A bit of history

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Wildwoody1
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Joined: 24 Dec 2013, 18:47

Re: A bit of history

Postby Wildwoody1 » 08 Aug 2017, 12:21

A bit more History from an earlier period. This is transcribed from the remains of an Australian Motor Sports magazine February 1949.

Speedboat Racing LAKE NAGAMBIE 29th and 31st January.

Of all forms of aquatic sport there are few that have a greater appeal to public interest and imagination than speedboat racing.The Victorian Speedboat Club have 35 high powered craft on its register and is in a position to place the sport on a higher position than ever before.
This was made obvious when at Nagambie during the Australia day holiday weekend the VSBC in conjunction with the NSBC held a very successful two day Meeting.

Lake Nagambie provides a still water course on which a mile straightaway can be laid out and is most suitable for speedboat racing. Thanks to Councilor Jacobs and L and F. Parris of Nagambie the meeting was well organised and ran.

The people who attended witnessed the running of some of Victoria,s best boat and witnessed a new Victorian Record being set.Len Owen drove Typhoon his 3 pointer powered by a Lincon Zepher engine at an average of 65 mph on two runs over the flying mile. Mercury also owned by Owen and driven by his son recorded 53.5 mph creating a Victorian record for a stepless hull and bettering the Australian Record.

A grand performance was given by Alex Watkins "Classic" in winning the open handicap race. "Classic" is considerd to be the fastest speedboat in Gippsland where there is a strong racing contingent. The hull was built in Bairnsdale from a design by "Tarkock " of America.
Neil Watkins in a 135 Ci hydroplane clocked 36.5 mph on the Mile Course also. driving his boat "Scat" a "firefly" design from Sydney.
Results:
225 open handicap = Classic , Mercury , Skidaddle
135 Flying Mile =Scat 57 mph
255 Flying Mile= Mercury 65 mph ,

Boat names mentioned as competitors were:
Classic,Mercury,Skidaddle,Scat,Spray,Miss Celia,Miss Christine,Wanga 11,Typhoon,

The Results for the 135 cu in. Unrestricted Hull Australian Championship "The Lawson Shield" for 1949 held at Kangaroo Point , Georges River on Jan 15th were also listed on another page as follows:
Heat 1. "DO" ,"FIREFLY", "MIKE" winners speed 38.71 mph.

Heat 2. "FIREFLY" ,"DO" ,"MIKE. winners speed 39.39 mph.

Heat 3. "FIREFLY", "MIKE" , winners speed 38.71 mph. "DO" dnf

Reklaw
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Joined: 17 Nov 2014, 14:35

Re: A bit of history

Postby Reklaw » 08 Aug 2017, 12:35

Thanks for that, very interesting. I was having a look at "Do" last weekend. She has the Ernie Nunn modified V8 60 back in her and ready for a test run. Not sure when that will be. It's great to see a boat survive all those years.
BobW

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Greg
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Re: A bit of history

Postby Greg » 09 Aug 2017, 07:34

Great stuff Graeme

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bootlegger
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Re: A bit of history

Postby bootlegger » 09 Aug 2017, 08:06

Id love to see DO in the water again.

Wildwoody1
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Joined: 24 Dec 2013, 18:47

Re: A bit of history

Postby Wildwoody1 » 09 Aug 2017, 10:52

Also reported in November 1948 was the following:

The first Speed Boating fatality in NSW for 15 years occurred at Port Hacking on October 9th.Clem Lewis driving his little Skiff "Miss Pat" went into a tale spin in front of "Cobra" N. Chipperfield while rounding a bouy and a collision was unavoidable. Lewis received injuries from which he later died.
Clem Lewis held the 135 ci restricted record in "Miss Pat" at 43.16 mph and was showing a fine turn of speed this Season, having won the Clubs first handicap race against much larger craft.
It is expected that RMYC Port Hacking will introduce a Memorial Race in his honor.

Glennwasp
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Joined: 10 Dec 2016, 09:28

Re: A bit of history

Postby Glennwasp » 09 Aug 2017, 16:39

Bob W, I would love to DO in person, please get Terry or yourself to ring me when the time get closer for her run.
you may have seen these before, the photos of DO and FIRE FLY are from actual film footage I have, now on my computer.
Glenn.
Attachments
fire fly.jpg
fire fly.jpg (49.46 KiB) Viewed 6999 times
DO.jpg
DO.jpg (38.5 KiB) Viewed 6999 times
Ern Nunn Bill Nunn won Lawon Shireld350.jpg
Ern Nunn Bill Nunn won Lawon Shireld350.jpg (277.37 KiB) Viewed 6999 times

Reklaw
Posts: 199
Joined: 17 Nov 2014, 14:35

Re: A bit of history

Postby Reklaw » 09 Aug 2017, 17:21

Yes Glenn, I'll let you know as soon I know. Wonder if I watched those movies in Ernie and Mary's lounge room when I was a kid.
Cheers
BobW

Renojet
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Re: A bit of history

Postby Renojet » 12 Aug 2017, 08:51

Another photo of Do from 1-May-1960 (not April) at Snowdons Beach.S.A. A shame they got Jack Kenners name wrong
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Jack Speedboat The Sun 1960.JPG
Jack Speedboat The Sun 1960.JPG (4.23 MiB) Viewed 6963 times

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bootlegger
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Re: A bit of history

Postby bootlegger » 17 Aug 2017, 19:08

Fantastic

Wildwoody1
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Joined: 24 Dec 2013, 18:47

Re: A bit of history

Postby Wildwoody1 » 13 Sep 2017, 17:16

Another Article from Australian Motor Sports November 1948:

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF SPEEDBOATING

Ernie Nunn of the Deepwater Motor Boat Club and brother of "W T " Australian sporting car Club president finished last season right on top of the Speedboat ladder , a fitting reward for 25 years devotion to the sport of boat racing.

Driving his sleek 3 pointer "Wasp" with a Ford V8 in the engine room, Nunn collected the Griffith Cup, Eastway Shield and the fastest time in the 70 mile Hawksbury River bridge to bridge race and the 225ci unrestricted record at 62.392 mph.

Ernie Nunn was launched into speedboat racing at the age of 16 with a 20 foot displacement boat .It was the original "Wasp" and the 4 cylinder Belsize motor pushed the boat along and a lot of superfluous water too at about 20 mph.

His next boat a step hydroplane gave him a lot of thrills, particularly when it got out of control and nosedived to the bottom of the Georges River. To To counteract this porpoise like tendency Nunn what then must have been the forefather of all 3 pointers. He fitted 2 wing like skis at the bow which successfully put a stop to further deep sea diving: but alas added further effort for the 6 cylinder Lexington engine which was clamped aboard aft of the driver, speed suffering as a consequence.

In search of greater speed , Ernie next acquired Peter Kemp,s step-hydroplane "Endeavour" fitted with a huge 8 cylinder Curtiss engine.The heavy combination was however to much for Club racing. Nunn then got hold of a huge V8 Sturdivent areo-engine, cut it down the centre, patched up one end and fitted a flywheel , christened it the "Bent Four" and went boating. The power was there in abundance but it came in uneven lumps and the V4 set up a vibration which made Nunn feel he had got the shakes long before his time.

It was with some relief that he replaced it later with a standard 1936 Ford V8 and although the speed was much less about 35 mph - it was at least capable of being driven in comfort.Ernie Nunn then got down to tuning for speed.
The boat got lots of modifications which turned it into a sleek racer with emphasis on lightness by ingenious methods of weight saving."Wasp' then made a name for it,s self by winning the Eastway Shield in 1939 and setting the 225 ci Record at 47.28 mph.

Nunn got a shock when Racing resumed after the War in 1946. He found that the new-fangled 3 pointer hulls , "Max" Burt Macfarlane and "Miss Ada" Ray Jentsch left "Wasp" standing when it came to speed. He got literally nowhere in that years Eastway Shield , "Miss Ada" won after "Max" snapped a prop shaft.

Ernie made up his mind to join the select band of 3 pointers and armed with a foot rule and a sporting invitation from Bert Macfarlane to measure up his Canadian built Ventor 3 pointer , he took copious notes.
Next year "Wasp" emerged as a single seater 3 pointer , having grown 2 forward sponsons , a new flat bottom and a carefully tuned but standard Ford V8 motor. Speed was there in plenty , but in the Griffith Cup of that year it took a prize purler; Nunn found he had lost stability when he skimped on the width of the sponsons. Nunn humbly admitted he had made a mistake and set about rebuilding "Wasp" according to the book with the amazing results of last season.

The potency of the standard 1936 Ford V8 has aroused great interest in the Speedboat World, particularly when a single carburetor is noted when the hatch is lifted for prying eyes. Nunn insists the engine is standard , the only alterations being a compression ration of 7.2 to 1. Slightly increased by the fitting of a thinner gasket and a magneto instead of coil ignition. "Wasp" is started by a strap around the flywheel and Ernie is never seen pulling it more than once.During his Record run the Ford peaked at 4,600 rpm but the propeller and its pitch are vital factors in "Wasps" speed. In the spacious yard his Guilford home Nunn has built a 500 gallon water-vat which he uses to test his engine in relation to the best choice of propeller size.It certainly has shown results , for Ernie is able to calculate the performance of his boat even before it enters the water.
Incidentally "Wasp" weighs 350 lb and the power unit 350 lb. Aluminium engine bolts sheared in the last lap of the 1948 Griffith Cup (he crossed the line with the engine held only by the exhaust stubs) and these have now been replaced by 5/8th mild steel. The Hull is plywood with spruce stringers.
For this Season Nunn has reversed the power unit (flywheel front end) for a better shaft angle and has fitted a self starter. A central orthodox steering wheel flush with the dashboard will be seen instead of the small wheel he previously used at the side of the cockpit.

Ernie Nunn welcomes the possible challenge this year from New Zealand but is not afraid of competing against the larger aero-engined boats they use over there. He considers the large boats will not be able to use all their power on the short 1 1/2 mile courses used in Australia. Never the less he estimates that will be able to average about 56 mph which is some 5 mph faster than the best in Australia.

Ernie Nunns 18 year old Son Bill is going to be a chip off the old block. He has built a 12 foot 3 pointer on the lines of "Wasp" but with sponsons copied from those fitted to a famous American racer "Guess Who". The Ford 10 hp Prefect engine shows evidence of much careful work and young Bill hopes to achieve something in the region of 50 mph in his first "DO" as he has named it.

Wild Woody


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