May 29
May 29
10 Questions With Darris Allison
Interviews
In the performance boat world there are many brands and builders that have come and gone but if you were to pick one boat company that has continuously pushed the envelope in design and performance, it is Allison Boats. There is no other boat company quite like Allison Boats when it comes to innovation, racing, speed records, and longevity. This is part of our 10 Questions series, but this interview ended up being even more, with an in-depth conversation about Darris Allison’s past, the present, and what the future might hold for Allison.
Allison Boats has been using cutting edge materials like composites and wood free construction well before it became mainstream. The Allison Grand Sport is one of their longest running models and not only is the hull still one of the fastest around, it was one of the originators of “rot free” construction back in the 80s. Other innovations include PVC core construction, aluminum reinforced transom, a unique stringer and floor system, creating a “unibody” type of structure. Beyond hull designs, Paul Allison was a pioneer who made the first hydraulic trim, foot throttle, and accidentally designed the cupped propeller innovation back in the 50s, by scraping the prop on the concrete at the ramp. The cupped propeller is an innovation that is one of the most critical to modern boats of all kinds, and the most important to the marine industry according to Darris, and I agree.
One of the reasons Allison has been a leader for over sixty years is their commitment to quality and design but also because of the guidance of Darris Allison, who runs the Louisville based company. Darris got his start early, literally as a child, being involved in racing with his Dad. When the family relocated to Florida, Darris was 10 years old, and ended up being a janitor at a boat factory. Like his father, he was incredibly industrious, and had great skill in carpentry, building his own tree houses, and wiring them with his electrical knowledge. During the discussion, Darris mentioned how his father Paul was so meticulous that he would align all the screws on the boats perfectly. Paul was also the first inductee into the county sports hall of fame, being the first that wasn’t a stick and ball (sports) candidate.
Paul Allison
An early Allison race boat, wood, flat bottom design.
Darris started his own boat company, separate from his father's, when he was just fourteen years old. Paul focused on race boats, while Darris turned more to fishing boats, and revolutionized the bass boat as we know it.
Allison Boats has been around for over 63 years, and in that time has inspired so many other boat designers and builders. Darris remembered a story about Reggie Fountain, “Reggie, after he quit racing, he was a tunnel boat racer for Mercury, and he had an Allison GT 20. He had written a letter saying how much he loved his boat. That kind of inspired him to build his boat, the Fountain. Later, in 2004 him and Ben Robinson set the fastest V hull kilo record at 171 MPH. (That record was held for 10 years.)
I wanted to ask Darris more about building Allison Boats, his favorite designs, and what is next. It was an honor to speak to him, and have him share his stories. We really appreciated his time, here is the conversation.
Q: Who are you and how did you get involved with boats?
A: I got involved immediately, I did carpentry, I did electrical work when I was 8 years old. I built tree houses when I was in the 3rd grade. In 1955, my dad built a little step bottom wood boat, and I remember installing about a thousand slotted brass screws, and that was the beginning of Allison Boats.
I do remember being taken to a boat race when I was about 6 or 8 months. They took the back seat out of the car and set it on the river bank as a seat; I do remember that. Going back to how I got involved, Dad liked to boat race, and friends would get together and race. Dad had an aluminum Alumacraft 14’. He was a body man, so he turned that boat over and polished and buffed it so it looked like chrome. They had rivets, that protruded from the surface, but he polished the bottom to reduce drag. Right here in Louisville, they ran about a mile from the plant.
We moved to Daytona Beach when I was 10 years old. While we were there he worked for a boat company in Port Orange Florida. I rode my bike to school, across the causeway, and the boat plant was on the way. That was my first official job, being employed by someone other than my dad, as a janitor. I was 10 years old. After school I would stop there and sweep and clean up. I made about 25 cents an hour. At that point my dad had that 40 Scott Atwater in about 1957 on his boat, and he had it running 57 MPH. Dad would enter the 100 marathon race in his class and an unlimited class, where guys were running bigger engines from the higher classes. He would sometimes race bigger boats with twin 60 HP engines. Dad would win with his smaller 40 HP.
When I was fourteen years old, I started a totally separate business. I filed taxes as a company when I was fifteen. It was called Allison Craft Boats #2, in the old days so many companies used craft in the name. Later when we incorporated we dropped the craft and it became just Allison Boats Inc.
When we had our anniversary in 2015, we had boats from every decade, except the 50s, they were all wood boats. Dad had his little boat running so well in the 50s, he was beating everybody, and other people wanted him to build boats. So, he was in the autobody business, and building boats as a hobby, but said, “I have to build boats.” Back then, over 50 boats would show up to race. That started the Outboard Powerboat Association. Dad started out building the world’s fastest pleasure boat. His last wood boat was 1960, the first fiberglass boat was in 1961. The Allison Boats outran everyone so bad, they outlawed the wood boats. Well, he just picked up where the wood boats left off and still kept winning with the fiberglass ones.
Q:
When designing a hull like the Super Sport, what was the philosophy and what differentiates the hull design from the Grand Sport?
A:The predecessor of both of those boats was the SS 20 and GT 20, and the boat was big and somewhat aerodynamic but it had too much lift in the front. So I decided to build a lower profile faster boat. I came out with the XR 2002 as a lower profile more streamline boat. That’s the boat that set the outboard speed record at 129 MPH, in the 80s. With a 2.4 Mercury, carburetor engine, it ran a 134 MPH in one pass, but the two way average was 129 MPH. Moving ahead of that, I decided to build a boat more similar to the GT 20. We were building pleasure boats. The bigger version was the Grand Sport. The XR 2002 was smaller. The Super Sport was similar, maybe not as fast as the XR 2002, but is faster than the Grand Sport. The XB 2003, the XB 2003 and the Grand Sport all have the same bottom, not the same mold but the same running surface. They have a 10.5 inch pad, and different setbacks. With the Super Sport we made it with a deeper V and a narrower pad. It would accelerate quicker, it had more frontal area than the XR 2002, so it wouldn't run the same speeds.
The Super Sport has a 22 degree deadrise. Most of our current bass boats have a 23 degree deadrise at the each side of the pad; it progresses to the front. An earlier version of the Super Sport had a 24 degree deadrise that was extremely fast but never would settle on the pad. I generally test the first one out of the mold before I even do a deck for it.
We tested the Super Sport with a 90 HP Honda when it debuted and it ran 70 MPH, but the issue with that engine was it was heavy and sluggish.
An Allison XR race boat. The hull is defined by its pad bottom, unique strakes and ability to fly.