May 2019 UNJ INTERVIEW: Ron Jones, Jr: Designer, builder, and boat owner. Ron Jones, Jr., was born into a famous boat racing family on April 4, 1957. The birth took place in Renton General Hospital, a building that is now a McLendon Hardware store. “I was the first grandson born into either side of the family tree, so it was pretty excit- ing,” he says. “My mom had already had two girls and everybody was nervous, you know, could we get a girl or are we gonna get a grandson? So, I showed up. Of course, I could do no wrong. First son in the family. Grandfather was trying to move a refrigerator down a flight of stairs. He let go to celebrate, pinned two of my aunts against a wall until he collected his thoughts and asked for help. Still talk about that to this day.” The following interview with JR was conducted by Craig Fjarlie and Bob Senior on January 17, 2019. UNJ: What were some of your early experiences? Did you go on to college? Jones: No. All of my education was private school, from fourth grade on. The school rented space at a church and we used their Sunday school rooms for our classrooms, and I remember all the way to my senior year being in that type format. We had block timing back then, so it’s two hours math, two hours of history, two hours of whatever, and then the next day you throw a different topic in there. The nice thing being, when I was in high school, physical education was, you go to the beach. We’d all pile in the bus and IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: 10 Props 101: The things that 13 Time Capsule: A look at the 19 HydroFile by Lon Erickson make hydroplanes go fast. sport’s history. 21 My $0.02 Worth by Andy Muntz boatbuilding from him, or from your dad more, or a combination that’s hard to separate? Well, my job at the shop, pre- high school and high school, was to…let’s say we’re gonna fix an unlimited. OK. At the time they were just getting into the aluminum honeycomb. But the sponsons and the decks were still wood. So, my responsibility after school was to go there and do all the wood prep. Take the raw lumber, and we’d buy giant loads of spruce and northern ash, Robert F. Peters F. Robert and I would plane it, jointer it, table Ron Jones, Jr., leased this boat (Hull #8401) from Steve Woomer in 1991 and campaigned it as saw it, re-plane it to whatever size the U-50 American Spirit. The boat was built as the Atlas Van Lines in 1984, won the national batten they needed for whatever Miller American championship the following year as the , won four straight Gold Cups from particular part of the boat they were 1984 to 1987, and also saw action as the Miss Circus Circus. working on. go down to Huntington Pier. The Every summer we’d go on vacation Yeah. P.E. teacher didn’t care what you as long as there was boat racing So, when the guys came in the did as long as you didn’t lay down nearby. (Laughter.) next day, they didn’t have to go and sunbathe. You had to partici- So, you learned boatbuilding through all that nonsense which, pate in some sort of activity. Volley- and things through the family, you know, takes a long time to cut ball, surfing, football, catch, Frisbee, then? all that stuff up and get it prepped. something. Didn’t want to get in Yeah, my grandfather, Ted, he They have, you know, you run one trouble, they’d let me keep doing was the shop foreman when we had batten through and you gotta run something. So, I had no problem the shop in Costa Mesa. So that was, them all at that dimension. OK, then with that. That was perfect for us. to me, the icing on the cake, you you move the table up or down and Of course, Disneyland’s right in know, the best of both worlds. I got do it again. So, it’s like, hmm, did I your back pocket. So, when cus- my dad and my grandfather right move the table? So, you always had tomers would come pick up their there. a sacrificial piece of wood to double- boat, sometimes they would bring How well did you know Ted? check your dimensions. So that was their family. Well, it was me and my How long did he live after you the beginning, I guess, when I was sisters’ responsibility to keep ‘em were born? learning about all the tools. occupied while they hurried up and (Pause.) Well, he was at my And then you learned design finished this guy’s race boat. So we wedding, that was 1983. as well? went to Disneyland more than our You got to know him pretty Being out in the shop, I mean, share. well, in other words. it’s just right in front of you. It’s What was your first exposure Yeah. In fact, I visited him technique. This is how we do it, this to boat racing? Probably your the day before he passed away at is why we do it. This is stronger whole life, really. Jensen Park. He was sleeping at the than that. So, you know, that’s the Depending on where we lived time, I’m sure he didn’t remember way we do it. And as far as the and what span that occurred in, I anything. But I went there to check actual designing of the boat, my guess, would depend on where we on him, see what was going on. I dad had built a custom, 40-foot long would go for summer boat racing. think that was 2000 or 2001. It was drafting table and actually hired Everybody said, “Oh, what did you a month, maybe two months before a guy to do the lofting. He would guys do for holiday, what did you his birthday. October 16, I think, is draw it inch or in-and-a-half to the do for your family vacation?” I said, his birthday. foot and then this guy would come “We went on a lot of vacations.” Did you learn a lot about in and loft the thing out full size. 2 / UNLIMITED NEWSJOURNAL / May 2019 Not that he didn’t do that, but we surface so the water doesn’t can’t remember the guy’s name that built six unlimiteds, two 33-foot delaminate the plywood. Pretty lives down there that builds a lot offshore tunnel boats, and 24 limited soon you got a battle ship on your of outboards. Anyway, that was the hydroplanes all in 18 months. So, hands. This thing got real heavy real first outboard, the only outboard I everybody was kinda busy. And, uh, quick. So, switching to ever drove. besides, he drew all the hardware so aluminum honeycomb, I mean, you That was just one time, or…? all the machine shops could feed us just shredded the weight out of the One. And then various custom- parts. And it’s a lot. boats. And, uh, (pause) we learned ers, you know, live on the East Coast Now, the unlimiteds that you a lot about the new way of construc- and they would send an engine built, which ones were they, do tion, you know, basically overnight. ahead so we would install it and you remember? Here’s the material, here’s what the boat would be complete when Country Boy, Valu Mart, Miss an insert does. I mean, now we they came to pick it up. If the timing U.S., Lincoln Thrift, U-95, and Pay ‘n pop-rivet ‘em together. worked out right, we always had Pak. Yeah. some local boat race on Mission Bay Way back all the boats were And before we’d have to put or Long Beach or Puddingstone, wood. Then they started getting these sleeve inserts in there, and Southern California, Northern into the honeycomb aluminum special drill bits that spot-faced California, Bakersfield, raced all and then it went to various one skin, the core, but left the inner over down there and, uh, I didn’t composite materials. What was skin so it would stop the insert and continue driving. Conflict of interest the progression with construc- fill the hole full of glue, smash the on my part, I guess. All classes, all tion materials? Honeycomb insert, it would expand and catch sizes. aluminum was kind of a unique itself underneath the skin. The insert Is it possible to remember substance the first time we heard was glued in. Now you had a hard the first inboard you built? about it. point to put a bolt…very time- (Pause.) Well, it would be 1976 That was 1972, ’73, with the Pay consuming. So, started learning how and we were obligated to build a ‘n Pak, and then we also used it in to trust the glue and rivets and use drag boat for Ed Wills. the construction of the 33-foot less fasteners. OK. offshore tunnel boats. And, you You drove various types of Mr. Ed was the name of his know, you grab a piece of three- boats. You drove outboards first? boats. In trade for moving all of our quarter-inch or one-inch plywood, I drove a D Stock outboard for goods and machinery and every- either fir or aucome, and man, that Skeet Phillips.