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By Rick Franke
Reprinted from http://proptalk.com

If it is accurate to call two generations a dynasty, then Henry and Larry Lauterbach are the dynasty that dominated powerboat racing design and construction for more than 60 years.

Drivers Lauterbach Golf

Henry, a high school dropout who never went to college, never formally studied engineering or naval architecture, was a self-taught genius who read everything he could about boat design and construction and improved upon it. He started building boats in 1947 in Portsmouth, VA. Ironically enough, his first boats were sailboats, Hampton One Designs, which were considered hot boats in their day. Henry shortly switched to his first love, race boats.

This partially restored 1950 Lauterbach hydroplane illustrates the conventional
design with the driver sitting in an open cockpit behind the engine.

The immediate post-World War II era was, in many ways, the golden age of powerboat racing. War surplus was a source for everything from aircraft engines to greatly improved materials, including glass-reinforced plastic (what we now call fiberglass), aluminum and marine plywood. The inline V-12 and V-16 fighter aircraft engines with names like Rolls Royce and Allison were quickly adapted for use in the rapidly-developing Unlimited hydroplanes. Speeds were steadily increasing, and new records were set and broken almost weekly. The sound of an unmuffled 1600-horsepower engine roaring by at maximum RPM gave rise to the popular name for the Unlimiteds: Thunder Boats.

Henry, and later his son Larry, were in the thick of this quest for speed. By the time Henry retired from active boat building he had built more than 200 hydroplanes, many of them champions. He was also a skilled driver, winning National High Point Champion in three hydroplane classes in the 1950s, and was inducted into the American Power Boat Association’s Hall of Fame in 1956. One of Henry’s most famous designs was the 1967 World Champion Unlimited Hydroplane Miss Chrysler Crew. She was the only boat powered by automotive engines (two 426-cubic-inch Chrysler Hemi V-8s) ever to win that title. Henry retired from boat building in 2001 and passed away in 2006, but not before instilling his love of speed and impeccable craftsmanship in his son Larry.

Larry does not describe boats as the family business, although it was his father’s. “My dad had four sons, and I’m the only one who was interested in building boats,” he explains. “From the age of twelve I was in the shop helping my dad, or underfoot, getting in the way. I loved boats and working on them and spent every moment I could with my dad. He was a great teacher.” Larry began his career as a driver in 1963. He recalls graduating from high school in 1965 on crutches, the result of a crash. “My dad encouraged me to drive. He said he’d stick to designing and building them, and I could drive them. That way we wouldn’t compete with one another. It just took off from there, and we worked together for 25 years.”

Larry Lauterbach in his shop with Murjr’s Lauterbach Special. A National Modified cabover Hydroplane built in 2001.
The boat has a carbon fiber hull and a birch plywood deck. Larry describes it as “the best thing I ever built.”

Larry was a very good driver indeed. His racing career spanned more than 40 years before he retired in 2005. He is ten-time APBA National Champion, Four-time National High Point Champion, three-time Hall of Champions Inductee, and has won more than 350 races. He is the all-time US Grand Prix winner and set five International Motorboating World Records. Although he’s driven more than 35 boats in competition, he is quoted as saying that his all-time favorite to drive is a National Modified class cabover, powered by a 305 cubic inch Gaerte Chevy V-8 rated at 650 horsepower, named Murjr’s Lauterbach Special. He built the boat for Bobby Murray in 2001. “… it’s the best thing I ever built.” High praise from a man many consider to be the builder of the finest and fastest hydroplanes in the world.

Drivers Lauterbach Drivers

On a recent sultry summer morning I met Larry Lauterbach at his shop, tucked into a quiet marina on the banks of Little Creek in Chester on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Larry talked about the changes he’s seen in hydroplane racing and his concern for the sport that he loves. I asked Larry how the boats differ now from the Unlimiteds I remember watching race for the President’s Cup off Haines Point on the Potomac in the 1950s.

“In those days they were all aircraft powered, V-12 Allisons and motors like that. They were all conventional like these boats here,” he says and indicates the two boats in his shop with the engines in front of the driver’s cockpit. “You sat outside in the open and you held on, and you died! If you were good, if you were one of the top dogs, you more’n likely were going to be killed before it was all over with. Then they started encapsulating the drivers and strapping them in. I didn’t like that at all; you weren’t strapping my butt into a boat!” He explains how he got used to enclosed cockpits and escape capsules eventually.

“Then they started using the rear engine (cabover) design, and they switched to gas turbine motors. That’s what I raced, I never raced a piston engine powered unlimited. At first we raced at about 160 miles an hour. Then the turbines would go over 200. Back when I was still racing in the late 80s we were going 220 miles an hour. It was too fast. Now they’ve put fuel restrictions on them and slowed ‘em down to about 190.” He explains that the boats are a lot safer than they used to be.

Like any artist, Larry signs his work. The starboard quarter of the Special.

“The association has made all kinds of safety devices mandatory, but they have not required a trap door on the bottom like that,” he indicates the escape hatch on the bottom of the boat on the trailer. “I wouldn’t put a driver in a boat without a trap door. What if you are upside down, especially in shallow water where you can’t get the canopy off? I always put a door on my boats and I was the first to put a window on the bottom as well. That gives you enough light to see what you are doing so you can get out if the boat is upside down. They have come a long way in safety, but when you incorporate all those safety features you also increase the cost of the boat. Now we don’t kill near the number of drivers we used to. In fact we expect to walk away from boat crashes now. Today I wouldn’t race a boat without a canopy.”

Although he applauds the steps taken to make powerboat racing safer, Larry is not optimistic about the future of the sport. “It’s a dying sport,” Larry laments. “The boats are more complicated and expensive, travel costs more, the economy is down, people aren’t interested in coming out, you name it. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think I am. There are too many classes, so you only have two or three boats in a race. We used to have 25 boats or more at a start and that put on a real show. Boat racing used to be booming, but it’s just about died off now. Nobody can afford it anymore.”
To further prove his point, Larry explained that when his dad was building boats they had a 12,000 square foot shop in Portsmouth. Later they moved to Suffolk, Virginia, to about 6500 square feet, and Larry moved to his current 2500 square foot shop in the late 1990s. However, there is a bright spot in Larry’s business.

The escape hatch below the cockpit and between the sponsons on the Special. The number tells rescuers the identity of
the boat. “ROTARY” identifies the type of latch on the drivers harness and “AIR” tells them the driver has an air bottle
with approximately 30 minutes of air.

“Restoration has been the biggest part of my business for the last 10 or 12 years,” Larry comments. “Luckily a couple of friends of mine back in the early 90s decided that we needed to preserve these old raceboats, and they started a Vintage class. They take these old boats like these two here and they put on exhibitions with them. It’s become very popular. They’ll get 25 or 30 boats at a show and a big audience. These are boats that used to race. The people who are buying them usually never raced, but they saw ‘em race, and they couldn’t afford it at the time. Now they can afford to go buy one, and usually, they need work and they bring them to me.”

He feels fortunate that Lauterbach boats are so sought after. “It’s been great for me. Between me and my dad, we built more than 230 boats, and a lot of them are still out there. In the 60s and 70s if you didn’t have a Lauterbach boat, you didn’t win, especially in certain classes, and people remember those days. Our designs are always fast, and the quality and craftsmanship was always the best, so this is where the new owners bring them to have them restored.”

Drivers Lauterbach Drive

A very special boat that Larry is working on now is one of his dad’s earliest hydroplanes. Originally built in 1950, it is the oldest Lauterbach boat in existence. Although the boat still needs varnish and paint, one look at the loving care and meticulous workmanship of the restoration leaves no doubt that the craftsmanship that made Lauterbach boats legendary is alive and well in a small shop in Chester, MD.

Larry Lauterbach the race boat hull builder had to feel far more confidentabout his chances for success at the Grand Prix Nationals than did LarryLauterbach the race boat driver. The oddsclearly favored a Lauterbach creation to win the race. After all, withfive of the eight GP competitors including Golden Nugget, HeavyHauler, Lauterbach Special, Edelweiss and AdvanceUnited all using Lauterbach hulls the remaining likes of Long Gone,HotStuff and Miss Jenny did seem slightly outnumbered but definitelynot outclassed.
Such wasnot the circumstance for Larry Lauterbach when it came to the boat drivingside of things. The John Stauffer owned and Lauterbach driven Edelweisswas sixth in the standings going into the Nationals. With only 95 pointsin the bank the season had been written off as a 'change-over' period forthe Edelweiss team. Slowly but surelythe drivers are reading the handwriting on the deck; to win in the GrandPrix class you need a blown engine. Or to put it another way, the hummersare being huffed out. If you don't believe it just ask Lauterbach.

'The normally aspirated boats use to have an advantage in reliabilitybut that isn't the case anymore. Also you have to consider the law of averages.The number of blown boats is growing all the time and even if somebodydoes have problems chances are one of the huffers is going to last andwin the thing. 'Just before the Owensboro race in July Lauterbach decidedto make the switch and out came the normally aspirated 'hummer' and inwent a blown 'huffer' set-up ala D'Eath and MacPhail in the point leadingLongGone andAdvance United boats. The hummer-huffertransition for Lauterbach was surprisingly easy as he got his blown acttogether after only one race with a little help from some friends.It seemsthat during their summer blown motor shopping session Stauffer and Lauterbachkept up a continual correspondence with Lee Anderson who last year boughtthe K class flat bottom stormer Cold Fire from Julian Pettengill.While campaigning the boat last season Anderson acquired quite a garagefull of blown Chevrolet engines and parts. At the end of a disappointingyear Anderson announced that he was through with racing and the entireoperation became classified ad listings.

Drivers Lauterbach Jobs

Lauterbach wasextremely interested in the Anderson deal but he was even more enticedwith a Hemi engine that Advance United owner Fred Wines was sellingafter he obtained the motor from Canadian Jules LeBuff. The Edelweisscrew opted for Wines' engine because they had run injected Chrysler equipmentpreviously and had a shelf full of leftover components that they figuredmight ease the maintenance bill a bit.
Those extraparts were called into duty quickly as the Chrysler had a very short lifespan, dying a disgusting smoke-filled death while leading at Owensboro.Because of the engine failure Lauterbach couldn't make the northern trekto Valleyfield, Canada for the third race of the season and he wasn't expectedto compete at Nationals stop number four at Lake Calhoun in Minnesota either.

A few short weeksprior to the double points meet however the Edelweiss situationtook a turn for the better.
Lauterbach swunga deal with Anderson to borrow, mind you, a Bobby Wilton 500 inch hufferChevrolet just for the Minnesota event. The rumor mill had it that thereason Anderson was in such a generous mood was he is extremely interestedin GP racing and wants to purchase Edelweiss as there is a two yearwaiting period for a new Lauterbach hull. After the boat's heart transplantperformance at the Nationals, the already stiff asking price probably wentup another couple of G's.
Don't get theidea that Lauterbach was all alone on spacious Lake Calhoun which, althoughnot surveyed, is almost a mirrored lay-out of record setting Green Lakein Seattle, Washington. The Grand Prix class prides themselves in closecompetition and although they didn't live up to the preposterous 18 boatfleet promised, their racing reputation proved well deserved.

To warm up thehuge Aquatennial crowd the GP boats divided up into two sections for whatproved a very expensive exhibition for Les Brown's Long Gone.
As a crowd pleasingpreview, race officials had the injected and blown boats run separate threelap heats to show off their deck-to-deck image. Things couldn't have beencloser as Kent MacPhail in the checkerboard Advance United handledthe blown section when D'Eath in the Jones hull Long Gone sent acrankshaft just north of the oil pan on the second lap. D'Eath had nothingto worry about however as the bulging hole in Brown's wallet apparentlywasn't quite as bad as the one in the bottom of the high dollar Chryslerblock, and a fresh spare engine was waiting, with plumbing attached, onthe beach.
Because there wereonly eight boats entered at the Nationals all drivers were automaticallyseeded into the two 'points counting' heats. The exhibitions were over.The business at hand was racing. The Grand Prix class is interesting towatch for several reasons. First of all the boats really should be classifiedas 'unlimited limiteds' because the only rules are 500 cubic inches maxon the motor and 20 feet minimum on the boat length. Consequently, becauseof the huffers the boats can't begin to efficiently handle the horsepowerinvolved.

Drivers Lauterbach Xerox

Although they are classifiedas 'limited' the truth of the matter is the horse power rating may as wellbe unlimited, because as former Gold Cup winning Tom D'Eath said, 'Theseboats are much harder to handle than an Unlimited hydroplane because thepower to weight ratio is so different. I bet we see the emergence of biggerhulls in GP racing in just a few short years.'
Another reason the GP classhas the boating world talking is this division seems to have attractedthe best in the racing business. This point is given credencewhen you consider that along with D'Eath, Terry Turner (Lauterbach Special),Tom Kropfeld (Golden Nugget) and Gordy Reed (Miss Jenny)are all members of the APBA Hall of Champions. Add it up and that's halfof the Nationals' starting fleet.
The crowd was off theirlawn chairs for one of the few times during the afternoon when the boatsmade their parade laps for the start of GP round one. With an almost evenmixture of hummers and huffers the fight began.
Perhaps surprisingly theexpected first heat dual between D'Eath and MacPhail was for second place.Going into the Nationals D'Eath was leading the numbers rackets with 869while MacPhail had won two of the first three races but was still in secondplace with 800 points. Respective owners Fred Wines and Les Brown are thebig bucks operators in Grand Prix racing and to say the two have a rivalrydeveloping would be a radical understatement. The upset leader from startto finish however was the newly powered Edelweiss with Larry Lauterbachat the wheel.

Lap after lap MacPhail trieddesperately to catch Lauterbach and although he would close up distancesby criss-crossing the wake, the speeding Edelweiss was handlingperfectly and could not be caught. D'Eath meanwhile was quite a way backin third ahead of Dave Sutton in Heavy Hauler and Terry Turner inLauterbachSpecial. Jerry Waldecker in the sleek cab-over Hot Stuff andGordy Reed in the recently uncrated Miss Jenny, did not finish.Remember earlier about the handwriting being on the deck the first threeboats in the opening heat were all using blown motors.
Round two was very interesting.The race was over really before it started as Long Gone put a holeshot on everyone else and the crowd was wondering if the highly paid D'Eathhad made a miscue and jumped the gun. Nothing could be further from thetruth as apparently D'Eath was the only one paying attention as he hadthe length of the football field on the fleet before the first turn.
But the usually attentiveLarry Lauterbach had an excuse for not being nominated to the 'Hall ofChampions' and it was a good one. Lauterbach knew that to win the Nationalshe merely had to keep MacPhail behind him and D'Eath within visual contact.At the start Lauterbach decided to forget about the clock and merely followMacPhail.
As it turned out Lauterbachcouldn't have picked a worse partner for playing foliow-the-leader. MacPhail'smind all afternoon had not been completely on boat racing. Advance Unitedowner Fred Wines sponsored the clash and made the mistake of appointingMacPhail as Race Chairman. In addition to the GP boats the Aquatennialfeatured assorted local flat-bottom and hydro limited classes and it turnedout that MacPhail was busy handling this detail and that detail all afternoon.The only detail he didn't take care of was starting the second heat.
'We really wanted the hometownpeople to see what Grand Prix racing is all about and I'm afraid that withKent as Race Director that took more of our time than preparing our ownteam,' said a dejected Wines after the Nationals. 'It won't be the samenext year.'
MacPhail's miscuereally didn't make a difference as the Advance United boat did noteven finish because one ear of its two bladded prop was bent completelyout of shape after the first lap.
Lauterbach never madean attempt to catch D'Eath, realizing that the number two slot really meantthe number one spot ...overall. Kropfeld in the normally as pirated hummingGoldenNugget nabbed third while Sutton was fourth again in the Heavy Hauler.Turner never got Don Ryan's Lauterbach Special off the.beach. Reedand Waldecker once again did not finish and where you consider that neitherHotStuff or Miss Jenny finished either heat it was really a sixboat race.
In the final standingsit was Edelweiss, Long Gone, Heavy Hauler and AdvanceUnited in that order. D'Eath, who had a few anxious moments when hismill started backfiring on the last lap of the second heat, remains infirst place nationally with a slightly more comfortable 331 point bulgeover Advance United.
Even with the win at theNationals, Lauterbach knows that he is hopelessly out of the points chasethis year but that really doesn't matter much anymore. The GP class isvery, very competitive and Lauterbach the huffer knows that MacPhail andD'Eath will now have more company at the top.