OPC when it was Outboard Pleasure Craft

**calvin** · 01-09-2010

Thanks skokin joe great pics of the bottom...allison was always at the front even in 55..I remember chatting with you when you had your record E rig for sale...wish I had bought it!

**Smokin' Joe** · 01-09-2010

Then please remind me who you are! I sold it to a dock owner on the Fla. Panhandle in 1996. Also sent him some pictures and maybe a poster. He had it on display, someone drove it once in a while, and I wonder if it got blown away in a hurricane. Our 18 year old also wishes that He had it!

Originally Posted by calvin

Thanks skokin joe great pics of the bottom...allison was always at the front even in 55..I remember chatting with you when you had your record E rig for sale...wish I had bought it!

**Ron Hill** · 01-09-2010

Originally Posted by Smokin' Joe

Was there an OPC race in APBA anywhere except at the Orange Bowl Regatta in 1961? Must have been 1962 that Allison boats won at the Orange Bowl Regatta-? Yes, my old friend Edgar selectively wrote OPC history as if NOA never existed (he does know better), but OPC had exploded in NOA during 1957-1960.

A different question: when did Roy Rogers run twin Mark 55s on a 14' Yellow Jacket, and under what racing organization?

We were racing at The Puddle (Marina Del Rey, today) in the winter of 1055-56. Elgin Gates, the Mercury distributor was a friend of Roy's and probably go Roy into racing. Seems he ran twin Mark 55E's (Electric starters). Somewhere here there iss a thread of two about Speedboat Rodeo on KTTV channel 5. We raced on TV with both APBA and Out Law. Out Law at the end, when Roy ran his Yellow Jacket.

**Smokin' Joe** · 01-10-2010

I think I've read about the attempt to televize boat racing in one of Peter Hunn's books. If you ran under APBA, then how did they classify it? They didn't have an OPC division in 1955-56. I can't find anything about Roy and the Mercury racing on the web, so far.

Originally Posted by Ron Hill

We were racing at The Puddle (Marina Del Rey, today) in the winter of 1055-56. Elgin Gates, the Mercury distributor was a friend of Roy's and probably go Roy into racing. Seems he ran twin Mark 55E's (Electric starters). Somewhere here there iss a thread of two about Speedboat Rodeo on KTTV channel 5. We raced on TV with both APBA and Out Law. Out Law at the end, when Roy ran his Yellow Jacket.

**Mark75H** · 01-10-2010

Joe, the televised APBA races were just regular Stock classes.

I think there is mention of Roy racing the Around Catalina Island race

I don't think there is a lot about Roy's racing because his work kept him from being an every weekend racer

**Powercat** · 01-10-2010

Roy ran mostly local SoCal racing in the WOA (Western Ouboard Assoc.)
As Sam mentioned Catalina Channel race which was run by the Outboard
Boating Club of Long Beach at that time. There were a lot of other
local clubs that held races at many different locations, all which were
considered "Outlaw" style racing as they were not under APBA classification.
Most of Roy's racing was in the early 50's and as mentioned his movie and tv
career kept him from getting further envolved.
This type of racing in SoCal and then the NOA racing across the country
brought the motor factories into this new "Outlaw" racing and they inturn
finally got the APBA's attention and the first OPC race in 1961 followed.
But it all started from a bunch of regular guys "hot rodding" the family
runabout to see who was fastest.
Danny Leger

Originally Posted by Smokin' Joe

I think I've read about the attempt to televize boat racing in one of Peter Hunn's books. If you ran under APBA, then how did they classify it? They didn't have an OPC division in 1955-56. I can't find anything about Roy and the Mercury racing on the web, so far.

**D-44** · 03-12-2011

After reading a request from the late Jim Stone's uncle, I put up a few pictures and a 3 minute movie of Jim Stone and myself testing. The main star of the movie is my Curtis Craft SD/SE boat. Also includes a few moments of the late PRO racer Jim Stone. This is from the days when OPC literally meant a race boat with "your dad's fishing motor" attached. The stock 40 HP Merc could almost beak 50 mph, 50 HP good for around 58 or so with a much smoother ride. The movie shows the 40, and Jim's hydro had a 40H with stacks. Enjoy.
http://www.world-net.net/~crash/tom

**Mark75H** · 03-12-2011

Couldn't get the movie link to work

**capnzee** · 03-12-2011

Originally Posted by D-44

After reading a request from the late Jim Stone's uncle, I put up a few pictures and a 3 minute movie of Jim Stone and myself testing. The main star of the movie is my Curtis Craft SD/SE boat. Also includes a few moments of the late PRO racer Jim Stone. This is from the days when OPC literally meant a race boat with "your dad's fishing motor" attached. The stock 40 HP Merc could almost beak 50 mph, 50 HP good for around 58 or so with a much smoother ride. The movie shows the 40, and Jim's hydro had a 40H with stacks. Enjoy.
http://www.world-net.net/~crash/tom

I had and still have a SD/E Curtis Craft I bought in Miami around 1965. I raced this boat in Key West Florida while in the Navy around 1965/66. There was a sister boat called the "Paper Tiger" that held the speed record at that time. I swear the number on the side of my boat was D-44. I have a poster with this boat advertising a race we held in Key West. I will do my darndest to find this picture. As soon as I post this I will go to my pictures, I believe I may still have one of my old Curtis Craft. I was just about to start refinishing the boat as a "something to do" project. The boat was sold to a guy in Chicago, I heard about it and convinced a guy out here in LA to buy it for "36" racing, then I bought it back and put a "44" on it after winning the "Regionals" in "36" at Lake Los Angeles, or was it Lake Delores?. Rod Zapf

**Ron Hill** · 03-12-2011

Not sure of the number ROD!!! But, your boat sure looks like the one in the pictures...This yellow boat is Rod's...

IS this the Jim Stone that was killed driving a hydro?