*Accidentlly omitted from the June 2014 Propeller, the Region 10 news appears below.
Written by PATRICK GLEASON
KYLA SAWYER
LARRY DARNEILLE
JIM CODLING
and RON MORRISON
Region 10 News – June 2014
After a long winter that never seemed to have an end to it, racing is finally underway in the Northwest. Big plans are underway for our Jet River racers, as Kyla Sawyer reports:
“The 2014 Jet River Marathon racing season is underway! The second event in the USA 1 series launches Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25 with Race the Joe! 2014 Jet Boat Race at on the St. Joe River at St. Maries, Idaho.
Teams from New Zealand, Canada and the USA will try to unseat current series leaders, driver Ross Schlotthauer of Post Falls, Idaho and navigator Chad Yackel of Spokane Valley, WA. Schlotthauer and Yackel won both the Overall and Unlimited class trophies at the 30th Annual Salmon River Jet Boat Race, Easter Weekend in Riggins, Idaho.
The two longtime friends piloted their turbine engine-powered, 23’ Burly Racing jet boat, #377 Bat Outta Hell, into the lead position on the first day and finished with final time of 50 minutes, 53 seconds during the approx. 100-mile, two-day course.
“The conditions on the river were extreme,” Schlotthauer said. “The rising water was rough and there were really only two places on the entire course where you could really open up the throttle.”
The team estimated its top speed at 132mph during the two-day event. Springtime conditions saw river flows at 15,600 cubic feet per second on Saturday rising to 19,000cfs by the end of racing on Sunday, according to the USGS river flow gauge at Whitebird, Idaho.”
Our Cal-Ore River racers are struggling with a relatively light snow pack from the winter, which will challenge their events, as Larry Darneille tells us:
“The 2014 season is here with the first race at Grants Pass with the 55th running of Boatnik on Memorial Day weekend. There will be drag boat and sprint boat exhibitions as well as the whitewater outboard river racer marathon. This should be the largest entry list in many years with at least six new rookies. The ratio of retiring drivers and returning veterans is about even so there will be a net gain including the three new drivers from 2013. Rookie instruction is in full swing during scheduled practice sessions. The off season has been busy with boats and engines being rebuilt in anticipation of the coming season with hope that spring rains continue. There is very little snow pack in Southern Oregon and Northern California so everyone’s fingers are crossed that there will be enough river flow for a complete season.”
Back up on our end of I-5, things got off with a bang weather-wise, as Jim Codling recaps the Region 10 Inboard opener, the Jet Chevrolet Business Elite Run For The Records:
“And the rain came, and wind and sleet and hail. Oh goodness , a wet weekend but off and on we had some real fast water.
Lake Lawrence- Jet Chevrolet records run put on by Seattle Inboard Racing Association and chaired by Carol Dodge. We had one outboard record; J. Michael Kelly in the C-Stock Hydro class at 63.838 mph on the 1-2/3 mile course, but what was interesting was the fast times on some not so good water conditions. In the Inboards we had two records set. The old National Mod record set by the Stinger many years back was shattered by the Harnack family’s red rocket, Mr. Jiggs. The # 88 boat ran side by side with the former Stinger, Pat and Chris Bertram’s “Hey Jude” for all three laps in a spectacular race , with Josh Harnack winning by a couple of boat lengths. The speed was 117.420 mph.
Then we rolled onto the Flat bottom guys and the Super Stock boats. A field of five boats set up the fast heat for Sid Rennels’ SS 96 boat. It was the last of four heats over the weekend and new driver Tyler Roth ran over the old George Woods mark set several years back. Great show for these Oregon based guys. The new record speed is 103.264 mph.
Our 1-litre field was very fast all weekend with a spill or two, and some very fast laps over the long wet days. Jeff Bernard ran 2 mph under the current mark, as did Cory Peabody, and in the 2.5 stock, Austin Eacret ran a lap or so right on the existing record before blowing the motor all over the bottom in a very competitive 2.5 class.
A big thanks to the Dodge family for all their work on this hard to do event and to Jet Chevrolet’s Dick Lynch for stepping up to the plate with some welcomed sponsorship funds.
Our outboards were consistently fast all weekend despite the weather and a big thanks to Jim Nilsen for his pushing the outboard portion of the race and running that side of the event for Referee Chas Dodge. The course was great, that Russ Dodge designed for the lake and it seemed like the racers loved it.
Next Up Is the Del Red Pub’s race on another big course, add the GP West gang, and J kids and off we head to Soap Lake for 2 days of fun over in Eastern Washington for some warm spring days. That event is June 14 and 15.”
The Soap Lake race will include the Region 10 debut for 2014 of our ever-growing Vintage contingent. Ron Morrison gives us another informative history lesson on the venerable Chevy Small block:
“The Vintage piece this month is a tribute to the small block Chevrolet engine and its contribution to Inboard racing. In Region 10 during the 1960 and 1970 era two of the classes that had great competitor and spectator interest were the 280 (E class designation) and 266 (F class designation). Running similar three point hydro hulls, the 280 carried the stock configuration engine and the 266 the modified. The popular engine in both classes was the 265 small block Chevy. Considered revolutionary when it was introduced in 1955 as an option for Chevrolet’s Bel Air and Corvette models, it had a compact design and thin wall casting to reduce weight. Its 265 cubic inch displacement produced 162 horsepower with a single two barrel carburetor.
The 280 stock engine configuration, being relatively simple mechanically with relatively affordable cost, brought a number of first time owner/drivers, and home built rigs to inboard racing. Twelve boat 280 heats were common in the day. Today’s active Region 10 Vintage fleet finds 265 Chevy powered veterans of that era well represented, they include “Calypso”, “Water Scamp” and “Agitator.”
“The 266 class brought the alcohol fuel injected Chevrolet engine to inboard racing. The pitched noise of these high RPM motors, paired with the three point hull and roostertails flying just above the water surface, was an attention grabber that captured both sight and sound. The Region 10 Vintage scene has not had a true 266 among the actives lately but Pat Bertram will bring a 266 class Vintage rig, a Hallett hull with modified 265 Chev power, to join the show in 2014. This could rekindle some of the region’s 266 racing lore; who remembers Oregon’s Dixon Vose and “Chris III” or what about Earl Wham’s “Holy Smoke?”
In the process of collecting facts for the above, I had a chance to talk with Bill Grader one of the true legends of Northwest performance engine building. His motors held many championships and national records in Inboard boat racing as well as other motor sports. He has a good memory of it all and I’m sure, if you have history with Bill, he would appreciate a phone call. Bill is in the Edmonds, Washington Area. Jim Olson and Ron Morrison have his phone number.”
As this month’s report is being written, Seattle Outboard Association is readying for their season opener, the Mt. St. Helen’s Regatta on Silver Lake, near Castle Rock. This year, we will be holding the Western Mod Divisionals for a handful of Mod classes. We expect to see good turnouts in 500ccMH, 750ccMH, 850ccMH and rumor has it that we may see a group of 200cc hydros and runabouts run; a class that has been dormant in our region since the old “Formula A” days. Just yesterday there was a news report of “Increased Magma Movement” inside Mt. St. Helens. We’re all hoping the old girl will stay quiet at least until our race is done.
A few short weeks later, it’s off to Newberg, Ore., for the Memorial Day classic event, over 60 years in the running. The Newberg Boat Club and Columbia Outboard Racing Association continue to keep this event going, and the racers who look for a little “adventure” on the Willamette River love to run the challenging course. And we always get some pretty amazing photos from the event, whose second turn is the outboard version of Detroit’s Roostertail turn.
Just a couple more months until SOA hosts the World at Moses Lake for the Stock/Mod/J Nationals, and UIM J World Championships in eastern Washington. The town is excited, the club is ready. Are you?
