about an inch.

My CU that I'd broken the kilo record with, had a 22 degree transom and I ran it in the sixth hole with a pipe...and still ran kick under. Ernie's BU was only ten feet long. I'd designed Carl's to be 11, but someone measured from the bottom and the mother was 11'4".

I had to go to summer school if I was to graduate in the spring of 1966, but had a week off between school and summer. I came home, called Carl and had him bring the boat to my dad's house. I decided to cut the transom out and move it back four inches.

When I ran my CU in the KILO, I had jacked the motor to where the gearcase was above the bottom of the boat. Only the skeg was in the water and I ran a D hydro prop. I made the new transom on the BU, now called "Whipper Snapper"....so high that the bottom of the gearcase was 1/2 above the bottom. I turned the boat into a KILO boat, even added my CU cowling to the deck.

I told Carl to get POP SMITH to make him the biggest BU Cary Prop would make and headed back for college....Seems the Divisionals were up in Nor Cal and don't recall which family member died, so I could get away from school. (In those days, all you had to tell your teachers was that Uncle Charlie died, and you had to go to the funeral and you'd be back in week...You needed to keep a notebook pad so you didn't have Uncle Charlie die more than once a year).

I didn't need to win DU, as I was defending National Champion, but did want the points and did want to qualify my CU. Oh, forgot to mention, I cut the fin in half on Carl's BU, figuring, the reason it hopped was too much fin.....but no proof of course. Well, Carl won BU at the Divisionals.

We decided that Carl and his wife would take the boats to Beaver, PA for the Nationals. My parents would pick me up, on the last day of Summer School and we'd head to the Nationals...

Freddy and Old Fred Hauenstein had stopped and stayed with me on their way to and from DePue. Man I was so JEALOUS that they'd gone to DePue...Freddy won a title or two...Being poor was a bitch! Besides, the draft wanted me if I quit school!

I went to college because I wanted to teach 5th grade....I never really took it seriously. I raced boats to win....but school was something else. When I got to Flagstaff, I was on two of the Dean's lists. One was Social Probation and the other was for having a B average...(I could write a book on why I was on SOCIAL PROBATION, but that will be another chapter...).

Anyway, in summer school I had good grades going, in fact all A's...maybe, I was getting older, maybe with nothing much going on in the summer, I actually studied...Anyway, on the last day of summer school and get a call at 5:00 A.M. (I'd stayed up til 2 studying, figuring I could rest on the way to Beaver Falls, PA). (Home of Joe Willy Namath).

It was my brother's late wife, Judy. She told me Carl had been in a head on car accident in Nebraska and was in very bad shape. My parents were staying with Austin and Bess Secor in Needles, Judy had called them. My parents were going to meet and exchange cars...She said my folks would be late getting to Flag. My brother, brought my dad's '56 Ford truck and they exchanged cars.

Carl had a new truck. Our Ford had about 100,000 hard miles on it....many of those miles were driven by Jimbo and me...Anyway, we decided to go to Nebraska and pick up whatever was there!!!

Note Transom angle on my CU (1-U.S.)