Jim Thompson...                               1998 18' Action

In 1996 I started going to some Grass Roots  races with a friend of mine John Tiger. I was totally shocked at the way those outboard motors ran, being that my brother ran a 17" Cole Flat bottom V Drive with a blown 454, I  thought that was all there was . After watching for a couple of years and helping John with his Allison in the pits I decided to find myself a little boat I could drag race. I really liked the V-Kings , and set out to find myself one. I looked for a whole year to no avail to find just the right boat and motor set-up. Another boat that caught my eye was a copy of a HydroStream . Copied after the Ventura and extended to 18’ with a pointed bow instead of the  blunt bow of the Ventura. This boat was an Action and I was able to meet the guy that owned the molds. We spoke many times and in march of 1998 I placed an order for one. I got my boat in July and John and myself made a list of parts we needed to rig this boat. Since it came as a blank and I was new to the outboard  population,  John was the one person  I wanted  to show me the ropes of an all out rigging and set up, since he was very familiar with this boat and the HydroStream it was designed after.  It was rigged with all hardware from Eddie Marine and powder coated teal, a full set of Medallion gauges, Nydhal shifter, Hydro Dynamics foot throttle and foot rest, Rapid jack manual jackplate with a 4" set back, Morse dual cable steering, 12 and 24 volt trim on the wheel, an 18 gallon fuel tank , a Holley fuel pump, and a nice set of Allison seats and covers.

For power we found a 1983 Mercury 2.4 150 with Bob's cone and a couple of other things done to it and hooked it all up. I'll never forget the first day we fired it up and I got to drive it. After 3 months of having the boat built and 3 months of rigging it I was all set for my first outboard encounter. Wow, what a learning curve that was. John has to be one of bravest people on this earth to ride with me on that day. I couldn’t drive it over about 50 and I had to try and race this boat in 3 weeks in Taunton Mass. with the N.E.O.D.A. club . John showed me all he could and the rest was up to me. Seat time , seat time , seat time.  I lost every race that weekend , but I had a lot of fun doing it, and have since become more in tune with my boat and how it reacts to speed and sudden wind changes.  Last year I found a blown 2.4 200 and rebuilt it and am doing quite well at the local races so far this year. It spins a Hydrotech 14 1/2 x 24 at 7200 rpm and a 14 1/2 x 22 Yamaha at 8050 . I really don’t know the top speed on it, but I will throw a big prop on it this summer and try to find a triple digit with it.

A special thanks goes out to John Tiger for all of his efforts in helping with this project and  helping me to do it right. With out his help and talent this boat would not be as nice as it is.   Thanks John.

- Jim Thompson -