Restoration
1958
From the outset, the boat was “community” owned and operated. Shares were sold to Spokane residents making them “owners”, and at one point over 10,000 “members” had each paid at least one dollar for a share of the boat.
A small group of businessmen calling themselves Miss Spokane Unlimited Hydroplane, Inc. managed the boat’s finances and day-to-day operations. The group was headed by Don Klages.
The team that the Miss Spokane group put together was largely made up veterans of the Army and Army Air Corp, with a number of them coming from the Washington Air National Guard’s 116 Fighter Squadron and 141st Air Refueling Wing at Geiger Field near what is now Spokane International Airport.
The saga of Miss Spokane began in the fall of 1957 when a small group of Spokane, Washington hydroplane enthusiasts formed first formed a corporation and then raised a reported $13,000 to purchase a surplus unlimited hydroplane hull from Seattle aerospace industry giant Bill Boeing. Boeing had built the boat as a backup to his successful unlimited Miss Wahoo and had held it in reserve.
1959
The team kept the original mahogany deck and outfitted the boat with special gold leaf numbering and a two-tone lilac and white tail. The U-25 designation contained a star between the ‘U’ and the ’25’, and it is thought that this reflected the military background of many on the crew. The team selected former Army Air Force officer and local limited class boat racer George Alexieve as the team’s crew chief, and he in turn recruited engine men and others from the community and the local Air National Guard unit. -
Text by Fred Farley courtesy of the Hydroplane and Raceboat Museum
