Description

1962 MISS NOTRE DAME (U-7) UNLIMITED HYDROPLANE

FULLY BUILT AND READY TO DISPLAY MUSEUM QUALITY SHIP MODEL

Dimension approx.: 30″ L x 12″ W x 5.5″ H
The model is already built. THIS IS NOT A MODEL SHIP KIT
Authentic gauges, dials and chrome steering wheel on dash
Authentic gauges, dials and chrome steering wheel on dash
Brass Propellers and rudders

When the 1962 Notre Dame rolled out of Les Staudacher’s shop, it represented more than a new hull on the Unlimited circuit—it marked the beginning of a new era for one of the sport’s most storied racing families. Built largely of aluminum, sleek at 30 feet long with a 12‑foot beam, and dressed in crisp white and blue with gold trim, the boat looked every bit the modern thunderboat Shirley Mendelson McDonald intended it to be. Beneath its polished skin lay the familiar heartbeat of a V‑12 Allison, ready to push the new hull into the fray.

Its debut came at Coeur d’Alene in 1962, with Colonel Warner Gardner in the cockpit. Gardner, steady and unflappable, guided the new Notre Dame through a season that proved the boat’s potential. She wasn’t the fastest on the water, but she was reliable, competitive, and unmistakably well‑built. A 2nd place at Detroit became her highlight, supported by strong finishes at Guntersville, Washington D.C., and Seattle. For a first‑year hull, she had earned her place in the pack.

The following season brought more of the same—Gardner still at the wheel, the boat still fighting above its weight. Another pair of 3rd‑place finishes at Detroit and a 4th at Seattle showed that the Notre Dame remained a capable, if not dominant, presence on the circuit. She was never the boat to beat, but she was always the boat you had to respect.

Then her story took a turn few could have predicted. In 1964, the hull was rebuilt into a two‑seat high‑speed pleasure craft, stepping away from competition entirely. A year later, she was sold to Bernie Little, renamed Shu‑Shu, and—ironically—never raced under that name. By 1966, she resurfaced again, this time wearing the unmistakable red of Miss Budweiser, and later Miss Budweiser II. Few boats in Unlimited history would carry such a range of identities.

Yet through every transformation, the heart of the hull remained tied to its origins. The Notre Dame name had been a fixture in the sport since 1935, spanning nine different hulls and nearly four decades of Mendelson family involvement. The 1962 boat stood at the crossroads of that legacy—bridging the transition from Herb Mendelson’s era to Shirley Mendelson McDonald’s, and carrying the family colors with dignity before beginning its unusual second life.