Today with rotory engines you can have 6 rotor's in each engine.
Turbo-charged 450 hp per pair...of rotor's that is. 1,350 hp per
engine, thats 2,700 HORSEPOWER! In a light weight package. Put the U
back in Unlimited Outboard Racing!ZOOOMM!!
Come on Racer's, all ya need is stick and rudder after you floor-it!!!
...an old 60's and 70's boat race fan. Loved seein Joe Burgess driven
those 13' Allison's with Johnson Stinger on em(96mph)around 68', i told
him i hoped he would win and he said "me too, i hope i don't **** on the
moon!!!", it was windy and rough that day! I remmember when that Petty
fellow out of Texas went through speed trials with his twin engine
mercury tunnel at 121mph back around 70'. Remember Alan Stinson with a
Johnson Stinger 4 into 1 header on an Allison Tunnel clocked 107mph.
Gary Peacock stuffed a 350 Chevy into a Molinary Tunnel running 125 mph
average lap speeds! Saw a certain 429 Holman-moody built Ford Nascar
engine SK 43 boat driven by J.E.Wilson in a one on one race against a 17
foot Allison Craft v-bottom twin engine Mercury 125's driven by Alan
Stinson, the lead went back and forth, the SK boat finnally won it! The
li'l 250 hp Allison certainly gave the 600-700hp boat a run to be
remembered though! Bare in mind J.E. was an ameture driver and the boat
was only set-up to run 90mph and could have easily been set-up to
140mph. He told me he was turning that bigblock 7,800rpm's! In the
heat of that race Alan very nearly ran J.E. into the bank right where i
was standing! I remember when French Wilson quarter-miled slingshoted
his formula2 Mercury Tunnel ahead of a Johnson Factory tunnel,
slingshoting out front on every strait only to be caught as he cut into
the turns, French finally won! He told me the Factory driver's were
encouraged to maintain a reliability factor for their reputation and
that he knew he could push his engine more rpm's on less pitch prop and
beat the factory and he did! Everytime he would nail it coming off the
corner he would leave the factory Johnson driver bout a quarter mile
behind him in his rooster tail! It was awesome!!! They restarted 3
times, but French Quarter-miled em every time from the Lemans start! He
was into the 1st turn a quarter mile ahead of all of the pack!
Darnedest race i ever saw! I remember when the Switzer Crafts were
placing 1st 2nd and 3rd! I saw the first single Mercury engine (3
velosity stacks exaust) powered Switzer Craft break the 100 mph barrier,
the fellow gave his life doing so. A friend of mine Bill Davis did well
in the 100ci.(stock) Allison Craft v-bottom class(a 125hp Evinrude), he
was the spitting image of Bill Seabold and had the right stuff, could
have swaped places with him. I won a 30 mile ski marathon behind Bill
Davis 135 Merc-n-15 foot Allison in St Petersberg Va., we broke there
previous record(59mph) by 7mph at 66mph(30 miles in 26 minutes), the
people up there(official's) just couldn't believe that little boat and
motor had beat their record that was set with a big block jet boat!(:-)
They looked and measured and scratched their heads, the motor was stock
too! I remember when Kenny Kitson came on the sene with his twin engine
Mercury Tunnel Boats, at speed trials trying to get more speed they kept
triming the nose up higher and higher till it blew off the water!
Ofcorse as boats got faster they started triming them DOWN! I remember
Benny Robertson running a single Twister on a winged Allison
v-bottom(#577) at i think 115mph and by that time the noses were trimmed
down pretty flat with the water and the rear wing lightining the
footprint in the water. The engine was one of those inline 6 cyl.
Twister's that had larger covers, i think the 250 hp variety, same as
the factory tunnels in 75'-76'. I wish someone would tell about those
Johnson/Evenrude 350hp rotories again!(:-)...Jim