PDA

View Full Version : Are Hawaiian & Tahiti the same hulls?



77_Tahiti
07-19-2001, 07:33 AM
Im trying to figure out some boat history here. I have been looking at a few 18 foot Hawaiian's and they appear to have the same lines that my 18 foot Tahiti has. Also seems like a lot of manufacturers specified their boats as "bubble deck's", what does bubble deck refer to?
http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif Attention: ""Old Farts"" http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
A history lesson would be nice here for all the "young guns" on the various extinct custom boat makers!
[This message has been edited by 77_Tahiti (edited July 19, 2001).]

mario
07-19-2001, 02:02 PM
77 TAHITI,
IM NOT SURE 100% BUT THEY LOOK VERY MUCH A LIKE. I HAVE A 28 FT. HAWAIIAN AND AM TRYING TO FIND SOMEONE WITH ONE MY SIZE. GO TO
(RIVERTOYS.COM) THEY WEB SITE OWNER HAS HIS 18 FT. HAWAIIAN PIC ON THERE. TAKE A LOOK...
MARIO

058
07-19-2001, 03:37 PM
An opinion from this "old fart"....Tahitis and Hawaiians were built at the same time so I doubt if they were made by the same mfg. I have to go take my Medamusl now so I can have a bowel movement without straining too much....good luck young wippersnapper.

Oldsquirt
07-19-2001, 03:52 PM
"bubbledeck" refers to the shape of the deck surface ahead of the dashboard. It is different than my 73 Tahiti which has a flat slope up to dash. Many manufacturers copied that bubbledeck design.
Don't know if Tahiti and Hawaiian are same hull. Tahiti produced many different lengths abnd styles. If you are looking at a Hawaiian, check the manufacturer's plate. Tahiti was produced by Schuster Boats

RiverToysJas
07-19-2001, 04:06 PM
I do have an 18' hawaiian (and love it). But I've been fooled so many times by boats that I thought were Hawaiians because they looked just like mine. They always turn out to be something totally different. I know they were made at the same time, but sometimes I swear someone was driving around with the mold on a trailer dropping boats off at every manufacturer.
Jason.

rivercrazy
07-19-2001, 04:15 PM
There was so much Splashing going on in the 70-80's it was really hard to tell the brands apart.

Eric
07-19-2001, 04:19 PM
I've heard that Dick Schuster built Tahiti boats, left Tahiti to build Southwinds, and then started Hawaiian Boats. Maybe some of the molds traveled with him. I bet Ultra28 knows the history.
Eric

Oldsquirt
07-19-2001, 04:38 PM
Bubbledeck example http://images.traderonline.com/img/6/plcnad/761058/1169263_1.jpg
note the way the deck curves or "bubbles" up to dash.
[This message has been edited by OLDSQUIRT (edited July 19, 2001).]

Bubbledeck
07-19-2001, 05:19 PM
hmmm .. I thought Bubbledeck referred to me heh

old rigger
07-19-2001, 05:35 PM
Dick Schuster did indeed own Tahiti then he and another guy, Jerry Groom, started Hawaiian Boats. They were involved in a big lawsuit over Hawaiian boats because they started it with stuff they had back doored at Tahiti. Groom ended up going to prison over the deal. Hawaiian was going to be called "TIKI" and they even had a few boats leave with thoses name plates but had a court order to stop. Even had the little tiki head and the same style of writing as Tahiti. Dick had sold Tahiti to Bell industries in the late 60's but stayed on as president. Groom was a bean counter with Bell that knew diddly about boats. Schuster had nothing to do with Southwind.
Sanger Jack made the first Bubble deck, Rogers was the first to splash it for his 18' and later 19' models, then the whole west coast boat industry followed.
My Dad started to work for Dick Schuster in 1966 and stayed with him until 1980 or so, when the gas crunch hit. I started to work for him when I was a kid, going there after school and cutting wood, waxing molds and stuff like that. Went to work full time at Tahiti when I got out of high school and followed him to Hawaiian a year later. Stayed until 1979 then worked for Rogers for 5 years. From there I went to Advantage to be general manager until they move to Havasu. Also worked for Warlock and Howards. got out of the boat thing in '95.

77Spectra
07-19-2001, 06:18 PM
Old rigger, you are about my age, 42. I have a frend that had a 19 or 20' Hawaiian. The boat had very little freeboard, 460 with Jaquzee pump. ( can't spell ). The pump angle was down about 2 degrees. Even with a diverter, the more gas you gave, the more the nose drug the ground. 200 more horses gave 10 mph. What a dog, guess they screwed up that one.

RiverToysJas
07-19-2001, 06:22 PM
old rigger, Sounds like you may have been at Hawaiian in 1976. My 1976 Hawaiian is still the original gel. The plastic name tags on each side are still in tact. Check it out: http://www.rivertoys.com/gallery/1976H.html
I did have to put a post in under the center of the dash though. I never understood the logic of drilling a 4" hole (for Tach) in a 5" piece of wood right in the center of the boat.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 07:55 PM
77 spectra, youre right . What a dog. Little or no thought was given to the high performance end of things at Hawaiian.We had a few different 19' models and one of them was designed by one of the boss's brothers who didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. Boat was a real pig. Lots and lots of boats cranked out there. Up to 9 a day, which is alot for for a shop putting out all hand lamanated boats. You can't blame me for that one of your friends though. I didn't start rigging until I went to work for Roger Weiman at Rogers Custom Boats. At Hawaiian we had guys comming out of prison who had made friends with Jerry Groom while he was in there, and he would give them jobs rigging boats while they were on some type of work program from jail.
Jerry Gilbreath of Gil Marine was also a rigger there for quite a while, blame him (just kidding).
What can I say, it was a good job and I learned a lot but I'm more proud of the work I did at Rogers, Advantage, Howard and Warlock.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 08:08 PM
77 spectra, I wish I was 42 again.just turned 45, man, where does it go???? By the was, dumb question, you have a spectra? I just picked up a '74 20' that was a jet and I filled all the holes and going to build a v-drive (sorry). Never had one so there is no time like the present. Going to run a 500 inch caddy. 'Bout 100 pounds lighter than a BBC and gobs more tourque, just right for a cruiser. Toying with the idea of putting on a wood deck, and have talked to Jim Miller of Miller Boats in central Ca. about the job of building one, only have to talk my wife into it. 10 grand is alot for a new deck, but there aint nothin' like a wood deck boat.

spectras only
07-19-2001, 08:12 PM
According to my friend Dave,sanger made the first bubbledeck like old rigger says,he visited Jack in the late seventies when the 18 bubbledeck flattie surfaced.He also mentioned that, everyone started copying that design .

old rigger
07-19-2001, 08:16 PM
It was way before that, Roger splashed it in late '72 and used it on his '73 models

77_Tahiti
07-19-2001, 08:17 PM
Old Rigger,
Thanks for the information, I now feel like I know a little history about this boat company. I think my boat is a "Tiger" model but I'm not sure. It is not a bubble deck in fact it looks a lot like Jasons 18 foot Hawaiian at Rivertoys.com. It has a fiberglass engine cover with a scoop on it, I think the cover is factory installed.

spectras only
07-19-2001, 08:20 PM
Old rigger ,Jim should do a nice job on your deck,since he got the 20 foot spectra mold, and probably done one before.I love wood decks but it's quite expensive to do it right.If you like wood decks , you should check my buddy's boats.He's website address,www.kazulinboats.com ,he just finished a new model a few weeks ago that went to a client to Lake Tahoe.It's a 23 footer with the new 496 Chev.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 08:30 PM
I've seen that web site and was impressed at a small block v-drive running 62mph with that deep of a V. very nice.
Your right , Jim ended up with thoses 20 molds. 23 different companies splashed that boat. That and the little 16 ft Tahiti have got to be the most splashed boats ever!

77_Tahiti
07-19-2001, 08:33 PM
old rigger,
Forgive me for asking but what does a rigger do? Thanks again and good luck with your project.
Anyone know the story with Southwind and Spectra? Seems like I have read some where that Southwind's are copied Spectras!

spectras only
07-19-2001, 08:48 PM
Tahiti,go to topic "new member" on jet forum,under spectras only I have the Southwind broshure pics,#21 pic shows the lineup of models.The 18 mini cruiser is a spectra design, which southwind bought the mold from spectra marine.

LS7
07-19-2001, 08:52 PM
Schuster 1/2 owned Tahiti with his brother, Schuster started TIKI while still at and with Tahiti, Lawsuit, Schuster left Tahiti and started Hawaiian.
I know this because I own a "TIKI", built on "TAHITI" property. Bought it direct from Schuster, watched it being built and drove if off the "TAHITI" plant.
LS_
BTW Hawaiian is still in business as of late 1999 loacated in Corona, CA. Jerry, I believe runs the show and is still in contact with Schuster. He took pictures of my boat in 99 and said Schuster would be happy to see them.
Just read OLDRIGGERS post he is spot on, damn I'm getting old, forgot all about BELL INDUSTRIES.
[This message has been edited by LS7 (edited July 19, 2001).]

old rigger
07-19-2001, 09:01 PM
A rigger would install any thing mechanical, gauges, steering, pump, outdrive, engine,etc. Then he would run it out to make sure there are no leaks, steering rack isn't installed upside down (don't laugh, guys do it all the time. you don't want that. Turn left go right, turn right go left). A gel coater paints the mold after he, or someone else has taped the design into it. then it goes to the laminators, hopefuly doing his job by hand using a squegie and NOT a chopper gun. The parts are pulled from the molds and sent to the assemblers who install the deck to hull, put in the carpet( why they had us do this before the boat was rigged is beyond me, it's not done like that any more) and fuel tanks. Then to the rigger and then to detail guys who install the seats, bowrails and windshields.Thats how it was done at Tahiti and Hawaiian. Each shop is a little different. You can imagine the kaos when 9 boats a day are being put together. I've seen guys bond the wrong deck to a hull and have to cut it off and start over. Seen guys installing seats in a boat that was a rush job (they all are) and they ran long lags through the seat frame, through the bottom of the boat and to the trailer bunk pads. The owner couldn'nt figure out why he couldn't launch his boat!!!' Not a happy camper on Monday morning, when he drove all the way back from where ever he went on vacation, and was waiting in front of the shop. And don't think any of the shops are better than any others. I have a friend whose Schiada v-drive was being brought home from a show in Vegas and the guys forgot to tie the thing down and dumped it in the middle of the desert. The kicker is they didn't know they had lost it until they got all the way back to the shop. Had to turn around and go find it. None of the shops, no matter what they tell you, are quite what they want you to think they are. They are only human.

77_Tahiti
07-19-2001, 09:05 PM
So what the hell happened with Tahiti or Bell Industries? This industry is worse than those darn soap operas! http://free.***boat.net/ubb/rolleyes.gif

old rigger
07-19-2001, 09:10 PM
LS7, as far as I know Schuster was sole owner. Sold Tahiti in the late 60's to Bell for a cool Million. A lot of money back then. Plus he still owned the property and stayed on a president. Jerry Groom fled to New York when Hawaiian went belly up. Maybe you met his brother Joe. The Team Hawaiian of today is not connected to the old Hawaiian boats. I think Dick passed away last year but I am not 100% sure. He had a bad car wreck years ago and was in bad health. Hope hes still kickin'.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 09:13 PM
77 tahiti, Bell sold Tahiti to Hardin Marine. They went belly up a few years ago, at least the boat building part but might still be involved with Sea Ray in some way. This business is truly a whores market.

77_Tahiti
07-19-2001, 09:14 PM
Old Rigger,
Thanks for the industry insight, sounds like you have a few stories to tell. I was laughing about bolting the boat to the trailer, hell I bet the owner was laughing that evening while drinking some Jack!

RiverToysJas
07-19-2001, 09:26 PM
Wayne King owns Team Hawaiian and although it's technically a new company, Wayne claims to have been with the company in the 70s. That's what I remember him telling me anyway.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 09:27 PM
77,
He would need a lot of Jack!
When I was just a kid, 'bout 13 I was at the Tahiti shop after school and the gelcoater at that time was a guy that never wore shoes and sprayed the molds like that AND he never wor a mask of any kind. His lungs must be hard as a rock now from all that gelcoat. Any way, when he would finish his work he would go to the wash area and use this super strong soap stuff of his own mixture to clean his face,hair and feet.Some of the older guys ,my Dad included, handed me a thing of Nair hair remover and bet me 5 bucks that I wouldn't mix it in with his soap. I did and his hair came out of his head in big bloches. This was about 1969 and long hair was really cool to have, man was he pissed off. He never did find out who did it.

old rigger
07-19-2001, 09:32 PM
River toy,
I never met a Wayne King at Hawaiian and I worked there the entire time they had there doors open, but my mind has been failing for a long time so who knows.

LS7
07-20-2001, 07:45 AM
Thats correct, I used Jerry's name in my post. It was Wayne, and I do believe Team Hawaiin was the name when I stop by a couple years ago.
LS

old rigger
07-20-2001, 08:32 AM
LS7,
Jerry Grooms brother was Joe. Wayne King doesn't ring a bell from the old Hawaiian Shop.
That Tiki was built on Schusters property not Tahiti. Bell owned the name and bussiness. Dick owned the land, including the 3 big buildings in Bellflower where Competetive trailers is now and A&M trailers was years ago. Also the big shop off the 605 fwy. that is now all inclosed and a medical building! Wonder if they ever got the smell of resin out of the place?
Once when the lamanators went home,at the shop off the 605, they accidently (?) left the valve open to the holding tank for the resin. This tank was huge, I'm guessing 5 to 10 thousand gallons. Early next morning the resin truck came to deliver a fresh batch of resin, the driver let himself through the gate and pumped in the predetermined amount of resin. Disconected his hose and went to his next stop. When everyone got to work the place was flooded with resin, 5-6in thick. When I got there after school, Dick handed me a snow shovel and a pair of big rubber boots. I looked at his like what the hell is this for? He led me to the back room and there were all the lamanators scooping this crud up. It's amazing we weren't blown to pieces, scraping metal shovels against the concrete floor. In the end we just mixed catalist in all the mess, let it kick off and broke it out with sledge hammers. I can't imagine that there still isn't a hint of resin in the air there.

iparky
07-20-2001, 04:44 PM
old rigger, I will try to post a pic of my 79 20' openbow hawaiian. Complete rebuild and with a berk, the old pumb porposed continuely until we reworked the bottom and changed pumps. Sunray Marine in Corona handled the new wood, upolstry and carpet, they did a fantastic job. We changed a few things on the walk through like the angle to the floor. Now my feet fit between the seat bottom and the upright. The boat is sound but do to no full length stringers alot of stress cracks. It does get good looks for and makes me feel http://www.goldenplasma.f2s.com/forum/smilies/cool13.gif

iparky
07-20-2001, 04:47 PM
almost forgot the entire boat was re gelcoated with an updated look with no more 70s metalflake.

RiverToysJas
07-20-2001, 04:51 PM
I feel like I got the anti-lemon. My 18' Hawaiian is solid, fast and has no stress cracks, except where the dash cracked below the tach. But that just happened a few years ago in very heavy chop and high speed. I've since put a post in and replaced the floor, center box stringers adn bulkhead - after 23 years, that's not too bad. I need to upgrade to a 21' because the family is growing but I will miss this boat when it goes.

mario
07-20-2001, 06:29 PM
OLD RIGGER,
Been reading all your post and I am looking for info for an 1978 Hawaiian that I have been working on. This one is 28 ft. Daycruiser with a Berkeley, I have not seen another one around like this one, has a built in swim deck. Do you recall this model.
Mario

old rigger
07-20-2001, 06:53 PM
Mario,
We built a lot of those and also had, if memory serves me right, a 25 ft version of the same hull. That was one of the few original boats that Hawaiian built. Dick hired the job out to a guy, and this is a terible way to remember someone but I can't for the life of me recall his name, anyway the guy was an old time plug builder and only had one leg. He did all the work in house and he was really good at what he did. A super talented guy. Those molds were floating around for a long time after Hawaiian went belly up. Like I said it was a big seller and we had 2 molds for it, built one a day for years. Put one together that almost killed Schuster. Had 2 berkleys in it and twin BBC's, they took it out for a test run and it ran like stink but when they took it into a tight turn one of the pumps cavatated and spun the boat out violentely, throwing Dick across and almost out of the thing. Smashed his head up real good. Pumps were mounted real close together too and the engines were stagered . Anyway, we built a bunch off 'em .

Bubbledeck
07-20-2001, 07:11 PM
old rigger I've really enjoyed reading all of your trivia posts. That whole old boat thing kind of fascinates me and hearing your stories really ads color to it :-)
I wonder if you worked on my boat .. it's a 1976 18' Tahiti Bubbledeck with a berk and a Harman 460 .. btw, do you know any specs on those motors? Were they just stockers that Harman put marine stuff on or did they have any special performance options?
Mine still has the original gelcoat and metalflake. Luckily it's good colors silver/charcoal/red and it still shines like new. I don't recall seeing many with those colors back then, was that an uncommon combination amongst all the browns, greens, and yellows? .. anyway keep posting and I'll keep reading :-)
PS I looked at one of those 25' hawaaian cruisers last year .. nice boat, but awfully big

RiverToysJas
07-20-2001, 07:30 PM
BD, We should get our original, 1976, 18' boats together for a photo op, I'd love to put it on my website. I like my colors as well. It's yellow and red/orange but a nice bright yellow, not that mustard color that you on so many of those years. I have no metal-flake and what I think are nice graphics too.
[This message has been edited by RiverToysJas (edited July 20, 2001).]

Bubbledeck
07-20-2001, 08:44 PM
RTJ sounds good to me! Right now there is a chance me and my boat may make it to OP6C.
If I don't make that, then my next trip down will be Sep 22-29. That trip is a for sure. We'll be staying at Avi that week (casino just north of Needles)

old rigger
07-20-2001, 08:48 PM
Mario,
I remembered something about those 28' Hawaiians that you might get a kick out of.
We got an order from some third world country or middle eastern one , I can't recall exactly now, for 2 of these things built to certain specs. They were both Jets with BBC's and both had enormous fuel tanks custom built for them .The hulls were twice as thick as a regular production boat and the deck had a lot of special reinforcing. The buyers sent along a template and some kind of mount that we built into the deck and later they mounted a 50 caliber machine gun on top of them and used these things to patrol some river in that part of Hells half acre.
Bubbledeck, I was at Hawaiian in '76 so I didn't work on your Tahiti. It's nice to hear that you have kept in in such nice shape though. Even though I havent had a metalflake boat in a long time, I still have a soft spot for them. Could be the soft spot in my skull.(but not the BIG flake they use on Bass Boats)
Any body remember the metalflake upholstery that you could get to match the flake on your boat? My neighbor has a '66 howard flatie running a Hemi that still has this stuff in and it looks brand new. White hull with blue flake trim and seats to match. Beautiful boat. Would love to have it in my garage!

lakecrazy
07-21-2001, 03:44 AM
Oldrigger, Do you have any information on Anthony jetboats? They were produced in Hawaiian Gardens, California. Thanks

old rigger
07-21-2001, 07:50 AM
Lakecrazy,
Yes, Anthony boats was built by another guy that got his start in the boat biz working for Schuster. His name was Tony and I can't remember his last name right now. It will come to me , in fact he was my dads rigging partner for a while. He only built boats for a short time, 5 years or so then he went on to become a Preacher!!!
Marty Hatchel was another guy, he went on to build Hornet boats. Went down to the local A.M.C. car dealer and bought a bag full of car emblems and used them on his boats. His boats had those little angled, built-in gauge bezels on the dash. When he tooled up his plug he used the bottom of beer cans to build those things. He passed away a few years back. Our paths crossed again when I was at Howards. He was there for a short time, couple of weeks.
Bruce Nescher was another one who worked for Dick wery early on, I never met him but he was a rigger when my dad started there, mid 60's. Of course he went on to much bigger things with Sleekcraft.
Jerry Gilbreth, whos dad started Gil marine rigged for Dick too. He built some boats with the same 19' hull that Spectra had, and now , or at least I think he is , still running Gil. Last I heard he married the heir to the Del Taco company so he's not hurting for scratch. He and his dad were sponsered by Tahiti in off shore racing for a short time ,running a old 21' deep V. Not the splash of the spectra but this one was a enlarged wersion of the little 16 footer. All the employees called that hull "the Toad".I don't remember how they did but can remember getting a kick out of seeing it in the boat mags. when I was little, with the name Tahiti plastered along the sides and telling my buddies that my dad worked there. When he (Jerry) was rigging at Hawaiian every one called him 'Super Rigger' but it wasn't for his boat building skills. His main claim to fame back then was he could put an entire Big Mac in his mouth with out taking a bit out of it. Very entertaining guy.

jim lee
07-21-2001, 10:27 AM
Old Rigger, I totally LOVE your stories! This is something that a lot of us wonder about. What was going on when all these boats were being built?
Do you remember a Hawiian about 19' with enclose engine and really swoopy lines that looks a LOT like a sleekcraft? I've got one of these, and was wondering if it was the one that the boss's son designed?
Anyway, keep up the stories! This is now the first thread I check every day now!
-jim lee

Racing Ray
07-21-2001, 10:43 AM
oldrigger
I was about to ask you about my sons Hornet. I see you already mentioned them. I been around boating a long time and never heard of them myself. I even worked for Jerry and his Dad for a short time while the old man was racing. I was welding OTs and headers for them. At that time I had a Miller flattie, I am guessing about 74'?
http://www.highperformanceboating.com/hornet.jpg

old rigger
07-21-2001, 02:36 PM
Jim Lee,
Glad you like the stories, my wife is bored to tears with them.
Yeah, if your 19 has a dash that has a lot of angles built into it, not a straight across flat dash, that's the one that Jerrys brother Joe tooled up. The name of that one was "the Polynesian".
I remember a 20 ft. open bow we made was called "the Moonraker", stupid name for a boat, I think a James Bond Movie was out about the same time with the same name. There is a great story about Hawaiian and that Moonraker. Omega boats built that one first and it may of been the first open bow, low profile, type of boat on the market (except of course for Tri-hulls) anyway, Schuster evidently saw the potential of something new like this and sent someone down to their shop to buy one of them. Brought it back to our shop and had the name tags taken off and the Hawaiian name plates put on in their spot. Replaced the upholstery and took it down to the L.A. boat show, and debuted it at the same time as Omega! We didn't even have a mold for the thing and he's taking orders for them. Later Hardin would build that hull for years but I don't know if the molds they used were Omega or Hawaiians old ones. They may have even popped their own.

lostlake
07-21-2001, 02:57 PM
WoW!!!! Old rigger you have been around the block more than once. Hawaian boats is across the street from tom papp in Norco, Do you know any history about the deck boat ( EDGE) (Mirage) or whatever the hell there calling it these days, Tomm Papp owns the mold it the bottom looks like a 21 daytona, with a deck, if you know any info it would be appreciated.
http://www.goldenplasma.f2s.com/forum/smilies/cartoons/calvinhobbes/calvinhobbes04.gif

LS7
07-21-2001, 03:08 PM
Old Rigger,
Here is a Schuster boat show story. Something like 1970, 71 my dad goes to the show and see this high sided jet boat. He doesn't even know what a jet boat is LOL. My dad talks to Schuster at the show and orders this boat, Schuster called it a TROPICANA. I believe the mold was from Florida, maybe you know. But to our knowledge there were only 2 of these boats built. We had a 455 olds, high rise intake 850 carb, and thru transom exhaust. OH yea it had the LONG DROOP, LOL.
We named the boat "BIG SURPRISE", reason, my dad would take this high side profile boat to the river, race all the flatty's and low profile jets, slowing them down to a 20mph start and smoke them in a "river race".
8 out of 10 times win or lose the other boat would always slow my dad down and ask him to kill the motor so they could see what he had for power under the engine cover.
WAALAAA "BIG SURPRISE" to see nothing but a single carbed 455.
LS7
[This message has been edited by LS7 (edited July 21, 2001).]

old rigger
07-21-2001, 08:14 PM
lostlake,
I don't know any thing about that deck boat, or anything about that new Team Hawaiian. Sorry. Only deck boat I had any thing to do with was the one we did at Advantage. Ron Eddy tooled that one up for us. He used to have , I believe, Agua Craft. I'm not 100% on the name of his boats but he goes back a loooong way. Used to campain a BFH back in the day,(60's)
LS7, great story. Lots of guys laugh when you mention running a Olds, but they ran hard and made gobs of tourque. I have heard they suffered from a weak bottom end compared to a BBC or a 460 but I have never had first hand experience on blowin' one of those up. Mangled a few chevys and the 140 Evinrude on my first boat( Expensive lesson on why to install a water presure gauge. Dad tried to tell me, but I was almost 19 and knew it all!!!)
I don't remember that name 'Tropicana' but you jogged something in my memory. For about 3 years my Dad didn't have a boat, but we didn't need one. Schuster would let him take a new one to the river when ever he needed one. I guess Schuster thought of it as free advertising, and seeing as we had a place at the river from 1961 on and went there as much as we could, the boats would get seen alot. Dad would always take a Jet, he loved 'em. Anyway when my Dad died 2 years ago, I found some old photo albums in his things that I hadn't see in a long time and there are some shots of a boat like you describe in there. I think it was in 71'or 72' and we were at Parker that weekend even though my folks place was at Bullhead. This one was all blue metalflake with a silver target. If I had a scanner and knew how to use this f%&#@n' computer any better I would post a picture so you could check it out. Might be the same hull.....

jim lee
07-22-2001, 10:55 AM
Whewh! Close call! Ours is the flat dash version. I've seen pictures of the one with the funny dash. The boat looks, to me, idenical to ours from the pix. Exept the dash that is. esides the dash, is there any difference?
Thanks for the info. Oh yeah, seeing you did mention Aqua Crfaft.. I've got one of those as well. 69 with olds 455 & Jacuzzi. Its the only Aqua Craft Jet I've ever seen. Do you have any Aqua Craft stories?
Thanks again and keep the sotries comin!!
-jim lee

77Spectra
07-22-2001, 01:23 PM
Old Rigger. Boat Question, perhaps you know. Most Spectra boats seem to be built useing the same hull config. They just made some bigger however the 19 is much different, on the top anyway and has less freeboard. The bottom seems to be close. Also seems like it was splashed alot. After the fire were there any hulls left? Thanx.

old rigger
07-22-2001, 02:33 PM
77,
That's a great question and I dont,have an answer. I've often wondered about that Spectra fire,I know diddly about that company but if the fire was the reason they went belly up, why did that happen? The molds, from what I understand, survived, right? The 32 footer has been in Vegas for years. Jim Miller bought the 20, The 18 went to Southwind and I think the 19 was owned by Gilbreth. I don't know what happened to the 24. If all these molds survived, what was lost? Did someone die in the fire? Surely
the insurance would have paid of for any Structure damage or other inventory.I don't get it and I obviously don't know the entire story. Maybe Brent,that has the Spectra site can shed some light on the subject.
By the way Tahiti had a huge fire in the 60's before Schuster sold to Bell, and they went on to become much bigger. I have heard the fire, at Spectra, was around 1980 or so.
That is right when the gas crunch hit and we were right in the middle of a recession, boat shops were folding right and left at that time. Makes me wonder if there wasn't more to the story.
A boat company is only as good as its molds, if they are junk and you have the best crew in the world to build your boats, they are still junk. Sort of like gold plating a dog
turd. It's still a turd. Spectra had some of
the best molds in the business, some would argue the best, they should still be building boats.
What happened???

SPECTRABRENT
07-22-2001, 03:49 PM
OLd Rigger & 77 Spectra,
Old Rigger I think is right about the molds being sold, but the 24 was sold to Sanger and they made and sold the boat as a 24 Spectra. As for the 19 foot it looks like the Spectra 32. The 19 Spectra first came out in 1975 and The 32 Spectra came out in 1977. Spectra closed in 1981. I think Spectra went out of business for a couple of reasons.
1) Everybody copied the Spectra 20 & 24 and that did hurt business.
2) The ression and gas prices in the late 1970's & early 1980's
Old Rigger is right about the molds they were the best in the business and Spectra should still be in business. If you look at the newer Halletts (210,240,270,300 & 320 is the 32 Spectra) they were designed by Bud Bailey and he designed the Spectra hulls.
Old Rigger I need a picture of your Spectra 20 for the owners page.
SpectraBrent www.spectramarine.com (http://www.spectramarine.com)
P.O. Box 800234
SAnta Clarita, Ca. 91380

JET BUG
07-23-2001, 06:56 AM
OLD RIGGER
interesting stuff happening here,i was wondering if you rememberd any boats that were sent to South Africa.I have a boat called a cona (suposed to be the same as a tahiti)out here.the story goes something like this.A chap called Louis Lipschitz who owned a company called LHL plastics sold about 30 of these 18 foot 455 olds/berkeley combos in the early 70s, as well as a few 16foot 350small block chevys/berkeley combos.Whether it was done under licence or copied i dont know, the majority were used for ski racing there are about 25 or so left in the country not easy to find one for sale. This is a big eggbeater nation would not know a jet if it came and bit them on the ass,any thing you can remember sure would help
cheers
J.B

Hustler
07-23-2001, 08:20 AM
Oldrigger or spectrabrent,
I have a 74 Hustler and to my knoledge was built in burbank, the hull is very simular to the spectra 19' altough mine is a 22'6". does anybody know anything about these hulls i personly have never seen another one but i did have this old guy stop by my house one day just after i had bought it. he asked me if it was a hustler and told him it was he said they hade one that they kept at there house on some lake up north, he is the that told me they were made in burbank and that ther are very few around. any info on this hull would be appreciated.
Hustler

SPECTRABRENT
07-23-2001, 09:02 AM
Hustler,
At 22 feet long your Hustler is more like the Spectra 20 not Spectra 19. The Spectra 19 is a low profile ski boat. The Spectra 20 is a daycruiser. I dont know much about the Hustler boat co.. There were many boat cos. in the 1970's. Maybe Old Rigger can help.
SpectraBrent

Hustler
07-23-2001, 09:44 AM
Brent,
When you see the boat you will know what i mean. the bow is more pointed like the 19' and the dash is more curved than the 20'. are you going to the ultra regatta ? if not i'll definetly catch you at castaic after the 10th.
Hustler

spectras only
07-23-2001, 09:58 AM
Jet Bug ,I wondered if you had a typo[cona]?I met a guy 12-13 years ago who had a Kona 20,looked like a Spectra clone.He had it stolen a year after I've met him and the boat was never recovered.It was the only Kona I ever seen in canada.There was one recently for sale in hot boat's classified.

77Spectra
07-23-2001, 06:22 PM
There are a bunch of Konas in Dallas. I knew of at least 5.

old rigger
07-23-2001, 08:53 PM
Jet Bug,
Lipschitz? Jezz, sounds like a name that Jerry Sienfield would use on his show.I think the other guys are right , if any thing it was probably a Kona or at least a splash of one. Wasn't Kona another Orange County boat?
Hustler, the name doesn't ring a bell, other than a few boats that guys had named 'Hustler'. I do remember Haskell boats from the valley.
I guess Spectra was just a victum of the times like Brent says and the rumors of the fire being the cause of their demise are not true. I don't think the fact that alot of guys splashed their boats would have much affect to their bussines IF they were truly building a boat for a upper end customer. Those buyers always have the cash to buy the better boat, rather than buy a splash from some one else,look at what Schiada has done through the years. But I gotta tell ya, I recently bought a 73 Spectra jet that had no engine or pump that I am building a V-drive out of, and the only thing I was impressed with was the lay-up of the four stringer hull. Very nice. It was every bit as nice as any Rogers built and I would say any Schiada too. The rest of the boat is typical of any built during that period, wiring, gel coat, seat frames are all, so-so. The intake for the pump was installed crooked. But the lay-up is flawless. Not a stress crack in the thing and the bottom is straight as an arrow.

77Spectra
07-24-2001, 04:09 PM
Kona may have been one of the Texas boats like BeachComber. My Spectra had a few flaws. The hull was about perfect. Like everyone else they did not glass the bottom of the floor and created a 10 gallon water trap. The deck has more glass in it than most hull do however the Gell was mixed too hot and too thick. Looked like a cracked egg shell, no fun to repair. Grinding cracks was useless so I gound the entire top. I was a little scared but it came out great.

froggystyle
07-24-2001, 06:11 PM
OldR, here is a question for you. I used to own a boat called a 'cuda. The registration/pink says 'cuda, and it has a 'cuda emblem on the gunwale, but I have never seen another. Two distinguishing features on the boat are...
1. molded in gauge bezels
2. Molded in splash guard on the transom (about 3 1/2" tall)
Stringers are full length, and the bulkhead in front of your feet had a gap in the middle, but plywood went fore/aft from there, creating a very solid deck. The deck also had a 1/4" ridge in the center. It also had some chines on the sides, and was very stable at 71-72mph, and had zero chine walk. Has anyone ever heard of this brand? Could it be your Hornet? I have often wondered why I never found another, and the tags on the side look remarkably like the ones off of a Plymouth Barracuda from the 70's.
BTW, you should have a column in Hot Boat! I too thoroughly enjoy your posts.

froggystyle
07-24-2001, 06:11 PM
OldR, here is a question for you. I used to own a 1979 boat called a 'cuda. The registration/pink says 'cuda, and it has a 'cuda emblem on the gunwale, but I have never seen another. Two distinguishing features on the boat are...
1. molded in gauge bezels
2. Molded in splash guard on the transom (about 3 1/2" tall)
Stringers are full length, and the bulkhead in front of your feet had a gap in the middle, but plywood went fore/aft from there, creating a very solid deck. The deck also had a 1/4" ridge in the center. It also had some chines on the sides, and was very stable at 71-72mph, and had zero chine walk. Has anyone ever heard of this brand? Could it be your Hornet? I have often wondered why I never found another, and the tags on the side look remarkably like the ones off of a Plymouth Barracuda from the 70's.
BTW, you should have a column in Hot Boat! I too thoroughly enjoy your posts.

skijake
07-24-2001, 07:31 PM
Kona boats where built in Westminster Calif. in the 70's. If I remember right some manufactures like Anthony splashed them.

Oldsquirt
07-24-2001, 07:34 PM
Froggy is this it?
http://www.boattraderonline.com/addetail.html?11286952
If not, take a look at who is selling it.
[This message has been edited by OLDSQUIRT (edited July 24, 2001).]

old rigger
07-25-2001, 06:30 AM
Froggystyle,
Sounds like a splash of a Hornet to me. Marty was the first guy to do those little built in gauge bezels. Of course he splashed that boat from some one else too! He, like everyone else would change or add something to the hull they were splashing, sometimes for the better and sometimes with questionable results. (always liked what Marty did with that dash) I do not know what the actual law was or is about splashing but I can remember Schuster telling me (back in the day) that you had to change the boat enough as to where it would not fit back into the mold you were splashing. Later I heard you had to change 10% of the boat. How the hell you would figure out 10% is beyond me. Like I said, this is what I was told but when you look at the splashes of the 20 Spectra, I've seen lots of them that were not changed at all, some did change the deck though. Howard Boats splashed that one right after it came out and later changed the deck, straightening out the gunnels, looking more like a Schiada. That looked very nice, and to me, improved the looks of the boat alot. Roders version of the same boat, he bought a set of molds that were already built from ,I think it was who ever owned the name Conquest back in the early 80's, had the straight gunnels too but the doghouse was a little shorter and I don't think it looked as good as the Howard. But that is just my insignifcant,tiny, narrow minded opinion.
Ski Jet,
Yeah I knew that Kona was built out here in So.Cal. but for the life of me could remember where, thanks. I met the guy that used to build Konas when I was at Advantage, he would come around now and then. He passed away a few years back. I heard they opened him up and his lungs were toast, some said from all the unfiltered gelcoat he took in through the years, but that might of been just a rumor.
77Spectra,
That sounds like a heck of a lot of work on the deck of your Spectra! Did you remove the non-skid too.
That cracking you expereneced had nothing to do with the gelcoat being applied to thick or mixed to hot. If that was the case it would have lifted or blistered in the mold before the hull was layed up. Usually those kinds of cracks just come from age and the gelcoat begins to shrink. The magc number seems to be 10 to 15 years with a boat and if your boat is going to do this , and not all do, it will start happing then. If your boat is kept in the desert the chances are even higher. One of my boats that we left at the river, did this too, but on a much smaller scale. It was a 79'hull.
You know over the course of 10 or so years a boat hull has finally cured, the elastic quality of the resin that has made a boat so durable isn't there anymore. ( this is one of the reasons it is easier to take the hook out of an old boat and not a new boat. but that's another subject, and someone needs to start a different post for that) If your boat was built corectly this is no big deal really because on a good design together with a quality lamanation, the boat will not beat itself to death. On the other hand, a lot of boats that make it to this age are are going to start having more and more stress cracks and some times, no matter what you do, they will reappear. Although a good repair guy can build up certain areas of the boat to prevent this from comming back.And alot of NEW boats will start to crack the first time in the water but these tend to be boats that were built using a chopper gun and the mixture was resin rich or the wood was put in incorectly, or a number of other things that could have been done wrong.
And as always there are exceptions to every rule.

froggystyle
07-25-2001, 07:50 AM
Old Squirt, That is my old boat. I sold it to my great freind and teammate last year when I decided to go down the blown pickelfork road. Mike has had a great time with that boat, and recently rebuilt the whole deal. He just bought an Ultra after seeing mine being built, and as such is selling the 'cuda. In all honesty, if anyone is looking for an inexpensive, great performing ski boat, this thing is a really honest, great performing boat. I am curious as to what its history is though, as it is a totally cool hull, and so far unique.

77Spectra
07-25-2001, 06:31 PM
Old Rigger, this boat did not have any non-skid. Not sure the 19's did, my friends 18 did have it. The top deck was the only part of the boat with all the cracks. The gell was also twice as thick as the rest of the boat. There were a few stress cracks from hits on the hull but it was in decent shape. Call it bordom, ADD, or lack of anything else to do but I took it down to the glass, totally. You could not tell what color it was. The stripes being shot first of course were deeper. I went back and laid a layer of glass to these areas. The Idea was to use as little filler as possible. The keel was well worn and I had to add 1/2 inche to the forward 10' to bring it back to stock. I was not happy with how the paint came out on the top so I am re-shooting this week. One thing I learned on boats, If you do it half ass, your ass might get wet...

iparky
07-25-2001, 07:20 PM
OLD RIGGER,
What year did Hawaiian first start making that open bow(moonraker). Mine is a 1979 20' open bow low profile as you mentioned. Just wondering becouse I have seen newer Hawaiians with open bows but they have a much higher free board than mine, My boat actually sits pretty low. I just looked up Moonraker w/James Bond the movie was released in 1979. http://www.goldenplasma.f2s.com/forum/smilies/happy34.gif
Any other info. on my boat would be greatly appreciated.
tks iparky

kevin
07-25-2001, 07:21 PM
oldrigger, what where the reputable builders in the 70's? i mean what boats would YOU be looking at to possibly buy knowing the stuff you know about the industry back then. until last year i had a newer(1990) cole 20.6ss. even today splashing still goes on. i have seen several different boats that looked exactly like my cole. i loved the cole, very solid but had to pay alot of bills, but i am now looking for a little 18'jet hot rod boat(cheap) but don't want to buy a crappy copy of a good hull, rather get a soliod foundation from the start. thanks
kevin

SPECTRABRENT
07-25-2001, 08:18 PM
Kevin,
I know Old Rigger will agree with me on the following boats co's of the 1970's.
1) Spectra (I am a little partial I have 2)
My brother has a 18 foot lots of free board.
Spectra 19 is a great looking boat. Both 18 & 19 foot were used as circle race boats.
2) Hallett
They made an 18 foot (good speed ski boat) that looks like a Spectra lots of free board and a bubble deck 19 foot.
3) Nordic
Made a buble deck 18 foot.
6) Rogers
(very nice 18 foot bubbledeck) used as a circle and drag boat. I think Advantage makes the hull now.
7) Sanger bubbledeck hull I think it was used as a circle race boat.
8) Challenger I see many of this brand of boat at the river.
Brent

old rigger
07-25-2001, 10:04 PM
Iparky,
I was thinking that the Moonraker came out in '78 but it could have been 79. My Dad had one of these , bought a bare hull and built it at home. Thing ran real well. We put a George Stregal (clay smith) prepped BBC in and it ran pretty good on the top end. Would pull 5600 rpm with a A impeller,(Berkley ) don't know what that related to MPH wise, but it ran very respectably. Was a little rough riding in the big chop. When my Dad died 2 years ago, I sold it to a guy I knew that said he just had to have it. Wanted to keep it for ever ,blah, blah, blah. Practically gave hime the thing because he was a friend and the prick turned around and sold it to some one else. This thing was super clean, still had the original seats and carpet. No stress cracks. Gel coat was starting to shrink in a few minor spots. Dad had it for 20 years and took very good care of it. Hope who ever got it keeps it up. Should have kept it, but wanted to build a V-drive at the time.
Hawaiian sold a bunch of them as did Hardin, Omega and who knows who else. I always liked that pointed nose.I think that might have been the very first low profile open bow that had the open bow built in. In other words not a hard deck that had the deck and dog house cut out and seats put up front.

old rigger
07-25-2001, 11:03 PM
Hi Kevin,
Man, that's kind of a no win question. No matter who's hull I pick someone else will say what about this hull or how about so and so's boat.
But, and like the one on my fat Aunt Shirley, this is a big but, if I was in the market for a 18' Jet that I was going to hot rod around in, with the possibilty of putting some HP into along with some good pump work, there is only one boat I would buy. A Rogers 18 Bubble Deck. Like spectra brent said these were circle and drag raced, not only that they flat dominated the sport for a long, long time. Yeah, I know that someones uncle Bob built a Kona or a Hallet or a Tahiti or whaterver that blew his neighbors Rogers out of the water and ruled the local water way with his 100mph jet boat.
There is always going to be someone faster or someone who prefers another kind of boat, thats the way it should be, makes it more fun.
What I'm saying, having worked for Roger for 5 or 6 years, that there is no better built
18 ft.jet boat.Period. Bar none. Roger Weiman is the most knowledgeable guy in the boat biz (just retired a few months ago).
You will not be disapointed if you take the time to find one of his boats. No one built their boats with more care and attention to detail than he did.
By the way, the 19 Bubbledeck Rogers has a different bottom than the 18.

kevin
07-27-2001, 07:27 PM
thanks old rigger, i had looked at a kona bubble deck awhile back and a couple challengers, the challengers were all 1/4 stringer so i passed on them, and the kona looked solid, but it had one chingouw on it that i didn't like. a freind and i got a laveycraft flatbottom vdrive with a small block chevy. first time running a flatie, and a vdrive. scary fast(gps'd 92mph) decided after allmost pitching myself out of the damn thing that i wanted a jet again. im gonna have to keep an eye out for one of them rogers now.
kevin

VanDeano
08-10-2001, 12:01 AM
I have a 78 25ft Hawaiin Day Cruiser, just spent the last 2yrs restoring it. It has a 460 hardin marine w/ a Berkley jet. Kind of a big boat for a jet, but I wouldnt want it any other way.

mario
08-10-2001, 07:45 AM
Originally posted by VanDeano:
I have a 78 25ft Hawaiin Day Cruiser, just spent the last 2yrs restoring it. It has a 460 hardin marine w/ a Berkley jet. Kind of a big boat for a jet, but I wouldnt want it any other way.

mario
08-10-2001, 07:49 AM
Originally posted by VanDeano:
I have a 78 25ft Hawaiin Day Cruiser, just spent the last 2yrs restoring it. It has a 460 hardin marine w/ a Berkley jet. Kind of a big boat for a jet, but I wouldnt want it any other way.
vanDeano,
Hello, I would like to get in touch with you. I have a 28 ft. hawaiian that I have been restoring. Long way from finishing Taking my time as Im in no hurry. drop me a note if you wish.
mario

mario
08-10-2001, 07:50 AM
geteeo@aol.com

bigdaddykarl
08-11-2001, 01:57 PM
Mr. OldRigger (or should that be Dr.?):
I have a question regarding Wreidt boats. I just recently agreed to take one off my friend's hands, and as soon as he gets around to putting it back together, I'll take delivery. He doesn't know much about it, other than that the boat was made in Norwalk, CA. I'm not even sure that is correct. I've searched all over the web to find info on the thing, and there isn't any. Are these hulls any good? Are they a copy of another?
I've enjoyed reading this string, I'm about 100 times more knowledgable than I was yesterday.
Thanks in advance,
Karl

old rigger
08-12-2001, 08:26 AM
Big Daddy, Yeah Wriedt was another local (so. cal.) boat. I'm almost 100% sure that Jerry Wriedt was a rigger for Schuster at Tahiti in the mid 60's when my Dad went to work there.
As I said before lots of guys got their start working for Dick . There were a lot of boats being built before then but your choices were either a flat bottom, very cool stuff back then, or some type of fishing boat. Schuster took that Glaspar fishing boat, cut the deck off and added a SK style of deck and it was the right boat at the right time. A little famly boat that rode good and ran fairly well when you put some HP to it. I'm refering to the Jet version. More I/O's and outboards were sold though. The problem with making one of those little 16 jets haul ass, was not making it go fast but the deep nose in the bottom had a tendency to make the thing bow steer when you got off the gas. The thing would settle back down in the water and have sort of a mind of it's own. When Roger Weiman built his 18' he started with this hull, streched it and took out that deep nose. Ended up with the best 18 on the market. Roger and Schuster built the first v-bottom jet drive when they were approched by Berkley to do the project. That first one ran right at 70 mph and held the record (in bracket racing as there was no class for jets yet) for a while. It took Roger quite a while to get another one to run as fast because no body knew what the hell they were doing when it came to installing the pump. Remember, this was when the entire pump was installed inside the hull and only the steering nozzle was sticking out of the transom. When Roger took it to the drags for the first time not only did everyone laugh at the thing when he told them it was a Jet Drive they all backed up and got as far away as possible from it for fear of being burned from the "jet" when he started it up. He said it was pretty funny and but they all stopped laughing when he put every one in his bracket on the trailer. BTW he was running a big 427, dual carbed Ford in that thing.
I know that a lot of guys think I'm blowin' smoke but in the mid 60's to the early 70's you couldn't throw a stick in the water at the river with out hitting on of those little 16' Tahitis or someones version of it.
Sorry to ramble on.......and drop the
Dr. stuff......

Rat Raft
08-12-2001, 04:34 PM
Ramble on and on we love reading this stuff. Any good stories about the Gullwing boats? Am I correct that they were started by Jim Youngblood and the hull was another that came from a bass boat design?

gstark
08-14-2001, 07:41 PM
Keep on ramblin'.
Anything on Glencoe?
Manufactured during the 70's. Out of biz around 79 I think. I had a 18' 1973 that I just traded in on a new Caliber 1. The Glencoe could turn on a dime and the 455 was a pure torque motor. I owned it for 18 years, put an hour meter on it for the last 8 years and had 460 hrs on it. I'd guess I put double the hours on it prior to the hour meter installation. Never skipped a beat. Pulled the heads off once and vacuumed the sand out the block and replaced a dropped valve seat insert.
Still getting used to the new boat. A whole lot different.

old rigger
08-14-2001, 08:10 PM
Rat Raft,
The closest I every came to having any thing to do with those types of hulls was when I was at Advantage Boats when they were still in Anaheim. We built, and they still may for all I know, the hulls there for Bill Scotten, California Performance boats. He is another guy that cut his teeth working Roger Weiman and raced one of his hulls before going out on his own. I don't know the history behind those hulls, the Youngblood/Texas Tunnel/California Performance connection, what ever it is. I have heard rumors through the years but don't want to add to them.
I will say this though, I rode in one of Bill's CP's and was the fastest boat I have ever been in. We were down in Blythe for the annual pig roast and some guy offered me a ride. Was one of Mert Littlefields buddies, so the thing had a huffer on it. Was the most awsome ride I have ever had, put me waaaaay back in the seat.
Something else, I have a thing about never buying a new boat from a guy or shop that doesn't have it's own glass dept. What's the point if they are relying on someone else to do the most important job for them, you are just dealing with the middle man. If there is a problem with the hull or something needs to be dealt with under warrinty and you take it back, they are just going to have to take it to the glass shop and let them do it. Anyway, Bill Scotten would be my exception to that rule. The guy is very meticulous when it comes to laying up his hulls, almost to the point of being a pain in the ass and hanging around when the job is being done, but he knows the way he wants his stuff built and won't except it any other way. He's a good guy and really knows his jet stuff.

wrightnow
08-14-2001, 08:33 PM
CP hulls are still being done by Advantage. I worked with bill on my current cp and yes he can be a pain in the ass and is from old school, but he knows what he wants and how to make a cp go. I have been very happy with my boat for the the last two seasons, rock solid.

wrightnow
08-14-2001, 08:34 PM
I almost forgot, old rigger i love the history lessons...Thanks

old rigger
08-15-2001, 06:24 AM
wrughtnow,
Is Jim Pringle still with Advantage? Best gel coater in the biz. Jim Sullivan too. Course they both go back a looooong way, they even worked together at Elimanator when only that shop offered the new, more agressive paint jobs. More of a conservative type myself, but the buyers today eat that stuff up.

old rigger
08-15-2001, 06:56 AM
gstark,
Don't know anything about Glencoe, or even where they were made. I do remember that they had the rounded sides where the hull meets the deck and transom (called the tumblehome) and that there was another , actually two other boats like that that I remember. Roger Weiman's dad was also a boat builder and his little 17' was the same as that Glencoe as was a boat called Cutlass. The Cutlass might have been a Glencoe and that was one of their models, I don't know. A guy I went to High School with had one of them and I remember it had a Cutlass nameplate on the dash. At the same time I had my first boat, a Weiman. Same exact boat, I don't know who splashed who but they were nothing more than a streched 16' Tahiti with the sides changed a little. Mine was a '71 and I bought it used when I was about 19 so that would have been around 74 or 75. That little boat was alot of fun. It was an outboard though, not a jet....sorry. Looking back I am amazed the thing held up to the beating I gave it. Use to launch at Golden Shores and follow the ferry boat that went to Catalina out to the break water. That ferry boat made a huge swell behind it and we would jump that swell and see how close to the other side of the wake we could get. People would stand on the transom of that ferry and watch us like we were a couple of seals or something. I'm convinced that it was the deep vee and that deep nose on the bottom of that hull that saved me from pounding that boat to pieces.
I remember it had a dopey eletriconic shifter that was always giving me problems when it got wet. Got to be real good at taking that little thing apart and cleanning the contacts. Course stuffing the boat in those big rollers and the waves comming out of the hot water channel in Seal Beach didn't help the thing either, but it sure was fun. My son is almost 14 and is wanting his own boat in the near future...pay back time for Dad!
PS. he can have a boat, an old dock beater when the time is right, but not a PWC.

skijake
08-15-2001, 09:01 AM
Glencoe was built in Costa Mesa. I went under around 1974 I think.
Worked for them for a short time. Was not impressed, they did not seem to be to concerned about quility, just popping out the boats. Yes they did have two boats with the rounded back, only problem was that on one of them the hull was rounded and the deck was square and you ground it down, put a bigger rub rail on and shipped it out.
Could not understand why they went under????

dpage
08-15-2001, 10:32 AM
gstark,
I have a 76 Glencoe, have had for 2 years.
Did you evey have any problems with your Glencoe u-joints?
Your 455 sounds like it really hung in there for you.
Had to tear my 455 down this summer because of LOW oil pressure year before last. Bearings had been worn down to the copper as indicated by babbit in the oil filter.
Did most of the Mondello stuff-- oil pressure is great now but on the maiden voyage a knock appeared. Didn't souond like it was coming from the engine when I ran it with a hose. Thought it was in the u-joints, replaced them and the 2 rubber bushings on the rear mount. Now I got a whiir and a knock.
Plan on pulling the engine, removing the CV joint and listening to the engine without engine connected to pump.
the strange thing is that the knock goes away with the vacuum advance off. We retarded the hell out of it in case it was pre-ignition knock-still knock with vacuum advance on--none without.
I'm going to wear out the boat taking the engine in and out!
Any comment on this?
dpage
Originally posted by gstark:
Keep on ramblin'.
Anything on Glencoe?
Manufactured during the 70's. Out of biz around 79 I think. I had a 18' 1973 that I just traded in on a new Caliber 1. The Glencoe could turn on a dime and the 455 was a pure torque motor. I owned it for 18 years, put an hour meter on it for the last 8 years and had 460 hrs on it. I'd guess I put double the hours on it prior to the hour meter installation. Never skipped a beat. Pulled the heads off once and vacuumed the sand out the block and replaced a dropped valve seat insert.
Still getting used to the new boat. A whole lot different.

gstark
08-15-2001, 11:26 AM
When I bought the boat in 82, the owner had just spun a rod bearing, so he had the bottom end apart, put on the oil restrictors and a large pan. Never had a problem in the years I had it. Hammered it rather well, at that.
Never had a u-joint problem. When Jack at MPD did the pump, I wanted him to install new ones and he said "not necessary". I always kept them well lubed thru the zerks.
My engine used a 4 point hard mount to the 1/2 length stringers. No rubber mounts or vibration isolators anywhere. In my experience, I have noticed the few jet boats I have been in all had a low rumble at or just off idle. I think this is a dynamic characteristic of the hull/pump mounting arrangement. With a little RPM, the rumble would disappear. Definitely not engine, nor u-joints. One jet boat I was in would sing like a violin at a certain rpm. Pure harmonics in action.
Don't know about your knocking, sounds kind of strange being dependent on engine vacuum (maybe). Before you pull the motor, run it on the hose (briefly) and using a length of heater hose, put one end to your ear and use the other end to go fishing for noise. You'd be amazed what you will hear. Perhaps that will shed some light.

gstark
08-15-2001, 11:28 AM
Also, the emblem on the side of the hull as well as the Coast Guard emblem showed that Glencoe boats were manufactured in Santa Ana. Perhaps they had a second plant to spit out these "quality" boats.

old rigger
08-15-2001, 12:28 PM
skijake
what are you building now?

LS7
08-15-2001, 09:14 PM
Old Rigger,
I finally got some pix of my "TIKI" to show.
Also I take pride in this statement everything you see in the picture is original except the tunnell ram. No re-jelcoat no rechrome THIS IS IT!
http://www.mindspring.com/~bmneal/boat.jpg
http://www.mindspring.com/~bmneal/motor-rt.jpg
[This message has been edited by LS7 (edited August 15, 2001).]

old rigger
08-16-2001, 06:31 AM
LS7,
Man that thing is clean! Nice boat. I could have sworn that we put the Tiki namplates on all the Tikis that left the shop before the name was swithced to Hawaiian, but I don't see one on yours. Although there's not much room on those short gunnals to mount any nameplate. Did we mount them on the side of the hull, under the rub rail, just ahead of the transom, or on the dash? Hell, I can't remember.
Shows you what I know.

LS7
08-16-2001, 07:13 AM
I'll take a pic of the coast guard plate mounted unnder the forward/reverse handle as that is where it is located.
Also i'm looking at the Arizona Watercraft Cert right now it states:
Mfg Name: TIKI BY SHUS
The TIKI name plate was probably never put on as a request from my dad. My dad new Schuster for years. Schuster purchased all the brass fittings and valves from our company back then.
LS
[This message has been edited by LS7 (edited August 16, 2001).]

old rigger
08-16-2001, 08:53 AM
LS7,
yeah, you are probably right about the Tiki namplate being left off at your Dads request.
A friend of my Dads bought a new 16' Tahiti in '65 and he agreed to let Dick put it what ever boat show was comming up. He also didn't want the Tahiti name plate on the hull and Dick agreed. He put it on the seat where the little walk way was between the back to back buckets. The guy was pissed at first but laughed about it later. After all, Dick didn't put it on the hull. That was a real nice lookin' boat too, for the time anyway. All silver metalfalke with a black cap and target. Black seats too, hotter than a bitch.
My Dad must of known your Dad as he ordered all parts for the shop as well as rigged
(at Hawaiian), only rigged at Tahiti.