In the late 1950's, one of the most prominent competitors in Seattle Outboard Association was Hugh Entrop, of Seattle. Hugh was by profession a model builder for the Boeing Company, who started designing and building his own race boats. The contemporaries of Entrop reads like a who's-who of that era of boat racing. Ted Jones and Entrop discussed boat design, C.W. "Doc" Jones helped with engines, and along with Doc Jones came the expertise of his acquaintances, such as Charles Strang and Jack Leek. The combined braintrust, plus Entrop's own knowledge and driving skills all led Hugh Entrop to be the first American driver to crack the 100 mile-per-hour barrier in an outboard powered boat of his own design.
On June 7, 1958, Entrop piloted a boat of his own design, powered by a Mercury Mark 75, 6-cylinder outboard to a speed of 107.8 miles per hour through Lake Washington's East Channel. The Lakeside home of Ted Jones was used as the center for the record-breaking attempt. The motor was essentially stock, with modifications only to the ports, and cylinder pads, or 'rickies' added.
Two years later, Entrop was back with another record attempt. This time, the engine used was a 90 cubic-inch Evinrude V-4, being pushed by a special lower unit designed and built by Randolph "Pep" Hubbell. Hugh's new boat designed required kicking the engine "in" by six degrees, moving more of the weight further back, plus utilizing a 1-1/2 to 1 'step-up' gear. This functioned as a gear within a gear, so that the powerhead was turning the large gear which had teeth on its inside, while the gear turning the prop shaft sat on the back side, turning at faster rate due to its smaller size. This played directly into the strength of the V-4, which had lots of torque, but was light on top end. The 1-1/2 to 1 step up gear delivered top speed directly to the propeller. This unique combination of gearing, propeller technology, and constant refinements of the hull design netted the first true 'Prop Riding' racing outboard.
These two photos of the Starflite Too were taken at Lake Havasu in March of 1960, when Entrop raised the record to 114.6 miles per hour.
(and people wonder why they're called hydroplanes!)
The Starflite Too's record lasted a mere five weeks, until another SOA driver, Burt Ross, reclaimed the record for Mercury running a 60-cubic inch, six cylinder engine on an outboard hydro through Lake Washington's East Channel. Ross and the Mercury team ran over 115 miles per hour.
The final boat that Entrop personally set a record in was the Starflite III. Based on the success of Starflite Too, the III was longer and narrower in the front. One of the most unique features of the III was that there were sections of the front end which were removable, as well as adjustable (though not while underway). Frontal areas of the boat could be raised or lowered to alter the hull's lift, or removed altogether, creating an early form of a pickle fork design. Though the hull had the capability to be extensively modified, this hull (and its eventual successor, the Starflite IV) never utilized these modifications. The reason? Simply enough, the boat performed so well in its "stock" configuration, Entrop and the Evinrude team saw no reason to change it.
On September 16th 1960, The Starflite III shattered Ross' existing record of 115, averaging 122.979 miles per hour through the traps. With better water, the record would have been set over 125 miles per hour.
Entrop's final record-breaking boat was the Starflite IV, which he co-designed and built with the Wilbur McDonald of Portland Oregon, who also developed the III with Entrop. In 1966, the Starflite IV, with Gerry Walin aboard, averaged over 133 miles per hour, a record which stood for six years.
Hugh Entrop is a life member of SOA, and can be found at many SOA events photographing the racers of today. For the racers, if you have a picture that Hugh took of you, it's usually when your boat is riding at its very best. The theory put into practice of "prop riding" that Hugh helped develop is key to today's modern racing technology.