Old design plans

[1960hydro]

I'm looking for plans for the hydroplane my brother and I built in the late 50's. It was 10'long and we ran a 10 hp Merc with a quick silver lower unit. Thought it was a Glenn Li design but Glenn L's have a vertical side on the the cockpit and small cowl in front. I think we ordered the plans from an ad in Mechanics Illustrated. See attached photo. Thanks

[SPW]

Sounds like that could be the "Minimax" plans.

[1960hydro]

Not a minimax. But I may have found the plans from the same company, Muskoka. Looks like it may be the Hasty Hydro - 8'. Thanks for the lead.

[bh/]

If that boat is 8' long, it is the 'Hasty Hydro' by William Jackson, published in MI , AUG, 1960.
Would have been quite the ride with a KG7H.

[DeanFHobart]

If that boat is 8' long, it is the 'Hasty Hydro' by William Jackson, published in MI , AUG, 1960.
Would have been quite the ride with a KG7H.

William Jackson was quite the designer back in the day. However, by the 1960’s those Mechanics Illustrated and Popular Science and even Hal Kelly plans were no longer good enough for APBA racing once Sid Craft, Marchetti and others were on the market.

The good thing was that with plans you could build your own boat cheaper than buying one. That has been and still is the case.

My guess is that the Mini Max was the most built home built boat of this era...Probably because of both cost and ease of building.

But for sure, the Hal Kelly plans were responsible for getting lots of drivers into boat racing.

[bh/]

Kellys boats, built to his spec, were heavy, but robust, and easy for a amateur to build. His 9' 'OK' was a great way into the JU class, using the KF5 or J60 motors. The 'Jupiter' hydro was fast, but hooked badly if built to spec. Better (longer) versions were built by Hedlund and Dubinsky. His 'Mad Cap' lasted the longest, being raced in DSR and 36R well into the 70s. Kelly did get a lot of people on the water, and did many good designs other than race boats .