The Start:
The
year was 1946, World War II had ended and people in
the US just wanted entertainment and had money to
spend. I was thirteen and was interested in anything
that had an engine. Spending my summers in Greenwood
Lake NY, I was interested in boats, but there were
no new boats or outboard engines, and not many were
left from before the war. The Greenwood Lake Racing
Club was started in 1948 and outboard racing drew my
interest.
As the late 40s and early 50s began, Mercury and
other outboard manufacturers built new engines and
the sport of stock outboard racing was underway. I
believe this could be called the “Golden Age” of
stock outboard racing from the late 40s through most
of the 50s. There were many engine manufacturers
such as Mercury, Champion, Martin, Johnson and
Evinrude. With all types of new boats available,
there was plenty of competition. People could afford
a new boat and motor and go racing for a very
reasonable price. You could boat race almost every
weekend within a hundred miles of NY or NJ. Almost
every state had stock outboard racing. The American
Power Boat Association and the National Outboard
Association were the two sanctioning bodies and lots
of unsanctioned races were run at the same time.
I started in the sport with a 7 ˝ H.P. Mercury
Hurricane engine, and a Sid-Craft stock A runabout.
This class was quite popular and we could run at
almost any race. In 1953, I was fortunate enough to
win a National Championship in A stock
runabout and was able to repeat again in 1954. The
following two years I spent in the U.S. Navy.
1956 was the year to get started again, and I
branched out with a C stock hydroplane. From there a
D engine was added and I ran C and D stock hydro. In
1959 after really getting back into boat racing, I
won the national championship in D Stock hydro and
repeated again in 1961.
In the later part of 1956 I started Dick O’Dea
Racing in Paterson, New Jersey. It was a race engine
shop repairing and modifying outboard racing
engines, also selling Mercury outboard race engines
and parts. A Sid-Craft racing boat franchise was
also acquired. Lines of racing hardware and
accessories were added.
The shop grew through the years and the Konig line
of alky engines was added .
In 1964 I became the North American distributer for
Crescent racing engines that were manufactured in
Sweden. The business grew and my participation in
races started to slow down. At that point it was
tough to keep up with it all.
I was fortunate enough to be elected to Yachting
Magazine’s All American Race team in 1954, 1959,
1961, and 1969. Another appreciated honor was when I
was selected to the Gulf Marine Racing Hall of Fame
in 1959 and 1961. Twice I was winner of Outboard
Magazine Silver Prop Award, also being inducted into
the APBA Honor Squadron in 1979.
Some trophies won along the line were the 1953
Kiekhaefer Trophy for the most points in Stock
Outboard Racing, and later, the Woolworth Trophy and
Schaefer Brewing Award.
I had decided to keep some boats and motors, and
have drivers run some engines that we built in the
shop. Some of the drivers that ran my boats and
engines were John Schubert, John Schedel, Bill
Seebold, John Yale, John Woods, George Andrews Jr.,
John Sherlock, Billy Simmons. If I have overlooked
some people it is unintentional, and I apologize.
Please feel free to inform me of any names I have
missed.
Sid-Craft D hydro with Mercury 55H engine (About
1959)
Sid-Craft A hydro with 250cc Konig engine (About
1961)