Articles by twocents
Billy Berkenheger.....Boat Painting Rembrandt
You can sometimes spend months, and even years, restoring a great old flatbottom or hydro. Countless hours of garage time can go into meticulously fabricating and machining every custom part and piece of hardware. And the repair of every nick...
What Better Way to Start a New Year (2014) and Honor One of Their Own Than to Have a Meet-Up.
While two-thirds of the country is locked in a deep-freeze with sub-zero temperatures, Southern California jet boaters were breaking out the sunblock for a day on Lake Elsinore at the annual Tom...
Nick Barron had been the head honcho at Hallett Boats in Irwindale, California going on fifty years plus. He's seen and done it all; experienced every trend, fad and innovation that the performance boating industry could throw at him.
Back in 1961, Nick was just getting started building...
Nothing Beats A Gelcoat Restoration Project to Make An Older Boat Look Brand New!
You’ve just taken delivery of your new boat. On the way to the water for the very first time you can’t help but glance every few seconds in the rear-view mirror to admire the gleaming magnificence of that...
What Kind of Boat Does a Former Offshore World Champion Racer Build for Himself? You Might Be Suprised!
Assuming fast boats have been an integral part of your life since you were a pre-teen, you might wonder what kind of boat you'd want to own when you're a full-grown adult. If you're like...
For the Boat That Doesn't Quite Have Everything.....An Easy and Inexpensive Install You Can Do At Home.
What self-respecting boat doesn’t have drink holders now days? Not many, that’s for sure. If fact, drink holders have multiplied so fast in recent years that they often times out-number...
Top Sprint Boat Racers from Seven States Battled for 2013 Championship Titles in Long Beach
Most power boat racing fans just refer to it as “the beach.” Eighty–one years ago there wasn’t a motorboat to be seen at Long Beach Marine Stadium, a city icon now recognized has a historical landmark...
S.C.O.P.E…..All About Big, Fast Boats and Fun
When you call yourself the Southern California Offshore Powerboat Elite, better known around west coast boating circles as S.C.O.P.E., you better be able to back up that moniker with some solid credentials. Fortunately for the stalwarts of...
CMI’s Fusion Performance Headers Take the Work Out of Stock Cast-Iron MerCruiser Exhaust Swaps
Who hasn’t admired the stunning engine compartment of a genuine high performance boat. And one of the most eye-catching bling-features is always the gleaming polished stainless steel tubular-style...
It Can Be Done, But You Need Some Know-How
If you’ve worked and owned your own marine/outboard/sterndrive repair facility for nearly sixty years, and your heart and soul is everything high performance, what kind of boat would you pick for your off-hours ride? If you’re Ted Miller of All Seasons...
Anticipating More Horsepower Under the Engine Hatch Isn’t a One-Dimensional Decision. There Are Consequences. Matching Motors and Drives Is a Critical Part of Any Make-Over Game Plan.
This is the kind of dilemma a lot of us would like to have. Imagine this; you’re the owner of a beautiful...
Making Your Flatty Drive Like a Mercedes….It’s All In The Pedal!
It’s long been said that ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ Nobody will argue with that, especially Denis Porter who hung out with his two flatbottoms at Lake San Antonio in central California.
Denis lived his life as one of...
Desert Storm is the Biggest, Baddest Poker Run in the Country –Since We Missed It in 2020, We Can at Least Take a Walk Back Down Memory Lane.
It's called Desert Storm, and it's arguably the biggest, most over-the-top poker run, shoot-out and street/-party/show-and-shine display of exotic...
The Best Way To Avoid Fuel Issues Is to Invest in Top Notch Filtration
Fuel filters are always a big deal for all powerboats. Dirty gas, bad gas, stale gas, old gas, water in the gas, etc., etc., the list of potential fuel related problems for boaters is endless. And in almost every case, it’s...
Bill Muncey Reveals Being a Professional Boat Racer Isn’t Quite as Glamorousas It Might Seem
Since there were more than a handful of you RDP faithful who seemed to like my account of Bill Muncey’s breakfast meeting with famed L.A. Times sportswriter Jim Murray story, here’s another behind the...
Although this is a personal story that not too many people might appreciate, it is a story that’s never been told…..and something I think is worth telling. Hope you find it interesting.
Coming in as the new executive editor at Powerboat Magazine in late 1973, I had the opportunity to meet and...
San Francisco to Long Beach – Non-Stop
There’s something very enticing about the ocean and traveling great distances in a high-speed offshore boat. Some very well known celebrity-types have even tried their hand at it like Chuck Norris, Michael Regan (son of President Ronald Regan), Betty Cook...
V-Drives Reclaim Respect At 2009 Parker 300 Enduro
The 2020 Parker Enduro just happened last Saturday, October 30, keeping America’s oldest marathon boat race still alive although it is a mere fragment of its once great self. Still, the Enduro remains competitive and entertaining to watch as a...
Feast Your Eyes On This Rare Eliminator Spider Flatty With Blown Chevy Small Block Muscle!
If you were the man in charge of your own private lake, wouldn't you have a boat? Of course you would! Meet Dave Noyes, former general manager of Serrano Water District in Orange County...
IMCO SuperFuel Valve....Solving the Dual Tank Dilemma
If you own a boat with dual onboard fuel tanks, you understand the problem. How do you switch from one tank to the other? Most boats with more than one tank come standard equipped with a very basic manual 4-way brass selector valve which...
This 42-Year Old Rogers Is One Bad Lower River Ride and with a Name Like That, You Bettter Be Able to Back It Up.
Some of the Colorado River's best and busiest hot boating takes place between Laughlin at the north and Blythe to the south. And if it wasn't for a couple of dams in the way, it...
If You Want to Add a Little Pizazz to Your Boat, Here’s a Simple DIY Project Most Boaters Can Do in an Afternoon
What’s the point of owning a very cool high performance sportboat if nobody notices it? Sure, they’re exciting to drive, but isn’t at least half the fun having other boaters turn and...
The Real Story How Boat Racing Lost the Best Competition Venue in the West - Part 2
After the crushing news from the November 1975 Parks and Recreation meeting, things were left up in the air on many fronts. Racing in 1976 wouldn’t be that much different than before except for the new 5:00pm...
The Real Story How Boat Racing Lost the Best Competition Venue in the West
Occasionally the subject of Long Beach Marine Stadium comes up during conversations among boat racers and fans. Inevitably someone offers up their version of how and why boat racing got aced out of the Stadium, and...
So far we’ve posted articles about the importance of finding the correct X-dimension for optimum stern drive performance followed by general propshaft position savvy. In a way, it’s kind of like the ‘three bears’….too high is not good…..too low is also not good, and somewhere in the middle is...
In Part 1 of the Harlan Orrin interview, we chronicled Harlan’s amazing longevity and influence on the development and innovations of the west coast custom boat building business since the mid-1950s. This part of his story focuses on more recent projects including the building of a replica of...
Anybody remember the old saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure?" Well, feast your eyes on this. Tucked away in the hilly back-country near Fallbrook, California, resides Harlan Orrin, on a five acre parcel of land with a modest house and a separate barn out-back he built himself...
Don’t Allow Worries About Salt Water Engine Corrosion Limit Your Boating Adventures!
It’s the end of another great day on the water. The boat is back on the trailer and ready to head for home. Just one more thing left to do…..give it a fresh water bath and flush if you’ve been ocean boating...
Rick Lee’s “Hurry Round Hondo” Was Truly a Jet Boat Before Its Time. Here are Rick's memories of the Much-Storied “Hurry Round Hondo” K-Jet in his own words.
From 1974 to 1976 I was working for Hondo Boats in the San Fernando Valley selling boats. I was also driving any kind of race boat I...
If you are a frequent visitor to riverdavesplace.com you most assuredly see the terms “cavitation”, “ventilation” and “blow-out” used by inmates when discussing and describing something that has to do with propellers and a lack of anticipated performance. Way too often, however, these terms are...
HOT ROD MAGAZINE SPECIAL "CREAM PUFF"
Even by today's standards, the technology and craftsmanship of the "Hot Rod Magazine Special" (HRMS) would be remarkable. The fact that the boat was built sixty years ago makes the accomplishment a little like the construction of the ancient pyramids...
Marathon Racing's Most Dominating Boats Turning Sixty
The Salton Sea 500 marathon race was a boat breaker. During most years (1961-1965*) less than 25 percent of the original starters were able to limp to the finish line. The four-mile triangle race course was a torture track. By days...
