Vintage Unlimited Hydroplane Racing

[redson15th]

Takes me back...4th if July weekends on The Ohio! Nothing like it!

[HJMC3345]

Big problem in the day was connecting those big Merlins to an iddy bitty prop. Getting those gear boxes to live was a problem until ING RAMBERG and DON McVITTIE introduced hardened and ground AGMA class 14+ gears from the Gear Works Seattle to the mix. Not an easy proble until they got the gear mods right.

[df446]

I'm probably in the Thriftway on one of those runs. My dad's the driver. I went for a ride that day . . . .

[MoHawkStunts]

I miss the Lake Washington races.

[tonyzackery]

I hav very fond memories of these boats. Hailing from Seattle, WA the boat races were a summer time ritual for me and my friends in my neighborhood - Rainier Valley.

[EAKkidd]

man i wanna drive on of these so bad!!!

[Piteoj]

Reminds me of my youth building the wooden Dumas Miss Thriftway model!

Fantastic sights and sounds.

Jim P Detroit, Mi  Hydrojimmy1

[72Z15SS]

These were my favorite when I was a kid. There was a local regatta at a place called Port Indian ( A riverside community ) in Northeast Pennsylvania about 20 miles west of Philadelphia back in the 70's. The rooster tails looked like they were a mile long, and the sound was awesome!!!

[72Z15SS]

@72Z15SS Actually it was in the 70's that I remember going to the races but they date back way earlier then that.

[ClassicRocknRolla3]

@72Z15SS "Than" that

[TheMrpatches]

Ohhh man do I love these ol' boats! I believe you said it best jtbo and I couldn't agree with you more!

[CarlyAllHeart1]

I live in Madison!

[torti911]

Griffon oder Merlin ?

[jtbo]

Great engines those V-12's of that era, also racing of these old 'planes' is so much more pleasant to watch than modern variants.

[AwesomeMacGee]

i know for sure that the oberto in this video was repainted and run as the miss madison for the movie, not the thriftway. you can tell just by looking at the dropped sponsons.

[subbass32]

Another cool thing is to notice the smoke rings coming out of the exhaust collectors when they fire up the engines...!

[SBxxxStudios]

I was there! Cool, I live in Issaquah. I remember that exactly happening. I can hear those boats LOUD and CLEAR from my house.

[subbass32]

This Thriftway boat wasnt built when Madison was filmed, its a replica. I was at the hydro museum in Kent back in 05 and they showed us the boat that was in the movie as Madison, but I dotn remember which one it was!! Sucks to get old!!

[subbass32]

Nice video! I wish I had been there! Those are Allison engines on those boats, though, not Merlins. Also it wasnt the thriftway boat ni the movie, it might have been this Oberto, But I am not certain of that either. Check the trailer I posted as a video response, if that doesnt make you want to see the movie, nothing will! Vintage hydros rock!