Hanson Hydros

09/02/2026

The Four Seat Miss Budweiser

Curious about the hull “Goldcupper” after seeing a photograph of it, Bernie Little went for a ride in the unique four seater with Guy Lombardo in 1962. By the end of the run, he knew he had to own it. Rather than buying it outright, he traded a Chris-Craft pleasure boat for the race ready hull, renamed it “Tempo”, and entered his first race during the 1963 season.

Shortly after, while stored at a Tampa airport, the boat caught the attention of August Busch III. After Little took Busch and other Anheuser-Busch executives out for a spin, they were hooked. Little pitched them on sponsoring the boat which ignited a partnership that would become the longest running sponsorship in Unlimited Hydroplane history, spanning four decades.

Without that four seater, Bernie Little might never have taken that initial ride, and the sport might never have seen a 40-year corporate partnership that permanently shaped Unlimited Hydroplane racing.

This was a great boat to build and paint. It was very challenging trying to get it all proportioned correctly in the build, and those thin white lines in the paint scheme. But to me that’s what it’s all about, to keep pushing onto harder builds and keep trying to get better with each one.

Thank you Rick for the request! 

08/28/2026

🚨REMINDER🚨
RC boat racing out at Kruger lake in the Proving Grounds tomorrow (8-29). This is the last points race of the season so it should be a great one! Racing usually begins around 10am until about 3pm, so pack up the kids, some snacks and head out to a fun FREE day at the lake!

08/26/2026

1973 Miss Budweiser

After Bernie Little purchased the hull the year prior, the Miss Budweiser team looked to be in good shape for the ‘73 season with the proven hull. The team went on to win four of the races, but to narrowly lose out on the national championship to the brand new Pay N’ Pak by 375 points.

I always really enjoy doing the Budweiser boats and I think the Gold, Red, and White schemes were some of the most iconic over the years. This was the first ‘73 I have done and the combination of the early picklefork design with the more traditional tail section of the 50s and 60s was fun to try and recreate.

Thank you Darrin for the request!

Have a boat you would like to add to your collection? Send me a message to get your custom order started!

08/19/2026

2024 Mercury Coffee & Goodman

Wes received a 2025 Miss Madison from me earlier this year, and apparently his kids knew two more would make the perfect gift for him. They ordered these two, and once Wes received them, he took this picture of them all together. WOW I love how these look together! It’s always pretty cool seeing the models become more than just a single boat and start turning into a collection. He has told me he plans on adding more to the fleet starting with a 2016 Miss Homestreet (a personal favorite of mine, any guesses why?)

Thank you Craig family!

As many of you know I am very busy during the summer season volunteering on the Miss Madison and working at my real job, so I took most of the month of July and August off building and painting. But I’m back at it again and new boats will be made, shipped and posted soon. I appreciate everyone’s support!

08/10/2026

I made TikTok a few days ago and will be posting building, painting, RC boat and all things hydroplanes on it. So click the link and come follow if you like!

33 Followers, 10 Following, 196 Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by HansonHydros

08/06/2026

In Madison this weekend? Come check out some RC boat racing this Saturday at Krueger Lake in JPG. I’m fired up to be racing my Miss Budweiser again🔥

08/05/2026

2023 Bucket List Racing

Dustin Echols drove for Bucket List for a number of years and he asked if I could make one of my models for him. This was the first hull that I had done with the “dropped sponson” on the lefthand side and they actually had a flap in that dropped area as well that I had to recreate (Fourth picture is a close up). Talk about tough! But after some time and very careful carving I think it turned out pretty great.

The paint scheme is still pretty much the same you see running to this day, with some minor changes to the logo colors and extra logos on the wing and canard.

Thanks again Dustin, it was pretty cool being able to hand deliver it to you!

07/29/2026

1966 My Gypsy

This hull was one of the most memorable independent entries of the decade. Designed by Fred Dube and Bill Cantrell, My Gypsy quickly proved it could run with the sport’s biggest names despite being considered an underdog. Driven by rookie Jim Ranger, the boat steadily improved throughout the season, highlighted by a surprise win at Seattle’s Seafair.

I really enjoyed painting this one. The orange and black complement each other nice, and the yellow outlining on the lettering and scheme ties the entire boat together.

This weekend marks the 60th anniversary of that memorable victory. Sadly, news of Jim Ranger’s passing surfaced just a few days ago. He’ll be remembered as a “larger than life personality” who was admired and loved by so many.

Thank you William for the request.

07/22/2026

Seeing Double – 1979 & 1984 The Squire Shop

I was able to build these two around the same time, and I thought it would be fun to highlight them together. The evolution of hydroplane racing has always fascinated me, as it was figured out through trial and error, along with a lot of cash. At first glance these boats look very similar, but once you take a closer look, the differences really begin to stand out.

The ‘79 hull was built as a sister to the ’79 Circus Circus. The pair earned the nickname “Cathedral Twins” because of their radical cathedral style rear wing design. It was a bold aerodynamic experiment that only lasted a few seasons before teams ultimately settled on the now familiar straight rear wing design.

By 1984, you can see how much had changed. The rear wing and fairings had been redesigned to the latest standard, and the front of the center section had been moved rearward, introducing the front spar (the U-2). It’s a great representation of how quickly these boats evolved in just five years back when the sport was at its peak.

The paint for these boats are extremely hard to do and get right. While the paint scheme isn’t too bad to do, the “Old English” lettering takes an insane amount of time to draw out and paint, but at the end it looks very clean and classy. These are my 3rd and 4th “Squire Shop” I have done, so it does get a little easier each time.

Thank you Jason and Ron for the request and I hope you love them!

Have a boat you would like to add to your collection? Send me a message to start your custom order!