Speedboat Legends
Above: Pettengill in 1999. Right and below: Pettengill build new deck molds made for the K boat because he wanted the dashboard moved forward so his legs wouldn’t get caught under it in a crash. Engine builder Bubby Wilton is shown with Pettengill. not even the hydroplanes—had ever gone that fast on a course that size, and Pettengill held that record until 1992, when it was broken by Gordon Jennings Jr., driving another Biesemeyer Boat named Freedom. (Jennings set the record at 104.950 mph, and also held the kilo record in the same boat at 146.649.) The following year, Bill Biesemeyer had gotten so burned out on boats that he went to work building cabinets, leaving Edwards to run Arizona Ski Boats and Pettengill to continue winning races in Coldfire. Although both Biesemeyers were technically out of the boating biz, Rusty had a shop in Phoenix and cut down a K boat so it would fit in the E boat class. He built it for Conrad Murphy, who went on set the kilo record for E boats at a little over 112 mph. Controversy: Meanwhile, as he continued to add trophies to his mantle in Coldfire (as well as Paul Edwards’ SK craft Angelfire and Brent Serge’s Super Stock racer, Pride), some folks began to regard Julian as a ruthless competitor who would do anything to win. Some competitors even called him a crude and reckless driver. “He’ll run over or through anything to win,” one K Class racer 60
S P E E D B O A T | August 2016
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