Racer profile: Bob Abbott

Bob Abbott at the Antique Raceboat Regatta, Clayton, NY, 17 August, 2012. © F. Peirce Williams

 Racer profile: Bob Abbott

By Craig Fjarlie

Bob Abbott has spent most of his life involved with boat racing. He was born in Quebec, Canada, in a small town near Montreal. “I went to my first race, I was three weeks old,” he says. “That was Valleyfield. My parents have pictures of it, but I don’t remember anything about it,” he laughs. “I was in the pits a lot, a lot of boat races.”

When Abbott was a young man, he decided it was time to give racing a try. “I had just started working, I was actually working night shift. I said to my dad, ‘I need you to run interference for me tomorrow morning in case I don’t get here in time.’ He says, ‘What for?’ I said, ‘Well, I bought a race boat. It’s going to be delivered to the house tomorrow.’ I bought an old D Stock Hydro. That was in 1977, and that was it, I was hooked.” Abbott bought the boat from Charlie Faucher, a racer from Verdun, Quebec.

The next thing Abbott had to do was find an engine. “I joined the Roostertails club in Verdun. Somebody found me a motor and bits and pieces.” Fortunately for Abbott, the boat came with a propeller. “An old two-blade,” he remembers. “It was a Seebold propeller that I wish I had to this day. Who would have known way back then, right?”

Outboard days: St. Pierre de Wakefield, 1978. The #10 was called Buck ‘R’ Two, a play on Bob’s racing budget in his first year. Photos courtesy of Bob Abbott

Abbott learned how to race and had his early success in outboard classes. “I ran D Hydro right up until 1983,” he explains. “During that time I also ran Formula E Hydro. I won my first high point championship in 1981 in Formula E Hydro. I ran PRO outboard as well. I ran 250 cc, an alky engine. In 1982 I got to represent Canada at the World Championships in Dayton, Ohio, in the 250 cc class.”

1981: Bob won his first High Point championship in Formula E Hydro. Photo courtesy of Bob Abbott

Abbott moved to inboard classes in 1983. “I bought a 145. Ran that for two years,” he says. “Then, at the Inboard Nationals in1985 at Dayton, I actually bought a 7-Litre, which was built as Bluewater Special. Mike Mamano was running it as Litre of the Pack. I won two more high point championships with that.”

Abbott did most of his own engine work. “I learned some stuff from Dick Sooy. When I was in high school, I took auto mechanics and my buddy, who was my crew chief, was a hot rod nut. Between the two of us we figured it out. The first season was a little rough. We broke a couple motors, but once we figured it out, we learned. Then we had a lot of success. We would finish in the top three every weekend right up until 1992 or ‘93. Then suddenly the 7-Litre class evolved into the new engine, the 468.” Abbott’s son, Jonathan, was born in 1989. “I’d bought a house, and Jonathan, and this and that and finally I said, ‘I can’t be investing in a $25,000 motor now and have a house and all that,’ so that’s when I sold the boat.”

Abbott wasn’t on the beach very long. “A buddy of mine said, ‘Well, let’s keep racing,’ so we bought a Jersey Speed Skiff. Poured some money into that for a few years. My buddy and I shared the Skiff. I would drive, he would drive. Just had a blast with that.” Abbott admits there were times the Skiff could be scary. “It’s always kind of scary when you’re in the cockpit and all of a sudden somebody goes right in front of you and do a right hand turn because they hit a bad wave or something. But it’s a rush. They were developing the cages and seat belts, so that would have probably saved a lot of bumps and bruises and everything else that comes along with it when you’re holding on for dear life.”

Abbott, his son, Jonathan, and his partner in the Jersey Speed Skiff all went to an outboard race in Fulton, New York. “Jonathan would have been, I think, seven at the time. We put our lawn chairs under a tree, just outside the pits. Jonathan said, ‘I want to go look at boats.’ I said, ‘Okay, go ahead, but don’t touch anything.’ Within a half-hour he comes running through the pits yelling, ‘Dad, dad!’ I thought, ‘Oh, oh, what did he do now?’ He said, ‘They have kids racing.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the Junior class.’ He goes, ‘I would love to do that.’ My buddy looked at me and said, ‘Well, I guess we’re gonna go back and race outboards.’ I ended up buying him a J Hydro outfit and bought myself a C Stock Hydro. My buddy bought himself a C Stock Runabout and we started the full cycle all over again. We ran that until Jonathan was 15.”

Bob and son Jonathan over the years. Photos courtesy of Bob Abbott

When Jonathan was ready to move up to inboard classes, Bob Abbott curtailed his own racing. “We’d become friends with the Shane family, so Robin offered Jonathan a ride in Hijacker, in the 1.5 class. We made the transition,” Abbott says. “He sold his outboard stuff, moved to the 1.5 class and ran that until 2010. He won a couple more high point championships in 2.5. Then he bought a Ron Jones 5 Litre that Mark Evans was driving for Craig Boner. Jonathan raced that for a number of years, then he moved up to the 350 class.” Jonathan decided he needed to spend his money on other things, including buying a house. He told his father, “I think I’m going to get out and sell and maybe become an official.” Bob Abbott and Jonathan both made the move to officiating. “He and I officiated for HRL in 2014, 2015 together,” Abbott explains. “I’d already been officiating for the Stock Outboard Division, and I did some work in the Inboard Division as a turn judge and stuff like that. I got invited by Steve David in 2016 to officiate with H1, so I did that for a season.”

Moving on to Inboard racing.

Bob Abbott, S-22 “Lil Lightning” (S-bottom Staudacher) at Régates de Valleyfield, 2015. © F. Peirce Williams

Bob Abbott, S-22 “Lil Lightning” and Ross McCracken, CS-5 “Pixie” (145 class Ron Jones hydroplane) at Valleyfield, 2015. © F. Peirce Williams

Abbott became involved with restoration of vintage boats. “I’ve actually got a 280, a 1957 Sooy cabover. I’ve got three outboards; one was the one I won my first high point championship with. I found it leaning up against a barn, probably a half-hour from my house. I bought that and restored it as well. I’ve got a couple others I’m in the process of restoring. I just keep at it.”

Abbott was instrumental in bringing the use of drones to Canadian races in 2014. “I had a buddy that was flying them, so we sort of tested it at some races in Canada. We’re the first organization to use drones in Canada,” he says. “The HRL series are using the drones and it makes the referee’s life so much easier, ‘cause you’re looking down. If somebody says, ‘I didn’t do that,’ you can say, ‘Well, according to the video, yeah, you did.’ The camera doesn’t lie, you know?”

From high-tech to Vintage: Bob was an early adopter of drone technology in Canadian officiating. Here he drives one of his restoration project boats, Dick Sooy’s 1957 cabover design Double Eagle. Photo courtesy of Bob Abbott

Bringing young people into racing is crucial for the future. Abbott understands that and organized a junior program for Valleyfield. “Four years ago, I started a kids’ program. We have 15 kids in the program that race. I’m the director for that class.”

Bob’s 2026 class of novice racers. Photo by Marc-Andre Rheaume

He still provides occasional help at H1 Unlimited events, where his son, Jonathan, is the head referee. “This year I’ve been the risk manager at Madison and Tri-Cities,” he notes. Abbott went on to Seattle, where the interview for this article was conducted. “They had someone else for this weekend. I was just filling in for a couple of people. This weekend I’m on vacation. I can actually sit and watch the boat race. Really looking forward to that.”

Abbott just retired from his profession as an instructor at McGill University. He taught business management and budget management. “I’m kind of in my relax age,” he laughs.

It’s doubtful Bob Abbott will truly relax any time soon. With the vintage boats and the Junior class he runs, he still has plenty of projects to occupy his time. He also has numerous friends in racing. “I know Jean Theoret real well. He was my best man at my wedding, so he and I are good friends. I went to school with his brother, Pierre, who passed away in a racing accident. I know the family quite well.”

Abbott has a wealth of information about racing and is willing to share his knowledge with anyone who requests his help, north or south of the international border. He is an asset to the sport he loves, and boat racing has benefited from his many years of involvement.

Bob Abbott at Seattle, July 31, 2026. Craig Fjarlie photo