Originally constructed in 1994 as the futuristic two-wing T-4 for the Budweiser team, the design was quickly outdated by rules surrounding fuel-flow to the powerful turbine engines. The hull was relegated to display duty until purchased by the U-8 (now U-37) team in the winter of 2002. With assistance from designer Dale Van Weirengen & hull expert Rick Bowles, crew chief Scott Raney rebuilt the still ‘brand-new’ hull into a state-of-the-art conventional hydroplane for the 21st Century. The ‘new’ T-4 was successful right out of the box, winning in just its 3rd race as LLumar Window Films at the 2003 Columbia Cup.
U-37 "Miss Peters & May" - Image by Chris Denslow
Since 2005, the T-4 has consistently been one of the fastest hydroplanes on the H1 Unlimited racing circuit, demonstrating often-times dominating performances with victories in Detroit, Valleyfield, Nashville, San Diego, Evansville and twice in the team’s hometown of Seattle. After an extremely successful first season the Miss Beacon Plumbing took third in National High Points in 2007. In 2008 she opened the season with a win in Evansville and took 3rd place in National High Points for a second consecutive season. 2009 was a struggle, as Jean blew over and nearly drowned in Madison, and J.W. Myers took over driving duties for Tri-Cities and Seattle. Jean came back for Evansville and finished his tenure with the Schumacher Racing team in Doha, Qatar with a fine fourth place in the inaugural Oryx Cup.
JW has taken over the driving duties for the 2010 season and we look forward to another fantastic season in the H1 Unlimited series!
UPDATE:
The U-37 Miss Peters & May was destroyed against the seawall in Detroit at the 2010 Gold Cup after the skidfin failed going into the Roostertail turn. JW Myers miraculously survived the impact and suffered only a broken left foot.
Photo by Jim Simpson
After the accident in Detroit, Fred Leland’s spare U-100 was pressed into service as the U-37 for the Columbia Cup in Tri-Cities. With a huge list of tasks in store to outfit the boat mechanically, there was no time to change the look of the “new” U-37 beyond vinyl on the decks to cover the red stripes and repainted cowl and front and rear wings:
U-37 v 2.0
The two week break between Tri-Cities and Seattle allowed a little more time to tweak the new U-37 for more speed, but we had time to do a proper repainting of the hull to better represent our sponsor, Peters & May:
U-37 in Seafair qualifying
In September, the Air Guard Championship presented by Degree Men came together with lightning speed, forcing another transformation of the U-37 into the U-37 Degree Men. This incredibly complex job was accomplished with a pretty unique vinyl wrap applied by Prism Graphics:
The U-37 Degree Men hydroplane
After San Diego, we had to strip the graphics again, to be ready for the UIM World Championships in Doha, Qatar where the Peters & May livery was on display: