Fred Wickens

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Hydroplane inventor, cracker box wizz, flat bottom extraordinair. Here is his own personal runabout that had never seen water for for 40 years until Nostalgia racing: It might be for sale. I am not sure.

The yellow boat #1 is called 'Mr Wickens' and believed to be the first one out of the Aquacraft-Wickens mold. It is a long deck, balsa floor, with custom made hardware including Freds own v-drive using Helicopter tail rotor 15% gears. Yes, extras are included if you can talk Sonny out of the boat. It only raced a few times the last being Lewistown Idaho 2006?

Fred was an incredible man when it came to metal or wood craftsmanship! More of his final boat pieces reside here in Spokane including his last inboard hydroplane drag boat!

The purple boat next to Mr Wickens is 'Honcho' here being driven to a championship by Ron Dubay, Milwaukee Oregon. This boat was sold and been restored to its incredible candy metalflake colors by Jerry Griffin with K power.

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Found in Freds boxes and boxes

of boat stuff, was this newspaper from the year 1959. Its Friday May 8, 1959 and the Los Angeles Times Outdoors section features boat racing. $Bill hydroplane will test new innovations! Bill Schuyler's Dollar Bill was Fred Wickens test boat for a new 'prop riding' design.

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By Bob Ruskauff

In conclusion, Fred Wickens said, " if she rides like a 266 which she was up-graded from, she'll clean house with those guys."
The "she' in this instance is $-Bill, with which the Lompoc rancher, bean grower and long time speedboat racer Bill Schuyler, hopes to win the 1959 edition of the Gold Cup Regatta on Lake Washington in August.
Schuyler has yet considerable test running to do on Lake Cachuma with this 30' lightly constructed, Allison powered fuel injected alcohol burning hydroplane.
The $-Bill will have an encased propeller shaft running on needle bearings, something no other of the big piston engine boats have. Plus several other new features, which Schuyler commented, "If the new stuff showed up and proved out at Chelan, these fellows would get the idea and all have it in their boats by time of the Gold Cup." When it comes to stealing anybody else's ideas, nothing is sacred.
Whatever, it has been a good two years since the hull emerged from the shop which Canada born 53 year old Fred wickens, has been operating since 1930 (he started in 1926) at Truro Ave. Inglewood California.