International Waters: First we'll do some background information to help those less aquanted with North American R/C to get up to speed. How and when did you become involved in R/C? How did North American R/C get its start?

Sammie VonMello: My father Tom has been in the hobby business for over 30 years. He has owned two hobby stores and now he owns North American R/C manufacturing. I personally have been involved for the last 20 years.

IW: Why does R/C boating appeal to you?

SV: I love the challenge of making everything go fast. We have raced cars, real boats, model boats, snowmobiles, go carts, and motorcycles. It's been fun to take all those years of racing real race boats and applying our knowledge in our American Eagle boats and motors.

IW: At present, North American hulls have won a total of 14 IMPBA titles - quite an impressive record. What do you attribute this success to?

SV: The fact that we have won so many world records, not to mention the races that have been won by our customers all over the world, I would have to contribute our success to the key people the make up North American R/C. It is their past experience in the real world of boat racing that has made it so easy to build such a superior product. We have also been very successful in other forms of racing like car, snowmobile, go-cart, and motorcycle racing. All this knowledge has been put to good use here at North American R/C.

IW: Can you introduce us to the key members of the North American staff and give us an idea what they do?

SV: First, there is my father Thomas VonMello. He is the owner and he oversees the entire operation. Then there is Gary. He is head of our laminates dept. He has over 25 years in hi performance hull designs and lay up. Next there is mike: he is head of our machine shop facilities [and] has been a machinist for the last 30 years in hi performance engines and drive systems. Then there is myself. [I am] head of R&D and engineering. I have for the last 35 years built and raced real hi performance boats. Next, there is Dennis and Pam. They are in charge of computer programming and sales. They follow through from start to final testing on each American Eagle package. Also there is Bernie, Bill, Tim, and John that build and water test our American Eagle packages.

IW: I was wondering if you could give us a glimpse at how one of your hulls is designed and tested before it's put into mass production?

SV: The pictures here are our mold and hull design room. The second set of pictures are our 48" Eliminator in testing stage.

IW: Can you explain to us what's going on here? Is that a wooden boat being readied to make a mold from, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?

SV: That is the plug that we build the mold from. The plug is part wood and part putty. When it is ready to make the mold it will be all putty.

IW: Can you give a quick outline of this testing stage? You've got a prototype hull that's been fitted out and is ready to run. What next?

SV: The prototype hulls are water tested at our private IMPBA race course. We run them through a series of tests, like straightway speeds with different set ups. Lap times are recorded. Video is [also] taken of every test and all test results are logged into our laptop PC at the lake. We then go back to the shop where all dat a is reviewed by all of our staff and adjustments are made accordingly.

IW: Correct me if I'm wrong, North American's line of engines is made up solely of Homelite-based products. Why do you use the Homelite as a starting point? What advantages does it have over a Zenoah, for example?

SV: The Homelite motors have been very good to us. We know how to get the most out of them while still keeping the reliability up. We have broken 13 out of 14 world records with them. We did build a 23cc Zenoah for the 23cc class which we are going to release under our Blackhawk racing engine lineup. When comparing 30cc against 23cc you will find in the same boat, that its hard to fight cubic inch.

IW: Here's the traditional final question: Peer into your crystal ball and predict where this hobby/sport is going. What is going to be the next big thing? What technology should we be on the lookout for? Where do you see North American, in say, 5-10 y ears?

SV: We find that each year more and more boating hobbyist are coming to realize how much fun large gas boats are. We are running faster and faster with more reliability and more ease in maintenance. The day of the slow gas boat is gone forever. As far as technology goes the picture of our 48 inch Eliminator is a good example. We plan to stay on top with new and very exciting products.

Thanks goes out to Sammie for being patient while this interview was compiled - it took a lot longer than I originally expected to get this online. I did learn something about North American boat and hulls, and hope you did too. While it's fresh in your mind, go check out the North American Homepage!