B1PRORACER
01-09-2004, 05:05 PM
I have to tell a real “Dean Hobart” story. It is a story that he knows nothing about…in fact he wasn’t even there! How many times have people thought positive thoughts about someone and that person didn’t even know it!
Many years ago I was racing up here in Massachusetts. I had raced ASH for several years and then AU, CSH and BU. Back then we saw the ASH boats in the form of Casta-Craft, Sid-Son, Marchetti and Giles boats. These boats were…. regular size! One time, I saw a boat on Dick Fickett’s trailer and went over to take a look. This boat was awesome! It was very small… I thought it was a JSH boat. What it was, was Dean Hobarts ASH! It was a boat that was MANY years ahead of its time. Still on the trailer, the boat really looked fast. It was a much smaller boat when compared to the average boat running ASH at the time. The decks were very thin and the front cowl was very futuristic. Have you ever looked at something and been impressed by what you saw? It doesn’t happen very often. I was also in awe of “big name” people who won Nationals, set records or those who had really nice rigs. At the time, I didn’t think that I would ever achieve any of them… Along the deck- above the back chine, there was lettering that said “UIM World Record Holder”. I was very much impressed by how that looked! It wasn’t until more than 20 years later that I was able to put those same words on the side of my boat...! I did just that on my 250ccR in about 1994.. It is remarkable that we can be exposed to certain things that leave a lasting impression. Along with Dean’s “World Record” lettering, it goes without saying that I was also impressed by the 1-US, 2-US and the 1-B type numbers that I saw on the top boats. I remember running ASH in Bill Giles’ BSH boat once. It had 1-B on it and I thought that it was very special. I also remember seeing Dick O’Dea in the 60’s. He had a jacket that I thought was very impressive. Both of the sleeves of his jacket had “US” patches down each side. I never thought that I would ever win even one of those awards…. It was about 30 years after that that I had a jacket similar to Dick’s made! I never forgot his jacket and many years later, I had one! The problem now is- the “kid” in me loves my jacket, the “adult” in me is a little embarrassed to wear it!
The two themes of this post is 1.) What was impressive when you were young…? 2.) We never tell people when they impress us!
Many years ago I was racing up here in Massachusetts. I had raced ASH for several years and then AU, CSH and BU. Back then we saw the ASH boats in the form of Casta-Craft, Sid-Son, Marchetti and Giles boats. These boats were…. regular size! One time, I saw a boat on Dick Fickett’s trailer and went over to take a look. This boat was awesome! It was very small… I thought it was a JSH boat. What it was, was Dean Hobarts ASH! It was a boat that was MANY years ahead of its time. Still on the trailer, the boat really looked fast. It was a much smaller boat when compared to the average boat running ASH at the time. The decks were very thin and the front cowl was very futuristic. Have you ever looked at something and been impressed by what you saw? It doesn’t happen very often. I was also in awe of “big name” people who won Nationals, set records or those who had really nice rigs. At the time, I didn’t think that I would ever achieve any of them… Along the deck- above the back chine, there was lettering that said “UIM World Record Holder”. I was very much impressed by how that looked! It wasn’t until more than 20 years later that I was able to put those same words on the side of my boat...! I did just that on my 250ccR in about 1994.. It is remarkable that we can be exposed to certain things that leave a lasting impression. Along with Dean’s “World Record” lettering, it goes without saying that I was also impressed by the 1-US, 2-US and the 1-B type numbers that I saw on the top boats. I remember running ASH in Bill Giles’ BSH boat once. It had 1-B on it and I thought that it was very special. I also remember seeing Dick O’Dea in the 60’s. He had a jacket that I thought was very impressive. Both of the sleeves of his jacket had “US” patches down each side. I never thought that I would ever win even one of those awards…. It was about 30 years after that that I had a jacket similar to Dick’s made! I never forgot his jacket and many years later, I had one! The problem now is- the “kid” in me loves my jacket, the “adult” in me is a little embarrassed to wear it!
The two themes of this post is 1.) What was impressive when you were young…? 2.) We never tell people when they impress us!