John Bridge Trophy

[Mike Betke]

A while back I posted about the status of the John Bridge Trophy. Last year the Oakland Wolverine club presented it back to John Bridge II after many years of it being presented at major IMPBA events.

Last night at our club meeting, John Bridge II brought the last boat that his dad and him raced for us to see. It was named Lager Head and is something very special to see. A geared twin to a single shaft and all of the hand made items are something that we just do not see anymore. I am attaching some pictures from last night of John and the boat and also of him receiving the trophy back from Jerry Betke. Jerry restored the trophy prior to us giving it back as it was in rough shape over thirty years of travelling. I will also be putting a gallery of pictures together as I took quite a few last night.

It was nice seeing John again. He is still involved in boats, but at a bigger level. He is driving a vintage 5 liter hydroplane as a hobby these days.

 

[Mike Betke]

Not sure why the pictures will not post. I am working on it.

 

[Mike Betke]

 

[Tim Kish]

Very cool Mike , thanks for sharing.

Tim k

 

[Norm Doerr]

That boat tells a big story just sitting there The fuel system alone is amazing. For those that study the pictures closely, they will notice a lot of neat stuff.

Thanks Mike.

 

[SayMikey]

Someone came to our races in the 80s with a engine setup like that. I cant for the life of me remember who it was.. AWESOME PICS mike thanks for sharing

 

[Terry Keeley]

Thanks!

 

[Mike Betke]

Thanks guys, More pics added to the gallery.

Check out the tail. They used to have a servo that powered the tail of the boat. John would use a dual stick radio with the throttle and rudder on one stick and adjust the wing with the other one. John said they would use it to air the boat out on the straights and dump the nose to help it around the corners.

John showed us pictures of how his dad was one of the first to impliment a horizontal wing on the 1962 Such Crust unlimited. That particular unlimited was a twin engine and very heavy and they used it to lift the back of the boat up. Back then he used a model on a home made tether line to prove out that it would work. Very innovative man.

Over the gears is a scatter shield for safety. Look close to see what it has stamped on it.

 

[brandonclan]

Very nice job Mike.

I am very glad I was there to meet John II, very nice gentleman, and the boat is just amazing! The more we looked, the more the questions flew! Truly a work of art.

Many thanks to Jerry for arranging it. What a great boat meeting!

 

[Tim Kish]

It amazes me just how heavy duty the boats were built back then , did anyone find out the weight of it?

Tim K

 

[Bob Morton]

Thanx to Mike, Wow that is some twin. Would be neat to see it run. (^¿^)

Those Betkes are super nice people (*¿*)

Bob

 

[John Beardslee]

Thanks Mike,

Seems like yesterday when we were all in the thick of it! Great job on the trophy Jerry, looks like the day Tim finished it.

John

 

[John Beardslee]

It amazes me just how heavy duty the boats were built back then , did anyone find out the weight of it?

Tim K

I launched it a ton of times and the year John II ran it, it was close to 20 - 25 lbs. Jerry and Mike probably will chime in as they may have picked it up at the meeting.

John

 

[Marty Davis]

That trophy was built by Tim Ries in 1978 as as prize for the Flint IMPBA Internats. He actually built many of them to give to all Heat Race winners at that Internats. They were hand built from solid mahogany and were a work of art. I have one 3' from me that I cherish. One of the only trophies that have survived over the years. The Bridge Trophy was even more special and was more detailed. Great to see a picture of John (Johnny). NOBODY knew of him as John, was always Johnny. He and David Preusse came up at about the same time and were the best of friends. Great to see old images of "days past" This boat and the prior ones were amazing pieces of engineering and the SOUND was amazing with the gears whining. The earlier ones were called the "Lead Sled" for a reason. Probably well over the 25# limit. John and a very few of his friends built boats like this, but none with the detail that John Senior put into his boats. He used 5 or 6 channels on a special radio to control all the things that the boat had on it. One thing I remember was a control that switched off the fuel pressure system when starting and then opening it up after it got going. Adjustable, servo controlled wings. All kind of things..... Thanks for posting this !!!

 

[John Beardslee]

That trophy was built by Tim Ries in 1978 as as prize for the Flint IMPBA Internats. He actually built many of them to give to all Heat Race winners at that Internats. They were hand built from solid mahogany and were a work of art. I have one 3' from me that I cherish. One of the only trophies that have survived over the years. The Bridge Trophy was even more special and was more detailed. Great to see a picture of John (Johnny). NOBODY knew of him as John, was always Johnny. He and David Preusse came up at about the same time and were the best of friends. Great to see old images of "days past" This boat and the prior ones were amazing pieces of engineering and the SOUND was amazing with the gears whining. The earlier ones were called the "Lead Sled" for a reason. Probably well over the 25# limit. John and a very few of his friends built boats like this, but none with the detail that John Senior put into his boats. He used 5 or 6 channels on a special radio to control all the things that the boat had on it. One thing I remember was a control that switched off the fuel pressure system when starting and then opening it up after it got going. Adjustable, servo controlled wings. All kind of things..... Thanks for posting this !!!

My recall was that the first trophy was a traveling trophy (Tim did build it) that was awarded to the best twin performance at the mini gold cup. Johnny won it that year, you couldn't have written a better scrip for a great story. Alot of water has gone up the roostertail since then so my recall may be wrong, if so please accept my apology Marty.

John

 

[Marty Davis]

John:

You are correct. This trophy started at the 1978 Internats as a traveling trophy. I just stated that he also built one for each of the heat race winners to give at that Internats. The Big Trophy was really neat and detailed as you can see.

 

[Joe Wiebelhaus]

It was a great tribute to Johnny and his dad to see that boat and trophy's together at our meeting, great pictures Mike, and a terrific job by Jerry Betke to get the "F-Hydro" traveling trophy restored and back to Johnny.

I like some of the wording on the hull "John the "POPE" Bridge", and the can of Strohs on the tail, Detroit guys will understand that.

 

[Norm Doerr]

It amazes me just how heavy duty the boats were built back then , did anyone find out the weight of it?

Tim K

I launched it a ton of times and the year John II ran it, it was close to 20 - 25 lbs. Jerry and Mike probably will chime in as they may have picked it up at the meeting.

John

Nothing short of VERY impressive Boats..." Lager Head", "The Black Rushin" etc etc... Despite the weight they still hauled the mail.

 

[Mike Betke]

It amazes me just how heavy duty the boats were built back then , did anyone find out the weight of it?

Tim K

I launched it a ton of times and the year John II ran it, it was close to 20 - 25 lbs. Jerry and Mike probably will chime in as they may have picked it up at the meeting.

John

I was surprised by the weight. It was around 16lbs according to John. I picked it up and it did not seem that much heavier than my Roadrunner twin.

I sent a link of this web site to Johnny last night and asked him to get on the forum and chime in on this. Hopefully he will.

 

[John Beardslee]

It amazes me just how heavy duty the boats were built back then , did anyone find out the weight of it?

Tim K

I launched it a ton of times and the year John II ran it, it was close to 20 - 25 lbs. Jerry and Mike probably will chime in as they may have picked it up at the meeting.

John

I was surprised by the weight. It was around 16lbs according to John. I picked it up and it did not seem that much heavier than my Roadrunner twin.

I sent a link of this web site to Johnny last night and asked him to get on the forum and chime in on this. Hopefully he will.

Hi Mike,

Maybe it felt like 25#'s because we had to really throw them hard back then to get them up on plane.

John