U-75 Miss TIMEX Report from January 21, 2013

An Inspection Report of the 1971 Miss Timex
Prepared by David Williams
Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum

On Jan 21, 2013 David Williams inspected a hull owned by Wil Muncey and Randall Milligan that is represented to be the hull know by the Universal hull Designation number: 1971-75. After inspecting the hull I can confirm that it is in fact: 1971-75. However the hull has been significantly modified.

The boat's original 1971 configuration.

The boat as it appears today.

A brief history.

This hull was built by Les Staduacher of Kawkalian MI in 1970 for Gordon Deneau of Detroit MI. The boat was built of wood and aluminum and was 30 feet long, 13'2 " wide and weighed 6,500 pounds and was powered by an Allison V-12.

The boat was named Miss Timex and was red and white and was given the "U" number of U-75. The boat was driven by Tom Sheehy and took a third place in its very first race in Miami Florida on May 23, 1971. The boat failed to qualify at its next two races and Deneau sold the boat to Lou Nuta in June of 1971. Nuta renamed the boat "Miss Miami" but left the boat painted in Miss Timex colors. The boat attempted to qualify two more times in 1971 but failed.

The Miss Timex in Owensboro KY in 1971.

In 1972 Nuta repainted the boat orange and cream and only went to one race in 1972, claiming 8th place out of 11 boats at the Miami Spark Plug Regatta with Roger D'Eath driving.

The boat sat out the 1973 season, and was sold to Gene Benning in 1974 and was renamed Just-A-Pest III and given the number U-56, She went to 4 races in 1974, earning a 2nd place in Miami, with driver Danny Walls. Two weeks later, on June 16th with Charlie Dunn in the cockpit, the boat crashed and sank during the Kentucky Governors Cup. The boat was repaired and took 14th place in the Dayton HydroGlobe race in Dayton Ohio with Ron Snyder in the cockpit. The boat failed to qualify for the Indian Governors' Cup in Madison Indiana in October.

Just a Pest III in Miami 1974

The boat was repainted blue and white, but sat out the 1975 season. She raced in three races in 1976 for Gene Benning under a couple different names. It failed to start once, and got a pair of 7th place finishes. Mid way through the season she was sold to Brian Keogh who took the boat to four additional races under four different names. The boat either failed to qualify, or if it did qualify, it failed to finish.

R. Mikuliski Advertising in Seattle 1976

In between the 1976 and 77 seasons, Keogh replaced the "old style" Staduacher cowlings with "new style" Ron Jones cowlings in an attempt to make the boat look more contemporary. Keogh took the boat to four races under a variety of names in 1977 and it failed to complete a single heat.

Pat O'Grady's Lake Shore in Detroit in 1977

Keogh sold the boat to Doug McIntosh who took the boat to six races in 1978, under four different names. The boat ran in the middle of the pack and ended up in 6th place in national highpoints.

Elliot Dog Ration in San Diego in 1978

In 1979 the boat was sold to Tom Frees who renamed the boat U-66 Whatcom Lady. Frees took the boat to two races in 1979 and failed to qualify for either.

In 1980 Frees sold the boat to Bob Warner who took the boat to one race as the U-100 Miss Rock. The boat failed to score any points.

Warner took the boat to four races in 1981, capturing a couple of 7th place finishes, one 8th and one ninth.

Wil Muncey bought the boat in 1984 and converted it to a cabover configuration. It ran it as the U-11 National School of Travel for six races and Water Works part for two races. The boat failed to finish any heats. This was the last time the boat competed as an APBA Unlimited.

Wil deepened the pickle-forked and added an enclosed canopy and called the boat Miss Canada. The boat ran in several "Z Boat" exhibitions. The last time I have any record of it running was 1988. Wil may have additional information about when it last ran.

A list of all of the names and numbers that the boat ran under follows:
1971-75
U-75 MISS TIMEX (1) 71
U-75 U-75 71
U-75 MISS MIAMI 71-72
U-56 JUST-A-PEST III 74
U-56 MISS NORTH TOOL (2) 76
U-56 OWENSBORO'S OWN II 76
U-70 SUCH CRUST I 76
U-70 COLUMBIA CLIPPER 76
U-70 R. MIKULISKI ADVERTISING (1) 76
U-70 U-70 (1) 76
U-70 PAT O'GRADY'S LAKE SHORE (1) 77
U-70 C & H MACHINE SPECIAL 77
U-66 MISS DETROIT RADIOGRAPHIC 78
U-66 HANEY'S 78
U-66 SEE SAW BAND 78
U-66 ELLIOT DOG RATION (2) 78
U-66 WHATCOM LADY 79
U-100 KISW/MISS ROCK (1) 80
U-66 MISS RENT-IT SHOPS 81
U-66 MISS LA JOLLA PLUMBING (1) 81
U-11 NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TRAVEL 84
U-11 WATERWORKS PARK 84

Condition :
The boat is being stored under cover in what I would describe as an unheated "shed" or "car port." There are no doors on the shed.

There are construction debris around the boat that make it difficult to approach the boat. Boat as it currently sits in storage.

The boat is presented as being "complete." I can confirm that the boat is sitting on a trailer, and that all running gear that would normally be visible from the exterior (propeller, prop shaft, strut and whip strut, rudder, rudder bracket and pitman arm) are on the boat. Transom of the boat showing the rudder, rudder bracket and propeller.

There is an Allison engine in the boat and there is a Western Gearbox bolted to the motor. In terms of what is visible, (without removing the cowlings and opening the canopy) I would agree that the boat is complete. However I was not able to open the canopy or remove the cowlings so I can not verify that all components that would not normally be visible are with the boat, but I saw no evidence that anything had been removed, and have no reason to not believe that the boat is anything other than complete.

Western Gearbox visible under the cowling

To the best of my knowledge, the boat last ran in 1988 and has been stored in this location or a similar stall in the same shed since that time. Wil says that the boat "was turn-key when we parked it."

The roof of the shed protects the boat from rain; however there are no doors or heat, so the boat is exposed to the damp climate and freezing temperatures. Additionally the building is located in the flood plain of the Skykomish River and USGS data indicates that the river has flooded at least 8 times since the boat was placed in storage. Wil's step son Chris, who guided me through the shop told me that "In really bad floods" the boat is moved to higher ground, but that is has been through several smaller floods, but that "Water has never gotten into the engine."

One of the dangers of placing a wooden boat (on in this case an aluminum and wood boat) in unheated storage, is that it is susceptible to damage from freezing. Briefly what happens is that moisture seeps into joints in the wood (or aluminum) and expands when it freezes, causing the joint to open. The process speeds up as the joint gets wider, more water finds its way in, and at the next freeze, an even larger amount of ice forms and the joints gets even wider. I found significant freezing damage in both sponson runners. More so in the runner than the right.

The Deck was intact and while weathered, did not show any significant damage .

Because of the tight quarters where the boat is stored, we were unable to take the boat off tilt, and I was not able to get inside the boat to inspect the interior. However based on fact that the bottom and deck are both intact, it is reasonable to assume that the frames of the boat are in reasonably good condition.

Based on the amount of rust and corrosion, it is also reasonable to assume that any hoses, gauges and electrical components will have some amount of rust or corrosion as well. The trailer appears to be complete, but will need new tires, new wheel bearings and the hydraulics that raise and lower the bunks will need service. The motor has been in the boat for almost 25 years and while it appears to have been loosely covered with plastic, it is important to note that due to the damp climate, it is likely that some moisture has entered at least 3 of the cylinders. With a V 12 engine, at any given time three sets of exhaust valves will be open as will three set of intake valves. The intake valves normally have some degree of protection provided by the intake manifolds, but with the short exhaust stacks that this motor has, it is a very short distance from the exhaust stack opening to the valves and the interior of the motor.

The boat has been kept out of the rain, so the rust that is on this exhaust stack could only have been caused by ambient moisture in the storage shed. It is reasonable to assume that if the stack is this rusted that there will be at least some amount of rust inside any cylinder that has open exhaust valves.

Conclusion.
1. There is no doubt about the identity of this hull. It is the boat that was built by Les Staduacher in 1971 as the U-75 Miss Timex and is referred to as #1971-75
2. The boat has undergone significant modification since it was built and does not currently resemble its original configuration, but all of the modifications appear to be reversible.
3. The original 1971 cowlings were not present and are not included in this transaction.
4. The complete boat along with hardware trailer, motor and gearbox are all present.
5. Neither the boat nor motor are in running condition.
6. Both the boat and motor appear to be restorable.

If you have any question about the boat, please feel free to contact me
at (206) 764-953 or via E-mail at ddw@aol.com.
Sincerely, David Williams Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum 1 .

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