Thursday, April 30, 2020

Boat Madness


6 comments:

  1. That looks like Chloe

    Chloe was a Gold Cup unlimited step hydroplane built by HackerCraft in the 30s.

    In the 50's, my uncle Bob Henry owned it and kept it on Lake George NY. When he had it, he didn't have the pussy little engine in the picture, hiding behind closed doors. He had a monster Allison aircraft engine that stuck well above the engine room.

    My mom used to get really pissed when he would take me out in it and we would go howling up and down the lake at 80-100mph. Both of us ignored her. It always scared the living bejeezus out of me but I never turned him down when he asked. What 10 year old red blooded American Kid would.

    Last time I had heard of it, it was in a museum in Lake Tahoe. Harrahs, perhaps. Nice to see it on the water again.

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  2. My uncle had another unlimited hydroplane, Juno. Built by Ventnor Boatworks in the 30s for the Chinese to use against the Japanese.

    Never delivered to the Chinese, it was raced for a while and eventually my uncle bought it in the 50s. He took the original engine out and put a Hispano-Suiza aircraft engine in.

    Still in the water https://youtu.be/Kx62bkjSCXI

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  3. as far as boats go and as nice as they can be, wood rots.

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  4. Wood is made for coffee tables, carbon fiber is for boat building.

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