The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum, located in Kent, Washington is currently building a replica of the 1957 Miss Wahoo based on an original Ted Jones set of plans. Ted Jones designed and drove SLO-MO-SHUN IV, the first prop riding Thunderboat to run successfully. He piloted the IV to victory in all three heats of the 1950 APBA Gold Cup on the Detroit River.
This was in the days when the Gold Cup race location was determined by the yacht club of the winning boat. Jones and the SLO-MO-SHUN IV represented the Seattle Yacht Club and thus were allowed to defend the cup on home waters in 1951. This was the start of a hydroplane tradition on Seattle's Lake Washington that continues to this day.
Between 1950 and 1966, Jones-designed Unlimiteds won 75 major races, including fourteen Gold Cups, and claimed an unprecedented ten consecutive National High Point Championships.
The Wahoo was one of four identical boats built in the mid 1950s from the same Ted Jones design. The 1955 Miss Thriftway, the 1956 Shanty-I the Miss Wahoo and Miss Spokane were all built by Les Staudacher from Ted’s drawings. The Museum had a copy of the Shanty-I plans in their archives and turned them over to Ron Jones Sr. so that he could draw plans for Vashon Unlimited’s Miss Thriftway project. When Bill Boeing Jr. and Scott Carson saw how perfectly the Vashon Miss Thriftway turned out, they decided that they wanted to see a Miss Wahoo, so they approached the Museum with an offer to fund the boat if they agreed to build it. 
Construction on the Miss Wahoo replica is moving ahead at a phenomenal pace. Ron Jones delivered the revised plans to the Museum on Saturday September 6th. Construction started on September 15th, the whole boat was framed up by Thanksgiving and they turned her right side up on February 3rd.
Led by 2001 Gold Cup winner Mike Hanson and Vashon Unlimited’s Larry Fuller, the volunteer Miss Wahoo construction team is doing a beautiful job recreating the beautiful U-77. The crew is currently installing systems and is scheduled to deck the boat in about a month. Plans call for the boat to be completed and on the water running this summer, so if you want to see how a 1950’s vintage, wooden hydroplane was built stop in to the Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Kent, Washington or visit the Miss Wahoo project site: misswahoo.com
You can also visit The Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum on line at: http://www.thunderboats.org/
Wow, imagine how precise is construction... No room for errors..
ReplyDeleteI lived near Rainer ave and Dakota st. The Miss B&I of Tacoma was garaged at the south east corner of Rainer and Dakota for some time one summer. I'd go pester the guys. I marveled at that Huge Aircraft engine and all the nuts holding down the valve covers. I saw most of those races down at Lake Washington. I was on my Bike, when the QuickSilver disintegrated right in front of us.
ReplyDeleteI was out on a boat when Reddi-Killowatt's rudder jammed and he went right up sombodys lawn and lodged the boat under the balcony where some folks were watching the race.
They were exciting races.
Wow.... you are lucky to experience all those excitements... I never been to real boat races.. Only ones I seen is on a television..
ReplyDeleteI could imagine the sound of those roaring V-12 Allie (Allison) engines at full throttle..
I had the pleasure of living in Seattle in the early 1960's. Attending the Hydroplane races on Lake Washington was an absolute thrill. Seeing Miss Thriftway, Miss Bardahl, Miss Wahoo and others roaring ahead of thier roostertails as they made their turns was breath taking! Those races definitely ingrained the life long love of Unlimited Hydro Racing in me.
ReplyDeleteWill