Home

“That boat was a rocket sled!” said Reggie Fountain about his first boat with Team Mercury.

Reggie began racing in 1954. He was 14. He started in B class hydros and runabouts. When I asked about engines, “I’ve always used nothing but Mercury’s….My first race engine was a Super 10 Hurricane with Quincy straight pipes. They were very loud. The hydro ran 60-70 mph which was pretty fast back then,” said Reggie.

Reggie claims the first thing he wanted after law school was to race. He bought a tunnel boat in 1968. “It was a twin-engine, 21-foot Glastron…I did pretty well at local races. You could tell the difference between independent boats like mine and the ones from the factories,” said Reggie. “My boat weighed 775-780 lbs, less driver. Joe Felder [on Glastron's factory team] had an identical rig – but much lighter at 515 lbs.” Reggie saw the advantage of factory support and the need to build a factory network.

Joe Felder destroyed his Glastron in a crash at Havasu. So Glastron declared Reggie as their new factory driver. Reggie continued to network, becoming friends with Team Mercury driver Jim Mertin Sr. “Jim would supply…worn-out Mercury factory engines. My boat ran better…than it did with the Mercury’s supplied by Glastron.”
...

A recent discovery of classic photos of the Team Mercury outboard tunnel boat race team rekindled my curiosity of the outboard factory war era when Mercury and OMC (Outboard Marine Corporation – parent company of the Johnson and Evinrude brands at the time) battled for bragging rights (and sales) across the globe.

I thought it would be interesting to interview the team drivers to hear first hand what it was like racing for Team Mercury.

“Those were the golden years of tunnel competition,” the first words spoken by Bill at the start of our phone interview regarding Team Mercury. “Back then, winning prestigious events such as the 6-hours of Paris or 3-hours of Amsterdam had an direct impact on European outboard sales!”, Bill said

...

15% off all paint work and Gel Coat Repairs!

Now is the time to upgrade/repair your graphics or get those gel coat repairs handled! From a scratch to a disaster; Let the professionals at Spectre give your boat a new look or refinish your prized possession to that factory fresh look once again.

We have the same people that made the Spectre boat line what it is and have the experience to complete the smallest or largest job.
Come to Spectre for all your boating related desires:

*Paint and Graphics from basic to wild: we have done them all!
*Gel Coat
*Structural Fiberglass Repairs
*General, Seasonal Maintenance and Repair
*Clarion/JL Audio Sound Systems
*Mercury Repower


...