I Am Dizzy For Tether Boats.
As many of you know I have a thing for pre war boat models. There is a simplicity to the build, and not to over detailed. I suppose some of that has to do with the parts all had to be hand made. The new ones done well, are also insane cool. Extreme hand done detail is the key. But these prewar ones are racers, not just models. They have a purpose.. AHHHHHH, Well, I am not alone in my lust for these cool boats, Fellow Woody Boater Kent Lund is obsessed with these and collects them.
Before there was RC, there was Teather. As in a string, and you would stand in the center of the water with a Tether pole and let that sucker rip. Hence the “Dizzy ” joke in the headline. Good lord, what was that like.” Your little zinger roaring around at 50mph to 100mph and you possibly were also drinking a tad with the fellas, cause there were clubs, and well. How much fun would that have been, and what was the slang for a guy to twirl one to many times and hurl? A Swirl Hurl? Was the Tether Pole there to hold onto when you were about to fall? Either way, I am so ready to try it out. Gotta say there should be a Tether Race at every boat show. Dam these things are cool.
Tether Boat Clubs were located in the cities: Detroit, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore ,and Toronto, where tool makers and machinists lived and worked. To be a member in the 1930’s the racer had to make his boat, motor and propeller. All boats I sent have homebuilt motors and propellers.
Pole Boats ran a circular course on a 52’ 6″ cable from center pole to boat. One at a time by Racing class. Four laps was an 8th mile.
They would then calculate miles per hour. In the 1930’s speeds were 30 to 50 MPH by 1961 100 MPH was achieved.
Here’s the deal, there are a ton more images, and I could milk this for days. Like IceCream milking. Then Yogurt, and then whatever the cheesy mold produces. But Kent has a special Facebook page on the subject. And well, amazing. You can see it HERE on the Tether Boat Facebook page.
And here is a Youtube video of whats it like with newer boats. DEAR GOD! Wear gloves for sure. Hell, does it even touch the water?
And this one made out of steam power. WTF? And be careful, this one will make you dizzy and, well to be honest I dont feel so good right now
I wonder how many of these broke away from the tether and were set free?
Very cool.
Very cool, indeed! I was aware of these boats & their landbound sisters, tether-car racers. My brothers & some of the other neighborhood boys built line-control airplanes. They flew them in the empty, treeless, nearly flat lot, that my parents owned next door to our house. Thankfully, the fuel tanks were small enough that gas ran out, before guys got so dizzy that they fell down! And the only drinking was the dads having a beer, while watching their kids fly the planes. But the planes were all built from kits & powered by Cox engines, bought at local hobby shops. Never really thought before about the pioneers of the hobby, having to build even the motors from scratch! Wow – much respect to them! And the cars & planes didn’t require donning hip-waders & standing in the water.
Yes Kelly
The guys were talented. Glad you got a kick
I have been lookihg for the boats for a long time.
I don’t remember this happening when I was a kid, but it looks like it was going on at Belle Isle and Water Works Park by the river on the East side of Detroit I guess it was “Where it all Began” for tether boat racing. Great story. Thanks for sharing.
What a good story. Who didn’t play with toy boats when they were a kid. Mine were never that fast. Just wind up or battery powered. I wish I still had them or at leasta picture of one. Thanks for sharing Kent. I will have to check out your facebook page. Another hour every day that I will get nothing done! It will be fun though.
My wife gave me a bathtub toy for Xmas. I’m from LI and, in my youth, saw Guy Lombardo many times. While out in my 14′ Sea King on one occasion circa 1960 we teens found ourselves unable to open our beverages. Guy generously handed a “church key” down to me from his cabin cruiser.
Mark,
My FB page is not set up very well — please take a look.
glad you liked the story.
I have a place in the Soo on the river.
Very cool story.
I have a Tether Turtle.
Don’t worry, his little feet never touch the ground.
I was only slightly aware of this hobby. What a cool deal and one of the best post on here.
thanks,
John n Va.
Forty years ago we use to have a pond that rc boaters ran on and of course noise and insurance became an issue. Karen’s even back then.
You have to wonder how many of those came out of Industrial Arts class of the era. Were they taught you to make everything.
I built a Kentucky black powder rifle and flintlock pistol from scratch in the Industrial Arts class I had in high school.
Jim, how cool were Industrial Arts classes were in High School! Everything from Wood shop. Metal shop, electricity to Auto Mechanics. Places to learn REAL things from teachers who knew how to teach those subjects and were craftsmen, always willing to help. That’s where I spent most of my time in High School😃
Holy crap! I’ve never seen or heard of these boats before. Heard of and seen the tethered model planes but from memory you’d stand in the middle holding a hand grip with up and down controls. How insane are these boats! The speed is phenomenal. Imagine one of those things letting go. I’d be like a missile. Crazy stuff.
Wow, what great post and great photos! I really enjoyed it!
Thanks Don.
I had one that was homemade and raced in Albany NY
Do you have a picture maybe I can identify it ?
I have a tether car and airplane that have been collecting dust for about forty years now. If they were within reach of snap a picture of them. They always seemed pretty dangerous to me.
Old Salt
love to see a picture?
The hydros look like they would easily end up flipping.Had to be a delicate balance of power and weight distribution.
Yes,
I have a film shot at Jerrys Hobby Town in NJ.
1957 late for tether racing in the US. total blow over but landed upright and kept going. often the motor would suck water and blow up.
Water Works park was a public park, with pools and ponds. Great for tether boats. Closed for security, during WWII and never opened up again. Immediate post-war, they had an open area by the Detroit Boat Club on the Detroit side of Belle Isle. Later they used a large pond/bay on the east end of the island, where they ran in the ’50s and later.
In the golden age, engines were built from scratch, with plans or casting kits. There were no “manufactured” production engines. Also, the displacement was quite a bit larger than the plane or car engines at the time.
In 1929, a large rectangular, model yacht sailboat pond, was constructed on the Canadian side of Belle Isle, for Detroit Schools competitions. It was too deep for tether boats.
In the above picture, Detroit and the bridge is on the left, Windsor Ontario Canada is on the right. This has been a beloved public park for 140 years!
Below, this is Water Works Park before a big remodel when the water tower minarets were replaced in the early ’30s by modern WPA projects, pumps and buildings.
I’m a little late to the show, but what a GREAT story!
Thanks for sharing!!
Wow, great story and thanks for shedding some light on an esoteric segment of model boating. The most impressive part was that they had to build the motor, and propeller themselves. That machining of parts is a lost art. Between CAD-CAM design and 3D Printing today, I am afraid that it will be a lost art.