Flatties Day at Wimpys

Well Flattie Day came and since I wasnt able to go out myself, my wife and I went to Wimpys for breakfast and to meet all the folks coming out for the little run around the Delta. The folks at Wimpys are very gracious and helpful. The fishing boat guys already had most of the parking filled up but there was still room left for our guys to launch and park.Everybody started showing up around 10am and got there stuff together and met with everyone else there. They got em all launched and I took a few photos for the books!

Wimpys serves breakfast, lunch and dinners and they have large dinning room and tables outside also. They have a nice lounge that looks out onto the Mokelumne River.









Looking downriver to the south where the New Hope Bridge crosses over the S. Mokelumne River

This 1967 Sanger wood deck flat belongs to PE316,  says its been family owned for life!  With a nice mechanical fuel injected Chevy powerplant.

Who says Flatties dont have room for all the boating supplies....  I see a cooler!!!!

This is Bandits 1958 Bristol named "Agitator"....

with a Cadillac powerplant

This is vdrivens Mandella; dont have all the info on this one but what a perfect example of a nice Delta Flat

This is Dableas 1974 Sanger Gullwing flat Raised Deck - Yes a real Gullwing!

With a 461 CI powerplant

This daycruiser belongs to Mr. T....  a very clean river boat!

Frank and Jesse in their Mandella, this is just a perfect 1960's Delta picture!

This boat belongs to hondo215 - It is an E85 Injected HONDO flat....  Nice Rig

So long everybody!!!!  wish I was GOING TOO!!

The California Delta

The California Delta is one of the best boating and recreation areas for people to meet, boat, drink, eat and have a lot of fun. There are so many restaurants and bars, beaches and just great places to hang out on the water if you so desire. A couple of the places I have found that are hotboat friendly are the next few routes I have completed myself and waypointed to get mileages for fuel.  Check them out

So this top chart shows leaving WIMPYS MARINA located at 14001 W Walnut Grove Rd in Walnut Grove listed as #7. New Hope Landing is #4  Then follow the route south to Tower Park which is just at the end of the S. Mokelumne River and is shown as #25 on the bottom chart. Just stay RIGHT all the way down the river and you cant get lost. Once you see the Hwy 12 bridge you will see Tower Park Marina. They have Fuel, Food, and anything you need. A short 5 mph zone and your out to the Potatoe Slough.

Follow the Potatoe Slough out to Little Potatoe, this is a hard right turn almost a reverse turnaround.Then to the San Joaquin River, for a very short distance to the N. Mokelumne River inlet and head North.Right past B&W Resort is the inlet to the Georgianna Slough and head North. Goergianna has a large residential community with lots of homes along the shore and very friendly people willing to share their BBQ and beers with you. Be a good person and enjoy all they have to offer while cruising thru their neighborhood!

After Oxbow Marina (Last Fuel Stop Avail to Walnut Grove) it opens up a bit and you can fly that Flat as hard as you want. The last mile or two is another 5mph zone before it meets the bridge to Walnut Grove. Its wide open area with no peoples around. Once in Walnut Grove you can stop for more treats or beverages at any of the towns eaterys, pizza is good there and Tonys Bar is within walking distance too. Make sure the GATES are open to the upper N. Mokelumne and thats where you go thru to Dead Horse Slough and back to Wimpys.

Chowchilla Hot Boat Bash 2013

This is a great meet for all the hot boat guys to get a chance to come on out and have some fun in a contained environment where many used to come and play as youngsters to watch drag bot racing at its finest. Back in the day there were many organizations that raced here, but the one I remember was the CVDBA and I think I was about 18-19 at the time and what a blast!!!  I wasn't lifting any hydro-tails back then but I was sure chasing tail and that was the place to find it!!!!  And the boats were great TOO!

This was my second year back at "The Hot Boat Bash" that pulls the people of Chowchilla, the Lyons Club and happy boat owners together for a great time. This year had 40 boats show up and it was nice to see them all. Many of the boats were SANGER's of all shapes, styles and sizes....

It was like a Sanger Family Regatta out there!!! 

 Here would be your typical Sanger Mini Day Cruiser and a Sanger Family Ski just ready for a day on the water back in the 1970's.....

Here are few more of the boats that showed up for this great event, there were many!!! 

(Click on the pics to see the large version)

 This one has got to be the "Most Pretty Engine" boat of the entire group

Sanger at Folsom Big Wake Weekend

So I brought the Sanger out to Folsom Lake in California for the Big Wake Weekend event being put on for the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane Races. As part of the APBA racing events they had a Vintage Class that allows us old guys in our flattys a chance to run these old hot rods on the water and have some fun. The water was a bit choppy for my boat but I hung it out there and had alot of fun.

Well it was a 3 day event and it was full of a lot of fun and excitement watching all the racing and the goings on up at the midway center. The H1 Hydros are just awesome and have to be seen live to be really appreciated for all they are. These things are enormous, powerful rocket ships of the seas and when they spool up those jet engines and get them on plane flying across the water they are a real site to see.

Folsom Lake is a great venue for these boats and I hope they plan on making this a regular stop on their H1 racing schedule in the years to come. It only took them 46 years to come back from the last time they were here. In fact the Team Owner of the orange Performance Chevrolet boat above was the winner of that race so many years ago driving the Miss Bardahl boat. He is now in the Drivers Hall of Fame; Mr Billy Schumacher. He was out ther trying to get another win!