Living the Dream!
The South of the River Racing site was not created to draw attention to racing victories or achievements on the water. It was created to expose the sport of stock and modified outboard racing to others who may have an interest in it, and to show that it is possible to live out your childhood dreams, whatever they may be.
I have often been asked what got me started in boat racing, a sport that is largely enjoyed by multi-generational racing families. I do not come from a racing family, and people probably think that since I didn’t start until I was in my 50s, that it must be a mid-life crisis thing or a “bucket list” pursuit. That may be partially true, but it is much more than that. When I was young, it was my dream to one day race boats. The dream began when I was about 12 years old, but did not become reality until I was in my 50s. But even before the dream of racing began, my exposure to boats and motors was part of growing up. Dad was always into boats and motors. Our first outboard was a brand-new 1954 model 7.5 hp Evinrude. My Dad and grandfather went in partners to buy the motor, since disposable income in those days was much less than what it is today. We used the motor for fishing mostly, but it was also the motor I learned to ski behind when I was five years old and didn’t need much power to get up.
Dad's home built fishing boat, the "Binkle Bailer".
Later on, Dad built our own plywood fishing boat with oak keel, frames and stringers. I helped him some, but my skills were limited at the age of 10. Dad’s design allowed us to slide the boat into the back of our Ford station wagon for weekend get-away fishing trips. That first exposure to home boat building planted the seed.
*******************************************************************************
The maiden vogage of "Tom's Bomb" with the 7.5 Evinrude.
Our next father-son project was the building of a MiniMost from plans in the Popular Mechanics magazine. By this time, my carpentry skills had expanded, and work on this project was closer to a 50:50 split with Dad. We started with the trusty 7.5 Evinrude on this rig, which pushed it to maybe 28 to 30 MPH. While it seemed fast at first, there soon became a need to at least keep up with the family ski boat that we had acquired by then (the ski boat was powered by a 60 HP Scott 3-cylinder). So, an 18 HP Johnson went on the transom of the MiniMost. The 18 pushed the MiniMost a few miles an hour faster, but what it did mostly was add weight and created a swamp hazard when the boat came off plane. The 18 even walked up and off the transom once and attempted to come inside the small cockpit with me. It was quite startling to hear the motor racing and turn around to see the prop starting to chew up the side deck.
"Tom's Bomb" overweighted with the 18 hp Johnson and For Sale sign on the front deck.
********************************************************************************
Dad and I went on a search for a more suitable outboard for the MiniMost. After months of searching local boat yards for an appropriate used engine, we got a lead on a “seized-up 20H” that was thought to be available at another local dealer. Sure enough, Dad and I literally searched through that dealer’s junk pile and pulled out a Mercury 20-H which was indeed stuck. You cannot imagine my excitement when the dealer said we could have it for $25 (1966 dollars).
After restoring the engine to running condition, it went on the MiniMost for a test run in a barrel in our basement, of all places. We knew it probably needed some sort of wheel to keep it from over-speeding, so we put on a used 2-blade race prop that I had bought for $15. To our surprise, the engine fired on just a few pulls and proceeded to throw half the water from the barrel all over our workbench. After we got the motor shut off, we learned two things: (1) not to test run the 20H in the basement, and (2) we probably needed more boat than we had. This chapter ended with the selling of the MiniMost and 18 Johnson combination.
The next chapter began at the drafting board. I started to apply my junior high drafting skills to draw up a boat of my own design. By this time, Dad and I had attended some OPC races, and I was influenced heavily by tunnel boat designs from Switzer, Allison, and Molinari. I designed and built my very own tunnel boat. It was built stout, was very heavy , and maybe hit 40 MPH with the 20-H. Its most redeeming quality was that it would cut through chop that used to send the MiniMost airborne. But once again, the quest for speed was not satisfied .
The "Screaming Yellow Zonker" with the Merc 20H, without stacks, then later with stacks.
The frame of the self-designed tunnel boat.
*******************************************************************************
Soon thereafter, I bought a used “factory-built” A-B runabout from a local racer. Finally, the need for speed was beginning to be met with the 20-H on the transom. By this time in my life, however, I had my driver’s license and other priorities began to appear (cars, ski boats, faster cars, and faster ski boats). After a couple of years of running the runabout, I sold it back to its original owner who presumably resumed racing it again.
So, while the dream of racing boats did not die, it went dormant for the next 35 or so years.
The factory boat and finally some real speed thrills.
********************************************************************************
Finally, after many of life’s other goals were met (getting married, raising a family, getting our kids through college and on their own), the dream to race resurfaced. The dream is somewhat different now than it used to be. While I still love the thrill of going fast on the water, I find that I no longer have the need to be the fastest. I love to go and race for the spectacle of the events, the sounds of two-stroke outboards at high RPM, the sounds of the open megaphone Mercs and expansion chambered Yamatos, and the smell of two-stroke exhaust. But the added and unexpected bonus I discovered are the newfound friends of the racing community. Racing is great fun and is the fulfillment of my childhood dream, and the people involved in the sport make each race something special to look forward to.
That is my story of my childhood dream.
What is your dream?
What are you doing about it?
*******************************************************************************
