Vintage Waterski Classic;
 

...Brings back a lot of memories :)

nice tunnel
 

do you want anyone else to come to the meeting? what time?

meeting
 

the meeting is at 7 at the parks and rec building on Union Ave near the Rite Aid, good starting place for planning for next summer and all are welcome.

wake shot
 

Reminds me of why we head out on the water. Won't be long now.

Found a nice picture of a Molinari tunnel hull, Italian designer who had great success with his designs in the 60's'.


Next Lakes Region Waterski Boat Classic will be on Sat. Aug. 10th 2013 from 10 to 5 at the point area of Opechee Park. More details over time. Happy holidays to all.

Looks like a rocket. Any idea what ever happened to it?

molinari tunnel
 

This was not mine, it was listed for sale a while ago. I have the twin to this boat in Laconia and the same vintage 140 but it doesn't look like that !! I thought I had a pic see if I can find it. Here's a nice summary of the early origins of tunnel boats:

http://www.screamandfly.com/showthre...s-tunnel-hulls

Stay tuned for more event info. Please pm me with any suggestions and ideas
for the event.

some pictures from this years waterski race on Winni...

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...81573980_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...91846275_n.jpg
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...67933527_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...5_864670_n.jpg

Is that a Donzi Minx towing that skier..:look: NB

Retro riders
 

Guess I was wrong about the last of the eastern cowbuoys ;)

22 classic

I like the Alfred E Newman slalom ski.:laugh:

Classic looking ski. any idea who built it?

Did you know that the guys on the west coast had no idea we actually ski raced in the east? Ever! I talked to a couple of SoCal skiers recently and they were also very surprised to hear about the resurgence of world class events on the big lake.

Catalina Races
 

The Cal race will be hard to beat! if we can pull a similar one, imagine the draw into the economy.

It was Ed Crawford's ski. From what I was told he built a bunch of custom skis in the 70s.

Nice, He built a few and probably more. There were a few of us building skiis during that time period.

take a look at this video. Looks like silver sands in the background.

http://www.riverdavesplace.com/forum...e-Check-it-out

Early ski pics
 

Historical Society pictures from a 1953 article which describes waterskiing as first appearing in NH in about 1950. Article below

http://www.lwhs.us/winnipesaukee/wat...waterbirds.htm

That 3rd photo looks like the guy is holding 2 ropes while the girl next to him is skiing no-hands!:laugh:

New Glastron
 

Saw this at the New York Boat show. Sharp looking boat

Lakes Region Waterski Boat Classic
 

This Saturday at the point area of Opechee Park in Laconia, 10-5. Come see sleek hand laid fiberglass boats from 40 years ago on the water at Lake Opechee. The point area was the sight of many regional and national waterski championships in the 1950's and Laconia the home of some of the best waterskiers in the country. Many of these old boats like Magnums, Sidewinders, Checkmates, Sutphens, Tahitis and Hydrostreams are long lost to landfills, but some are still running strong as you will see on Saturday. Thanks to Winnisquam Marine and Mike Testa State Farm Insurance for supporting this gathering. The park is open to the public at no charge. There will be old Northland and O'Brien waterskis and other race memorabilia. Come share stories, see old friends and make new ones.

Messer St. parking
 

Parking for trailers at the DPW lot just up the street form the Messer St. launch. the driveway has a large mural painted on the building next to it, hard to miss. Plenty of room out back. Hope to see your ride, looks like it's going to be a nice day.

Photos Found
 

We were fortunate to get our hands on some photos from the ski race era. these are a few taken by Karen Geiling of Lake Shore Park. Karen passed away way too young but we were thrilled to be provided access to her photo albums by LSP. The albums were donated to LSP by Karen's husband Lenny Cole. Thanks!

There are more that will be posted as time allows. Some of the people here are as yet unidetified so help if you can.

Hoping to see everyone tomorrow at Opechee.

Lake Opechee
 

The gathering yesterday went very well. Perfect day with little boat traffic on the lake and a nice breeze creating a little bit of chop. Winnisquam Marine's pontoon rides were a big hit and many new faces came down to see the Northland skis and share their stories. Many thanks to the Magnums and their generosity in sharing their boats. Thanks to Michael Testa State Farm Insurance and the city of Laconia for supporting the event. There was a demonstration of ski racing, nice to see. There were some beautiful boats, hopefully pics to follow. Look for us again same time next year!

PS. Thanks to Lynda Laflamme and the Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Museum at Funspot for help in gathering information about Laconia's watersports history as well as loaning trophies from the races to display. The museum is loaded with local aritifacts, including the wooden rudder from the Lady of the Lake. They have some great videos including the arrival of the pieces of the Mount Washington in Laconia from Vermont by rail, old black and white video of the 1959 national waterski championships, and early home movies of power boating on the lake in the 1930's. The museum is a fun stop on a rainy day and also sponsors local guest speakers.

http://www.lwhs.us/

Am not happy we couldn't make the party this year.. BUT.. we are already getting a rocket, or two, together for next year. :cool:

...ttt.. for The Penthouse...:D

Vegas Skier:
 

Looks like a missile..lol, As far as next year goes, like Vince Lombardi once said " the knee...always the knee". Good catching up with you the other day Jay....keep in touch.

Some Pictures
 

I finally am sitting down and down loading pictures. "GO SOX!!!"

More nice rides...
 

twin Hydrodyne like this one very prominent back in the day, Vector is a classic thrill ride for sure, and yes that is a 200 (!) on it. Anyone seen any Sutphens around anywhere?

Christmas Island
 

Wendy at the North Pole Tavern was nice enough to let me borrow and scan this pic. I would guess the vintage is late 50's or early 60's. The vantage point is still the same on Weirs Boulevard. It's not often you see boats this size on the lake these days. I don't know if this gathering was for a particular type of boat but they are of similar design and appear to be mostly plywood with a couple of aluminums. There also appears to be a couple of glass boats in the background. There was no information on the back of the actual photo. Anyone that might know anything about the makes of the boats or the event your input would be appreciated.

Wooden boats in the 50's
 

Many of the small runabouts were actually boats built from plans or kits ordered from Sears Roebuck. My father built one and in the early 60's I built a 14' from plywood. I later fiberglass the hull.

One of my neighbor built a hydroplane from plywood. It was heavy but man it was fast for its size!

I can remember kayak kits using stretched canvas for the hull.

Most popular wood boats in their days were Penn-Yan and Pembroke boats. The Pembroke boats were made in NH and the Penn-Yan were made in a 'dry town' in the Finger Lakes area of NY.

Hydrodynes
 

They were very popular waterski boats back in the '60's. Not only for the marathon races they were great for the slalom and jumping contests.

I believe Goodhue Marine sold them. Tuppy had a Hydrodyne with twin Quicksilver engines. 'It take two to do it'. Mom wasn't too happy when he docks at the family camp. :confused:

Can anyone remember Digangi's boat. I'm trying to remember if that was a Tahiti or Sutphen?

My brother had a little boat like that when we were kids. I think the engine was a Scott Atwater (sp.?)

Waterskiing exhibit Laconia library
 

Check out article in the CItizen today. Presentation Tuesday Aug. 5th 7 pm. Lakes Region Waterski Boat Classic Sun. Aug 10th 10-4 at Opechee Park point beach, site of 1959 World Waterskiing Championships and Dick Binette's world record waterskiing jump in 1954.
See old friends and make new ones. Free boat rides at Opechee Park on Sunday Aug. 10th provided by Winnisquam Marine and sponsored by Mike Testa State Farm Insurance.

Opechee Sunday
 

We had another great day on the beach where 60 years ago Laconia's Dick Binette set the world waterski jump record. Many thanks to Winnisquam Marine for providing a beautiful new pontoon boat and staff for free boat rides throughout the day. The weather was perfect with no wind and little boat traffic. The Magnums were again a big hit. We had several new additions including a Powercat, a Sharkey, and a Skater, there were quite a few skiers and a speed skiing demonstration. We enjoyed visits from a number of skiers involved in the races in the 60's and 70's. Many people took advantage of the free boat rides, many of whom who were local residents who had not had the chance to be on the water before. Opechee is a great hideaway from the large wakes of Winnipesaukee on the weekends. Many thanks to Mike Testa State Farm for sponsoring the event and the City of Laconia Parks Commission for supporting the event. Look for us again beginning of August next summer, plenty of time to get your vintage ride ready for the water. If you haven't already please consider taking the time to view the Laconia waterski exhibit at the Laconia Library put together by Brenda Kean. Many interesting articles, pictures, artifacts and skis. Happy Mowtoring! Hopefully pics to follow.

Hey,I just noticed that in that photo of the 4 skiers I see bare feet on the ski and no boot.:confused:Was this just a "trick" where the rear foot was pulled out and put in front of the front foot?

PowerCat
 

The family's back then knew how to enjoy the lake and I couldn't believe my family rode around the lake in such a small boat.

They had a great boat for its day and won a few long distance waterskiing races. I couldn't find our original slide picture of the boat to post but I found a picture of the boat on the web because Roy Rogers had one !!
http://powercatboat.com/23.html

http://powercatboat.com/23.html

Im the little boy on the magnum. That's my father Gary Stone. Does anyone have any action pics of this boat?

The magnum was originally blue and said black power on the side before my dad bought it and painted it maroon. 150hp black max shaved heads polished exhaust ports custom ron hill prop. Its somewhere in Gilford still. Its been neglected almost beyond repair i saw it at spooners shop a few years back

I still have the prop and some pics of dad floating it around 75mph on the lower unit.

Black Power
 

I think Black Power was originally owned by George Landry and was Maroon from the factory; could have been painted blue at some point before your dad got it. If you show up for morning coffee at the Ellacoya store in Gilford you can probably meet the current owner.

black power
 

Yes you are right I talked to my dad recently it was Landry who he bought it from I'm hoping to dig up some more old pics of that boat and the blue two tone pickle fork in the same picture :banana::banana: