Year: 1973

Boat Number: U-81

Owner: Nelson Holmberg (Vancouver, Wash.)

Driver: Nelson Holmberg

Model Builder: Hull parts by Jeff Campbell; Assembly and paint by Rick Lentz; Hardware built and installed by Monte Steere

Crew: Mick Shutt, Rick Lentz, Ron Hartley, Gentleman Jim Latimer

Team Advisors: Roger "Czar" Newton, Rick Lentz, Monte Steere

Construction: Carbon Fiber

Year Built: 2004

Motor: Himax 3630-1500 brushless

Radio: Spektrum

Electronic Speed Control: Castle Hydra 120

Propeller: Carbon Fiber Graupner 45 & custom props by Ron "Villwock" Hartley

Paint: Rustoleum green, red & white. Paint and pinstriping done by Rick Lentz in 2004.

Graphics: Rick Lentz design, Security Race Products vinyl

Notes about the model: Acquired from Rick Lentz after the 2005 season, the Red Man spent the 2005-06 offseason showing off on a testing/driver practice schedule in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Mesa, Ariz. Nelson had driven the boat in three races during the 2005 season, and bought it after it finished third in boat points that year. In 2006, the boat and driver finished the season sixth in high points after a rocky start with non-competitive NiMh batteries. After switching to LiPos, the Red Man slowly climbed into position as a strong competitor. Team Red Man made 11 of the 14 races, and earned a spot in the final in seven races. The Seafair Trophy race at Coulon Park was the only race in which the boat failed to make at least a connie. Nelson was honored with the club’s most improved driver (modern class) award for 2006 after three consecutive fourth place finishes and a third place in the last four finals of the season.

Notes about the real boat: The boat started life as the 1971 Country Boy, run by Salt Walther. It ran in 1971-72 and never finished a single race it appeared at. Midway through the 1973 season, Jim McCormick bought the boat from the Walther family and re-engined it with a Turbo Allison. George Henley drove it at Kennewick and Seattle as Red Man Too (U-81), and McCormick took over as driver for the last two races of 1973. The team’s best finish was a third place at the National Champions Regatta in Detroit. Its sister ship in 1973, the Red Man team's primary hull, was the U-8 roundnose hull that started life as the 1972 Hallmark Homes. The Holmberg family is also building that boat and hopes to debut it in the summer of 2008.

Notes about 2007: In 2007, the Red Man finished third in boat points for the second time in its four year existence, and finished second in the final at the Diamond Cup and the Gold Cup. Nelson won a race for the first time in October, when he finished first in the final at the Lilly Brothers Brewers Cup at Shady Lake. It was the third win in the boat's history.