who do you want to meet?

[Kevin Martin]

i've been thinking lately about the names you see here each and every day. i was daydreaming yesterday and was thinking about who on this forum i'd most like to meet and have a beer with. you try to put faces with posts, just curious if i'm even close. my first choice would of course be dan the man, gotta meet the man who brings us all together!!! secondly i've gotta say david weaver, and then a few close behind sam, davidl6, and a couple others. i've had the chance to meet daren, and had the chance to laugh at, (uh i mean with) him!!! :):):) i hope i get the chance to meet with alot of you in the next year or so, sounds like alot of stories i'd like to listen in on, over a beer, or maybe two. kevin

[Composite Specialties]

I have meet a lot of the people on this site over the years, but if I could meet people off this site from years past that maybe I have looked up to, for me it would have to be a sit down talk with Tim Butts, John Yale and Craig Selvidge

[mercguy]

Originally posted by propwash
i've been thinking lately about the names you see here each and every day. i was daydreaming yesterday and was thinking about who on this forum i'd most like to meet and have a beer with. you try to put faces with posts, just curious if i'm even close. my first choice would of course be dan the man, gotta meet the man who brings us all together!!! secondly i've gotta say david weaver, and then a few close behind sam, davidl6, and a couple others. i've had the chance to meet daren, and had the chance to laugh at, (uh i mean with) him!!! :):):) i hope i get the chance to meet with alot of you in the next year or so, sounds like alot of stories i'd like to listen in on, over a beer, or maybe two. kevin

"i've had the chance to meet daren, and had the chance to laugh at, (uh i mean with) him!!! "

what did I do that time Kevin?? Cullaby or Salt Springs???

I think my top choices would be Dan, of course, Brandt, and David L6. I got to meet briefly alot of guys here at the Nationals, but we all need to get together for a cold one and shoot the ****.......

[B1PRORACER]

A couple of years ago I made a point to go see someone that I had wanted to see. Sometimes you just need to make it more of a priority.... I invited myself to Clint Ferguson's house. I know- who is Clint Ferguson? He was one of the great 30's amateur racers. The first year he started racing, he won the “Outboard Nationals” (remember there was one division of Outboards- no: SO, MO, PRO or OPC) in A hydro! In 1936, at the Outboard Nationals in Chicago, he was the first person ever to win 3 National Championships. They weren’t easy classes: A, B & C hydro! He raced from 1933 through 1940 and won 10 National Championships, while breaking about 15 records. Just like the MOD US-1, they had an over-all high point winners in the Amateur classes- Clint won this (US-1) twice! He also had a special 1-liter outboard motor made for the X-class. With this engine, he broke Bedford Davies mile record at 78 MPH and set the 5-mile comp record for outboards (62-MPH average) that wasn’t broken by any outboard until the mid-50s. He “employed” a mechanic through all of those years who kept coming up with ideas to keep his equipment running fast. This “mechanic” was Marshall Eldredge Sr. I brought with me two of Marshall’s great-grand children to share in the visit- Jon Eldredge and Pete. Clint was quite a successful racer! You could just here his confidence even at the age of 85…. I really enjoy the visit…it was well worth the effort! The special X class engine was the Eldredge X engine. Something that I learned while I was there that made me admire Mr. Ferguson’s driving ability…I had always ASSUMED that they would run the X engine on their F class boat, after all- the X was faster than the F class! I learned that he ran it on their C class boat with a tractor lowerunit! They at times had it going over 80 MPH…..

[Kevin Martin]

daren i must admit after watching eveyone else pick on you i just felt compelled to jump on, i admit actually i've had nothing personally to laugh at,(darn it anyway)!!! i think you're a good guy. hey we we're thinking the other day we may do the san diego swing for the unlimiteds this year to watch j.w. you want to hang out for a couple of days?? kevin

[mercguy]

come on down for the Unlimiteds, heck you can race stocks with us too! I am sure we can find a spare rig for you OR Sheryl to run.......

[Kevin Martin]

i'll work on booking it, any hotels near you?? kev

[mercguy]

heck, you guys could stay here at my house.......... Also, our pit area for the SD race is absolutely the best for viewing the Unlimiteds, since we are right next to the starting line. JW waved at us several times last year as he went by.

[Kevin Martin]

you could make it hard to say no, huh? we'll work on putting this together, do you know the dates yet? kev

[Kevin Martin]

oh yeah, if we did this would we have to sleep with the hydro?:):):)

[mercguy]

Originally posted by propwash
oh yeah, if we did this would we have to sleep with the hydro?:):):)

well maybe the hydro would have to sleep outside for once............

dates.......not real sure, but sometime around the end of September. You guys would also have to get used to a single pin turn race!

[Kevin Martin]

not a problem i can roll in those too. kevin

[Ron Hill]

I'm not sure this is exactly what this thread is designed for, but....The last time I saw Jerry Waldman, was at 5:45 A.M. at Lake Havasu. He was telling me how dangerous the Classic looked to him.. 100- 110 boats going over 100 MPH...

We B.S'd about him getting hurt at the 1956 Nationals in Long Beach, CA...How he couldn't believe I set the ARR Kilo Record....about the OLD DAYS of the Winnebagoland Mararthon...

We just enjoyed breakfast, as two friends and competitors. I never saw him again.... In the PRO Commission Meetings, we seldon agreed, but we always liked each other...

I'd love to talk to Jerry today.

[Ron Hill]

I conceptualized MOD VP and wrote the rules. Jim Jost, from Evinrude loaned, sold and gave anyone who wanted to race MOD VP a motor. Bill Muncey had 9 on loan at the time of his death.

Bill Muncey was a guy that you'd never believe drove Unlimiteds, or you'd never believe drove his boat through a Coast Guard Boat...He was mellow, easy going and funny.
I was teaming with John Daley... (Daley Corp out of San Diego, largest family land holders in California.).. Bill would call me an make me promise not to get John (Daley) hurt in MOD VP.

Bill ended up driving my "FACTORY RIG" at Parker one year, when I decided to drive my own Scotti with my own motor...

After the race and a few beers, Bill told me he wanted me to drive one of his two new turbine boats. He had a new sponsor and had figured that two turbines could be run cheaper than one piston boat.

We, my wife and I, were to meet Bill at Circus Circus the Tuesday after the Acapulco, Mexico race to discuss my contract.

I miss Bill...He would be one many would love to talk to...

[Jeff Lytle]

I was one of the many lucky ones who met Bill Muncey. He was up here in Toronto with the Blue Blaster after Detroit one year. He took the boat for a scoot too !!
In Toronto, we have an area Downdown which we call the CNE. It's where the Canadian NAtional Exibition is every year. It's right down on the lakeshore, and just beyond-----------like 150 feet beyond, is a breakwall. That's where he ran----balz to the wall in an Unlimited hydro !! Quite a site.

We had a nice talk, and he autographed my copy of Thunderboating with Bill Muncey too.

I still have a poster in my workshop he gave me and autographed.