Will Farmer

My wife and I made most of this book as a Christmas gift for my dad, Will Farmer, Sr., in 1974, after he and I built our last boat. I then started a machine shop, which my son, my dad, and I still operate today.

I worked on hydros with my dad since I was 8 years old. I remember setting up screws for a penny a piece, while Dad drilled holes and my cousin drove screws. I was paid $2.00 to varnish the inside of a hull (two coats). Later, we built frames together, Dad on one side and me on the other, gluing and nailing gussets. As the years went on, that process turned into a race, at which point, he would say, "slow down, this is not a race and you are getting too damn messy." We had our share of arguments: by the time I was 18, I was sure I knew more about the design and building than he did. I wanted to use 1/8" plywood on the left side of two 280's we were building. Words and wood flew for two days before I realized what a bad idea that was.

We traveled to races most every weekend of the season, mainly in Region III and IV. For years, I couldn't wait to be picked up from school to go to Grasonville, Md. Whether we were in Dayton, Miami, St. Pete, I realized the APBA was and still is a great organization; it brought together families and friends in such away, it would be hard to put a value on. It created memories I will always cherish.

I am very proud of my dad. He has always been a very honest person, a quiet man, who would always go out of his way to help people. Only a few of our customers were wealthy people. He started many people in racing by building boats to a stage of completion they could afford. I remember a couple from N.Y. picked up a 136 with no deck and we loaded it on top of their '55 Oldsmobile. They didn't have enough money to return home and Dad gave them $20 .Our 280 boat and designs helped many drivers move up to faster classes, Skeeter Johnson, Mike Thomas, Chuck Thompson, Jim McCormick, Jim Cunningham, Jim Kropfield and Dean Chenaworth.

I believe Tom D'Eath's 1995 Propeller article summed it up best: "Farmer's love and dedication to this sport are evident by the fact that many of his customers and associates became life long friends. His interest in the sport was infectious and it brought many new people into our sport. His contribution will certainly have it's place in the history of boat racing.

Will Farmer, Jr.
 

ELLEN ROBERTSON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
RICHMOND, VA
Dec 14, 2006
A graveside service for Wilton T. "Will" Farmer Sr., a builder of hydroplane racers who received power boating's highest honor, will be held Thursday at 11 am. in Signal Hill Memorial Park, 12360 Hanover Courthouse Road.
Mr. Farmer, who built his first racer in 1954 in a former grocery store in his old Highland Park neighborhood, died Monday at his Richmond home. He was 90.
The store remained his "plant" until he and his family moved to Chamberlayne Farms in Henrico in 1961. Then the "plant" moved to his garage, behind his house.
Until 1974, when he turned out his last boat, the Richmond native built about 75 racing craft that won many races and set a number of speed records. Two won national championships. They now are sought-after collectibles.
In 2002, he became the third Virginian inducted into the sport's hall of fame, the American Power Boat Association's Honor Squadron.
Building boats was a sideline to his work as a city of Richmond surveyor and later as vice president of Farmer Machine Co., a metalworking business he operated with his son in Hanover Industrial Air Park.
In addition to boats, Mr. Farmer loved to play the drums and was a member of the Richmond Musicians Union. He played with a number of bands over a 70-year span, including Barry McKinley and Skeets Morris.
Survivors include his wife, Elva Mae Farmer; one son, Wilton T. "Will" Farmer Jr. of Mechanicsville; two grandsons and one great-grandson.