Broccoli

Heres a rare opportunity to own a complete B class pickle-fork hydroplane set-up with two vintage Mercury Mark 20H racing motors.

The boat is a beautiful full ribbon mahogany pickle-fork hydro built in the 80s by Craig Bowman. When I purchased the boat a number of years ago, I was told it is one of only two hydros built by Craig. Craig, who normally builds runabouts, apparently did build two hydros for a racer in Chicago, this one and another larger C class boat. Not sure if this boat was ever raced or if he ever built others but I have never seen another one like it. There are two areas, one on the bottom and one on the port side that had some soft wood (see pictures) which were repaired with a combination of new wood (treated with West System) and Marine Tex filler. The repairs were done four years ago and remain solid. Other than those two spots, the boat looks almost perfect. It is a wide, stable boat that runs great with both the stock and conversion motors. I weigh about 170 and run mid 50s with the stock motor and just touch 60 running the 20H conversion with a pretty conservative set-up. Because I only run this boat four or five times a year and just for fun, I dont push the edge with the set-up.

The stock 20H is a motor I purchased in 2007 from Dick Duncan. The standard bore powerhead was built by John Schubert and is all stock 20H parts with the factory Carter carb. It has 138 psi on the top and 141 psi on the bottom and has been converted to a fuel pump. The gearcase was set up by Ron Thomas and has excellent 1:1 gears. Dick assembled and painted the motor. It is serial number 787139. The serial number plate is a reproduction so this is not a numbers matching factory motor. It is equipped with both a full butterfly and a kill switch wire. In summary, it is a great looking, very strong running motor. Because it is a little less valuable than a numbers matching factory motor, it has been my runner for the last several years.

The 20H Conversion motor has a Steve Roskowski modified Mark 25 crankcase paired with a standard bore Mark 20H block. The modified crankcase was machined for a KA5A carb which has a Brinkman adjustable high speed jet kit. It also has a full butterfly and a kill switch wire. I retained the choke which makes this a very easy motor to start. Pull it over once on full choke, open the choke, give it a pull and you are off. The powerhead was built using NOS pistons and rings with a perfect Mark 25 crankshaft, labyrinth style reed cage and solid end cap 600-4 rods. All the bearings were new. The gearcase is a 25SS case with excellent threads and was built by Ron Thomas using a new propshaft, driveshaft, waterpump housing, 16:21 gears and bearings. The Mark 25 crankcase, crankshaft and rods are all stronger than stock 20H parts, so this motor can pull some serious RPMs. When running this motor at Tomahawk a couple of years ago, I was able to pretty much stay right with a buddy that was running a 55H, also on a hydro. It took a long straight pull for him to get by me.

The trailer is in virtually new condition and has been set up specifically for this boat with longer bunks, a custom bow stop and lighter leaf springs because the boat is so light. The auction also includes the steering bar, gas tank, a medium size (40-42) Lifeline jacket in excellent condition, a Dick Fickett angle checker, an extra prop for each motor and my run kit with some miscellaneous spare parts and the tools needed to swap the steering bar and adjust the set-up from the stock motor to the conversion motor.

The boat and motors will have to be picked up. I will not arrange shipping however I will deliver to a Milwaukee area shipper that the buyer arranges. The shipper will have to do any crating that is required.

$1,000 is due via PayPal at auction end. The balance is due in cash or a cashiers check when picking up the boat. I will not accept PayPal for anything other than the $1,000 deposit.

Im also listing a built Mark 15H (15ci A class motor) separately. It would make an excellent starter motor on this boat for a youngster that needs to gain some experience before running the 20H or especially the 20H Conversion.

Ive done my best to accurately describe this rig but feel free to ask any questions. This is vintage racing equipment, so it is sold as is.