There's a whole world of hot rodders out there who use their vehicles on a regular basis but never drive them on the street or at the track. They're vintage boat enthusiasts. You might not think of them as hot rodders, but hang around these guys for a weekend and see their enthusiasm for traditional craftsmanship, their love for performance, and their preference for cruising around in something old instead of something new, and you might start thinking of them as hot rodders after all.
Vintage boats are the fastest growing portion of the American Power Boat Association and, just like vintage drag racers, vintage boat racers haven't let rule changes and eliminated classes keep them from enjoying their restored old-time racers. The Antique Race Boat Regatta in Clayton, New York, on the St. Lawrence River, is one of many vintage powerboat events where antique boat enthusiasts can get their kicks. More than 100 owners and their boats participated in this year's Regatta, which, as always, included racing exhibits inside and outside of the Antique Boat Museum, engine clinics, auctions, awards, and (the real reason for being there) the chance to make flyby exhibition passes on a circular course in their early-style inboard race boats or to watch the action from the shore.
Just like drag cars, vintage race boats fall into several different categories. We had no favorite, but if we did, it might have been the big Gold Cup boats. The history of these beautiful mahogany and cherry powerboats goes back more than 100 years to the earliest monoplane boats. Their design evolved into stepped hulls, which helped them ride above the water instead of through it, and these were the grandfathers of hydroplanes. Gar Wood and Chris Smith were prominent builders of such boats in the early 20th century and some original Gar Wood and Chris Craft boats, as well as replicas, are still in the water.
Hydroplanes also put on an exciting show. Also called hydros, prop riders, or three-point boats (because they ride on the propeller with two side sponsons providing balance), these boats literally float above the water on a cushion of air. On later hydros, the drivers sits ahead of the engine, and the sponsons extend forward of the hull, resulting in the nickname "pickle-forks," but we liked nostalgic looks of the front-engine hydros with their big round shovel-nose bows. Perhaps the most revered hydroplane builder was Henry Lauterbach, a racing champion 50 years ago and the builder of many of the greatest prop riders. Many of the hydros in Clayton were Lauterbach creations. Sadly, this pioneer in the sport passed away just a few months before the event.
The Jersey Speed Skiffs, made of wood, fiberglass, or a combination of both, reminded us the most of Grandpa's old fishing boat. Sure enough, we found out that these boats trace their heritage to East Coast fishermen trying to outrun each other, and to the Prohibition-era rum runners trying to outrun a trip to jail. We had a ball watching these simple, lightweight boats bounce around on the water like fish flopping on the dock. The APBA still runs a Jersey Speed Skiff race class. Modern boats are equipped with full cages and NASCAR-style seats. We also loved the peppy little SK racing runabouts. These shallow-hull rear-engined flat bottoms date back to the '50s, and still do a good job of keeping spectators entertained.
The Antique Race Boat Regatta isn't a competition. There are no judges, no trophies, no winners, and no losers--just a bunch of enthusiasts getting in their boats and running them for fun.
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Curt Brayer designed and built the 1965 Racing Runabout Dancing Bear, featuring a 392 Hemi fed by six Strombergs. It was an F Service record-holder and multi-year National Championship winner; Brayer never lost a race unless the boat broke down. The F Service class folded more than 30 years ago, but Curt brings the restored boat to vintage events like this one. He gave rides all weekend to help raise money for the museum. |
Philip Sharples designed his B-151 hydro, Golden Days, built by Mark Mason. Instead of running the big-block's exhaust system through the boat, Sharples decided to run these wild-looking pipes on the outside... |
...At 86 years old, he is as active as ever in boating--and also got married the night before the Regatta. |
According to owner Geoff Magnuson from Lyman, ME, the original Arab IV capsized in Alexandria Bay in 1920. This 20ft replica was built by Rich Woodman and finished in 1992. Early Gold Cup racers would have had engines such as a V-12 Liberty aircraft engine. This is a 572ci Bill Mitchell Chevy big-block that makes 400 hp. |
John Gast used a Chevy 350 out of his Sportsman Modified oval-track race car when rebuilding this Jersey Speed Skiff. He named the boat Pa Pa's Bundle after a boat raced by his father in the '50s. John told us the boats are as much fun as auto racing, but less stressful, less money, and less destructive. |
Barracuda, owned by Tim Settle, is an early-style three-point "taildragger" built in 1946 by famous hydroplane builder Fred Wickens, and it held the Competition Class speed record of 68.648 mph in 1948. Tim's dad bought it in 1963, and it sat in a barn for decades until Tim put it back in the water three years ago. The original Clay Smith Merc Flathead is long gone; in its place is a '55 Chevy 265 with Corvette heads, a Weiand intake, and triple 97s. |
We loved the looks of this F 225 hydroplane named Ednandy III. Designed by W. Leveau and built by owner Gerald Davidson, the single-step hydroplane was a popular race winner on the Eastern Seaboard in the '30s. |
Here's another Lauterbach beauty, the 1960 hydroplane Oh Henry!, which sat in storage in a Canadian shed for almost 30 years until Larry Lauterbach--Henry's son--restored it in 2004. It's all original except for the 500-horse Chevy 427 engine. The 7-liter hydro belongs to John Pepe of Maryland. |
Bill John at the Vintage Race Boat Shop in Wolfeboro, NH, built My Precious as a replica of a '50s-era Jersey Speed Skiff. The Bud Bender-designed skiff has a 'glass hull and a mahogany deck, with a Chevy 350 making 325 hp. |
The 22ft Gold Cup Wood Too is another replica of a Speedster originally created by Gar Wood. The original was built in 1937. Phillip Rubenstein's tribute features a 535hp Moroso big-block. |
Well-known hydroplane driver George "Buddy" Byers was in Clayton to donate the famous Chrysler Queen to the Antique Boat Museum. Legendary builder Henry Lauterbach built several Chrysler Queens starting in the '50s. It was the National Champion many times, and Byers held numerous records, including the fastest measured mile at 168 mph. The supercharged, injected Hemi makes 900 hp. |
The DeGlopper brothers are very active in the antique boat hobby, and run this pair of Jersey Speed Skiffs. Stormalong is a Bud Bender-built 16-footer, owned by Rich DeGlopper. Running a '66 283ci Chevy, it is set up today just as it was raced in the '80s. Behind him is his brother Bill in Flyin High, an historic, record-setting, race-winning Jersey Speed Skiff with a 350ci Chevy small-block, built by Dave Paraskevas. |
Boomerang is a reproduction of a 1941 Gold Cup racer built and designed by the famous builder George Crouch. David Coffin brought it to Clayton. |
RWS Marine Restoration in Connecticut restored Screamin Meemie IV, originally designed and built by Fred Wickens. This 19ft SK Flat Bottom raced in Florida up until the mid-'60s. Skip Weeks is the owner of the Chevy-powered boat. |
The oldest boat at the event was this original Chris Craft F Service runabout from 1931. Sleeper M-2 was the first boat in the class to run a big-block Ford--a 390ci FE that replaced the Buick that powered the boat in the '50s. After 36 years of inactivity, the boat was restored and is now owned by Bill Burgess, who drove it throughout its successful early years. |