Bernie Van Osdale

Bernie Van Osdale will be bringing a couple of very unique race boats.

H-12 is a 13 foot c-racing runabout powered by a Johnson PR racing engine. My father started building the boat in 1953, but only the partial framework had been finished when my father passed away. I have had this frame all this time and my boat builder friend, Tom Bolhuis, in Michigan, completed the boat in 2008. I raced it twice in 2008 at the Eastern Divisional Championships and at the APBA National Championships. While the boat is a design from over 60 years ago, it is surprisingly fast.

This style of boat was raced in the 1940's and 1950's and it was a great pleasure for me to not only have the boat finished as my father would have built it, but also to race this boat and to experience the ride that my father was never able to.

M-12

M-12 is a c-service racing runabout built by Ralph and Bill DeSilva in 1967. This boat was built for Marshall Grant and was named "Ring of Fire II" as a replacement boat for the original "Ring of Fire." Marshall Grant was a member of Johnny Cash's band and was deeply involved in outboard boat racing in the 1960's and 1970's. The boat was driven by several different drivers, but predominantly was piloted by Billy Seebold. This boat, under the ownership of Marshall Grant, won many national and world championships. I have owned and raced this boat since 1978 and have won one APBA National Championship, two Canadian c-service runabout championships, numerous Eastern Divisionals, as well as 2nd and 3rd places in the APBA National Championships over the years.