boat cart question to ponder

[fbref5269]

we were discussing the question of boat carts at the franklin race this past weekend. a lot of us old timers remember when we unloaded the boats and put them on stands and had 3 people carry the fully equipped rig to the water....... sooooo when did the first boat carts arrive on the scene? I raced the first time from 1971 until 1980 and I do not remember seeing any back then.

frank novotny
52-E

[PRO-MOTIONRACING]

I was once talking with Bob Montoya and he was telling me of a time back when they carried the boats to the water. He said when it was time to race a then young Ric was off goofing off so he got mad, grabbed the boat by the motor and dragged the bow down the beach. The next day he invented the boat cart. I have talked with some other old boat racers and they say that sounds about right. Anyone who knew Bob knows this is entirely possible as he was always an innovator.

[ricmontoya]

Goofing off, is exactly what Dad would say. I believe his first cart was in the early 70's. shortly after that he started selling them. We had that first cart for about 20 years till one day I forgot to tie it down and it blew off the roof of the motor home on the way home from Scootney Reservoir.

[fbref5269]

the guys I was talking with remember the boat carrying days and we all said the same thing....... we were a lot younger..... seems that a 20 year old can carry a lot more than a 65 year old

[DiGia54D]

First boat cart i saw was Bud Pinto's in the mid 80's...That baby had bicycle tires on it.

[Fast Freddie]

The California "alky" racers had carts back in the '60s, maybe the '50s. The FRRs were way too heavy to carry very far.

Fred

[spud62w]

I built my first one in 78. Took it to a race in Ohio towards the end of the year. A guy by the name of Don Allen came up to me and said I wasn't going to leave without selling my cart to them. I think that those D runabout were wearing them out back then.
The replacement one is still being used today. I'm sure that cart has as many miles on it as some peoples trailers do.

[kampenracing]

We built our first cart out of an adjustable length ladder. Ran the wheels through the holes in the side and put padded bunks on it. It worked great!!!

[ZUL8TR]

What year?

[kampenracing]

It was in 1990

[jeff55v]

I raced in Illinois from the mid 70's to the mid 80's with no carts. When I came back in the early 90's, everyone had carts.

[Matt Dagostino]

In the 1980's Larry Gottchalk made a universal cart that many many drivers bought..........i bet he has sold more of them over the decades than anyone. I bought mine for around $100 and it still is in use today. Also still have my 'pipe horses' from the 1970's that i carry to the races just in case a wheel bearing locks up on the cart....)

[ZUL8TR]

I also still have my stands, they are heirlooms

[jwmaddrell]

i started racing in the early 50s and dont remember seeing one til charlie young got one in the 70s. some of us made fun of him cause he couldnt carry his outfit to the water. we had many boats at our races back in the 50s and 60s and many times we couldnt pit close to the water so had to carry the things some distance. charlie had the last laugh on us and it didnt take too long before we got the boat cart awakening. my back wouldnt hurt nearly as much if i would have seen the light. happy boat carting to all. good luck to all in racing in 016. john