Bass Boat Beats Mississippi River Run Record
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Buckshot Racing #77 | Outboard Racing History
On October 5, 1983, Bob Cox and Dean Pink completed the Mississippi River run from New Orleans to St. Louis in 23 hours, 9 minutes. Their boat was a 19-foot Charger Foxfire bass boat, powered by a single cross-flow 235-hp Johnson outboard. It was an extraordinary result for a rig that looked more at home heading to a fishing spot than challenging a long-distance speed record.
The achievement displaced Michael Reagan’s earlier mark. Steve Silver’s Powerboat article, “The Record Falls Again,” reported Reagan’s time as 25 hours, 7 minutes. On that basis, Cox and Pink cut 1 hour, 58 minutes from the journey—almost two hours.
A Small Boat With a Big Job
Reagan’s attempt had used a 38-foot Wellcraft Scarab and a substantial support operation. Cox and Pink chose a far smaller, open-cockpit boat and a leaner approach.
The magazine described their effort as having no backup boats and no large team of mechanics. Once they were underway, a major mechanical problem could end the attempt.
Cox was president of Charger Boats, and the Foxfire gave him a chance to demonstrate what a bass boat could accomplish outside its usual role. Silver described a lightweight hull that came onto plane quickly.
For a trip requiring repeated stops, that characteristic was useful: the boat had to get moving again efficiently, then keep covering miles.
Experience Before the Record
Cox and Pink had already made the trip in 1978. Powerboat reported a daylight running time of 20 hours, 25 minutes, with an overnight stop in Greenville, Mississippi. That earlier result gave them experience on the route, but it belongs in a different category from the 1983 elapsed-time achievement.
A running-time total that excludes an overnight stop cannot be compared directly with a journey’s total elapsed time.
The 1983 challenge demanded more than a fast hull. They needed an engine that would keep performing, a boat they could manage over a long distance, and stops that would not consume their margin.
The magazine emphasized the consequences of a breakdown: repairs would have to be handled quickly on the water, while a serious failure would finish the run.
The Record in Numbers
Metric | Michael Reagan | Bob Cox and Dean Pink |
Run year | 1982 | 1983 |
Boat | 38-foot Wellcraft Scarab | 19-foot Charger Foxfire |
Reported elapsed time | 25 hours, 7 minutes* | 23 hours, 9 minutes |
Distance used for comparison | 1,027 miles | 1,027 miles |
Calculated overall average | 40.9 mph | 44.4 mph |
Cox and Pink’s improvement: 1 hour, 58 minutes—approximately 7.8% less elapsed time using Powerboat’s reported baseline.
The 44.4-mph figure is a calculated overall average: 1,027 miles divided by 23 hours, 9 minutes. It includes the full elapsed time of the journey, including stops. It does not represent the boat’s top speed or its average speed while underway.
Historical timing note: Powerboat gives Reagan’s time as 25:07. Dean Klinkenberg’s later history lists 25:11, which would produce a 2-hour, 2-minute improvement. This article and its chart use 25:07 to preserve the comparison printed in the supplied magazine pages.
Why Buckshot Racing #77 Is Revisiting This Story
For outboard enthusiasts, this is a compelling example of a small boat taking on a large task. The lesson we draw from it is that usable performance combines hull behavior, dependable power, preparation, and the ability to keep moving. Every minute stopped counts against the same clock as every mile underway.
Buckshot Racing #77 celebrates the people and machines that helped shape outboard performance. Cox and Pink’s Mississippi run deserves a place in that history: two drivers, one bass boat and one outboard completing more than a thousand miles in less than a day.
Source Credit and Editorial Note
This original Buckshot Racing #77 historical retelling is based on two supplied pages of Steve Silver’s “The Record Falls Again” in Powerboat, with historical cross-checking against Dean Klinkenberg’s “Chasing the Robert E. Lee: Boat Races on the Mississippi River,” published in The Confluence, 2020, Volume 11, Issue 2, Article 2.
The complete Powerboat article and its continuation on page 63 were not located, and the magazine issue date remains unconfirmed. No missing passages, quotations, engine modifications, fuel totals, or stop schedules have been reconstructed.
The accompanying artwork consists of modern historical illustrations rather than archival photographs. Buckshot Racing #77 branding identifies this editorial presentation.
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