Ron Hill Family: Hill Marine and Signature Propellers

[Ron Hill]

I was the High Point driver at the 1977 Nationals. I won D Runabout 2nd in D Hydro 35 Hydro, 35 Runabout and 3rd in C Runabout.

This is my kilo Record 35 SS Runabout. It is a Hill Runabout and a Merc 402 XS. Record was about 74 MPH. The red white and blue life jacket is one of the hundreds of Mrs. Hill jackets my mom made.

The guy in the blue hat is Chuck Newton. Chuck was a great crew member for us over the years!


Chad Hill was born the week before this Nationals. He was a week old at his first Nationals.....37 years ago this August!


NOTE:

No boat carts in those days....

Thanks to Dean Hobart for the great picture!

[Ron Hill]

I thought I'd share my brother's Market List with you!

[Ron Hill]

I was moving some drums of old props and found a box of plaques off old trophies. Trophies are long gone, memories are still here!

[Ron Hill]

This race was on the King's River in Kingsburg, though the Hauenstein's owned Kingsburg, they didn't race "STOCK"S so they did not race here. There was an island on the river and it was decided we'd just race around the island without buoys.

I allready had my 15 races in for "HIGH POINTS" and decided to let Ted May drive my D Runabout. On Saturday, we had testing and paddle boat races. The motel was right on the river, so we could open our sliding glass window and see the river.

As evening, Saturday night, rolled around the "powers at be" hooked me up with the race queen. She was older than i, and seemed more experienced. Mike Wetmore, also know as the "Squawman" kind of picked up the slack for me and we never saw the Queen or Mike til late Sunday evening, as everyone was going home. We had no queen at trophy presentation.

The Resort was called "Paulings" it had an nice restaurant, bar and motel. In '63 I wasn't old enough to drink alcohol but Ted May laid a pile of $20's on the bar and said give these guys a drink...These guys were Val Sneed, Glen Chambers and me.

I had a few beers and decided I was glad Mike Wetmore had picked up my slack and I decided to go to bed. As I had races to win tomorrow.

About 6 o'clock the next morning I realize, in the bed next to me, is Glen Chambers and Val Sneed and they are sleeping with some "CHICK" between them. The "CHICK" says something like "Damn, wish I could find my drawers" and leaves.

We we go down to breakfast, at breakfast, we find out "PAULING'S" wife had been missing last night.....(The guy that owned the resort).

I had borrowed Roy Miner's Marchetti to run B Hydro as I wanted to race more than just one class...I roar into the first turn and turn that hydro like a runabout...I may have cut Ted May off, but the next lap I come around and Ted's boat is in the tree....When Ted got back to the pits his knee pads were full of mud....He said, "You don't turn a hydro like a runabout..."

We never raced at "PAULINGS" again...

[Ron Hill]

I found this post on Google, but thought it was a good read!!

Ron Hill



I've been reading everyone's words for the last week or so. I'm not sure
about much of what has been written. It is hard to see "Right" or "Wrong".

I do see many people that want boat racing to grow, but the "HOW" is still
the question.


I did want to mention that Fred Miller fell in love with boat racing after
see me on the Mickey Mouse Club Newsreel in 1956. In 1967 I ran ever
OUTBOARD NATIONALS ( OPC-PRO-STOCK-STOCK MARATHON). Fred Miller, Freddy as he was called then, ran three of the four, not DePue. Fred was a racers
racer.


I'm not sure when the HOC was started but Fred Miller conceptualized it. In
those days, as is now really, Unlimiteds is what everyone knew about. The
rest of APBA's Divisions were unknown. Miller had raced Havasu and Parker.
He had seen 126 boats on the same 4 mile course. He's raced B Mod....
Freddy Miller wanted to recognize drivers of all areas of APBA.


Miller had the LARGE CONCEPT, he never started out to write the rules of who
got into the HOC. To Fred Miller, J Runabout needed recognition as much as
Unlimited. When I first got into the HOC Champions, I wondered if I
deserved it, because I raced "D" Stock Runabout, a small class in numbers.
As I looked at the big picture, I felt Miller wanted to build everyone in
APBA, not just a few.


Each Division makes their rules for the HOC, it looks to me that PRO could
change their rules if they wanted to.


I don't really agree with having a person only be allowed in once, this is
for a yearly reward of racing boats. I won the John Ward Trophy Race in
1967, I also won DRR and had 5 second places at DePue that year. The Pro
Division didn't even nominate me for the HOC..... there wasn't a Hall in
1967.


I remember Fred Miller's Mom and Dad at Essex, MD, reading books in the pits
all week.... Some how, I believe, Miller created the Hall of Champions for
ALL APBA DRIVERS AND THEIR FAMILIES...


This is my take on the HOC, this is not a slam meant for anyone. I'm not
going for anyone's throat!!! Having attended several HOC Awards Ceremonies,
I think it is one of the greatest things APBA does for their members...

[Ron Hill]

Morgan City promoted a 225 Enduro in the spring of 1976. My Starter Wife and I flew down to New Orleans, then drove to Morgan City. While in Morgan City, Ziggy from OMC gave me a ride down to the pits. On the way to the pits, Ziggy asked me why I drove for OMC. (He was expecting a long answer as to what a "Hot Shot" driver I was. Instead, I just said, "Charlie's mother likes me." That was a good enough answer for Ziggy.

While in Morgan City I talked to Gary Garbrecht and asked where the 55-H gearcase patterns were as I wanted to buy them. By the end of the weekend, Gary agreed to build 50 gearcases, with me buying 25, 12 assembled and 13 in pieces. On the phone after Morgan City, we decided Mercury should buid the 402 XS.



I picked up 402 XS 001 Serial number in August of 1976, at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I later broke both kilo records for 35 SS Hydro and Runabout.

This is the Scotti I drove in Morgan City.

[Ron Hill]

Michael Mackey sent me this today. Mike, thank for finding this picture. It was on the back cover of Sports Illustrated April or May 1978. I have Googled looking for this picture but finally gave up. Two things about it: Fred Hauenstein is actually driving, which is ironic because we did catch on fire at the pit stop, Fred never drove the boat until it was partially burned, but maybe Evinrude touched up the picture. Also, this was quite a blow to my sponsor, as his name was BRAD MILLER, NOT Brad Wilson. Brad owned Crazy Horse Campgrounds and the Del Taco chain, 92 Mexican restaurants. This ad ended Brad's relationship with Evinrude.

[Ron Hill]

We were out to Needles a few weeks ago and we went up to Oatman. I found a funnel in little store up there that I think my dad made in the late 1940's. The funnel is offset so when you fueled the old outboards the "Spilled" fuel would not run onto the flywheel and get into the points. My dad was one of the few, in those days to solder a screen in his funnel to keep water out. If this wasn't "OUR" funnel, it was Austin Secor's from Needles, as my dad and Austin were good friends, and my dad might have made him a funnel.

[Ron Hill]

Ron Hill Chris White, Tom Schwartz, Max McPeek and Vic Brinkman came to Needles for the 1966 Marathon Nationals. After the Nationals they came and stayed at my parent's home. My parents left for a three week vacation. I had just graduated from college and and had made money painting houses before the Nationals , then I won about $1,500 at the Nationals. So I had money and many of my Northern Arizona University friends were from California, SO we started having parties. Everyday, I had at least one keg delivered to my folks house. After the Michigan "BOYS" went home....their lives being changed forever, my parents came home and said, "Gee, we don't remember the carpets being this dirty, we'd better buy new rugs." That was a "CLOSE CALL" but the funniest part, the liquor store I bought the kegs (about 20) sent my dad a calendar every year....and every year my dad would say, "Funny, you know I've never been in this liquor store." Pictures later.

[Ron Hill]

We used to "Test" on Saturday behind Sam's Sea Food, as the Mercury Distributorship was in the building next to Sam's. This is Danny Morehouse, who's dad built all the famous Morehouse Boats. 184-C is my first boat a Terrill Runabout given to me by Ken Scoffield.