Awesome shots guys!.....Bill Muncey was the man. I always wondered......was/is Pay n' Pak a store????
Yes, in the Northwest. I haven't lived in the Puget Sound area for 40 yrs. so I don't know if they still exist.
Heres a boat that I wanted to build....I was interested in getting an old hydro and fixing it up.....the problem was they are all single seaters , thus no one can go for a ride with you AND they need a crew to help you launch/retrieve because the sides are delicate and theres typically no transmission.....hard to get the family excited being a one seater I saw a pic of this boat from Clayton and I HAD to find out about it!!!.....It turns out it was custom built by Lauterbach (theyre still in business) for a customer a few yrs back...as you can see its a twin seater (cool) and has a BBC/Merc TRS drive system in it so it has fwd/neutral/rev so you could actually dock the thing without a crew. I wanted to get them to sell me some plans and I would build it myself....here was their answer...."Well your the second guy to call looking for plans......you know that boat does 110mph with a 450hp 454....weve done some thinking about it and were just not gonna' sell any plans cause were afraid of liability if something(like death) happens.....but we will sell you a complete boat , no motor/trans...." how much is that? "About 50g's" oh ok "And since its over width it would need a tilt trailer...." and how much is that? "They start at about 15 grand...." Oh ok....cool.....leave it with me....LOL! So I bought an old Nascar instead......Id seriously love to have that boat though!damn!!!
yeah....no doubt it would be a work of art. 110 with only 450hp???.....imagine if you put a 600hp 572 or something in motor in it! can you say rocketship!
I had the wood model when I was a kid, I was going to build it as a tether boat,.. but I had it sitting on a stool in the garage drying,... and without looking, grandpa sat on it. I use to love watching the Unlimited Hydroplane races in Detroit as a kid. http://www.lesliefield.com/other_history/recipe_for_a_hydroplane_.htm
There used to be a huge rivalry between The Detroit Yacht Club and the Seattle Yacht Club to win the rights to hold the Gold Cup. Great memories.....
Remembering names like Miss Bardahl , Such Crust, Miss Thriftway, Gilmore Special,.... Miss Smirnoff, Miss U.S.1,... Miss Gypsy
Drivers Bill Cantrell, Schoenith Bros. Chuck Thompson, Mira Slovac, Ron Musson, Bill Muncey, Rex Manchester, Jack Regas, Bill Stead.... Another rivalry....best boat designer/builders? Ted Jones or Les Staudacher.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgkAYbHB8aU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj28q--UXPI&playnext=1&list=PL04BEB553942D39D4&index=39
My all time favorite speed boat is the Donzi sweet 16. I have one with chevy power, however in the early and mid 60's, most had holman moddy prepped fords. These are some early catalog cuts (none later than '69/'70. The red and blue boat was custom ordered in this color in '65. The sweet 16 boat design hasnt changed much over the years. They are timeless boats.... really a hotrod in the water!
I'm still trying to find info about the boat i am about to purchase. Apperantly they were not available on the west coast, and i think they where built in Florida. 1964 1/2 Formula By Thunderbird Haven't been able to find any pictures or nothing
The X19 was Chris crafts answer to the donzi. Beautiful boat...quite rare and they demand good money. Pre 1970 Crafts... I think the last year they made them was '71.
Anyone that has any ideas of where i can find info about the above mentioned boat, i'd really appreciate it!!!
The thunderbird formula was a boat built in FLA. Don Arronow left and took the design (minus the wood stern) and produced what was called the 16 ski sporter (the now modern day sweet 16). It was a production follow-on to the famous Wynn-Mill II wooden race boat. Jim Wynn deigned this along wth the Donzi 16 Ski-Sporter. Don Arronow in fact took these molds and started Donzi Marine. It is thought that only 150 or so were built - but I can't confirm that, thats only what Ive heard elsewhere. Below are a few Thunderbird Jr. pics. I believe you are right in assuming they were not available on the west coast. Many early Donzi's rarely appeared on the west coast for that matter. PM me for more details if you wish....
The Jalopy Journal
