With the recently acquired 1980 version "Squire Shop" drivers cowling, this section has been updated to reflect those changes. Check it out, restoration update coming soon.

Hey guys, it's that time of year when we disconnect from the daily grind and jump into the local frenzy we call "Seafair" here in Seattle.

With the restoration taking a weekend break, the Squire crew will be lending a hand on the 1980 Miss Budweiser hull for the museum this weekend in a "fill-in" role. It gives the inexperienced guys a chance to "get their feet wet" a little bit and give them an idea of what to expect next year on the Squire Shop.

We have a new banner going up this year at the Laws residence, which is practically next door to the event. Feel free to stop by and say hello, we'd love to chat with fellow Squire Shop fans out there. Bob Steil will be our guest on Saturday and Sunday, so show him some love to for all his support on this project.

​The team will be kicking it back into high gear next week...........as work will be moving fast now.

Hey gang, the team has been doing a lot on the hull and engines lately, though there's really not much to see that's clearly noticeable as of late. We have been dealing with part shortages and the less glorified detail work, but were progressing along well. The engine cowling should be having the mold made this upcoming weekend, and Brad is currently working on the vertical stabilizer skins. Before you know it, we'll be splicing in the driver cowling pieces we have to make one complete unit.

The team was recently notified about the existence of one of the Squire Shop's drivers cowlings, which we confirmed was from the teams display hull in the 80's (U-55 Lincoln Thrift hull).

​We are doing our best to try and acquire it for the restoration project and we will let you know if we do. But for now, here's what it looks like currently. The "missing" back half exists as well, it's just not shown in the pictures.

Also, check out the "Treasure Hunters" page for our latest "original parts" updates, fyi.

Update #63 has been posted, which is just a few pictures from a couple days ago at the Hydroplane & Raceboat museums annual "Hydro Fever" event. It was during this event that the team "borrowed" a totaled engine from the Ed Karelson designed and built Miss Budweiser hull. This engine was used to help line up the engine mounts/rails to ensure proper alignment and accuracy.

The interesting part in this is that back in 1978, Bernie Little was supposed to be first in line for the new Norberg hull, but failed to make a down payment securing his spot. It was only after Bob Steil (The Squire Shop) and Bill Bennett (Circus Circus) has reserved their boats that Bernie was told he would be third in line behind them. Mr. little didn't like that one bit, and refused to be third place to anyone........and decided to by the Ron Jones designed hull instead...............which would become the "Griffon" Miss Budweiser.

So this is in fact the closest this Squire Shop hull has ever come to being a Miss Budweiser, since its engine was sitting in the hull's belly.......if only for a brief moment in time.

The team has been working hard, but progress to the casual observer looks like were moving slowly...........not true. What your not seeing in the pictures is all the small details that are associated with all the hardware and systems that are being installed out of view.

John has been working on multiple fittings, hoses, brackets.......you name it. Brad is still at it with the "cathedral" wing repairs, with Tim and Steve utilizing their talents and experience on rebuilding the Merlin engine. And the rest of the team is doing what they can.....where they can. The drivers cowling now up at the U-11 shop getting ready to be molded too.

Good stuff, every day is one day closer!

I know......I know.......the updates have been a little slow on this blog, but that will be changing soon. Our restoration Facebook page has slowly been turning into the source for latest news, while this website is mostly used for historical reference and tidbits from The Squire Shop's racing career.

So on that note, the "Treasure Hunters" section has been upgraded with a ton more information. You will learn about all the external components to the 1979 Squire Shop hull we are incorporating back in to the project, as well as the fate of those we don't have at our disposal.

I encourage you all to take a look, I promise you will learn something you may not have known about.

Sorry for the delay guys, but I lost my camera data cable and was unable to download the latest rounds of restoration pictures and videos to my CPU. I just got a new cable and I updated the restoration pages to reflect our current progress.

As we wind down 2018, we look forward to finishing this project up in 2019................for the hulls 40th Anniversary this summer!

Stay tuned...

Gary

Today's update is to show you guys the fate of the U-65 Squire Shop II, which was originally built in 1974 as the U-55  Lincoln Thrift. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, our team was unsuccessful in its attempts to acquire the original 1979 trailer for our restoration project……….so we are forced to consider alternatives. One such prospect is the trailer that is currently under the Lincoln Thrift hull today, which is still the very one the team used when it was the Squire Shop II back in 1978.

You can find current pictures of the hull, the trailer, and the truck that is currently attached to them in the photo gallery (retired) section. I have a restoration update next week too, so keep checking back.

​Enjoy!

​Gary

Here's something that was pretty well known at the time (1987), but may not be so remembered today. I'm talking about the Squire Shop's last hauler, which was used in the team final season in 1986.

Bob Steil decided to retire from the sport and sold the entire team to his crew chief Jim Harvey. While Jim was on route to the first race of the season in Miami (under new OH Boy! Oberto sponsorship), the hauler caught on fire and the hull and trailer luckily escaped serious damage. However, the hauler and all the tools, engines, and other equipment inside were a total loss. And to make matters worse, Jim did not have any of it insured yet!

Here are some pictures of that fire, which nearly ended Jim's ownership career before it had even gotten started.