Need to ID this Boat's Owners

[old rigger]

Can anyone verify if Craig Millet ran a Bubble deck or not? This boat is not a bubble deck.Thanks!
Brad, congrats on finding the history you were looking for.
The Rogers bubble decks came later, not on this bottom. That's the old 'clipper ship' deep entry bottom you have. The newer, faster, safer bottom came in '72 I believe, with the flat deck. The bubble in '73.
Steve King was also the guy that built all Roger's blower motors for the factory boats. He was gone by the time I went to work for Roger, but would stop by now and then. He's a fireman I believe now, and has been for the lasts 25 years or so.
Cool find.

[MikeC]

Holy Crap.
The infamous high school kid that invented the loader grate! We heard about him from Jack McClure and Jeff Bennett about 7 years ago. From what I remember, Jack said before this kid came up with this loader, a piece of cloth's hanger across the intake was the hot ticket.....
"A couple of high school kids that showed up and kicked everyone's asses."
I've been wondering for all these years, thanks now I know, it was Steve King.
MikeC
Yes, that is the original Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry---the original 712. It began its life as a respberry metal flake ski boat that I tried racing in 1972 along with Steve King and his family's ski boat. We took the seats out, slapped on headers and it ran 79 mph first pass at Ming---in 1972. We bolted in a scoop (you guys call them loaders) that Steve made in high school metal shop and it ran 84 next pass.
The Raspberry was fast, but it was not a fair match for dedicated race boats then run by Jack McClure, Jeff Paine, Roger Finney, the Barons, etc. It returned to its life as a fast ski boat when we got more serious and built a true race boat which was the Rogers bubbledeck you referred to (Excalibur.) After that I raced a Hondo (Spirit) and then an Eliminator (Spirit II). I finished my racing career with Liberty boats before law school took all time away.
Man, there are a lot of stories in that fiberglass. My family used the boat for several more years as ski boat and finally sold it in the early 80's (I think.) And I do have pictures and even an old 8 mm movie of it in the quarter mile. I would be more than happy to provide any info I can. Craig. cmillet@gibsondunn.com

[bp]

Holy Crap.
The infamous high school kid that invented the loader grate! We heard about him from Jack McClure and Jeff Bennett about 7 years ago. From what I remember, Jack said before this kid came up with this loader, a piece of cloth's hanger across the intake was the hot ticket.....
"A couple of high school kids that showed up and kicked everyone's asses."
I've been wondering for all these years, thanks now I know, it was Steve King.
MikeC
hey mc, what's up? you still playin with that poncho?
i seem to recall the story that there were three hischoolers; craig/steve/jeff. i also remember hearing a story of how they were down on the river with something broke, had to leave, and harold bruce asked if he could borrow that scoop lookin deal. they loaned it, left to get something fixed, and when they got back, harold had kicked everyone's butt by pickin up some serious mph with the scoop. too many stories to remember 'em all.

[MikeC]

Hey BP, I don't rember that part, but that is funny! I'd love to look through the old messages and find that message list one day.
Yes, Poncho has been very good to me.
Where are you hanging these day's?
Hope you and family are well, all good here.
MikeC
Eme@ Mikeycu@cox.net
http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...rand_prix.html
http://www.amsoil.com/adslicks/Ad779.jpg

[SpiritCJ712]

Nah, Steve is not a fireman, never was. I still see Steve a few times a year. He lives in Placentia. Our fathers went to HS together. Steve and I used to race Sabot sail boats when we were about 12. We both then got 13' Boston Wailers with outboards and went water skiing. Steve, Jeff Bennett and I all went to HS together as well. We went to the NDBA drags at Long Beach once and watched the likes of Ray Casselli and Larry Schwabenland and that was it. We were hooked. Our families had purchased jet ski boats by then and we tore into to them to try to make them go fast. My great thanks to Jack McClure for teaching us so much and likely keeping us from killing ourselves.
Jeff Bennett was my "crew chief" (more like best friend) for years and then we both ended up at Liberty Boats/Competition Marine in the late '70's after I closed my shop and got my degree in Philosophy. We ran Liberty's race program and also did the pump, hardware and bottom on other boats like Harold Bruce's boat and Norm Grime's boat "Dash for Cash"--first UBGJ to go over 125 mph.
A couple of stories--During easter week one year, Jeff Bennett had the "honor" of skiing naked down the Parker strip while I drove the Raspberry full of girls. On another occasion, The Raspberry, pulling Mike Basso won the the Needles inner tube race where about 12 idiots pulled a guy on an inner tube as fast as you could go to the train bridge and back. After it returned to duty as a ski boat, the Raspberry had a 454 Chev in it made up of retired race parts. Once, we took the Raspberry to the NJBA drags, along with the bubbledeck Rogers, so we could ski after the races. On a whim we entered the Raspberry in the Ski Jet II class and won the class, with the seats and everything installed. We were protested and had to tear down the engine. Jack McClure measured the engine and declared it legal--way legal. So we had plenty of beer money for the next day.
Re "old school loaders," we must have made a couple of hundred scoops over the years we raced. Some of the designs look very much like what you have today and some you have never seen, with blow in doors, twisted vanes, vanes longer on one side, etc. We also devised the "anti- suction" plate to reduce drag near the shoe. We used to dye the shoe and read the cavitation burn between heats. We used to cut the outboard fin down on the jet intake to help scoop water into the intake when turning left. Finally, the bottom mod that turned the Eliminator tunnel boats into truly fast boats was devised late one after noon while Jeff and I were floating in the water at Bluewater, drinking beer and looking at the bottom of my Eliminator on the trailer trying to figure out how to stop the hi speed cavitation problem.
I left Liberty to go to law school and that ended racing for me. Jeff, Jack, Norm and others continued on. Steve King had left racing by then as well. Jeff got his degree in engineering and was with General Dynamics, and may still be. We all stayed in touch through Jack McClure and Norm Grimes.
Wow this brings back some memories of wild times!

[SpiritCJ712]

Nah, Steve is not a fireman, never was. I still see Steve a few times a year. He lives in Placentia. Our fathers went to HS together. Steve and I used to race Sabot sail boats when we were about 12. We both then got 13' Boston Wailers with outboards and went water skiing. Steve, Jeff Bennett and I all went to HS together as well. We went to the NDBA drags at Long Beach once and watched the likes of Ray Casselli and Larry Schwabenland and that was it. We were hooked. Our families had purchased jet ski boats by then and we tore into to them to try to make them go fast. My great thanks to Jack McClure for teaching us so much and likely keeping us from killing ourselves.
Jeff Bennett was my "crew chief" (more like best friend) for years and then we both ended up at Liberty Boats/Competition Marine in the late '70's after I closed my shop and got my degree in Philosophy. We ran Liberty's race program and also did the pump, hardware and bottom on other boats like Harold Bruce's boat and Norm Grime's boat "Dash for Cash"--first UBGJ to go over 125 mph.
A couple of stories--During easter week one year, Jeff Bennett had the "honor" of skiing naked down the Parker strip while I drove the Raspberry full of girls. On another occasion, The Raspberry, pulling Mike Basso won the the Needles inner tube race where about 12 idiots pulled a guy on an inner tube as fast as you could go to the train bridge and back. After it returned to duty as a ski boat, the Raspberry had a 454 Chev in it made up of retired race parts. Once, we took the Raspberry to the NJBA drags, along with the bubbledeck Rogers, so we could ski after the races. On a whim we entered the Raspberry in the Ski Jet II class and won the class, with the seats and everything installed. We were protested and had to tear down the engine. Jack McClure measured the engine and declared it legal--way legal. So we had plenty of beer money for the next day.
Re "old school loaders," we must have made a couple of hundred scoops over the years we raced. Some of the designs look very much like what you have today and some you have never seen, with blow in doors, twisted vanes, vanes longer on one side, etc. We also devised the "anti- suction" plate to reduce drag near the shoe. We used to dye the shoe and read the cavitation burn between heats. We used to cut the outboard fin down on the jet intake to help scoop water into the intake when turning left. Finally, the bottom mod that turned the Eliminator tunnel boats into truly fast boats was devised late one after noon while Jeff and I were floating in the water at Bluewater, drinking beer and looking at the bottom of my Eliminator on the trailer trying to figure out how to stop the hi speed cavitation problem.
I left Liberty to go to law school and that ended racing for me. Jeff, Jack, Norm and others continued on. Steve King had left racing by then as well. Jeff got his degree in engineering and was with General Dynamics, and may still be. We all stayed in touch through Jack McClure and Norm Grimes.
Wow this brings back some memories of wild times!

[old rigger]

Nah, Steve is not a fireman, never was. I still see Steve a few times a year....
Could have sworn he was a fireman or a paramedic. Oh well.
Just got off the phone with Roger, the guy I was thinking about was Mark, another rigger from back in the day. Damn...I thought for sure that was King. lol.

[SpiritCJ712]

Sorry about the double post above---not sure how that happened.
Re Harold Bruce: The story is basically true. We met Harold and family at Bluewater one year. He had a green metal flake Rogers and Roger Wieman had told him to talk to us if he made it to the races. I still had my own boat shop then. We probably carried about a half dozen scoops with us by then, to allow us to chg to meet water conditions, etc. Plus we ran one type of scoop for drags and chg'd to another for circle racing. Some one had told Harold that scoops didn't make any difference and he would not pick up any speed. Oh yeah? We couldn't resist that challenge and we let Harold use one I was not using. Harold won and worked together after that for some time. So it is true except for the "broke and had to leave part."
The whole intake area became quite proprietary. We used to have intake covers to hide the bottom. We would even install decoy scoops or no scoop, until shortly before we were ready to race. On occasion, one of my friends, Craig Peterson, would sleep under the boat to keep prying eyes away from the bottom of the boat.
There are a thousand more stories like these.

[cyclone]

Sorry about the double post above---not sure how that happened.
Re Harold Bruce: The story is basically true. We met Harold and family at Bluewater one year. He had a green metal flake Rogers and Roger Wieman had told him to talk to us if he made it to the races. I still had my own boat shop then. We probably carried about a half dozen scoops with us by then, to allow us to chg to meet water conditions, etc. Plus we ran one type of scoop for drags and chg'd to another for circle racing. Some one had told Harold that scoops didn't make any difference and he would not pick up any speed. Oh yeah? We couldn't resist that challenge and we let Harold use one I was not using. Harold won and worked together after that for some time. So it is true except for the "broke and had to leave part."
The whole intake area became quite proprietary. We used to have intake covers to hide the bottom. We would even install decoy scoops or no scoop, until shortly before we were ready to race. On occasion, one of my friends, Craig Peterson, would sleep under the boat to keep prying eyes away from the bottom of the boat.
There are a thousand more stories like these.
I'm lovin your stories. Keep 'em coming..

[cyclone]

Bennett water skiing naked...lol i'm laughin my ass off.