NGC - Unlimited Hydroplane Racing in the 1950s - Mikes Place Kent Ohio

[ohiorider]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyaI_sZuHVs

I never personally attended an unlimited hydroplane race.  However, I try to imagine the sensation of piloting a hydroplane powered by an engine built for WW2 aircraft ...... V12 Allisons and Rolls Royce Merlins.  Couple of thousand horsepower a few feet in front of you, pushing a boat that barely touched the water.

I did see several 7 Liter hydroplane races on the large Kanawha River in my hometown of Charleston West Virginia, and they were spectacular on water smaller than where the unlimiteds raced.

My reference to Mike's Place in Kent, Ohio is because the Fageol family was from there built the Twin Coach buses here.  And there are pieces of hardware from the heyday of their company.  They built the buses that are part of Mike's Place.  It's where we meet for the Guzzi breakfast on the 2nd Sunday of the month.  It's appropriate!

Bob

[Gliderjohn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjcedg8PH-U
GliderJohn

[ohiorider]

John, thanks for the tape showing Lou Fageol pushing Slo Motion V to the limit!  He experienced a horrific flip a year or so later when his hydroplane went airborne.  I think I can find that on YouTube for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ93-zF1CrY&t=55s

Bob

[Gliderjohn]

Took a lot of skilled guts or a lot of skilled foolishness to pilot those things, especially back then.
GliderJohn

[Old Jock]

Worked with a site manager who was Ex Rolls Royce

He told me that he had worked on one of the Slo Mo Shun engines, or at least I took it as that.

He was telling me he had been sent to work on a Merlin which was in a boat and thought the owner was a nut job

He had no idea of the provenance, when he told me I thought that's gotta be Slo Mo Shun, after all how many boats powered by Merlins can there be?

John

[Rough Edge racing]

Worked with a site manager who was Ex Rolls Royce

He told me that he had worked on one of the Slo Mo Shun engines, or at least I took it as that.

He was telling me he had been sent to work on a Merlin which was in a boat and thought the owner was a nut job

He had no idea of the provenance, when he told me I thought that's gotta be Slo Mo Shun, after all how many boats powered by Merlins can there be?

John

 All info about Slo Mo 4 says it was powered by an Allison...???

[rjamesohio]

Great discussion and videos!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Old Jock]

 All info about Slo Mo 4 says it was powered by an Allison...???

You're probably correct, I thought I'd read something about it in RR Heritage book but it's lost in the mists of time...........coul d been another boat

John