Year: 1949 U-Number: U-25 Owner: Ron's Rods & Customs LLC Driver: Ron Hornung Model Builder: High Sierra Model Boat Co. LLC Construction: Woven fabrics, epoxy laminating resin and isopropyl alcohol Year Built: 2004 Radio: JR Electronic Speed Control: Various Motor: ERCU Approved Propeller: X442, K 45mm, X-447 and RJH-2659/S. Paint: Aluminum, red and blue. Graphics: Fast Signs vinyl. Notes about the model: A new hull for 2004. High Sierra built a mold to create this composite boat. The detailing is great. The finish is aluminum leaf. About the real boat: Through all the action of World War II in the South Pacific, Stanley Dollar and Ollie Meek dreamed of better and faster boats. By the time they returned home, Stanley had a major's commission, a bronze star and plans for a dream speedboat, the Skip-A-Long of California. The Stanley and Ollie team set up shop in the East Bay, in what's described variously as an old winery in Hookston and as an old barn in Concord. "It was a big part of my life," Phyllis Jayred (then Ollie's wife) recalls. "We all struggled over that darned thing for years. Of course, they had to work, too. They both worked for the Dollar Company." In the fall of 1948, Stanley, Ollie and the sleek Skip-A-Long of California ran the fastest lap of the Silver Cup race at Detroit, with an average speed of 78.182 mph. The Harmsworth was an international speedboat race that had been held in England. Gar Wood won it for the United States in 1920 and brought it to the Detroit Yacht Club. Because of a lack of foreign challengers and the war, the race hadn't been run since 1933. But in 1949, Italy and Canada challenged the United States. Stanley and Ollie aimed to be on the defending team. They redesigned and rebuilt the Skip-A-Long. It was described as a 30-foot long, 12-foot wide aluminum hydroplane, equipped with a 2,000-horsepower Allison V-12 aircraft engine. Before leaving for Detroit, Skip-A-Long had 1,000 miles of test runs on the Sacramento Delta, with speeds up to 119 mph in the straightaway and 85 mph in the turns. By comparison, Gar Wood's record was 124.915 mph and Sir Malcolm Campbell had hit 141 mph. By June 27, 1949, according to Detroit newspapers, 26 yacht clubs planned to compete for the fame and the honor of defending the Harmsworth Trophy. Besides Stanley Dollar, the list included Stanley's longtime rival, the indomitable Henry Kaiser. Kaiser's boat, designed to go 160 to 180 mph, was to be piloted by the famous bandleader and speedboat racer, Guy Lombardo. After its extensive testing, the Skip-A-Long, was ready for Detroit. During a stop in Sacramento, by the Capitol steps, Governor Earl Warren gave Stanley and Nancy Dollar and the Skip-A-Long his official send-off. Secretary of State Frank Jordan gave the boat an official I.D. and state seal. Stanley and Nancy Dollar and Ollie and Phyllis Meek flew to Detroit to prepare for Skip-A-Long's arrival. The Dollars were warmly welcomed. Grandpa Dollar had acquired much of his wealth from timber in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A famous lumber camp was still called Dollar Settlement by old-timers and Dollar Bay was named for him. Chrysler Corporation executives provided space in their Detroit River boathouse for the Skip-A-Long. Bill Stroh, a veteran speedboat builder and pilot had been sent to California to evaluate the Skip-A-Long for the Detroit Yacht Club. He was impressed and, in a Detroit News article, stated that the Skip-A-Long of California was the U.S. hope. News articles described R. Stanley Dollar Jr. as quiet and reserved, 34-years-old, 6 feet tall, 165 lbs., with wavy brown hair and brown eyes. They also noted that he was vice president of the Dollar Company, belonged to many prestigious San Francisco clubs and was commodore of the Lake Tahoe Yacht Club. One reporter observed that Dollar was happiest "sitting around on a dock in coveralls.” Skip-A-Long's first big test was the Gold Cup race. Phyllis described the weather as "hot - so hot - and (the river) so rough." She remembered that after their test runs, "they'd (Stanley and Ollie) come in - get out of that boat - and just lie there on the dock. Ollie lost 19 lbs. that summer." During the Gold Cup trials, according to a Detroit News article, Nancy Dollar would wave encouragement to her husband with a bedsheet from her riverside hotel window. Other drivers began looking for the signal and Nancy became the unofficial starter. By July 2, there were only nine entrants left in the Gold Cup contest. A race record of 75.599 mph was set by the Skip-A-Long. But Stanley came in second, beaten by "Wild Bill" Cantrell (a former race car driver) in My Sweetie, designed by John Hacker. On July 4, 125,000 spectators watched Stanley win the Henry Ford Cup Memorial Races. Skip-A-Long of California set a race record for that 90-mile course at 78.098 mph. Skip-A-Long had battery trouble, but the other racers waited 20 minutes for Stanley to change batteries. That victory was followed by winning the Percy Jones Regatta (and setting a record of 86.127 mph) in Gull Lake. Three boats sank and two men were seriously injured during this grueling race.   Their impressive performance in Detroit won Stanley Dollar and his Skip-A-Long first place on the defending U.S. team for the 1949 Harmsworth International Speed Boat Race. Stanley placed second in the first 42-mile heat of the Harmsworth, losing 12 minutes when Skip-A-Long shipped water while passing My Sweetie. The winner was Dan Arena with Such Crust I. But Stanley came back on July 30 and won the second heat with a new record of 94.285 mph. Such Crust was ahead but broke down a half-mile from the finish. (From Leslie Field). Notes about 2007: Skip-A-Long was competitive when it ran.

...