1947 Season Summary
Statistics
| 1. | March 1-2 | Biscayne Gold Cup | Miami, Florida |
| June 22 | Hiram S. Eggers Trophy | Louisville, Kentucky | |
| 2. | July 4 | Webb Trophy | Davenport, Iowa |
| July 6 | Mark Twain Trophy | Hannibal, Missouri | |
| 3. | July 12 | Ford Memorial | Detroit, Michigan |
| 4. | August 10 | APBA Gold Cup | New York, New York |
| August 17 | Lake Tahoe Championship | Tahoe City, California | |
| 5. | August 23-24 | Auerbach Trophy | Red Bank, New Jersey |
| 6. | August 23-24 | National Sweepstakes | Red Bank, New Jersey |
| August 23-24 | Red Bank Gold Cup | Red Bank, New Jersey | |
| August 30-September 1 | Star-Spangled Banner Regatta | Baltimore, Maryland | |
| 7. | August 30-September 1 | Silver Cup | Detroit, Michigan |
| September 7 | Cincinnati Yacht Club Free-for-All | Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| September 14 | Harwood Trophy | New York, New York | |
| 8. | September 20-21 | Presidents Cup | Washington, D.C. |
| September 21 | American Speedboat Championship | Washington, D.C. | |
| 9. | September 28 | Imperial Gold Cup | New Martinsville, W.Va |
| November 2 | Pacific Motor Boat Trophy | Costa Mesa, California |
| Winner | Crew Chief | Designer | Builder | Engine | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/2 | So-Long Jr. | Lou Fageol | Arno Apel | Ventnor | Fageol |
| 7/4 | So-Long Jr. | Lou Fageol | Arno Apel | Ventnor | Fageol |
| 7/12 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| 8/10 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| 8/24 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| 8/24 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| 8/30 | Notre Dame (3) | Burt Mackenzie | Dan Arena | Arena | Duesenberg |
| 9/21 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| 9/28 | Miss Peps V | Bob Allinger | Arno Apel-Foster | Ventnor | Allison |
| Date | Winner | Driver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | March 2 | So Long Jr. | Lou Fageol |
| 2. | June 22 | Hermes V | George Davis |
| 3. | July 4 | So Long Jr. | Lou Fageol |
| 4. | July 6 | Yankee Doodle | Merlyn Culver |
| 5. | July 12 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| 6 . | August 10 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| 7. | August 17 | U-1 | Stan Dollar |
| 8 . | August 24 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| 9 . | August 24 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| 10. | August 24 | Tempo VI | Guy Lombardo |
| 11. | September 1 | Notre Dame (3) | Dan Arena |
| 12. | September 7 | So-Long (4) | Lou Fageol |
| 13. | September 14 | Aljo V | Joe Van Blerck |
| 14. | September 21 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| 15. | September 28 | Miss Peps V | Danny Foster |
| Built | Boat | High Points | Team Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | (1939) | Miss Peps V | 1350 | |
| 2. | (1940) | Notre Dame (3) | 945 | |
| 3. | (1946) | Miss Great Lakes | 900 | |
| 4. | (1938) | Tempo VI | 530 | |
| 5. | (1938) | Miss Canada III | 450 | |
| 6. | (1938) | Dukie | 315 | |
| 7. | (1937) | Hot Potato | 120 | (11-30) |
| Nuts & Bolts | ( 9-90) | |||
| 8. | (1936) | Trudy | 120 | (7) |
| 9. | (1941) | So Long Jr. | 100 | (8) |
| 10. | (1939) | Mercury | 54 | |
| 11. | (1942) | Miss Cincinnati IV | 000 | |
| 12. | (1941) | Hermes V | 000 | |
| 13. | (1938) | U-1 | 000 | |
| 14. | (1946) | Miss Windsor | 000 | |
| 15. | (1947) | Let'er Go Gallagher | 000 | |
| 16. | (1946) | Lion Bar Special | 000 |
| Driver High Points | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Danny Foster | 955 |
| 2. | Dan Arena | 705 |
| 3. | Guy Lombardo | 580 |
| 4. | Harold Wilson | 360 |
| 5. | Al Fallon | 270 |
| 6 . | Howard Hughes | 195 |
| 7. | Henry Slocum | 70 |
| 8. | Lou Fageol | 60 |
| 9. | Oliver Elam | 54 |
| 10. | George Mattucci | 45 |
| 11. | Del Lee | 30 |
| 12. | Bill Hagenmeyer | 00 |
| 13. | Al D'Eath | 00 |
| 14. | George Davis | 00 |
| 15. | Robert Herman | 00 |
| 16. | Stan Dollar | 00 |
All of the races (6) that were scheduled for Gold Cup boats in 1946 not only returned in 1947, but were better attended than in the previous year. In addition Detroit, which had lost the Gold Cup to New York, put on two major races - the D.Y.C. Silver Cup and the D.R.R.A. Ford Memorial. Miami also came aboard with the Biscayne Gold Cup to make a nine race circuit for the Gold Cup class. A real circuit had probably never existed before with the closest thing to it being before World War I.
Miss Peps V ex-So Long (Allison) and Miss Canada III (Rolls-Merlin) joined Miss Great Lakes in the World War II aircraft power class. However Great Lakes driver Danny Foster had switched to the Miss Peps V leaving the 1946 Presidents Cup champion to her inexperienced owner Al Fallon. Pre-war Gold Cuppers Tempo VI and Notre Dame stuck to their original powerplants eschewing the Allisons and Rolls Merlins. Notre Dame had been the premier Gold Cup boat prior to World War II.
Miss Peps V won the rough water Ford Memorial, but did not impress being overshadowed by the Hisso powered Dukie. At the Gold Cup Peps driver Danny Foster used his head as well as his foot to outlast his major competition - Tempo VI, Notre Dame and Miss Great Lakes.
Finally getting good water at Red Bank Peps V toyed with the renown but Miller powered Tempo VI to win the Auerbach Trophy and National Sweepstakes. Peps V had two bad days at the Silver Cup and surprisingly the Duesenberg powered Notre Dame got the better of the Rolls-Merlin Miss Canada III. The Allison powered Miss Great Lakes now driven by Guy Lombardo also proved inferior to the Notre Dame.
Lombardo in the Great Lakes gave Miss Peps V a run for her money in the Presidents Cup, but suffered mechanical failure giving Peps V the race. Despite her showing in the Silver Cup, Notre Dame could not keep up with the Allison powered entries at Washington, D.C.
Miss Peps V went on to take her sixth victory of the year at New Martinsville against the 7 Litre So Long. Thus of the nine events on the circuit Miss Peps V attended seven and won six. A circuit had been established although Miss Great Lakes and Tempo VI made it to four races with the Notre Dame at three and Miss Canada III one.
Miss Peps V was intended to be named Miss Pepsi to advertise the Dossin Brothers who were bottlers of Pepsi Cola in Detroit. The A.P.B.A. forbad this commercialism although there were such boats as Buffalo Enquirer and Buffalo Courier advertising two newspapers around the time of World War I. This is not to mention Standard and Mercedes which represented engine manufacturers around the turn of the century.
Another trend that emerged in 1947 was the burgeoning hegemony of the three point prop rider. California Kid raised the mile record for 225's by 11 m.p.h. and the competition record by 8 m.p.h. Another prop rider Blue Blazes, a 135, raised the mile record 4 m.p.h. over prop rider Ly-Bee which had advanced the record by 11 m.p.h. over a pre-war boat. However the Blue Blazes went over backwards in one of her runs through the mile.
[Statistics and comments from Greene, V.1]