Henry Lauterbach

HENRY LAUTERBACH from Propeller, July 2006

Henry E. Lauterbach was born in Norfolk, VA on November 8, 1918 and grew up on Portsmouth and Newport News, VA. He was fascinated by boats from the age of 6, and reportedly built his first boat at the age of 12. He and his brothers raced rowboats on the James River, and he began to get serious about building race boats in the 1940's. His first hydro was a 14 1/2 footer built in 1947.

Henry worked out of his shop in Portsmouth for years before moving to a newer facility in Suffolk, VA. Henry built over 100 hydroplanes by hand and he and his son Larry built another 100 boats together, always with meticulous attention to detail. Lauterbachs have won countless championships and speed records and today are highly prized by Vintage collectors and members of the American Power Boat Association's Vintage and Historic Division. Until his death on June 1, 2006, Henry drove to his shop nearly every day, designing, building and restoring beautiful race boats.

Larry and Henry

Henry will be remembered not only for his boat building ability but also for his skill as a driver. During the 1950's, Henry was National High Point Champion in three different APBA Inboard classes, and won five national titles in three years. He won 10 of 11 races in the 135ci hydroplane class in 1955. In 1956 alone he won high points in 135, 235 and 266ci hydro classes. He was inducted into the Gulf Marine Hall of Fame in 1956, the APBA Honor Squadron in 1974, and the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Henry retired from competition in 1963 and from full-time boat building in 2001.

Henry's fastest boat was The Boss, which averaged 178 mph on a two-way straightaway run, reaching almost 200 pmph at one point. His most successful boat was the last Miss Washington DC (now campaigned on the Vintage and Historic circuit as Wildcatter, owned by Burnett Bartley Jr), a 266 ci hydro, which won 51 of 52 races in one stretch. Henry's last boat was The Legend, built in 2002 for Terry Browning. Browning says, "Henry was a brilliant driver, engineer and boat builder--the total package."