If you want to know what determination and persistence can produce, see how it helped bring life back to a hydroplane rich with history in connection to the ULHRA. Originally owned and driven by Brian Reynolds as the Seafirst ‘Flyin’ Hawaiian’, it was built in 1995 by Nate Brown. Brian first drove this to victory at Tri Cities in 1995 and followed up with wins at Seafair in Seattle in 1995 and 1996. It was then purchased and driven briefly by John Hogan as ‘ The Bounty Hunter’. John gave way to Doug Brow as driver while maintaining ownership. Doug did a remarkable job with the hydroplane then dubbed ‘The Little Boat That Could’. His best finishes of 3rd place were at Seattle Seafair in 2000 and at San Diego in an exciting race in 2002.
Vince the “X-Man” Xaudaro bought the hull in 2003. He made some modifications which lengthened and widened the boat. Vince then piloted the now UL-929 “All Black All the Time” race boat to his first and only victory to date at Evansville… in 2005. The number 929 was chosen in honor of Vince’s father Stefan Xaudaro’s birthday September 29th. In 1974 Stefan brought Vince and his older brother Stefan JR to their first Columbia Cup in Tri Cities. The ‘X-Man’ continued to campaign the boat thru 2007 fairing admirably and was leading in the race for high points championship. During Silver Thunder in Silverdale, WA at the control Xaudaro lost control while being launched off a rogue wave. The Poulsbo PC and Technologies presents Fife RV was broken apart like a wishbone re-entering the water as both sponsons disintegrated. The event was devastating as the hydroplane was all but destroyed. After returning from the hospital with minor injuries Vince led the team in the salvage effort. The heavily damaged UL-929 returned to its shop in Renton, WA. So this began the ‘Back in Black’ project.
The rebuild project was going to be no small task. There are many challenges besides the work that needs to be done to get the ‘All Black All the Time’ hydroplane back on the water and be a top contender again. Everybody involved are volunteers and work full time to support their families and lives. The shop is in Renton WA and some of the crew lives 250 miles away in Tri Cities. The damaged boat sat for a year while the ‘X-Man’ and the 929 racing team worked with Jim and Karon Wilmot. They had just purchased one of the hydroplanes Carlos Bertran had stored in Mexico City, Mexico. Xaudaro agreed to run their program for the 2008 season. This was an opportunity to keep his racing edge sharp as well as have another hull in the ULHRA fleet. We have no cash sponsors meaning limited capital. We had to become very resourceful and creative.
The rebuild really began in the spring of 2009. The racing bug drew the team in again and Vince along with his crew helped Joe Souza run the Wilmot’s hydroplane. Work began in earnest in the fall.
The 929 was basically going to be a new hydroplane from stem to stern. First the window was taken out followed by the roll cage. Vince chose to cut the one piece F-16 window into three sections. He then decided the roll cage needed to be replaced. The new roll cage was fabricated with lightweight but strong 4130 chrome molly aircraft tubing. Everything inside the cockpit was replaced. A new and rewired illuminated instrument panel was installed. The steering system was completely replaced with a NASCAR style splined, spring loaded detachable devise, hanger, and shaft by Joe’s Racing Products. New cables and guides were added. The sprockets had all the bearings and bushings replaced throughout. The cockpit canopy was totally replaced and built by the 929 crew in their shop. A state of the art strobe light provided by Whelen Engineering was installed. Various hardware, brackets, and latches were also replaced or added.
Next, the deck had to be removed. During the process it was discovered there was extensive corrosion and more damage caused by the accident. New stringers and braces now had to be added. We had a thicker and stronger transom cut via water jet. This was a major upgrade which would strengthen and improve the integrity of the craft. The 929 was then flipped over. We built a new after plane made of Okumi plywood and vacuum bagged layers of carbon fiber and fiberglass. We fabricated a new belly pan using the same process. Trying to achieve a vacuum seal with all the angles and corners was no easy task.
We’re in late October early November. While all the work was being done in the Renton shop, Vince’s father Stefan had fallen gravely ill while residing in the Tri Cities area. It was important for Vince to see his dad as often as possible. Between visiting, working, and maintaining family life, progress continued on the UL-929 with The “X-Man” leading the way. On November 18th Stefan lost his battle with prostate cancer. This was a crushing blow to Vince who loved his father dearly. It was Stefan who really inspired and encouraged him to become a hydroplane racer. Stefan Xaudaro instilled the solid family values the Xaudaro families follow today.
During those last two months money and material were scraped together and a coalition of teams had a set of sponson molds built. The sponsons were the major component destroyed in the accident at Silver Thunder in 2007. With the molds in possession the Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas season were spent building the biggest piece to the puzzle. This took a long time with many late nights and long weekends. The molds have numerous surface shapes and contours. Pattern templates had to be devised for cutting the carbon fiber and fiberglass material. A releasing agent and wax needed to be applied to the entire shell of both molds. This procedure had to be completed in one step or session to sustain uniformity. That would insure the sponsons to pop out of the molds with relative ease once completed. As this work was concluded and the initial fiberglass lay up finished the molds were taken to the UL-72 shop. The very critical vacuum bagging process needed all the expertise and help that could be enlisted. Again this step has to be done in one session per sponson. There’s resin and hardener that needs to bond together to make the sponsons a whole inclusive unit. Many hands make light work and the task was completed in one weekend. The final product came out exceptionally well. To give an idea of a time line it is now mid February.
Building the sponson shells are one thing finishing them to be installed is another. Every step of the way is critical. We are re-building a hydroplane that achieves speeds of 150 mph. Integrity is the upmost importance. Before attaching the sponsons we have to attach our 4” X 4”- 3/16” thick 10’ 6” main beam. To that we add the air trap bulk heads to which the sponsons are attached. The air traps were made the same way the after plane and belly pan were fashioned. Once these were on we could finally see a vague shape of a hydroplane we hadn’t seen in over 2 ½ years. Next phase is attaching and setting the sponsons. This is yet another critical procedure. The angle and pitch have to be taken off the after plane and transom. Every detail has to be considered to achieve optimum flight on the water. It took more time measuring, marking, and re-measuring over and over again before the sponsons were set exactly where the “X-Man” wanted them. Once attached and Vince satisfied with the results we had to add the stringers and braces for them. We had to do lots of drilling, cutting, screwing, gluing, and fiberglass seam taping until the strength necessary was achieved. The work continued almost every night and on weekends.
When we were building the sponsons we made some time to also build a canard wing. Now that the sponsons were on we made and installed clamps, brackets, braces, and linkage to control the wing from the cockpit. As you can imagine it’s easier said than done. This attaches to the front end of the sponson tips. There was very little room to work with. As on the rest of this rebuild placement is critical. We had to have enough clearance so not to hit the nose of the cockpit. The nose hadn’t been installed yet so there was a little guess work involved. In fact at that time we did not even remember where the nose piece was. Needless to say we winged it.
Around this time mid to late March there was so much more to do. Yes the boat had finally looked like a hydroplane again. All the work mentioned earlier on the cockpit hadn’t been completed yet. Everything needs to be done in sequential order. With limited amount of people and time running out we were presented with an interesting proposition. There was another boat near completion that had run into some snags of its own. We were asked to first finish this hydroplane housed at the UL-72 shop in time for the race at Firebird Lake in Chandler, Arizona late April and race it under the UL-929 banner. The payoff was we would then have more time and a small army of experienced crew members from other teams to get the “All Black All the Time” boat ready for the following race in Chamberlain, South Dakota. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse. That also gave us the chance to earn points at a race we couldn’t see making at this point. The 929 racing team along with the UL-11 and UL-72 teams would spend the next 5 weeks completing what many said was a nearly impossible task. We finished the boat and did make it to the race in Chandler.
Once back from Arizona the final push on the 929 rebuild began. The boat was hauled to the UL-72 shop in Tukwila, WA. All that work on the cockpit was completed. The foot pedals, on board air, fire suppression system to mention a few but not all the work in the small confined area. The windows were installed and sealed. The skidfin and rudder bracket were attached and in place. We decided exactly where the engine was to be mounted and also line up and drilled the hole for the propeller shaft. The fuel cell and the fuel lines were added. Then the decks were finally put on. The UL-929 was transformed into a hydroplane again. We were working every night after our day jobs. Many times to well after midnight then back up early the next day just to do the routine all over again. The tails were framed and mounted onto the boat. A layer of primer was added. It was time to bring the boat back home the UL-929 shop in Renton, WA. We sanded, filled and primed over and over again. Finally we took the boat to GK Industrial Refuse Systems in Auburn, WA for painting. When it returns home she will be the “All Black All the Time” hydroplane we had so much passion for.
It was so satisfying to see all the hard work finally come together after so much time, effort, energy, and yes blood, sweat, and tears that were so passionately poured into this hull. Think about all the people and teams who worked on the “Back in Black” project. Begining with the leadership of owner/driver Vince the “X-man” Xaudaro and sustained by the will and determination of new co-owner Tim VanHollebeke. Everyone off the UL-72 team lent a hand as well as much of the UL-11. Without their help we would not have finished as soon as we did if at all. Of course from the start everybody from the UL-929 was there. Colleen, Sara, and Jordan made so many selfless sacrifices. Dennis, Charlie, and Tessa all traveled from the Tri Cities area many times and made significant contributions. Tim’s wife Diane even came out and helped with the sponsons on Valentines Day. Lisa was there lending a hand as well. You can’t begin to imagine the man hours it might have taken. How many pizza’s, sandwiches, hamburgers, and buckets of chicken that were consumed while working on this task. Yes it was very challenging but so much more rewarding. The friendships bonded and all the lasting memories of heartache and success to accomplish such a feat. A historic hull that may have just withered away was resurrected and now could continue its storied path racing ULHRA style.
