1955 Go Kart speed boat w/ west bend 820

[john whisenhunt]

Greetings everyone! I am new to your forum and already need some assistance. I purchased this PWC from a gentleman who informed me that this is a 1955 aquascooter. Unfortunately, I can't find any information out there about this thing which leaves me to believe that we were misinformed. So I am turning to the experts... the knowledgeable "GURU's" on this site. Can you please help us identify our new family "hobby" boat. It came with a west bend 820 and says Sea-sprite in certain parts if the boat including the engine mount. Any information, value, I mean anything about this boat will be greatly appreciated because I am at a loss.


Also I have included the below link to more photos if it helps
https://picasaweb.google.com/stafford.s ... directlink

[Rick Chapman]

Hi John..
I have a Dolphin Hydro Kart.
It resembles your boat except mine came with a McCulloch
It is a Metal flake Champagn color and is about 9 feet long
I have started to restore it but I need to seperate the halves to get at the inside and see where the water is coming in.
Mine is from around the early 1960's...
I'd send pictures but it is in storage.\
I can send pictures when I take it out.
Kool Boat..
Rick
Rixkart@AOL.COM

[ted johnson]

John, I can guarantee it's not from 1955. The first commercial hydrokarts came along in 1961, and the "craze" didn't really hit until 1962. The 820 was not introduced until very late 1961, and they didn't start appearing on the track until early 1962. There were literally dozens of hydrokart brands sold. We even sold a couple Azusa Wotta Whips in our Brevard County, FL kart shop, in 1962. I had one for about two weeks with an 820 on it. It reminded me that I hate to be wet!
P.S. is that a Van Tech manifold I see there on the 820? If it is, put a stock intake on the engine and sell that manifold for big bucks. Super rare if it IS a Van Tech.

[john whisenhunt]

Good Eyes, sir! You are correct, it is a vantech. How would someone go about following your advice? My wife seems to think that "big bucks" sounds terrific.... ugh! Can you advise me? I would love to sell it if the price is right to further this project. What is a fair price? Or if you do not know, can you point me in the right direction? I also would like to replace some other parts (ie. piston rings, pull start, etc) I also want to thank you for your quick, informative response. But I am a pisces from California... I love the water!!!!

[ted johnson]

John, you couldn't do better than to remove the manifold, clean it well and take a pic or two. Advertise it here on the forum for somewhere in the range of $150/175. Of course, eBay is good for the richer buyers, but you're taking a chance. It is a very rare find. Wish I could afford to buy it myself!
There are lots of places to get 820 parts. Bill Riggs at http://www.billsvintagekartengines.com/ is a very good one. He might even have a pull starter. I'm sure he would have piston rings, points, condenser and a stock reed valve to replace the Van Tech. I might even have a stock manifold here without the reed valve. You'd have to clean it up yourself, though. Dave Fillman at http://fillmanengineering.com/ also has a few 820 parts. He's a Rokon trail bike lover. Vince Hughes also quite a lot of parts as well. If you pm me, I will give you his email. The world guru of the 820 is Dave Bonbright at Engine Masters. Good guy to know. His phone: (707)938-8122. He's often out of the shop, but leave a message. There are a host of 820 lovers out there. I'm rebuilding one right now for sale. Ted

[Louis Skuce]

Dear Mr Whisenhunt,
My name is Louis Skuce from San Diego, CA. A few days a go, I was looking on google
for any information online that might pertain to the Dolphin Hydrokart, because my dad, brother,
and I designed, tested, built, raced, and manufactured that hydro kart. I happened to stumble
across this article on rearenginekarts.com, and saw what initially looked like our Dolphin D-100
model, but upon closer inspection of the 3 in shop pictures of that boat, I quickly realized that
it was a Sea Sprite. You see, we began manufacturing the Dolphin in 1963, and in 1965, one of
our engineering vendors and another man named John Wilson kind of copied our Dolphin D-100
model. At least he copied the basic design of the deck. The Sea Sprite hull is a flat bottom,
while the Dolphin D-100 is a 3V bottom with non-tripping chines. The Sea Sprite is a great
rough water boat, even though it rides a little rough compared to our Dolphins.
If you have any questions about your boat, I would be glad to try to answer them, even
though it is a different brand. There should be enough similarities. The West Bend 820 is a
superb engine, and with a little TLC, and the right (stock) parts should give you many hours
of fine karting. My contact info is:
Louis Skuce
louskuce@yahoo.com

[ted johnson]

Louis, is your Dad the old-time hydrokarter "Digga"? Used to see that name a lot in the early sixties! Ted