Heartbreaks in Preparing for the Unlimiteds

Reprinted from Motor Boating, August 1969.

Just an example of what an Unlimited owner goes through, let us review the log of Dave Heerensperger's Pride of Pay 'n Pak. Prior to the Alabama Dixie Cup, at Guntersville, Dave made a number of attempts to break the world water speed record but failed. All of his attempts fell far short of the record set by Roy Duby driving Miss U.S. 1 on the same lake in 1962 when he made 200.419 mph on the one-mile straightaway. APBA says that this lake has the best water in the United States for the temperamental nature of the monstrous 7,000-pound thunderboat. This man-made lake, of the TVA chain, has little sailing, because of its natural calmness and lack of consistent winds to stir up the water.

Here is the log of the Pride of Pay 'n Pak's attempts:

1st day		Engine break in
2nd day		Thick fog; no morning runs possible
	6:32 p.m.	146.939 mph south to north
		148.78 mph north to south
3rd day	6:37 a.m.	147.90 mph S to N
		149.626 mph N to S
	7:45 a.m.	155.844 mph S to N
		156.213 mph N to S
	4:10 p.m.	161.943 mph S to N
4th day	6:40 p.m.	172.162 mph S to N

Between these attempts were "bone-grueling hours of changes to engines, propellers, struts, and shafts and literally hundreds of consultations, conferences and discussions between crew, driver, owner, and specialists on hand for supply companies and other racing experts."

Record Run Doesn't Pay Off

Reprinted from Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, July 1969

And in May Spokane's newest Pride of Pay 'N Pak, was pak'd off all the way to Guntersville, Alabama, and smooth water for an assault on the propeller-driven craft speed record of 200.419 mph. National sports T.V. was there, all the officials. The try went on for five days, but all of the effort wasn't pay’n off this time. But Dave Heerensperger, president of a chain of stores on the coast, is not through trying. This is his third hydro and he feels that it will have a strong year in unlimited-class racing. It is a revolutionary design as pointed out in previous issues of this column.

Pay 'N Pak Unlimited Hydroplane 1969 Mile Straightaway Run

There was one interesting tie-in note. Driver Tommy Fults, Rookie-of-the-Year in '68, wore the new life support system and reported it is comfortable, it did not hamper his action and it gave a feeling of confidence to the driver.

It's Speed

Reprinted from Sea and Pacific Motor Boat, April 1969

Can new designing solve the problem of the big hydroplane racing boats becoming unduly airborne at high speeds? In what Dave Heerensperger calls "the flying problem," he does think he has the answer. APBA officials say that his new Miss Eagle Electric out of Spokane, Wash., is a definite threat to the field this year. They call his design "a dramatic departure." It will be recalled that driver Warner Gardner lost his life at Detroit last December when the aging Miss Eagle Electric crashed.

The owner and Spokane businessman Heerensperger, who has nearly twice as many "e's" in his name as there is in his boat's name, says this, "It was before the fatal accident that Warner and I had decided to build this new boat. She has outrigger sponsons and other design changes. Now it is a memorial to my good friend, the late Warner Gardner.

"She is shorter than 30 feet and a foot wider than most of the others. She is made up of three structural members in one.

"The hull itself is about four feet wide. Extending from each side are struts which connect to outrigger sponsons upon which the boat rides at competitive speeds. These outriggers are about two feet across and are built to withstand high speed stress and load.

"When we first tested the boat, Tommy experienced so much torque that it actually ran lopsided. Since that time, the crew changed the angle of attack to correct that problem," Heerensperger said.

He cited as another riddle, having water spray into the engine well from the left outrigger when the boat was turned. A deflection device ended that worry.

"It's hard to tell how you're doing without competition, but the new boat has tremendous straightaway speeds. It turns tighter than any boat I've owned, and I've had three. Tommy Fults takes the boat into the turns and just walks it around. The engine doesn't have that overworked, `boring out' sound, but boat speed stays up. On straightaways, the negative lift factors resulting from the lack of trapped air cause the hull to run flat and with no kiting. Of course, we have a lot of testing to do before the start of the season, but right now we are happily anticipating the first race at Guntersville, Ala., June 8," Heerensperger concluded.

They are calling the new one Spreadwing Eagle and attempts were being made in late February, amid ice floes, to test her out on the Columbia River, near Pasco.

New Hydro Will Try for World Record

Reprinted from The Seattle Times, March. 30, 1969.

SPOKANE -- Tommy Fults, driving Dave Heerensperger's new, revolutionary unlimited hydroplane, Pride of Pay 'N Pak, will shoot for a mile straightaway speed record this spring on Lake Guntersville, Alabama.

The record is 200.419 miles an hour for a propeller-driven hydro. It was set on Lake Guntersville, April 7, 1962, by Roy Duby driving George Simon's Miss U.S. A new Miss U.S. presently is based in Seattle and driven by Bill Muncey.

The sanction period for the record attempts is May 19- 24.

The Spokane owner of the Pride of Pay 'N Pak, who has expanded his electrical-and-plumbing supply holdings to Denver and Seattle during the winter, plans to send the boat to Kawkawlin, Mich., for last-minute modifications and refinements by the builder, Les Staudacher, before the record runs in Alabama.

The new hydro, a replacement for Heerensperger's Miss Eagle Electric, was designed for straightaway-record attempts. The hydro, except for test runs this winter on the Columbia River in Tri-Cities, is untested, however, in competition.

"We're not going to Alabama simply to break the record," Heerensperger said. "We're determined to put the record out of reach for the next ten years."

Heerensperger purchased the unconventional hydro -- outrigger sponsons jutting out from the hull -- when the Eagle Electric was destroyed and Col. Warner Gardner killed in last summer's Gold Cup race on the Detroit River.