Tiny Speedboats
 

Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes.
Only one I ever saw. It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

--Vic

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:24:02 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes.
Only one I ever saw. It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

BTW, the boat was an open shell, not enclosed anywhere, with a tiller
motor.

--Vic

Tiny Speedboats
 

Vic Smith wrote:
Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes.
Only one I ever saw. It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

--Vic



There were many small outboard racing hydroplanes and "utility" racing
boats of late 1940s and 1950s vintage that survived into the 1960s and
later. For the smaller boats, some about the size you mentioned, popular
engines with in the 10 and 20 hp range.

Saw this on ebay...it's a couple of feet larger than what you recall,
but the style is typical.

http://tinyurl.com/59pqwx

Here's another site:

http://www.kruitzkraft.com/mb1025.html

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Sep 15, 9:24*am, Vic Smith wrote:
Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. *Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. *Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. *I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. *Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes. *
Only one I ever saw. *It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

--Vic

My uncle sold some boats called AquaKarts once in the early 70's They
had McCullough engines and looked like miniature hydro racing boats.
The boat you describe sounds like one I had seen in Florida when I was
in grade school.

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:35:04 -0400, A Boater wrote:


There were many small outboard racing hydroplanes and "utility" racing
boats of late 1940s and 1950s vintage that survived into the 1960s and
later. For the smaller boats, some about the size you mentioned, popular
engines with in the 10 and 20 hp range.

Saw this on ebay...it's a couple of feet larger than what you recall,
but the style is typical.

http://tinyurl.com/59pqwx

Here's another site:

http://www.kruitzkraft.com/mb1025.html

Interesting, but different. The one I saw was basically a shell.

--Vic

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:40:16 -0700 (PDT), wrote:


My uncle sold some boats called AquaKarts once in the early 70's They
had McCullough engines and looked like miniature hydro racing boats.
The boat you describe sounds like one I had seen in Florida when I was
in grade school.

What I saw might have been a one off. It was a real simple shell,
like a 12" deep bathtub with the sides flared out 6".
If I see something like it I'll post a link.
Maybe my memory is failing too, but I saw it pretty close a number of
times.

--Vic

Tiny Speedboats
 

Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:35:04 -0400, A Boater wrote:

There were many small outboard racing hydroplanes and "utility" racing
boats of late 1940s and 1950s vintage that survived into the 1960s and
later. For the smaller boats, some about the size you mentioned, popular
engines with in the 10 and 20 hp range.

Saw this on ebay...it's a couple of feet larger than what you recall,
but the style is typical.

http://tinyurl.com/59pqwx

Here's another site:

http://www.kruitzkraft.com/mb1025.html

Interesting, but different. The one I saw was basically a shell.

--Vic



Well, I recall a couple of rowboats that would fly with a small
outboard. One was made by a company called Skimmar. It had a flat
bottom, but a turned up bow. I think there was a 10-footer. It was
entirely open.

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:24:02 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes.
Only one I ever saw. It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

That's nothing, there was a ten foot three point hydroplane on Spirt
Lake Iowa, back in the fifties. Had an eighteen horse motor.

Casady

Tiny Speedboats
 

Richard Casady wrote:
On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 08:24:02 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

Back in the late '50's when I spent my summers rowing around fishing
in Bluff Lake in Illinois' Chain-O-Lakes, there was kid about my age
who had a little speedboat.
He didn't take it out often, and never bothered the fishermen, which
at the time were virtually the only lake users.
The boat looked to be for a single person, and had about 6" of
freeboard. Maybe 10' long, 4' beam.
He had a "huge" motor, maybe a 25hp Johnson or Evinrude. Not a Merc
for sure.
That thing would fly, maybe 50mph, and jump even small waves.
Had to be almost flat and the lake almost empty for him to take it
out. I got the impression he used it because he had it, not because
he particularly enjoyed it much. Never saw him out for more than
about 15-20 minutes.
Only one I ever saw. It was red, and I'm almost sure it was glass.
Ring any bells?

That's nothing, there was a ten foot three point hydroplane on Spirt
Lake Iowa, back in the fifties. Had an eighteen horse motor.

Casady


An Evinrude Fastwin? Great motors. I had a couple.

Tiny Speedboats
 

On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:23:20 GMT, (Richard
Casady) wrote:

That's nothing, there was a ten foot three point hydroplane on Spirt
Lake Iowa, back in the fifties. Had an eighteen horse motor.

My brother and I had a homebuilt 3 point hydro in the early 60s. It
was 8 ft long and scary fast with an old Merc 7 1/2 on it. Control
was a big issue and it required a bit of body english to get it
turning properly. Freeboard was just about non-existent, with a 1 ft
wake enough to submarine it.