When Jerry and his son, Mick – a crate engine assembler at Edelbrock Performance – decided to get a new boat for their river house, they had an general idea of what they wanted. Jerry had a water ski racing background so a high-performance tow boat would be nice. And with Mick’s employment at Edelbrock, a hot rod felt like it was in order. You know… something fun to wrench on. There were a few other requirements, of course – Something in the 21 foot “day cruiser” range, the right asking price, and preferably something red. After all, they didn’t simply like red, they are die-hard USC fans. The fact that Jerry is an active LAFD Firefighter didn’t hurt, either.
Since they had to sell their other boat to get a new one, they were very deliberate about their search. They started off by scouring River Dave’s Place forums, looking for something that peaked their interest. They looked at Schiada’s, Howards, and a myriad of others, but they just weren’t finding what they envisioned.
One day, while scrolling through listings, they came across an ad for a red, 1986 Hallett Vector. It looked nice enough. It had all the hardware. It was in good condition with a triple axel trailer, an older engine, but worth a look. It even had an attractive asking price of $15,000. Wondering why it was such a deal, they scrolled to the bottom of the listing and saw that it was in Portland, Oregon. “Ah”, they thought. “That makes it a little tricky.”
Still intrigued by the boat, they gave the guy a call. The guy (Dave Murray) explained that he had it for sale for 6 years, off and on, but it just wasn’t selling. Nobody in Oregon, it seems, was interested in that kind of boat. Undeterred, they pressed on with questions and became more intrigued with every answer. It turns out that the owner’s brother was Wayne Murray — a successful ski racer whom Mick and Jerry had actually met during their ski racing days. And to prove that it is truly a small world, he was not only a long time employee of Edelbrock, but he had retired as President!
Worried they might miss their opportunity to purchase the boat, they asked if they could offer a deposit to hold it for them. He told them that he hadn’t had a bite in 6 years, so to go ahead and sell their other boat, and if something came up, he would let them know first. Satisfied with that arrangement, they sold their old boat and set off to go pick up their new-to-them Hallett.
Most people would cringe at the thought of buying a boat sight unseen, but they knew what they’d found. Through their conversations with Dave they discovered that this this red gem was built for none other than Vic Edelbrock, himself. The signs they should own it were now beyond just coincidence. They were firmly planted in the category of “meant-to-be”, and there was no doubt in their minds that they would own this boat. Vic had raced this very boat for years, competing in many national and world championships before eventually selling it to Wayne Murray who continued to race it into the history books.
Brand new in 1986 fresh from Hallett Boats, breaking in at Lake Elsinore. Bobby Meeks doing last minutes checks.
Dick and Rhonda Braden with Vic (right). Dick observed with Vic at times when Vic would tow Buck Baker (top men’s skier back in the day). I wish we had the hauler too!!!
Originally built for Vic’s home waters of Southern California and the Parker Strip in Arizona, it has seen many different race venues including Long Beach, Clear Lake, Mission Bay, The Northern California Delta and it even did many trips to Catalina Island as a ski race boat with both Vic and Wayne at the helm. The racing heritage runs deep with this vintage find, and they were not going to let it get away. It was agreed that they would meet in Williams California, a small farm town just north of Sacramento, approximately half way between their two locations.
Vic Edlebrock driving in an NWSRA race in the late 1980’s.
Wayne Murray, owner, driver and Longtime Edelbrock employee, at a Parker Ski Race in the 90s. He still drives in NWSRA ski races today.
Wayne retired as President of Edelbrock few years back. All around GREAT guy! Jerry and MIck bought the Vector from his brother Dave Murray from Oregon.
After buying the boat, they immediately knew they wanted to build a new motor with bigger power. The boat currently had a 502, but since they were close family friends with Paul Pfaff, they asked him to build their new motor. When they showed Paul a picture of their vintage find, he said… “that’s Vic Edelbrock’s old boat!” Clearly it had a prestigious pedigree.
With their new 715hp Paul Pfaff engine in place, they began using it a lot. Thats when they truly started to realize the boats famous heritage. People at the river would often stop them and tell them stories about the boat – stories that happened long before they ever owned it. Mick recalled a guy coming up to them at the river one day and said… “man, I haven’t seen that boat in 20 years! I thought maybe it went to the wood chipper!” Another time, on a trip to Northern California, they were approached by a man at a gas station. He was a former ski racer from New Zealand and he recognized the boat from back in his race days. Things like that still happen all the time, according to Jerry and Mick, and it just goes to show you how well known the boat really is.
Its isn’t just the river that they use it. They started taking it to the Edelbrock car show in Southern California where they would set up a little display of pictures and memorabilia. Sometimes Vic’s daughters, Christi and Camee, would even come and tell stories about the boat and the races that their dad pulled them in. It always draws a crowd. In fact, another former Edelbrock employee, Bob Towle, helped Mick and Jerry retrieve old photos of the boat, and even gave them Camee’s old Endo’s race ski to preserve with it.
Mick, Camee Edelbrock, and Jerry at the Edelbrock Carshow in Torrance Ca. Camee is one of Vic’s daughters and she competed in NWSRA ski racing behind most of her Dads boats especially the Vector! She’s done it all in ski racing, World Championships across the world, Catalina Ski Race etc. She also was part of the team in offshore racing, when Vic raced his 38ft Scarab.
The “527” was used on one of the Spectra vdrives Vic had prior to the Vector. Now “27” was Vic’s favorite lucky number, the Edelbrock Headquarters address is “2700”, some race cars he had were numbered 27. Many of his boats had the number 27 in it.
The irony of the Edelbrock connection isn’t lost on Jerry or Mick. They’re proud and honored to be the custodians of such a valuable piece of motorsports history. But it doesn’t keep them from using it, and I think thats the best part. That is what this boat is made for. Thats what Vic would’ve wanted.
As for the new name of the boat? “RESTLE$$ is something my dad and I came up with,” Mick said. “When I first came to Edelbrock we had a marketing slogan… ‘Never Rest’. I always liked that. It was a phrase that symbolized racing to me. Today it may not be racing in the Marathon Ski Races but it’s our “Family Hot Rod” which we take to most of our family vacations. When you look at this boat’s past with all the different owners, the list of skiers that have raced behind it, multiple engines swaps and all the other history/stories of this boat, it’s fair to say she’s RESTLE$$!!!”
"Both Vic Edelbrock and Nick Barron of Hallett passed away only months apart in 2017, that’s why we dedicated their names to the boat", said Mick. "If it weren’t for them this boat wouldn’t exist and who knows how the boating market and automotive/marine market would be without them."
These days you can still find Mick and Jerry running the boat on the Parker strip, or maybe tied up at Foxes Floating Bar. They also run the Hallett’s in Havasu event every year, which is how I met Jerry and Mick. I was hired to shoot the event this year which allowed our paths to cross.
Big thanks to Mick, his dad Jerry, and mom, Monica, for having me over to their river house and letting me help tell this amazing story. It was definitely one that deserved telling.
If you enjoyed this story and would like to see more, check out my full video interview with Mick and Jerry, here:
Erick Bryner
Fast Loud Photography
Since they had to sell their other boat to get a new one, they were very deliberate about their search. They started off by scouring River Dave’s Place forums, looking for something that peaked their interest. They looked at Schiada’s, Howards, and a myriad of others, but they just weren’t finding what they envisioned.
One day, while scrolling through listings, they came across an ad for a red, 1986 Hallett Vector. It looked nice enough. It had all the hardware. It was in good condition with a triple axel trailer, an older engine, but worth a look. It even had an attractive asking price of $15,000. Wondering why it was such a deal, they scrolled to the bottom of the listing and saw that it was in Portland, Oregon. “Ah”, they thought. “That makes it a little tricky.”
Still intrigued by the boat, they gave the guy a call. The guy (Dave Murray) explained that he had it for sale for 6 years, off and on, but it just wasn’t selling. Nobody in Oregon, it seems, was interested in that kind of boat. Undeterred, they pressed on with questions and became more intrigued with every answer. It turns out that the owner’s brother was Wayne Murray — a successful ski racer whom Mick and Jerry had actually met during their ski racing days. And to prove that it is truly a small world, he was not only a long time employee of Edelbrock, but he had retired as President!
Worried they might miss their opportunity to purchase the boat, they asked if they could offer a deposit to hold it for them. He told them that he hadn’t had a bite in 6 years, so to go ahead and sell their other boat, and if something came up, he would let them know first. Satisfied with that arrangement, they sold their old boat and set off to go pick up their new-to-them Hallett.
Most people would cringe at the thought of buying a boat sight unseen, but they knew what they’d found. Through their conversations with Dave they discovered that this this red gem was built for none other than Vic Edelbrock, himself. The signs they should own it were now beyond just coincidence. They were firmly planted in the category of “meant-to-be”, and there was no doubt in their minds that they would own this boat. Vic had raced this very boat for years, competing in many national and world championships before eventually selling it to Wayne Murray who continued to race it into the history books.
Brand new in 1986 fresh from Hallett Boats, breaking in at Lake Elsinore. Bobby Meeks doing last minutes checks.
Dick and Rhonda Braden with Vic (right). Dick observed with Vic at times when Vic would tow Buck Baker (top men’s skier back in the day). I wish we had the hauler too!!!
Originally built for Vic’s home waters of Southern California and the Parker Strip in Arizona, it has seen many different race venues including Long Beach, Clear Lake, Mission Bay, The Northern California Delta and it even did many trips to Catalina Island as a ski race boat with both Vic and Wayne at the helm. The racing heritage runs deep with this vintage find, and they were not going to let it get away. It was agreed that they would meet in Williams California, a small farm town just north of Sacramento, approximately half way between their two locations.
Vic Edlebrock driving in an NWSRA race in the late 1980’s.
Wayne Murray, owner, driver and Longtime Edelbrock employee, at a Parker Ski Race in the 90s. He still drives in NWSRA ski races today.
Wayne retired as President of Edelbrock few years back. All around GREAT guy! Jerry and MIck bought the Vector from his brother Dave Murray from Oregon.
After buying the boat, they immediately knew they wanted to build a new motor with bigger power. The boat currently had a 502, but since they were close family friends with Paul Pfaff, they asked him to build their new motor. When they showed Paul a picture of their vintage find, he said… “that’s Vic Edelbrock’s old boat!” Clearly it had a prestigious pedigree.
With their new 715hp Paul Pfaff engine in place, they began using it a lot. Thats when they truly started to realize the boats famous heritage. People at the river would often stop them and tell them stories about the boat – stories that happened long before they ever owned it. Mick recalled a guy coming up to them at the river one day and said… “man, I haven’t seen that boat in 20 years! I thought maybe it went to the wood chipper!” Another time, on a trip to Northern California, they were approached by a man at a gas station. He was a former ski racer from New Zealand and he recognized the boat from back in his race days. Things like that still happen all the time, according to Jerry and Mick, and it just goes to show you how well known the boat really is.
Its isn’t just the river that they use it. They started taking it to the Edelbrock car show in Southern California where they would set up a little display of pictures and memorabilia. Sometimes Vic’s daughters, Christi and Camee, would even come and tell stories about the boat and the races that their dad pulled them in. It always draws a crowd. In fact, another former Edelbrock employee, Bob Towle, helped Mick and Jerry retrieve old photos of the boat, and even gave them Camee’s old Endo’s race ski to preserve with it.
Mick, Camee Edelbrock, and Jerry at the Edelbrock Carshow in Torrance Ca. Camee is one of Vic’s daughters and she competed in NWSRA ski racing behind most of her Dads boats especially the Vector! She’s done it all in ski racing, World Championships across the world, Catalina Ski Race etc. She also was part of the team in offshore racing, when Vic raced his 38ft Scarab.
The “527” was used on one of the Spectra vdrives Vic had prior to the Vector. Now “27” was Vic’s favorite lucky number, the Edelbrock Headquarters address is “2700”, some race cars he had were numbered 27. Many of his boats had the number 27 in it.
The irony of the Edelbrock connection isn’t lost on Jerry or Mick. They’re proud and honored to be the custodians of such a valuable piece of motorsports history. But it doesn’t keep them from using it, and I think thats the best part. That is what this boat is made for. Thats what Vic would’ve wanted.
As for the new name of the boat? “RESTLE$$ is something my dad and I came up with,” Mick said. “When I first came to Edelbrock we had a marketing slogan… ‘Never Rest’. I always liked that. It was a phrase that symbolized racing to me. Today it may not be racing in the Marathon Ski Races but it’s our “Family Hot Rod” which we take to most of our family vacations. When you look at this boat’s past with all the different owners, the list of skiers that have raced behind it, multiple engines swaps and all the other history/stories of this boat, it’s fair to say she’s RESTLE$$!!!”
"Both Vic Edelbrock and Nick Barron of Hallett passed away only months apart in 2017, that’s why we dedicated their names to the boat", said Mick. "If it weren’t for them this boat wouldn’t exist and who knows how the boating market and automotive/marine market would be without them."
These days you can still find Mick and Jerry running the boat on the Parker strip, or maybe tied up at Foxes Floating Bar. They also run the Hallett’s in Havasu event every year, which is how I met Jerry and Mick. I was hired to shoot the event this year which allowed our paths to cross.
Big thanks to Mick, his dad Jerry, and mom, Monica, for having me over to their river house and letting me help tell this amazing story. It was definitely one that deserved telling.
If you enjoyed this story and would like to see more, check out my full video interview with Mick and Jerry, here:
Erick Bryner
Fast Loud Photography
