Episode 184: David Williams and Brad Haskin, Part 2

We pick up Part Two with David Williams and Brad Haskin as Brad steps into leadership at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum and we get honest about what it takes to keep vintage hydroplanes restored, running, and safe. We talk money, time, volunteer labor, and why the museum only works when fans treat it like something we all own and protect. 

Don't forget that the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum is bringing back Hydro Fever!  The event will be held Saturday, June 20th from 10am to 2pm at the Museum in Kent.  If you want to reserve a table for yourself to sell your own goods, you can contact Brad Haskins at the Hydroplane and Race Boat Museum. For more information on the museum or to reserve a table you can visit the museum's website at www.thunderboats.org or call and ask for Brad at 206-764-9453. 

Episode 83: David Williams and Brad Haskin, Part 1

Transcript

Welcome And Why The Museum Matters

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Rooster Tail Talk, the podcast dedicated to everything about the sport that we all love. I joined Race Talk. I am your host, Dave McNeil. And it's time once again to sit back, relax, and welcome to RoosterTale Talk. Hello, RaceFans! Welcome back to the podcast. Today is June 9th, 2026, and this is episode 184, part two of my interview with David Williams and Brad Haskin. Now, if you haven't listened to part one, please go back and listen to part one, episode 183. I've got a link in the bio below. As we spent part one really diving into the history of the museum, the history of Brad Haskin and David Williams working with the museum, what they have done, what they've contributed, and what they've contributed to hydroplane racing in general. I could have broken this episode up into three, four segments, but it's better sometimes for the conversation to continue and to flow. So this is a two-part episode, but it's a supersized two-part episode. Now we're going to pick up with Brad talking more about his history in the sport, as then he'll talk about him becoming an H1 technical inspector and his path with the museum. But before I get in back into this interview, I really want to put a plug-in for the museum. Too many times we take the museum for granted. They have so many uh artifacts and parts of the hydroplane world there that are free to the public. Without them, a lot of this stuff would have gone to the dumpsters, garbage fills, landfills, including the immaculate boats that they have there that are restored, that are seaworthy, ready to run, uh at you know, not without too much notice. And every summer the museum brings out boats to Tri-City, Seattle, and sometimes even more so than that, that uh on Lake Washington, Mahogany Berlow, then they share the experience, share the history with race fans of today. It's really important for us to keep this history alive because without this history, we can't understand the present. Uh, we can't understand each one where it is today. And so I would highly encourage you, if you're not a member of the museum, please go to thunderboats.org, become a member today. As little as $50 can help the museum to keep the lights on for another day, to get more parts for the restoration and everything in between, just to preserve the history of this sport that we love. So, with my shameless plug being over there, let's go back into my interview as Brad talks more about his history in hydroplane racing and how that led him with where he is today at the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum as the director of the museum.

Brad’s Path Into H1 Tech

SPEAKER_01 3:39

So let's see, and then when that when that part, when that team opportunity went away, uh I was I was kind of lost, and I actually reached out to Mike Noonan, who is still the chief referee, and I said, Hey, you got anything for me? And he goes, Yeah, I think we do that. So gosh, I spent seven or eight years um as a tech inspector for H1. Deputy Sheriff. There's a deputy sheriff working for uh the late Pete Thompson, who uh again, another one of those guys that I just learned so much from. It was absolutely amazing to to uh work for him. And when he passed away, that I I still feel that one. But I also got to work with John Walters afterwards. But I had worked with John, you know, out at the U8 and the U37. Um, and I think that's one of my favorite things about being in the sport is that I have had the opportunity to not just meet, but to work with the people that when I was a kid, I was those are the guys I saw on TV, right? Yeah, and now they're the guys that I have in my phone.

SPEAKER_03 4:37

Yeah, wild. That's a long list of it's a pretty he hasn't he has the credibility.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

He's the right guy. But yet I haven't really done anything, you know. I've I've I've I've been there, I've done that, a lot of participation trophies, but it's spread over a pretty large swath.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yeah. But I think it comes back to all the branches that the museum has, right? You've gotten to know all these different people and personas, and it's a it's a it's a slam dunk, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:09

As much as anything.

Taking The Director Seat

SPEAKER_03 5:14

Well, what's been the most exciting part so far for you, Brad? Of this opportunity here.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

That's gonna be a multi-part question. David's making the the he's showing him me driving.

SPEAKER_03 5:28

Isn't that nice new new car you got for this job? Is that what it is?

SPEAKER_00 5:31

He got the same truck I had.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

I am going to say that taking over this job is terrifying. Because I have never been a businessman. And before David took this, he had his own business. He was a successful business operator on his own. So that's one area that I haven't done. So it is terrifying to realize that there are some big shoes that I have to fill. Um and honestly, on some levels, there are days where I miss just being the dude. I miss being the guy that's back there. Just everybody teases me that I'm always sanding something. And I miss being just, oh, I'm gonna go work on the wing today. And and just doing where I knew what I had to do, I could do it, I could put as much time into it or as little as I as I had to or wanted to, and I could just go home when I wanted to. Um, and since I took over, I've been doing six days a week and gosh, I was doing 12-hour days for a while, but I feel like I'm, you know, after a couple of months now, I'm finally gaining some traction.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

But it's summer's coming, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah, it's it's I know it's gonna be at least a year that I've got to go through before I get comfortable because I mean, shoot, the first week that I was here, I was putting in paperwork with the parks department for the sanction for us to run um, you know, to run the spring training in in May. And there's all sorts of business things that come up of, oh wow, I have to do this license and pay. You mean there's two sets of property taxes that I have to pay? Why, you know, and and these are the things that I'm always calling a Right Ny David, hey, I got this in the mail, what do I do with this? Yeah. Um so I know that I'm gonna have to go through my first spring training, I'm gonna have to go through Tri-Cities, I'm gonna have to go through C Fair and MM and all these other things to do it myself and and realize because there's so much that I I don't know what I don't know yet, which is why I'm scared.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

Well, that's it's all the challenges that have that comes with this position, right? It's a lot of challenges. And hearing that, David, are you getting PTSD or what's what was the biggest challenge for you when you you when you ran this operation?

The Money Stress Behind The Scenes

SPEAKER_00 7:59

I think I know what it is, but um I don't want to scare Brad away, but it was money. It was I I would describe this job. Um, there used to be a furnace commercial on TV where there's a guy in the basement with a big snow shovel and piles of cash, and he's just shoveling money into the furnace, and as fast as he shovels it, um, and it says is your furnace eating you out of house and home or whatever. That was my life for 33 years. Um we operate, um don't get stressed, Brad. But but we operate on a $500,000 a year, but between five and six hundred thousand dollars a year. Um, and that's for the days that you're open, that's $2,000 a day that you have to bring in.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

All day, every day for 30 years. And and I I did that. Um, and it does, yeah, it does when you don't have it, um, it can keep you awake at night.

SPEAKER_04 9:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Um and I would, and again, I don't want to pass my disease on to Brad, but I for 30 years I've had a running calculation in my mind of like you know, an airplane pilot is always trying to figure out how much fuel he has, what airport can he reach on the fuel he has, if something, you know, at this altitude with this fuel, I can. I am always doing that calculation of okay, if nothing comes in ever again, how far can I I can't I can pay this rent and I can be this month, but I can't get to there. So I I definitely have to earn something. Um, and then you have um you have goalposts along the way, and Brad will, you know, you have uh Give Big coming up, um, and then you have the um this the first couple of spring trainings. Well, you can sell some rides, you can sell some merchandise, and then you have Tri-Cities, well, you'll get paid to run four boats, and then you have Seafair, well you'll get paid to run four boats, and you can sell a bunch of merch at both of those events, and then you have the gala, and then you have MM. And you have these goalposts that if I if I can get to that one, then I know I can get to that one. If I get to that one, I can get and and you're you're coming out of the doldrums, where we really don't bring in much money between January and June. I mean, you've had a couple good hits, and um, and and you're gonna make it, but from June, if I made it to June, I knew I was good until December.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

Because, all right, well, we've got this event coming up, and then we've got, you know, I I know that at Tri-Cities we're gonna get paid this much to run boats, and I'm gonna sell this much merch. Um, and um the more that the more that we go out in public, the more membership we sell. So now you're gonna be able to sell members. So if you can get to June, you can get July. You get to July, you get to August, then you get to MM, and you can sell a bunch of rides, and and then you've got the annual campaign and the year-end giving. But you have these, for me, there were always these goalposts, but it was I held my breath between each one.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

And it's it's interesting that I've seen this several times online where we'll be talking about some museum event, uh, and somebody from the peanut gallery will say, You guys are always asking us for money. I'm not gonna support you, you're always asking me for money. And it's like, do you really think we run this out of the generosity of our own hearts? Right, right. We were I was at a meeting, uh, uh an APBA uh vintage meeting, and we were talking about some things, and and they asked me to just stand up and introduce myself. This is one I had taken was had just taken over. Um and I said, you know, I really want to, I want, I want to help be a part of this because I my outlook on this is our place within APBA, uh we all sink or swim together. And if one part goes down, the rest of it's gonna go down with it. So we all kind of need to be there to support each other. And I was getting some pushback from some of the people at the meeting, and I said, you know, I run a business. I have to pay $15,000 a month to keep the doors open, and all of a sudden the room went quiet.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

No, you paid $15,000 on rent.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

You still have to pay utilities and salaries and taxes, but but but yeah, but nobody was thinking about that. It's like, you know, um, I'm sorry that you're not getting what you want and that I'm not supporting you the way that we are, but I still that's that's up here, and I'm just still I'm worried about this. I have my bottom line. Um but at the same time, kind of like what we hit on earlier, and I don't, David. Uh, whenever we would have like uh Christmas parties here or or meetings with with large crowds, you know, we've been doing this longer than Bernie Little ran a team, and we have restored and run more boats than Bernie Little ran.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

That's pretty wild. I didn't I didn't stop to think about that. That's pretty impressive. That is very impressive, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

And there's nobody that's ever run Griffins, Merlin's, and Allison's all at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:40

Because seriously, I mean, look look at look at how there are a lot of people with intentions of, oh, I'd love to restore that boat. I'm gonna buy this boat and restore it. And you never see it again.

SPEAKER_02 13:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

There's an awful lot that goes into that, as I am finding out now.

SPEAKER_02 13:54

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

You know, and and we have restored, well, we're on 18?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

19? Yeah, it it's a hard number to count because yeah, we've restored 18 or 19 ourselves, but you know, we helped Joe Frondheim on the on the tempo. We helped Ken Muscatel on the Miss America. Right. We've you know, we've It's a pretty pretty big family tree.

SPEAKER_03 14:14

Right, right,

What It Takes To Restore A Boat

SPEAKER_03 14:15

yeah. Well, well, I want to kind of dig into that. Because you both have good uh history with it and you know what it takes to restore a hydroplane. The casual fan doesn't understand that you can't just go out to a junkyard, pick up. But it's the hydroplane store. Right. Like what like financially and time commitment, what does it take to restore a hydroplane to what you have out here in the showroom where you have it being able to run on Lake Washington um, you know, uh this summer?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

The summer? Uh I mean the starting point is is that that most of the boats that are restoration worthy have been deteriorating for 40 years or more. Some of them indoors, some of them outdoors. So you're not starting with the best of equipment either. So go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

All right, there are three factors that go into any racing project: time, budget, and quality. And all three of those factors have to work together. Yeah. If you want on if you have an unlimited budget, the time is going to be pretty short. I can restore a boat. If you give me a million dollars, I can restore, you know, I can't. Because you can hire six people to work seven days a week. Right. So we don't have a very big budget. It takes, even the way that we do it with volunteer help, it takes $250,000 to restore a boat. And people go, but you know the trailer, uh a tilt trailer is gonna be $40,000.

SPEAKER_05 15:52

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Um, if I went to the Merlin store to buy Merlin, I'm gonna pay $200,000. Well, I can't do that.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

So there are Merlin stores. Yeah. We could go half a dozen guys that could have Merlin engine shops, and you can buy it.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Oh yeah, we can go to Vintage V12. Um, and uh, but at any rate, it if you know there's the trailer, the boat, the systems, the engine. Um, I do know uh I'm you know Steve Hayden is spending over a million dollars a piece on each one of his restorations, and he's not doing them terribly fast, but his quality is immaculate. The the boats that he puts out are way better than they were originally. Yeah um we can't spend a million bucks, but we spent about $250,000 with volunteer help. Now we're we're spending four years, four to five years. Um going back to the Madison movie, when we pulled the Savior's Mist literally out of the weeds, there was no deck, no motor, no hardware, and we had $25,000 and we had it running in eight weeks. Wow. And it was just and no, we didn't restore it to be the immaculate showpiece that you might see in a paying pack or a wahoop.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

But the damn boat ran for 20-some years before we had the butt here's here's another observation I like to make for that, and and it's specifically a conversation that you and I had. I think we're at the old museum at the time, but we were looking, we're looking at pictures of the Chrysler crew when it was constructed. New construction pictures coming out of the Lauderback shop.

SPEAKER_04 17:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Actually, Bill Starr Sr. built that himself. Okay, okay. So it's pictures of that. If you look at it, it's kind of thrown together.

SPEAKER_04 17:52

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

And it's a reminder that, well, I think Ed probably said something. The boat is designed to run for two or three years.

SPEAKER_04 17:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Right? That that particular photo, because I remember it very, very well. Chrysler crew had those nice birch decks, birch plywood, and there was a deck seam. Well, if you don't fair the deck correctly and the seam misses just a little bit, and you hit it with the sander, you'll sand through the birch ply and you'll come up with a layer of glue. Right. And that glue is dark. And I was looking at the seams on the Chrysler Crew, not all of them, but one adjacent to the cockpit. And I thought, holy crap, they sanded through the outer ply. And if I had done that, we would have pulled the whole panel off. But these boats, I've got a great picture of the brand new 55 Thriftway. Ted Jones is sitting in it, and it's all glossy. And there is a curtain, a sag in the varnish. There's this huge sag right through Thriftway where it says Miss Thriftway. And it looks like, but people didn't see that back then. Right. Um the quality that we are used to in hydroplanes. Um, the Budweiser quality, the um the Hansen Brothers quality, the Good Moon Racing or Home Street, or you know, that is so much higher than the stuff that came out of anybody's shop back in the day.

SPEAKER_05 19:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

But unfortunately, we have to now restore our boats to that level of quality, or people go, oh, this is this is really doggy. Well, we don't want people to look at our stuff anymore and say this is really doggy. So it does take a couple of years. Um, you know, circus uh is taking longer because it actually turned into much more of a replica than a restoration. Still, I mean, we do have original parts, and it is technically a restoration because we have the original bottom, and um, but and then John um John Watkins is just meticulous.

SPEAKER_01 20:06

And yeah, and the work is I mean, you set out to save as much as you can. You really do, you want to, right? But with in the case of the circus, it'd been sitting outside for a long time, and you know, it wasn't as bad as the squire shop. I think the squire shop was, you know, there were mushrooms and moss growing out of the deck, you know.

SPEAKER_03 20:28

I've heard stories of repairs of that boat in particular over the years where they it was a lower budget team when uh it was Al Thoresend had it, uh-huh, and they would use what was convenient, which probably wasn't shouldn't have been used at the time. Um, and so it's yeah, it makes it harder.

SPEAKER_01 20:47

But the payoff is when you've got four of them running at 130 miles an hour down the front stretch. Yeah. And everybody remembers that. You know, you it's it's it's now you're a 10-year-old kid on the shoreline again.

SPEAKER_03 21:00

Yeah, yeah. And you have to think about the longevity of it too, right? I mean, you want to restore it so you do restore it once and not have to restore it.

SPEAKER_01 21:08

Most of our boats have run as museum pieces much significantly longer than they ran ever ran in competition. Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:15

Yeah, the the Griffin Bud, I think we finished that in 2003. So we've been running it for 23 years. Wow. Yeah. Um and Budweiser, yeah, came out in 80 and Yeah, they were done by the 85 season. Yeah. So they ran it five years, we've run it 23 years. Um but yeah, and Don Mock used to preach that. We only want to restore these once because frankly, um I don't know. I mean, our goal is to we don't own these boats. You own the boats. You listening on the podcast, you own these boats. We hold them in trust for the public. That's what a not profit is. We do not own anything, we hold these assets in trust for the public. For the hydroplane fans. Anyone listening to this who's a lives in this country owns more of that boat than or as much as that boat as I do.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

The way that when when I was when I was flying the bombers for the commemorative air force, uh we always preached to everybody within the squadron that we were just stewards. We're stewards of historical artifacts. Yeah. And that's that's what this building is. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

So as we restore them, we're trying to restore them for all time, because I really don't think that there's anyone down the road in five years or ten years that's going to want to come in and restore Chip Hanauer's Atlas the way that we did. I mean, there may be people that will do maintenance on them, but no one's going to pull the decks off, pull the skins off, and rebuild it from scratch. Which, by the way, um this is something that your dad and I talked about. Your dad did a couple cosmetic restorations for Bob Williams. And the difference between a cosmetic restoration and a running restoration and why we restore all the boats to be runnable, even if we're not running them, they are runnable, is because a runnable boat gets constant maintenance. A static display, oh, it's done.

SPEAKER_01 23:22

Gets parked.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

And gets parked.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

And they these boats, any boat, any wooden boat, begins to deteriorate the minute you stop working on it.

SPEAKER_05 23:32

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

So if we, you know, some of the stuff that that we've done, had we not run it, it it would all it would be looking like it looked before we started the restoration by now.

SPEAKER_04 23:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:46

Yeah, definitely.

Favorite Boats And Fast Memories

SPEAKER_03 23:48

Well, with the almost 20 or whatever that number is of the restorations the museum is done, what would you say is your favorite project that got restored? And it could be for sedimental for the boat back in the day, something with the restoration process that you were part of. But what's your favorite boat? What's your favorite kit out there in the in the museum?

SPEAKER_01 24:09

I'll let Brad go first because again, that's like asking what your favorite kid is.

SPEAKER_03 24:13

I mean, I you only have 20 to choose from.

SPEAKER_01 24:15

Well, no, I like, I like. How about this? I have I have um a lot of my personal money invested in the two uh Norberg boats that we've got. Um I like driving the Squire Shop, it's it's a neat thing, but but I've got to step back. I mean, I remember watching the blue blaster and the pay and pack. And I I wasn't around for the for the the 50s and 60s generation of boats. Right. But all the pickle four approaches that we've got out here, though those are the boats that I grew up idolizing, you know. I I I can't I no, I love them all. I love them all.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

I don't think I I don't think there's a dog in the in the building that I'm like um it is a tough question to answer, and I'm gonna change the question to um and and I'm gonna give you several answers to it. Okay, yeah. What boat um is most meaningful to me? Well, there are two that are really meaningful. Yeah. Um the the little Miss Dewey's Lumberville that became the say there's miss, that became the missed Madison, that's the boat that I've driven more than any other boat. I've probably driven that boat as much as all the other boats combined. Because when we're filming the movie, I just drove and drove and drove um thousands of laps. And um it I was very proud of that boat, even though we threw it together really, really fast. Um our first, my first lap on that, in that race boat, on a real race course, uh was in Madison, Indiana when we started filming the movie. And the job that we did was good enough that my first lap ever on a real race course in that boat was faster than Walt Kate's best lap ever.

SPEAKER_04 26:11

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

Because Fred Farley was up there taking all the time.

SPEAKER_04 26:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

I mean, we do we do real work. Yeah, we do good work, and then I drove it, drove it, drove it, and drove it, and drove it. Um, and I just love that boat.

SPEAKER_03 26:25

Um was that your favorite boat to drive then?

SPEAKER_00 26:28

It was, and it still is as far as an uh as far as a rear cockpit. Yeah. Um but there's nothing like driving the griffin. Yeah. I mean, there's just that is um, it is the for me the perfect combination of a contemporary, big, heavy, wide transom, deep pickle fork, lots of air, high wing. It drives very much like a turbine boat, except that you're not hunkered down behind a canopy and you got that big, beautiful griffin behind you. But I can remember the first time we took it out. Um, I mean, first lap, I went up the back stretch, and that boat you can't really drive slow because it pushes water everywhere. So it's probably about 140. Um, and I saw this set of rollers from somewhere, this big set of rollers that was coming in from the bridge.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

And when you have that, they come at you in slow motion. You're going fast and you can see them coming, and it looks like it's slow motion, and all of a sudden they're right there.

SPEAKER_00 27:36

And and I was thinking, oh, this is this is this is gonna hurt.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:42

Didn't even notice having the right over the top of his wow, that's like a turbine boat. Um, and it, you know, because the turbines are are are big. Um, and I mean the turbines are heavy compared to what you know, the a turbine boat has to weigh 6,900 some odd pounds. Um the the slow-mo's were 4,500 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:07

Our our Wahoo is 5,800 pounds. I mean, the turbines are a ton heavier than what we're running for the most part. But anyway, that that Griffin drives like a turbine, but you're you're out of the cockpit.

SPEAKER_01 28:19

And um, so that was cool. I've got an interesting memory about you and the Griffin. And it was when you were we were having a conversation, maybe in your office about it, but it was when you were you first got your turbine ride with Doc and the URC or whoever was in charge at the time, they were talking about, well, he's a rookie, and how are you gonna do it? And whoever was in charge said, I have been watching you drive the Griffin Bud at 140 miles an hour for years. Yeah. I'm not worried that that you know you can do this.

SPEAKER_03 28:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

Down the level.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

I I remember in Tri Cities one year, my dad helping a team. I won't say the names or whatever, but I remember someone doing some timing marks and they timed you on a corner and they joked that you were faster than the than the team we were working with at the time.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

I've never cornered. I've never run that boat hard for a full lap. Um because I've you know, Eric Man would have my head.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Um, I have seen And remember that's a that's a single stage griffin. That's not even the big Griffin that's run out here.

SPEAKER_04 29:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

I do know in Fred Farley was timing, uh, because he timed every lap that that I turned a 118 uh by myself on the race course. Uh it was um, I can't remember why I was by myself. I think it was an anniversary of Chandlow with accident.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

Um, but I turned 118. Um, and it was like, and I'll push that boat. To be honest, I'll I'll when we're on the race course, I'll kind of pedal it easy down the straightaway and then dig hard the turns because it throws beautiful thin water. Um and it's like, man, if I'd known I was that close, I would have stepped on a little harder just to get a 120. Um, but then there was when we did the Bernie Little tribute in the in the boat, and the the guys had forgot to hook up the primer. And I was out there grinding and grinding, and I couldn't get it started. And there's a live helicopter circling, and I couldn't, and then finally it just struck me. I wonder, doesn't smell, I mean, it doesn't act like there's any prime. So I did what you never do, and I started on the mix handle. And I, and you know, it's like build the oil, build the fuel pressure and go boom, boom, on the mix and get a little fuel scored again. And the thing lit. And I was not pissed at anybody, but pissed that I'd missed the window because we were supposed to be live TV and helicopters in the air. Um, and I just was trying to, you know, got out of the race course and coming up the front chute past the official barge, I looked down, and the the the needle just it was 150, 3500 RPM 150, 3500, 150. Um, and then it's like 3800, 180. And and and the needles were going like this, and it's like, holy shit. Because I remember Dean talking about uh it's a sweetheart until somewhere around 180, 185, it can bite sometimes. It's like I'm not gonna go for one, but I think we got like about 185 in that boat, and it had plenty left. That's a that's a really, really fast boat.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Yeah. So that was your favorite boat to drive. Brad, is the squire your favorite boat to drive?

SPEAKER_01 31:48

It's the only boat I've driven.

SPEAKER_03 31:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:49

I I'm I'm it's interesting in that, you know, when I never drove growing up. I wanted to. Um, I think I've told this story before, but um I was when I was working at uh at Budweiser, we were building T3, but T2 was sitting on the trailer next to it. And over lunch, I just got up, got up in the boat, and I went to I kind of wet, I was a little bit smaller than I am today, but not much. And Jim Crawford's a very small guy.

SPEAKER_04 32:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

And I somehow wedged myself into his seat and was kind of like going, huh. All right. And John Reinberger dropped up on the deck and he goes, Here, let me close, let me close the lid on you. And I am not a claustrophobic guy. I mean, I'm a pilot. I I fly in cockpits all the time, but all I thought was this is a horrible place to die. And and any any desire I had to drive went away. So I mean, we you know, we talked about it when I when I came and said, hey, I want I want to drive this. It was because I've got all this experience flying airplanes and and that, and it's it's not that different, but yeah, I don't have nearly the experience of of being able to drive in all the different classes of boats and stuff that David did. So that's all I've got. But honestly, in this role now, I'm already stepping back because I need to be the one, you know, the puppet master and and orchestrating things and let everybody else drive, you know. All right. But again, that was one of those things um where I made the decision the first time I drove the boat was if I never get to drive a boat again, I can walk away and say, Yeah, I drove I drove a boat 130 miles an hour.

Dream Restorations And Big Wish Lists

SPEAKER_03 33:32

Well, I like to live in a hypothetical world, in a dream world. Say you got a check for a million dollars or whatever, three million dollars, whatever you needed to build your dream rest or have your dream restoration happen. I know we got a lot of cool boats out there, and a lot of those are probably some dream builds that we have, right? The Griffin Buddha, the Atlas, Squire. I mean, all of them, right? But if you could have restore a boat that we haven't restored yet, which which one would you say if if you could have Brad restore a boat for you since you're retired? And then Brad, which one would you restore? What would it be?

SPEAKER_00 34:09

I I it's hard for me to pick one thing. Yeah, it would be one of two boats but for the same team. For my for years and years and years and years and years and years. I mean, for 30 years, the boat that I wanted to do was a checkerboard bardall.

SPEAKER_04 34:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:25

Um because I have a very, very close, had a very close relationship with Ed. Um my dad died, and John Carrollson died. Uh close enough together that we adopted each other. I'd worked for Ed for years. Um, and he used to tell me, You're my son. You're my son now. Um, I love that man. Uh so I would love, I would love to have done that boat. And he kept telling me, David, let me just build the frame, let me build the hull. I'll pay for it. I'm gonna be gone, but then you'll have a Carolson. But I we didn't have shop space. I had so much going on. So that's a boat that I've always wanted. Um, and that's a boat that I would like to restore or rebuild. But if I'm asking for Brad to do a boat, I want him to do the cowboy for Bartle. Because we got the gearbox and we have the drawings, and and that's the that's the mystery boat from my childhood. Um, you know, came out in '66. I was eight years old. Um, and I I couldn't wait. I never saw it in person, and I but I I knew all about it, and I read about it, everything I could get, and it was going to change the sport. It was gonna be so cool. And I built even in early 66 before the President's Cup, I built a model, you know, the drag-along hydros we drove behind the box bikes. Mine was a cab over Bartle, and then it never came. Yeah, it you know, went to a race and a half. Um and uh and I do know, uh, interestingly enough, that Ed and JR got very, very close because JR was sort of estranged from his dad for a while, and Ed and JR got close. Um, and JR had the same problem. He would talk about, well, I want to do the cab over bartle, but I want to do Ed's boat. Um, and he even bought a trailer to do the cab over to do with do the checkerboard.

SPEAKER_02 36:22

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

Um, he was close enough along, uh J.R. was to doing a replica of the checkerboard that he bought. Had Corky Peterson build him a trailer. Um Mark Evans has that trailer now. Anyway, those are my answers. What's your answer? Well, I like those.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Well, one of them is sitting in the back right there. The the 79 Circus Circus is why I joined the Squire Shop restoration, was because that was gonna be my practice so that we could do that. Uh, that even though it only raced for two years at Circus Circus, for whatever reason, that was my boat. And uh Steve Reynolds was my driver. So I want to just take that boat out and run it. Um, but I I maybe I'll give you a three-part answer. Okay. I'd love to do uh uh 57 Thriftway 2 with the little wings in the back. Oh, yeah. Um possibility is there to do a U95 because both Dave and I had a good close relationship with Chuck.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

And we have the gearbox, and we have the gearbox, which would be the hardest part to do.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Yeah. Um, and you know, Dave Bartish has the hull, so it's there. Right. But boy, I really love to do an 81 pay-in pack turban.

SPEAKER_04 37:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:36

Dave Bartosh has that one, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:38

Yeah, he's got that one, yeah. That'd be really cool.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

But I I could give you a laundry list of I wanted to do the cab over vans PX. Uh I I want to do the Value Mart, Weissfield's Olympia beer. You know, I mean, yeah, they're there, and guess what? All it takes is some rich guy to write us a check. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

$250,000. I mean, we've done enough of these now, and people are, oh, it can't be. Yeah, that's what it takes.

SPEAKER_03 38:06

But there's so many things that the casual fan doesn't think about that goes into it.

SPEAKER_01 38:10

You you ask that question, and I see that that's an unfair question because you that's not what I would really like to do. I would like to kind of take David's long-term vision and gosh, I'd love when when the lease on this building runs out, I'd love to be in a position that we can actually buy and and either an existing building, buy an existing building that's ours, that is double this size.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

We have spent $13 million running boats. Wow. $13 million.

unknown 38:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

Yeah, we could have a hell of a building for that. So when do we stop running boats and save the but as soon as we stop running boats, that income stream are it's gonna go away. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 39:02

Yeah, definitely. Yeah. So And that's why you're running at seafair and Tri-Cities and do other expeditions, because you get your your face out there and it rekrindles all those memories and brings a membership in.

SPEAKER_01 39:19

But getting there, that's that's a big step.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

Well, if if I if I could share, I would love to see the the bubble bed restored at some point as well as it's a big thing.

SPEAKER_00 39:31

Yeah, that would be a pretty fun one to do too. But but that's not gonna, I mean, that just takes cash, but yeah, but Ecret has the boat and somehow ended up with the bubble. Um that's it was loaned and never returned. Um, but he's got he's got a two-stage griffin, he's got a gearbox, he doesn't have a trailer underneath it. The trailer got put underneath the GP and sold down to Australia. But but that that's not that far off, and there might be a point down the road when he goes, I'm tired of storing this boat, and he's gonna call Brad, and yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

But the the that's an interesting step, though, because we don't have any enclosed cockpits.

SPEAKER_03 40:16

Right. And that was the first one.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Yeah. And and honestly, you know, we we run our boats in the vintage and historic category for APBA. And the rules say it has to be at least 20 years old. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:31

The U9.

SPEAKER_01 40:32

Yeah. Yeah, half the fleet. We was insane. We've, you know, uh for the last several years, when Mitch has been running the blue chip at at Mogany Malo or at Tri-Cities, Ed Cooper and the guys come out and they help him run.

SPEAKER_02 40:48

Right.

SPEAKER_01 40:48

And it's like, you know, Ed, that boat was built in 2002. Yeah. You can bring it out. You don't even have to put a turbo Allison in it. You can just put an Allison in it. You come out here and run it as a vintage boat. And all, you know, we kind of have to adjust the the sanction because now you need a rescue diver if you've got a cockpit boat. Right. But now we're, you know, but we don't there are no restored vintage boats that have a cockpit. No.

SPEAKER_00 41:15

It's sometimes you have to take a deep breath and it's a gulp. I have cut the canopies off three of our boats. Yeah. At least three. Um, including, I've cut when I cut the canopy off the griffin bud, and I knew the Dean had been killed in that boat. And I knew I was going to be driving that boat with a Griffin engine without a canopy. I yeah, it's an eye-opener. And we cut the canopy off the 82 Atlas, and we cut the canopy off the pocket, not pocket, the um smart shop. The smart shop. But what was it? But what was the sponsor of the last year? Um not pocket savers, but it was um jackpot food mart. Yes, I think. But yeah, I've cut three canopies off, and the whole time I'm doing it's like, I hope I don't regret this. I hope I don't regret this. I hope I live long enough to regret it if I yeah, we've got to.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

But and you know, knock on wood, you know, we've we have put a lot of laps. The museum has put it's when did you really start running? 93, maybe four? 93 was the first time I gave rides to start. It put a lot of laps, and in those laps, nobody's ever been hurt, and we have broken very little equipment. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:39

Well, I can't say no one's been hurt. I broke a whole bunch of ribs that we filmed in the movie.

SPEAKER_01 42:44

But that was that that was up, yeah. That was after the movie sanctioned. And then didn't they ask you if you could do that again? Yep. They like that. Can we do that again? That was great. Uh-huh. But I mean, it's a good thing. That's a different interview, but we'll do that. It really is mind-boggling when you look at how many laps we have run safely.

SPEAKER_03 43:03

Oh, it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 43:05

Safely.

SPEAKER_03 43:06

Yeah. All right. Well, when when I win the lotto, I'll I'll let you know. I'll write you that $250,000 check and we'll get what we're doing. We'll do the ball up. Yeah. All right. Sounds good.

SPEAKER_01 43:15

Your dad would approve, I think.

SPEAKER_03 43:16

Yeah, yeah.

Long-Term Survival Plans For The Museum

SPEAKER_03 43:20

Well, uh, we've talked about this transition. What's the next step for the museum moving forward? I know we've got some restorations in the back here. You talk a little bit about that, Brad, and and and what what what do you hope uh to bring in? Maybe anything new or exciting for the future for the museum?

SPEAKER_01 43:41

I'll answer that a little bit differently. My biggest concern, and and I told David this when we really first started talking about it, was I need to ensure that we have a soft place to land if. the sport goes away. Okay? Yep. So that's a real yeah. What is a survivable strategic plan to ensure that we still have something that we can maintain, that we can still tell the history and we can I want to thrive, but we can survive because there is a difference, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. If if the sport doesn't. So that's that right there is kind of the um why I'd like to shift towards finding a permanent place that we own. Yeah. We have boats and we will always have the ability to go back and restore those boats. But if we don't have a place to do it, it's kind of a moot point. Right, right. I mean I I all these dreams that I have are the things that kept David up for 30 years. I mean I I I want to grow in the membership. I want to I want to I want I want the race sites to value us enough that they that we're we're important that they it it is expensive to go and run these boats, you know? I I hate to say it because I I don't want them to feel that I'm angry but we have value. We bring value to the table but that's going to cost money.

SPEAKER_00 45:37

Yeah um is that sustainable we've underwritten a number of not a number but a couple of surveys for for seafair specifically um and and some of this information is 20 years old but the fans coming to seafare I hate to say it come first for the Blue Angels second for the turbine racing third for us fourth for GP and unlimited light um and then hydro and bands and but but that was the pecking order for and it still it still basically is um and and we need to be recognized for the value that we bring we do bring in a lot of fans yeah we we do impact the gate oh yeah no I mean I love I would love to see a a scenario where Friday Cities are Seattle uh you know what pay me to bring eight boats yeah and I will run a four round nose show in the morning and a four picklefork show in the afternoon for three days.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

Yeah or wow I I I really tried I I wanted to be able to get the uh the Chip Hanauer Atlas back to the Gold Cup in Madison this year. Yeah I can you imagine if we showed up at Madison how what how the people would react to that yeah but again it it costs we have to pay the same costs that that the H1 teams do. We still have to travel yep it costs us the same to move the rolling stock back there as they do and and we have to house people and and it it it costs the same yeah and race sites are you want you want to pay that for for for that yeah okay it's just the reality I'm not you know you're not angry at them for it yeah but they have they have a bottom line to pay for to put on the regatta too right but in my world I'd love to be able to work with H1 to work with the race sites that I would love the vintage boats to be a package deal that H1 sells to the race sites.

SPEAKER_03 47:56

Yeah yeah yeah I mean I I think it'd be great to even just have a boat go there be on display for you know as a minimum but I every year I you know go to Tracy Cities of Seattle and I see it on the shorelines as soon as a Merlin starts up or an Allison or Griffin whatever it is from the museum you see people come from the the bushes and from the the the park out to the shoreline you know it's it's different than the when the turbines are out there. You see more people just kind of scatter to the shoreline to watch the exhibition. So you're you're bringing a great value to those races and I wish it could be expanded.

SPEAKER_00 48:34

Something that I would like to see Brad do and he wants to do this anyway um but um we've talked a lot before I left I would like to see a mahogany and Merlot style event on the west side of the mountains um and and we've identified three potential places to do it um and I don't you know I think I know that there's interest in supporting that from a couple different organizations but the money isn't quite there yet but that would be a very very cool thing yeah um basically a standalone vintage unlimited event on this side of the mountains that'd be great would do very well and and I kind of look at it as it would be a great season kickoff.

SPEAKER_03 49:24

Oh yeah right you open the season with this and then we could finish with Molly Merlot over on the other side of the mountains right but I mean even even the people at seafair were like you know that might be kind of cool yeah that'd be fantastic I mean seafair's expanded all those different other avenues that'd be that'd be fun that'd be there.

SPEAKER_01 49:46

I do have to hand it to the the current administration in Seafair that that when they came in last year they really didn't know what hydroplanes were but um I'll I'll name drop Emily Cantrell she is in charge and she saw what we were able to do with bringing Jimmy Johnson in with the Alex Van Lines and the show we put on there last year and then we brought her over to Shillanne and she got a ride in the boat and as soon as she stepped off the boat it was like oh my god I get it now. And now she's like yes yes yes yes that's great that's great to hear. But again it's it people just need to see the value that that we have there.

SPEAKER_00 50:24

Yeah well I mean there's a huge value with this and hopefully they can expand I would love to see that I think I think every member would right so well talking about all this work that that Brad's doing and he's to do is there something that he

Health Burnout And Succession

SPEAKER_00 50:40

hasn't realized that he has to has to do yet that might open his world sleep sleep yeah um but hydrogen wrestlers don't sleep though yeah I I don't think so but what I do have to say is you really need to take care of yourself because it is very easy to put this place first and second and third right um and I I hesitate to say this in in front of Brad but I I did have some real health problems and and had I not I can tell you um my blood pressure was through the roof for years and no medication I mean I probably could have taken some type of high level tranquilizer that would zombie me out yeah but no medication I was taking was helping um and I didn't want to end up like your dad right as much as I love him I don't want to you know um and uh since I quit uh my blood pressure has dropped down to normal and I might be able to you know one of the reasons I retired is because I've reached the age at which my dad died and that's a big deal yeah you know fathers and sons and you know it's something that will probably you know how old was Roger when he passed away he was in his 60s. Yeah so my dad was 69 yeah I'm 68 and when you're looking at that date on the calendar going my dad didn't let me pass this I'd better take care of myself. Right um but my health has improved dramatically so take care of your health and and you know you know in in aviation what's the cardinal rule first fly the airplane don't ever navigate navigate communicate yep don't ever stop flying the airplane because the minute you stop flying the airplane don't ever stop taking care of yourself don't ever put this place in front of your health because without you there will be no this place because I can't come back. I mean and that's serious I cannot come back.

SPEAKER_01 52:57

I've already told the board make Brad make Brad you know make it work with Brad give him everything he needs because if he can't you know if he strokes out or gets pissed off I cannot come back because yeah I mean honestly in the back of my mind I knew day one my first job was was starting to look for my replacement. Oh wow and that doesn't mean that I'm no that I'm ready to leave but but you did right how early in the process were you when you're like okay I gotta figure something out and there there has to be a secession plan. Right.

SPEAKER_00 53:34

You know yeah because yeah had I dropped dead before Brad was was schooled up I don't think the place could have survived a transition from nobody right no yeah yeah and and Brad has to be the same way.

SPEAKER_01 53:49

And I will I'll shout out to Kip Brown who's on our board of directors and we were at a a meeting and I was probably getting spooled up over something and he just looked at me and goes hey you don't have to take care of this all at once give yourself a grace period.

SPEAKER_03 54:04

Yeah okay yeah well I will say I think it was last year when I was aware of that your retirement and I was like oh crap now what's the what's gonna happen in the museum and then I heard it was Brad it's like okay okay now that he's the guy he's the guy it's gonna be good hands.

SPEAKER_01 54:21

Well I'm glad you say that and I I I will have to say that that I have gotten a lot of good support from people I know people I don't know but when David was earlier he said you know he kind of suffered from imposter syndrome I that's every day for me like I'm just every day for I'm just a guy why why why am I why am I qualified to do this you know yeah but I am now a quarter of the way through my first year and the building hasn't burned down yet and yeah yeah or gotten crashed in or not yet thanks to the the the polls that we put in the last time somebody Don Mock and I put those in well what what's retirement life like for you like for you now you know you're going back to school college what is I'm I'm continuing to write um and you know I'm already working on the next book in the Seattle hydro aviation series.

Retirement Writing And Life After The Job

SPEAKER_00 55:20

Okay don't want to talk too much about that I was gonna say yeah um I I found it for myself if I talk about it too much if I tell the story that I'm about to write then I don't have that desire to to write so but that I have a contract already on the next book. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 55:40

Um and how about the feedback you've been getting from the Chuck Leiford book that we just published I've been getting some extraordinary feedback on that.

SPEAKER_00 55:49

And you know the when you write about a person a real person and their family and friends are alive that becomes my first audience um and uh his you know his widow Pam uh his son Charlie uh his best friend Bruce um uh another great friend Steve Miller the Steve Miller guitar Steve Miller have all sent me rave reviews I got just this gorgeous email mail from Steve Miller that just it really brought tears to my eyes um and uh so the the family has told me his family and friends have said you got it and we understand that this is them we understand you couldn't put all the stories in because he's lived for 75 years and I'm waiting for the director's cut which is going to be like a four volume set I got a director's cut on on the the Slovak book and the it's more of a NC17 of the non later cut because both both Slovak and life are were ladies men.

SPEAKER_01 56:59

Yeah and and just there were enough people that could be offended by that that I I kept that out of the book but man the stories there there there will be maybe it's something that that'll be published when I pass away and Chuck always told me and he told you the same thing because um he said you can't write anything until I've been dead for five years at least yeah when I first approached Chuck about oh we got to tell your story he's like no there's too many out too many people out there that still want to see me dead it's like huh okay but I thought it was interesting that David and I both approached Chuck separately yeah yeah maybe not in the exact same time frame but but within a few years of you've got a great story to tell here yeah and uh you know my my brother and I got to know him pretty well and and uh my brother described him as a a real life league of extraordinary gentlemen because if Hollywood couldn't write his story because they'd go yeah that didn't happen too far for yeah no no but he did yeah wow and the the the problem was not the problem but as as someone with a basic journalism background I had to use multiple sources or I wouldn't write the story yeah and finding multiple sources on yeah on some of this stuff uh was was pretty fun but no the books so anyway what's my life like um I'm I'm working hard to take care of myself um I'm you know writing a lot I'm headed back to school to finish my degree uh my wife and I uh just found out we're about to be grandparents oh wow congratulations and uh and we got a whole lot of travel planned so anyone that's listening to this uh you know when you you hear that the old guy on the commercial saying start investing for your retirement now put money away yes do that do that do that because it's amazing when you reach to a point and you go oh I can make more money not working than working that's that's pretty cool so all right well I'm glad I'm happy I'm glad your life's going well for you David and that you won't be a stranger down here at all nope I will come anytime you might ask I still you need him as a driver yeah I will I will be doing some driving we um we probably have to have a discussion on a couple of events like I like school starts yeah um and uh do you need me to write you a note for your teacher no please excuse David he needs to drive the Griffin Budweiser at Seafair are we running I thought we were going to try to say notes no but I I will write you plenty of notes yeah wouldn't be the teacher that I need to send a note to good well before we go uh I mean I really appreciate both of your time uh it's been a great conversation love what you're you're doing here but Brad is there anything you can tell for the fans listening that haven't been down to the museum that aren't members uh how they can contribute uh and why why shouldn't they come down here and and take part of this museum?

How Fans Can Join The Team

SPEAKER_01 1:00:18

There are people that will walk through the door who aren't hydroplane fans they don't they just for whatever reason they saw something on social media or they saw a sign and they decided somebody told them to come down here and they're blown away by what these things are uh you know that it's it's one thing to I don't I don't even know how to explain it. You walk in here and to the thing I hear most is oh my god I didn't realize these boats were that big yeah I've got a great group of docents that volunteer here that can just tell you a story and and they'll take up two hours of your time walking through here and telling you stories and and by the time they leave they know what the history of hydroplane racing meant specifically to this community. Yeah but to the other communities you know around the country that had races when because there was a time when this really mattered right this was a sport that actually mattered I've got a group of probably what 70 core volunteers oh wow that are down here all the time and that rain that that ranges in it's great because we've we've got we've got well I could feel that an entire unlimited crew of guys who drove unlimited turned wrenches unlimited built engines I mean we've got we've got great experience in the room here. Yeah but we have people that uh one of the guys Brian Zimmerman on the Squire shop came in and was working as he he was friends with Tim Ramsey and Tim brought him down here and Brian was like I've never I I've seen the races on TV but I don't know if know nothing about him but he's one of those guys he's works for Boeing and he's a smart guy and and he wanted to learn. Yeah all right let's teach this skill and and he knows how to build boats now we got him into our driver program and and he actually is going to be one of our drivers giving rides in the boats. Cool um you know if you come down here you join the team pay your membership dues and and you can do this this is the opportunity for a guy off the street to actually touch twist wrenches and do and and feel and be a part of it. You can't walk into the strong racing shop or the BWR racing shop and go all right I'd like a job like what I did with Bernie Little but those days are different right um and and this is a it's it's an amazing place to come and like I said once you walk in the door you'll know why you came. Yeah but we are dependent on we couldn't survive if we didn't have the members and the volunteers so I've developed over the years a a certain phrase and there is no they it's only us you go online and you start reading the the the shorebirds in the sport you know what they need to do they need to get a race in Detroit they need to build a boat they need our sport is small enough there is no they right it's us you're a fan I was a fan i it's unbelievable what I mean I was just a fan um and the things that we were able to do.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:52

So if there's someone out there that's gone they need to get a race in Detroit well heck come on down start working with us we'll put you in touch with Tommy deeds we'll put you in touch with with Weber or um we'll I mean put on a race in Detroit we'll help you get it going we'll take vintage boats I mean there's that's for this for the fan that's why you need to come down here because there is no they it's only us and this is where you can get involved in the sport I couldn't have said it better myself well I want to thank you David for all the years of dedication you've given to the museum and hydroplane racing and continued support.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:34

And I want to thank you Brad for taking that torch on and carrying that like legacy here for the greater Seattle area and I guess the world right because I mean this is the biggest hydroplane museum in the world so thank you both. You're

Hydrofever Details And Next Guest

SPEAKER_03 1:04:49

very welcome it's our pleasure yeah thanks for coming down yeah any type all right knuckleheads once again that's all the time we have for this week I hope you enjoyed my interview with David Williams and Brad Haskin as we talked about everything we could with the Hodgeplane and race butt museum their time there David's retirement Brad's stepping into the to the role the next generation at the museum and I really do hope you take to heart considering becoming a member because uh everything that you can do for the museum does matter and counts towards preserving the history of the sport that we love. Don't forget this month Saturday June 20th they're bringing back Hydrofever at the Hydroplane embracement museum if you want to get a table you can contact Brad Haskin at the museum $15 to reserve a table to sell or trade your goods or if you're a collector and just want to add to your collection come down for a free day and come down and you can purchase goods from the museum itself I know they'll have stuff out there for sale but many collectors including myself will be there selling some goods as well. Our next interview is actually with Ed Thompson he's returning to the show once again not as owner of Coolcats Motorsports but as one of the board of directors for the Grand Prix American Hydroplanes series. And he's going to talk more about the series itself and what to expect this summer from the GPs. Alright don't forget to check us out on our social media pages we're on Facebook, Instagram also online at www.roostertailtalk.com but like I said earlier that's all I got for you this time so until next week I hope to see you at the races