Banks/Brunette tunnel race boat

In the mid-70’s the Marathon Boat Company supplied an 850-pound tunnel hull that, once powered by a Banks 398 cid engine, became unbeatable.

After witnessing the success of Banks engines, Lou Brunette brought his triple outboard Jones Tunnel to Banks for an inboard/stern drive up-fit.  The design had almost no tunnel compression ratio to achieve lift. “We monitored and water speed to prevent a blow over,” Banks recalled  “To achieve 120 miles per hour, it had to run right on the ragged edge, I handed the boat over to another driver… No more Jones Tunnel.”

Rigged and developed at Banks’ San Gabriel facility, the 140 mile-per-hour racer went on to win the Parker 9-Hour Enduro and was the APBA Endurance Tunnel National Champion for the next five years. An innovative tunnel and stern drive control designed at Banks optimized top speed as well as high speed maneuverability.

The Banks/Brunette tunnel boat powered by a 398 cubic inch engine developed by Gale Banks Engineering and Banks Power wins the first of five consecutive APBA Endurance Tunnel Hull national championships.

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