Cooper Motorsports’ Go 3 Racing hydro is arguably the subject of more media attention than any boat. Why? It’s the last piston-powered Unlimited-class hydro. Fans love the roar of its turbocharged Allison aircraft engine. Many admire the Coopers’ David vs. Goliath approach as they battle their well-funded competitors.

The Cooper legacy began in 1985, when Ed Cooper Sr. and Ed Jr. bought an old-style hull from Chuck Hickling. Chuck had raced the Rolls-Merlin-powered boat under the name Tempus. The Coopers repowered it with a stock Allison engine and ran three races in 1986 with Jack Schafer driving. In 1987, Mitch Evans drove the U-3 on the entire circuit, earning sixth place in the national standings.

Next, Evans and crew took a pair of sponsons from a former Miss Budweiser/Miss Prodelco and built a new, modern hull in between them. This boat raced from 1988 through 1996 with a turbocharged Allison engine. As such, it eventually became the lone piston-powered entry in a turbine-dominated sport.

Over the years, the Go 3 Racing often ran unsponsored as Cooper’s Express. And it was under that name that driver Mitch Evans outraced the field to win the 1989 Columbia Cup at the Tri-Cities, Wash. In 1991, Evans set the world record average lap speed for a piston-powered hydro at 147.953 mph in the U-3. He raised the record to 148.410 in 1995. About that time, the Coopers decided enough water had passed under their tired boat’s sponsons. During the winter of 1996-97, the U-3 team used a design and parts from Fred Leland and, with Leland’s help, constructed a new hydro.

The new boat tipped the scales at an astounding 8,600 pounds – 1,900 more than planned. “We used heavier fiberglass, zero graphite, and we never weighed anything as we went,” said crew member Rick Bowles. “We just figured it would weigh the same as Fred’s other boats.” It didn’t. “Tubby,” as the hull was nicknamed, competed from 1997 through 2001. Though not a race winner, it improved each year and served as the test bed for a variety of new ideas and technologies.

Cooper Motorsports introduced its current boat midway through the 2002 season. Embodying more than two years of design and construction, it features the latest in carbon fiber and epoxy materials. Coupled with aerospace-laminate construction, it boasts a superior horsepower-to-weight ratio. The results are dramatic. The Coopers’ fourth hull is easily the fastest yet. In 2003, it won three races: Evansville, Ind.; San Diego; and Detroit, where Mitch Evans won powerboating’s oldest and mostprestigious trophy, the APBA Gold Cup. Altogether, the Go 3 Racing Team won 10 out of 22 heats started in 2003.

It also set world records at Seattle and the Tri-Cities, Wash., where Evans averaged 160.915 mph around the 2.5-mile Columbia River course.

In 2004, Evans raised that record to 162.602 at San Diego. In 2005, current driver Jimmy King blistered the course at Nashville with an average qualifying lap of 163.662 mph.