Fellow members: This post is a continuation of my sharing of my personal collection of Hydrodyne pictures and stories acquired from various sources over the last two years. What follows was originally available on Fiberglassics. At some point, there was a major change on that website and much information was lost - or never reappeared. There was some good stuff on Hydrodynes that never reappeared when the website was set up again. However, some of the information can be obtained on the internet if you know where to look. Here's one of them. Below is a story and photos relating to a 1975 custom-made Hydrodyne kite boat, complete with a second throttle for the spotter. Perhaps Bev can share some additional insights about this boat or maybe other members will know something about it. Here is the original story that appeared on Fiberglassics: The Bugel-Gruninger 1975 Hydrodyne - And A Great Story! Just a couple things to share. There was an inquiry as to whether Hydrodyne produced a twin engine i/o rig. Ab E. Crosby (Ab Jr.) indicated that a twin engine, 4 cylinder i/o Hydrodyne was produced in the early 60's for a boat racer (Ab said his name but I neglected to write it down). I didn't ask if this was a special order or mass produced boat, I assumed the earlier. This individual apparently set some sort of record for river distance racing (on the St. Lawrence and Mississippi). Ab Jr. also shared some insightfullness to his dad's philosophy regarding their boat designs and what Ab Sr. preceived versus Ab Jr. regarding what the and market place wanted; seems that there were diffrences in opinion regarding creature comforts and other options or lack of. Through Ab Jr., I was also enlightened with some rather interesting and colorful history on my boat. I emailed Ab inquired about the dual throttle configuration in mid-August. Ab responded immediately, inviting me to call him as the story was too lenghly to email. During our phone conversation, Ab recalled that it was a special order boat and a "one-of-a-kind" due to the dual throttle control setup (see attached pictures). When in gear, the spotter can control the boat speed via second throttle and aft mounted speedometer. He recalled that this boat was originally ordered by a Flat-Kite (pre-hangliding) flyer named Ken Tippedo. The boat was completed and ready for delivery in 1975 when it was stolen from the Spencerville, Indiana plant. Approximately 2 years later, Ab Jr. was down in Florida and came across the boat (recognized by the dual throttles), took possession, and brought it back to Indiana. There is more to the story as Ab indicated he almost went to jail due to his aggressive recovery of the boat. Seems that the person who had possession of it in Florida, didn't want to give it up and immediately had a Judge (friend) issue a warrant for Ab's arrest, while in transit. Needless to say, Ab said he got out of Florida abruptly. Once back in Indiana, Ab had the Mercury folks take the outdrive off and matched the internal stamped serial # with company records to demonstrate that the boat was stolen. Ab indicated that in the end, the law enforcement folk determined that the individual who had possession of the boat in Florida was part of the theft ring; He didn't get the boat back. The boat was sold in 1977, to its first legitimate owner and was in Michigan until my sister and I (the second legitimate owners) acquired it in December 1998.
Great story Mark! I remember this from FG ( which I have been on since Jan 02) and your conversation with Ab. but didn't remember the stolen boat part of it. So cool the fact you have this boat now!
Denise: Thanks for your post! The story and the boat are from an old Fiberglassics listing. It is the owner of the boat who told the story - I just listed it here for everyone to read. My boat is actually a 1973 outboard Hydrodyne 18. I don't know the history of my boat, other than that it came out of Missouri. I was fascinated by this story because of the intrigue and, of course, it is a really nice boat. I emailed the owner to see if they still own it and to see if they would like to join this website. I'll let you know if I hear from them! Best, Mark
So you have a 73' like Daniel.........Loved being in his this summer and experiencing the wheelie! Oh, and he let me drive it too! I don't know the history of my Elgin either except that we bought it from a divorce sale 20 years ago and has been a loved member of our family ever since.
Hi Folks/Daniel: Hats off to a great web page launch. The boat in question is in my garage and soon to be in storage, winter comes too early up here in the northern reaches. We will be in the water til mid-october but after that it becomes too brutal, even in a dry suit. For clarification, I brought out my sister earlier this year dur to her lack of usage, so I guess its the "Bugel" hydrodyne now. They are fun boats to own and fairly easy to maintain if they are kept up. I co-owned a 1773 T-skier i/o up until this summer also but it sat outside a couple 3 years prior to our purchase and the interior had to be redone, floor was solid though. A few more recent pictures attached of the 1975. Cheers! Kevin Bugel Brookfield, WI
