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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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