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Scotty

A 1929 John Hacker designed Gold Cup hydroplane - owned by Mark Howard

The Story of Scotty

By Mark Howard

SCOTTY is a one of a kind Gold Cup race boat commissioned from the well known and respected naval architect John Hacker in June 1928 and delivered to Sam Dunsford on Lake Winnipesaukee on July 1, 1929. She is a three step hydroplane, is twenty eight feet long, over six feet wide and weighs 2000 pounds. The builder was Hacker's own boat yard in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. After brief trials, she was shipped by rail to Lakeport, New Hampshire and towed across Lake Winnipesaukee to Dunsford’s estate on Tuftonboro Neck.

Dunsford’s mechanic, Elmer Folsom, installed a Packard engine and started their own speed trials. SCOTTY ran numerous times on Lake Winnipesaukee in preparation for the Gold Cup race that was held on the Shrewsbury River in Red Bank, NJ on August 24 and 25. The power plant was a Packard 'Gold Cup' Six of 625 cid and this is the type of engine that runs SCOTTY today. The engine is one of a handful that were specially built and modified for the Gold Cup races.

Dunsford was pleased by the speed of the boat, which can run up to sixty miles per hour, but was not at all happy with the handling. She tends to start porpoising at high speed and does not turn in corners well. Since the race was a few weeks away, only minor alterations could be made before she was shipped by rail down to the race. On 16 August, she was shipped from Lake Winnipesaukee to New Jersey.

The 1929 Gold Cup race was run on a ten mile course in three heats of 10 laps. The four entrants were IMP, SCOTTY, MISS LOS ANGELES and JERSEY LIGHTNING. Viewed by  50,000 spectators, the first heat went well for all four boats, with SCOTTY finishing 20 seconds behind the winner, IMP. The second heat proved more thrilling when MISS LOS ANGELES, driven by Ralph Snoddy, overturned in SCOTTY’s wake. Snoddy was sweeping wide around a turn when he was passed by SCOTTY which, as reported the next day in the New York Times, “was travelling like an express train, and left a tremendous wake.” Snoddy and his mechanic were tossed out of MISS LOS ANGELES. Dunsford, seeing what happened, turned around and shut off his motor. He remained with his two opponents until help arrived. Once assured of their safety, Dunsford re-entered the race. This gallant gesture, which was picked up by all the papers of the day, cost Dunsford valuable time. He pushed SCOTTY hard and managed to overtake JERSEY LIGHTNING but could not overcome IMP’s lead and so came in second. Reporters covering the race said “SCOTTY appeared to be the fastest boat on the straight-aways” and “lap after lap, SCOTTY hung tenaciously” but kept “losing distance as the boats rounded each turn”. The third heat started out poorly and within a few laps, SCOTTY developed engine trouble and was barely able to complete the circuit. SCOTTY finished second in all three heats and placed second overall with 1046 points.

SCOTTY was shipped by rail back to Lake Winnipesaukee after the race where Dunsford and Folson began working to improve her handling. Dunsford’s goal was to enter the President’s Cup race which was going to be held in Washington, D.C. on September 14-15. Unfortunately, a railroad strike prevented SCOTTY’s shipment to the President’s Cup race. Dunsford decided to concentrate on improving SCOTTY’s handling and to that end, contacted Hacker. Many ideas were tossed around, and eventually the best idea put forward was to install a fourth step. This was duly added, on the bow, and after this change proved to be ineffectual, the step was removed. In early 1930 Dunsford concluded he would not be able to correct the handling and so decided not to race her again but instead commissioned a second Gold Cup racer from Hacker which was named SCOTTY TOO. The Packard engine and other hardware were removed from SCOTTY and used in SCOTTY TOO. SCOTTY was re-powered and both boats were run on the lake during the early summer of 1930 until the Gold Cup race. SCOTTY was later placed in one of Dunsford's barns on Tuftonboro Neck and remained in storage for 28 years until Dunsford's death in 1958.

In late 1958 Dunsford's estate was auctioned off in Wolfeboro, NH at Goodhue & Hawkins Navy Yard. The original Packard engine had been loaned to George Reis of Lake George, NY and so was not part of the auction. Both SCOTTY and SCOTTY TOO were sold together for $550.  Sam Rogers of Wolfeboro bought both boats and on the advice of Elmer Folsom, decided to hold onto SCOTTY, and re-sold SCOTTY TOO to Ted Larter of Lake George, NY . Elmer advised Sam that Dunsford never really liked SCOTTY because of her handling problems and so did not even place her in the water after 1930. SCOTTY TOO, on the other hand, was Dunsford’s favorite boat and had been ridden very hard from 1930 until Dunsford’s death. Sam wanted a boat that didn’t need to be rebuilt, so he kept SCOTTY. In 1969 Sam sold her to Harvard Forden of Laconia. Sam Rogers neither ran SCOTTY much nor restored her but kept her dry and under cover for the eleven years he owned her. Harvard Forden installed a modern V-8 in the winter of 1971 and ran SCOTTY sporadically  on the lake until 1986 when she was sold to Bob Valpey. SCOTTY was sold again in 1988 to her present owner, Mark Howard of Center Tuftonboro.

She handles today just as she did in 1929; porpoising at high speed and difficult to turn into corners. The bright work has been polished, a few coats of varnish have been applied and, most importantly, an original Packard ‘Gold Cup’ engine has been reinstalled but SCOTTY has never been restored and is completely original.

Scotty - with Mark Howard driving and Jim Kondrat, riding mechanic. This is my favorite shot of Scotty, showing how well Mark has maintained her through the years - Bill John

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