U25 Boat 1973

Illustration of speedboat in red, white, and purple with red text outlined in white above and white text below on purple background.

Several hydroplanes in the American Power Boat Association would use the U-25 hull to design their boats. The 1973 edition of the U-25 belonged to the Pay ’N Pak team owned by Dave Heerensperger. Heerensperger was a longtime fan of the league, first sponsoring the Miss Spokane team in 1962. Eventually, he would want a team of his own, entering the league in 1967. 

The first Pride of Pay ’N Pak hydroplane would debut in 1969 and was named after a chain of hardware stores Heerensperger had just purchased. By 1973, there had already been three Prides built and retired. The new edition cut “pride of” out of the name, thus 1973 marked the first Pay ‘N Pak. This version would be the most successful of hydroplanes to have this name, immediately getting four wins and only losing the Gold Cup due to a lost prop in the last lap disqualifying them.