U-8 Hawaii Kai III

Year: 1957

Boat Number: U-8

Owner: Ben Keller, Choral Enterprises Racing Team (Lakewood, Wash.)

Driver: Craig Mullen

Crew: Joe Keller, Kristin Keller

Team advisors: Chick Bartsch, Craig Mullen, Kirk Pagel, Roger "Czar" Newton, Ralph Jorgenson.

Model Builder: Roger Newton

Construction: Carbon Fiber

Year Built: 2005

Motor: Himax 3630-1500 brushless

Radio: Spektrum

Electronic Speed Control: Castle Creations Hydra

Propeller: Modified Octura X447R, Graupner 45r carbon fiber

Paint Colors: Tropical Rose, Coral Mist(original Kaiser-Jeep factory colors)by Newton Marine.

Graphics: Vinyl by Pacific Graphics of Auburn, Wash.

Notes about the Model: Hawaii Kai III currently ranks sixth all-time on the ERCU Vintage Class victory list. Version 1 is now Dawna Gross' Such Crust IV. Version 2 was sold to Steve Brown and raced as Miss U.S. 5 and became Gordy Gilmer's 1966 Miss U.S. in Classic Thunder. In 2004, Version 3 finished 4th in the Vintage Class season standings and won the Champion Spark Plug Regatta and Harmsworth Trophy, then became Kirk Pagel's Hurricane VI and is now in Coeur d'Alene. The current "Pink Princess" is version 4.

  • 2005: 9th place, Vintage Class, won Stan Sayres Memorial
  • 2006: scored no points
  • 2007: 3rd place, Bill Brow Memorial (only race entered)

Notes about the real boat: Designed by Ted Jones and built by Les Staudacher in 1955, the U-8 was originally Allison-powered. After the Slo-mo crew took over in mid-season 1956, she was re-powered with a Rolls-Merlin and became a real winner. The Ka'i won five straight races in 1957 and was National High Point Champion and also set world mile and kilo straightaway records. The pinnacle of her career was winning the 1958 Gold Cup in Seattle with Jack Regas at the wheel, scoring a perfect 2000 points. Sold to Joe Mascari. she won races in 1959 and in 1960 with Ron Musson driving. After being leased to George Simon for two races in 1963 and running as Miss U.S. 5, the boat was returned to original owner Edgar Kaiser and given a "viking funeral" in Puget Sound off the Kaiser estate on Orcas Island.

Notes about 2007: The Ka'i had been raced only sparingly since 2005.
Sold in the 2007-2008 off-season to new owner Ben Keller, Roger Newton refurbished the hull and installed all-new systems and hardware. The outlook is bright for the new Choral Enterprises team. In pre-season testing she proved to be very fast in terms of acceleration with smooth and stable riding characteristics.