Hi Zuiks,
Was in the neighborhood just awhile ago, so figured what the heck, I'll stop
by the Hydroplane & Raceboat museum and see what's shakin'. First bay was
open, and there, side by side, sat the Atlas Van Lines (Merlin-powered), and
the
Griffon (Rolls Royce) Bud, both fully restored and in running condition. Only
one guy in sight, mixing paint for the Atlas "Blue Blaster." Seemed friendly
enough, so even though today is not an open-to-the-public day, I snuck in.
He said they both ran yesterday (sob), and CHIP HANAUER drove the Atlas! Argh!
Chip won the national championship TWICE in this very boat, which is a
replacement for the one that flipped in 1981 in Acapulco, killing Bill Muncey,
who
was attempting to keep up with Dean Chenowith in the Griffon Bud. Chip almost
flipped this very boat in Detroit in '82, again racing against the Griffon
Bud (and Chip won by grabbing the inside lane and forcing the Griffon Bud to
run
wide).
The guy said Chip did 150 mph yesterday on the first lap! But they weren't
happy with the performance of the Merlin. Didn't seem to be getting enough
air, so they are pulling the engine tomorrow and probably changing the gearing
on
the supercharger (this is a museum boat, an irreplaceable one-of-a-kind, and
they want it to RUN!). Said the Griffon Bud does about 100mph with the big
Griffon just idling. I do believe that, as it will go upwards of 220 - 230 mph
wide open (nobody really knows, as the last time it went that fast it
literally went airborne and disintegrated, nearly killing Chenowith).
Annual open house tomorrow. Needless to say, I'm going down early with the
OMs. The painter today hopes the boats won't be outside tomorrow because they
need to pull the engines in both, but they very well may be outside, to draw
folks (brings donation$, which pay for fuel, parts, paint, rent, etc.). I have
a roll of Fuji 400 XTRA in the OM2S, which is probably O.K. if they're
indoors. I guess I'll load the OM-1n with a roll of Fuji 100 Superia for the
possibility that they are outside in bright light. Forecast is for
partly/mostly/variable cloudiness, though, so the 400 might just suffice
whichever scenario
meets me. Maybe I should load the OM-1 with 200? Why not 3 OMs? And an XA?
:-)
Wishin' I had a 21/2 or even wider. 30 plus feet of boat & trailer up REAL
close inside those bays is tough to get frame, even with the 35/2 or 28/2.8.
Video of trailer firing the Griffon:
<A
HREF="http://www.thunderboats.org/video_griffon_1st_start.html";>http://www.thunderboats.org/video_griffon_1st_start.html</A>
Stills of trailer firing the Griffon:
http://www.hydroprop.com/news/030414.htm
Rich
P.S. The Griffon Bud also made an appearance on the 13th at the hydro pits
on Lake Washington for a special memorial service held for legendary Budweiser
hydro owner Bernie Little, who just died 4/25/03. Some pics (including the
Griffon Bud - first pic):
<A
HREF="http://www.hydroprop.com/news/030519.htm";>http://www.hydroprop.com/news/030519.htm</A>
http://www.hydroprop.com/news/030514.htm
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