Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
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Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
A friend of mine has a out rigger boat called the "Crapshooter" that was his late fathers. It is belived to be the back up boat to the world champion in 1988. We have no idea on if it was or back up to world champion in what class. Any info would be great! FWIW, its Greeen and Harvest Yellow and has an OPS 80 engine.
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Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Crapshooter boats were developed in the mid 1970s by a pattern maker from Mich. named Tim Ries. At the time they were the fastest straight away and oval boats in the world. I won the Southern Gentlemen Invitational in the mid 1970s with one. In the late 1970s, Martin Davis from Indianapolis purchased the company and further developed the crapshooter. Crapshooter boats were the dominating hydros during the 1980s. I got out of boat racing in the late 80's and don't know about your specific boat but I am sure if it is a crapshooter of that vintage it is a good boat and probably is still competive today. I think Martin Davis may have moved to Florida and I heard he still is active in RC boat racing. He may still own the rights to the crapshooter name and may have a web site. Jay Maguire
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
The Crapshooters are still going strong. Several were racing at this years IMPBA Internats. Marty is easy to get hold of even though he did recently move to Florida and has gotten out of racing boats.
As you may know, these were not or still not a cheap boat to buy but some of the best aren't cheap.
As you may know, these were not or still not a cheap boat to buy but some of the best aren't cheap.
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Jay:
A long lost friend.....
I can tell you that Jay Maguire was one of the TOUGHEST competitors that there was and always ran boats built by my Mentor - Ed Hughey.
Back in the days when Jay competed, it was always a treat to race him. He was very fast, could drive as well as ANYBODY and a clean driver. He helped Ed Hughey advance his boats well beyound where Ed developed them.
As Jay indicates, the Crapshooter was the primary competition for the Hughey boats. There were a couple other that were very competitive and included the Pinkert Gator, and a few others.
Crapshooter Boats was developed by Tim Ries, Dennis Warden and Charley Sweet. Tim was the engineer and responsible for most development. Myself and Joe Albanese bought the company and I ran it for about 8 years during the 70's. I sold the company to a competitor who worked for me for several years - Gregg Huey. He ran the business for 4 or 5 years and further advanced the design. He sold to 3 people (Cary ?, Stu and John Barr). Stu Barr still produces about 12-15 kits per year (the finest quality kit and workmanship that has EVER been produced). Stu retired about 2 years ago and may produce a few more than he did. He recently became the US Distributor of CMB Engines.
Guess that is more history than you wanted, but it is the complete story.
Jay: for your information, I sold all my stuff to a guy who I knew that lives less than an hour away from me in St Pete and I still go to his shop occasionally. I actually ran a race a few weeks back using my old .21 hydro at the new Tampa Pond.
The boat that was mentioned was the color that John Ackerman always ran (dark green and yellow), so I would bet that it was his boat.
Ackerman and I fly over to Lakeland once a year to have lunch with Glenn and Connie Cupit and also see Pinkert occasioally when we visit Bernie Bathauer.
Ed and Sandy Hughey came to visit last year and we talked about you during that visit.
Drop me a line and lets catch up.....
Marty Davis
A long lost friend.....
I can tell you that Jay Maguire was one of the TOUGHEST competitors that there was and always ran boats built by my Mentor - Ed Hughey.
Back in the days when Jay competed, it was always a treat to race him. He was very fast, could drive as well as ANYBODY and a clean driver. He helped Ed Hughey advance his boats well beyound where Ed developed them.
As Jay indicates, the Crapshooter was the primary competition for the Hughey boats. There were a couple other that were very competitive and included the Pinkert Gator, and a few others.
Crapshooter Boats was developed by Tim Ries, Dennis Warden and Charley Sweet. Tim was the engineer and responsible for most development. Myself and Joe Albanese bought the company and I ran it for about 8 years during the 70's. I sold the company to a competitor who worked for me for several years - Gregg Huey. He ran the business for 4 or 5 years and further advanced the design. He sold to 3 people (Cary ?, Stu and John Barr). Stu Barr still produces about 12-15 kits per year (the finest quality kit and workmanship that has EVER been produced). Stu retired about 2 years ago and may produce a few more than he did. He recently became the US Distributor of CMB Engines.
Guess that is more history than you wanted, but it is the complete story.
Jay: for your information, I sold all my stuff to a guy who I knew that lives less than an hour away from me in St Pete and I still go to his shop occasionally. I actually ran a race a few weeks back using my old .21 hydro at the new Tampa Pond.
The boat that was mentioned was the color that John Ackerman always ran (dark green and yellow), so I would bet that it was his boat.
Ackerman and I fly over to Lakeland once a year to have lunch with Glenn and Connie Cupit and also see Pinkert occasioally when we visit Bernie Bathauer.
Ed and Sandy Hughey came to visit last year and we talked about you during that visit.
Drop me a line and lets catch up.....
Marty Davis
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
When I saw that Jay Maguire posted, I had to post a reply. He was a good friend and an awesome competitor. Hope he finds this post. I use a cool applet called Google Alerts to monitor keywords which I am interested in. When there is anything across the web, on that keyword, it alerts me, It is located at: http://www.google.com/alerts It is one of the neatest things that I have found. One of the alerts was "Crapshooter" which alerted me to this post.
Marty Davis
Marty Davis
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Wow, imagine my eyes when I saw this post. I worked with Tim and had just graduated from my apprenticeship as a wood patternmaker when he asked me to paint this boat that he had just completed.
I asked him what he wanted on it and he just said paint the zig zag man on the cowl.
It left the top of the sponsons bare and I asked what he wanted there. He said use your imagination and artistic license. I knew he liked to gamble, and thought of a poker hand at first. I decided it would be too much work and went for a pair of dice on each side with craps showing on both die.
Tim Liked it and Called it the Crap shooter. I went with him and my sons out to Belle Isle to see him do some trial runs with it and we were all real geeked. he set up a shop in his basement and later moved to a Ferndale business address where he crafted boats for a while and then decided to sell it. He loved creating it more than he loved production of it.
I'll never forget that as long as I live. I am now proud owner of a shop In Taylor Michigan where we make Carbon fiber parts for show and custom vehicles.
This was a real pleasure.
I asked him what he wanted on it and he just said paint the zig zag man on the cowl.
It left the top of the sponsons bare and I asked what he wanted there. He said use your imagination and artistic license. I knew he liked to gamble, and thought of a poker hand at first. I decided it would be too much work and went for a pair of dice on each side with craps showing on both die.
Tim Liked it and Called it the Crap shooter. I went with him and my sons out to Belle Isle to see him do some trial runs with it and we were all real geeked. he set up a shop in his basement and later moved to a Ferndale business address where he crafted boats for a while and then decided to sell it. He loved creating it more than he loved production of it.
I'll never forget that as long as I live. I am now proud owner of a shop In Taylor Michigan where we make Carbon fiber parts for show and custom vehicles.
This was a real pleasure.
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Nope... I ran Green and yellow Crapshooters forever and everyone of them except my very first one was built by Marty. Tim built my first one which was a Super Sixty. Joey Albanese brought it to Indy for me ready to run
John Ackerman
John Ackerman
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Hi y'all,
Marty, Jay and John got my attention too, with their "Crapshooter" posts.
I was Contest Director when Jay won our Southern Gentlemen Invitationals at Hammond, LA. I think it was 1976 or 77?
Hi Jay! Haven't seen you in MANY years! Hope all is OK with you?
Attached is a photo of Tim Ries and I at the 1974 Indy Unlimited hydro race at Just Add Water Marina in Indy. I got my 70 mph patch with this 40 hydro. I had several Crapshooters of Tim's manufacture and then Marty's after he took over the manufacture of them.
I still have the .40 Crapshooter, "Snake Eyes" in the photo.
ONLY 33 years ago!
In 1976, I won the IMPBA Norfolk Internats in .40 hydro, (US#1) with this same boat. Also won the Performance of Excellence Award (Overall high point) with this boat at that meet. Got to keep the trophy for a year!! NEAT.
Also, my 11 yr old son, Connie (now 42 yr old, "Conrad" ) won B-Mono with his Manu-Kai, Veco .19. He had come in 2nd or 3rd at the previous 4 INTERNATS with the same boat. He won his 1st INTERNAT trophy at 7 yr old!
Fast forward 28 years . . attached photo of Conrad, Ackerman, Marty & I in 2004.
Boy . . the fun we had with our boat racin' in the '70's!
3rd photo is of Don Pinckert, me, Joey Albeanese and Tim Ries at an early Southern Gentlemen Invitationals at Bullard Lake in New Orleans East. Circa 1973-75. Sorry for the photo quality . It was caught in one of several floods! <grin>
Best Regards,
Glenn - in Louisiana
Marty, Jay and John got my attention too, with their "Crapshooter" posts.
I was Contest Director when Jay won our Southern Gentlemen Invitationals at Hammond, LA. I think it was 1976 or 77?
Hi Jay! Haven't seen you in MANY years! Hope all is OK with you?
Attached is a photo of Tim Ries and I at the 1974 Indy Unlimited hydro race at Just Add Water Marina in Indy. I got my 70 mph patch with this 40 hydro. I had several Crapshooters of Tim's manufacture and then Marty's after he took over the manufacture of them.
I still have the .40 Crapshooter, "Snake Eyes" in the photo.
ONLY 33 years ago!
In 1976, I won the IMPBA Norfolk Internats in .40 hydro, (US#1) with this same boat. Also won the Performance of Excellence Award (Overall high point) with this boat at that meet. Got to keep the trophy for a year!! NEAT.
Also, my 11 yr old son, Connie (now 42 yr old, "Conrad" ) won B-Mono with his Manu-Kai, Veco .19. He had come in 2nd or 3rd at the previous 4 INTERNATS with the same boat. He won his 1st INTERNAT trophy at 7 yr old!
Fast forward 28 years . . attached photo of Conrad, Ackerman, Marty & I in 2004.
Boy . . the fun we had with our boat racin' in the '70's!
3rd photo is of Don Pinckert, me, Joey Albeanese and Tim Ries at an early Southern Gentlemen Invitationals at Bullard Lake in New Orleans East. Circa 1973-75. Sorry for the photo quality . It was caught in one of several floods! <grin>
Best Regards,
Glenn - in Louisiana
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Glenn, Good to hear from you. It was 1975. Janet just went and looked. The Southern Gentlemen trophy is the only one I've kept all these years. They were unique. We retired ten years ago and moved to Colorado. Skiing, snowmobiling, trout fishing, golf. This retirement is rough. I got into scale RC airplanes about fifteen years ago. Still have a couple boats. Jay & Janet
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Correct me please if I'm wrong but Rafael "Ralph" Almirola is the current manufacturer of the Crapshooter. If the last name sounds familiar, you're a NASCAR fan. His son, Aric is one of the hottest up-and-comers in the go fast and turn left cars. He'll be swapping seat time with Mark Martin in the Ginn Racing/DEI car.
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Hi Jay,
Neat plane!
The Southern Gentlemen Invitational trophy was an accident! I was visiting a shop in New Orleans that manufactured simulated wood cast products. They used pecan shells mixed into a polyester casting resin. The finished product looked like wood, grain and all! These guys were ARTISTS! They would carve or sculpt the original out of wood and use it for the plug. The mold was made from a liquid rubber which captured every detail and could be used many times. I saw the androgenous looking figure standing with his hands over his head. He was supposed to have been an athelete who had won some event. I immediately thought, "THIS could be a great trophy!" I had them carve a hydro and make a mold, which was added to his hands and make a base for him to stand on. Now, we had a TROPHY! I, too thought they were special - definitely unique!
Of all the SG Invitationals we had, I never won one! (I always had a problem being a serious competitor at our race, as I was always tryin' to keep things organized.) Photo attached of some of the Southern Gentlemen and families. Louis Durand is holding a trophy. It seemed like EVERYBODY had Crapshooters in the mid-'70's!
My current project is recreating my 1965 AA/FDragster as a "cackle car".
See: http://wediditforlove.com/Cupit_Cunningham.html or Google: "Cupit & Cunningham".
Regards, Glenn - in Louisiana
Neat plane!
The Southern Gentlemen Invitational trophy was an accident! I was visiting a shop in New Orleans that manufactured simulated wood cast products. They used pecan shells mixed into a polyester casting resin. The finished product looked like wood, grain and all! These guys were ARTISTS! They would carve or sculpt the original out of wood and use it for the plug. The mold was made from a liquid rubber which captured every detail and could be used many times. I saw the androgenous looking figure standing with his hands over his head. He was supposed to have been an athelete who had won some event. I immediately thought, "THIS could be a great trophy!" I had them carve a hydro and make a mold, which was added to his hands and make a base for him to stand on. Now, we had a TROPHY! I, too thought they were special - definitely unique!
Of all the SG Invitationals we had, I never won one! (I always had a problem being a serious competitor at our race, as I was always tryin' to keep things organized.) Photo attached of some of the Southern Gentlemen and families. Louis Durand is holding a trophy. It seemed like EVERYBODY had Crapshooters in the mid-'70's!
My current project is recreating my 1965 AA/FDragster as a "cackle car".
See: http://wediditforlove.com/Cupit_Cunningham.html or Google: "Cupit & Cunningham".
Regards, Glenn - in Louisiana
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Way OT but I oved the site! I'm no spring chicken myself and those shots brought back memories! When the TF cars learned to hook up the tires I missed the 1/4 smoky runs. Damn, Art Malone and "TV" Tommy Ivo! You didn't need an 18-wheeler with a 53 foot trailer back then either.
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Hi Ron,
I'll be 69 in 3 weeks.
We're gettin' off the R/C boat subject here!
I'll be happy to talk more about these old drag cars, but maybe we should do it off this list? My e-mail is: [email protected] if y'all want to continue this discussion. I've got lotsa old photos! I'm headed to Bakersfield next month for the California Hot Rod Reunion. Here's some photos from last year's event.
Regards,
Glenn - in Louisiana
I'll be 69 in 3 weeks.
We're gettin' off the R/C boat subject here!
I'll be happy to talk more about these old drag cars, but maybe we should do it off this list? My e-mail is: [email protected] if y'all want to continue this discussion. I've got lotsa old photos! I'm headed to Bakersfield next month for the California Hot Rod Reunion. Here's some photos from last year's event.
Regards,
Glenn - in Louisiana
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Ron, Ralph is the owner of Roadrunner Hydros, not Crapshooter.
Marty sold the rights to the crapshooter name to Stu Barr. Stu still makes the crapshooter, but on a very limited basis.
~James
Marty sold the rights to the crapshooter name to Stu Barr. Stu still makes the crapshooter, but on a very limited basis.
~James
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
Hey Old Timer's,,
Keep the topic here,I hated history as a kid,but I'm lov-in this thred,and it seems everyone else is to,just look at the number of hits already!!Let the history lesson continue!!
Thanks
And keep postin those old pics,there great to see!
Keep the topic here,I hated history as a kid,but I'm lov-in this thred,and it seems everyone else is to,just look at the number of hits already!!Let the history lesson continue!!
Thanks
And keep postin those old pics,there great to see!
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
James:
Actually the history of my involvement in Crapshooter is as follows:
Tim Reese, Denis Worden, Charlie Sweet started Crapshooter (Precision Boat Manufacturing Co) in Detroit. Dennis and Charlie only stayed with it a little while. Tim ran the business for a long time and created quite a reputation.
Joey Albanese (from New Orleans) had always wanted to own the company and told Tim that if he ever got tired of the business to let him know. Joey got the call in about 1975 and he asked me to bankroll the purchase. We started into a partnership which was to have Joey owning the business as soon as he could get the purchase price paid off. That never happened and I became the sole owner. I ran the company for many years (producing over 600 boats per year) until I got so busy with my main business that I didn't have time to operate it. I made a deal to sell the company to one of my employees (Gregg Huey). He ran the company for about 4-5 years and did very well with the company. Crapshooters won about everything during the 70's and early 80's. Gregg finally got tired of running the business and sold the company to a guy who did not know much about boats (Kerry Woodward). He didn't have much funding and had to find a partner. He asked Stu and John Barr to loan him some $$$$. That didn't last long either. Soon, Stu was the owner of Crapshooter Boats. Stu had always wanted to own that company and decided to build just enough boats to pay for his hobby at a HIGH LEVEL. He produced about a dozen hand crafted boats with all the hardware (he even buillt the hardware). These boats were perfect in construction and quality. Stu recently bought the import rights to CMB Marine Engines from Tidewater Engineering Co. Now, Stu has not built any boats for a year and I suspect that he may never build any more. The CMB Business is probably going to be about all he can handle.
Quite a long line of builders of Crapshooter Boats..... and MANY, MANY, MANY race wins. Heck, even Andy Brown ran Crapshooter Boats.
That boat of Glenn Cupit's that had the Dice on the front was a really spectacular race boat. The Green and Yellow were the colors of John Ackerman and he owned many Crapshooters over the years. All the boats that I ran during my term as owner were Black with various Day-Glo cowlings for each of the factory drivers (Tom Grannis, Howie Whitaker, Mark Grannis, Len Skwiera, Ed Lackey, Gregg Huey). Mike Wisniewski was also a sponsored driver, but he painted his boats Pink (a color that his Dad made famous in racing airplanes). Jack Garcia (of K&B Fame) was also sponsored and helped me with development of the El Diablo Outboard. These years were CRAPSHOOTER years with most major contests won by Crapshooters. They even outlawed our El Diablo Outboards because they won almost every outboard contest.
I suspect that this information is more than anyone wanted, but some of the "Old Timers" will remember these facts very well.
I forgot to mention that during my term as owner the main competition was from Ed Hughey's Boats as well as the Pinkert Boats. Jay McEntire was the main Hughey Factory Driver and was someone that we loved to see entered at any race. You knew that you had a tough challenge in beating him... Not sure who was Pinkert's main drivers? I know that Don himself was very much interested in SAW (held MANY records during this time) and occasionally raced.
Marty Davis
Actually the history of my involvement in Crapshooter is as follows:
Tim Reese, Denis Worden, Charlie Sweet started Crapshooter (Precision Boat Manufacturing Co) in Detroit. Dennis and Charlie only stayed with it a little while. Tim ran the business for a long time and created quite a reputation.
Joey Albanese (from New Orleans) had always wanted to own the company and told Tim that if he ever got tired of the business to let him know. Joey got the call in about 1975 and he asked me to bankroll the purchase. We started into a partnership which was to have Joey owning the business as soon as he could get the purchase price paid off. That never happened and I became the sole owner. I ran the company for many years (producing over 600 boats per year) until I got so busy with my main business that I didn't have time to operate it. I made a deal to sell the company to one of my employees (Gregg Huey). He ran the company for about 4-5 years and did very well with the company. Crapshooters won about everything during the 70's and early 80's. Gregg finally got tired of running the business and sold the company to a guy who did not know much about boats (Kerry Woodward). He didn't have much funding and had to find a partner. He asked Stu and John Barr to loan him some $$$$. That didn't last long either. Soon, Stu was the owner of Crapshooter Boats. Stu had always wanted to own that company and decided to build just enough boats to pay for his hobby at a HIGH LEVEL. He produced about a dozen hand crafted boats with all the hardware (he even buillt the hardware). These boats were perfect in construction and quality. Stu recently bought the import rights to CMB Marine Engines from Tidewater Engineering Co. Now, Stu has not built any boats for a year and I suspect that he may never build any more. The CMB Business is probably going to be about all he can handle.
Quite a long line of builders of Crapshooter Boats..... and MANY, MANY, MANY race wins. Heck, even Andy Brown ran Crapshooter Boats.
That boat of Glenn Cupit's that had the Dice on the front was a really spectacular race boat. The Green and Yellow were the colors of John Ackerman and he owned many Crapshooters over the years. All the boats that I ran during my term as owner were Black with various Day-Glo cowlings for each of the factory drivers (Tom Grannis, Howie Whitaker, Mark Grannis, Len Skwiera, Ed Lackey, Gregg Huey). Mike Wisniewski was also a sponsored driver, but he painted his boats Pink (a color that his Dad made famous in racing airplanes). Jack Garcia (of K&B Fame) was also sponsored and helped me with development of the El Diablo Outboard. These years were CRAPSHOOTER years with most major contests won by Crapshooters. They even outlawed our El Diablo Outboards because they won almost every outboard contest.
I suspect that this information is more than anyone wanted, but some of the "Old Timers" will remember these facts very well.
I forgot to mention that during my term as owner the main competition was from Ed Hughey's Boats as well as the Pinkert Boats. Jay McEntire was the main Hughey Factory Driver and was someone that we loved to see entered at any race. You knew that you had a tough challenge in beating him... Not sure who was Pinkert's main drivers? I know that Don himself was very much interested in SAW (held MANY records during this time) and occasionally raced.
Marty Davis
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
There ya go, straight from the man.
So Stu still holds the "rights" to build the boat, but isnt building them. Thats a shame, they are very nice boats.
So Stu still holds the "rights" to build the boat, but isnt building them. Thats a shame, they are very nice boats.
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RE: Outrigger boat called the "Crapshooter"?
James:
Yes, Stu is the builder of the Crapshooter. I was just indicating that he probably will be super busy with the CMB Deal so I would think that the kits will be scarce. He might build a few, we will have to wait and see. He is retired from the Bank, so he has much more time.
Marty Davis
Yes, Stu is the builder of the Crapshooter. I was just indicating that he probably will be super busy with the CMB Deal so I would think that the kits will be scarce. He might build a few, we will have to wait and see. He is retired from the Bank, so he has much more time.
Marty Davis