Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Bullet With Butterfly Wings


By : Dennis Stein


  Some people say everything happens for a reason. If that's true, then fans of a certain local powerboat will be happy to know that after a long winter, and the unfortunate events at last year's Thousand Islands Poker Run, the King is back...
  Bill Tomlinson's iconic 'My Way' turbine powered catamaran has been resurrected from the crash that crippled her last summer, looking like she never got a scratch. In a phone conversation with owner Bill Tomlinson, I discovered that the construction magnate's feelings for the boat were mixed. He explained that if it weren't for the local fans who simply love the huge powerboat, he might not have fixed her.
  But fixed she is, and sporting her brilliant red paint scheme, she looks ready for action once again. My way's carbon fiber hull has been redone, and re-enforced, her paint meticulously matched, and the massive 3000 HP turbines re-installed. Although she did not enter the Alex Bay 'Thunder on The Bay' Poker Run this year, Bill and Throttleman Ken Kehoe, along with mechanic Jamie Auld and the hard working team of mechanics at Kehoe marine, Dan  MacMullen and Lyle Stacy, have her almost ready to tear the surface off the river for another year.
  The boat never fails to draw the crowds, especially during this year's upcoming Ribfest and Poker Run activities in Brockville and the rest of the Thousand Islands. The boat is also scheduled to return to Lake Of The Ozarks in the states for this year's Shootout. Last year, My way ran a 208 mph run on radar, thrilling crowds there and tying the course record. But the boat's on board GPS told the crew that they ran 222-223 unofficially, which if you read up, is a new world record for a propeller driven powerboat in her class. Unofficial, it may be, but it means, unofficially, that the fastest boat on the planet resides right here in the Thousand Islands!
  Testing continues, and the crew who maintain My Way have made a few small changes to the set up this year, fixing little issues they wanted to address before. I have woke early the last two Saturdays in a row, just to see the massive catamaran get put into it's native environment, hoping to see the 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' tear a strip off the mirror like waters of the river. And, after a quick phone call to Throttleman Ken Kehoe, it looks like it will be an early morning again tomorrow...

  For more articles from Dennis Stein, visit thefineprints.blogspot.com...






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