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Thread: Old Rigger.........Little help here?

  1. #1
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  2. #2
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    Squirtcha,
    I've been looking for one of those for about 20 years, that's the 'Toad'. I don't remember what the real name was but that's the name my dad and the other riggers tagged it with.
    They took a little 16 and cut it apart in every direction and built that hull, 21 foot. If I remember right there was also a 19 version too. There use to be one in the south bay here in so cal, I think in Torrance or Redondo, and I use to take my wife by it and show it to her. She just shook her head.
    Jake Gilbredth of Gil Marine fame use to race one of these in off shore races sponcered by Schuster back in the day. Use to have the 'Tahiti' logo blazing down the side of the hull. I can remember seeing the boat in some of the mags of the day that covered the races, and thinking it was pretty cool that they were racing it, and that my dad worked there. Must have been about '69 or '70, somewhere around there.
    One of the owners of the old Speciality Marine use to have one too, but he cut the deck off, put on some kinda cabin, and made a fishing boat out of it. It was real ugly, uglier than the toad was stock.
    I'd still like to have one. As you can imagian, looking at that Vee, they rode pretty well in the chop.
    What's the story with this one? Is it for sale?

  3. #3
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    I remembered you talking about the toad. Figured this might be it. I'm not sure what the story is on it. A guy wandered into the RJB message board and put up the pics and asked if anybody knew anything about the boat. I knew that if anybody did, it'd be you. Here's a link to the post. Not much info there though.
    RJB message board post entitled "Rare Tahiti look" (http://www.realjetboats.com/cgi/yabb....pl?board=news )
    When I saw the pics, the first thing I thought was Hmmmmn mini offshore jetboat!

  4. #4
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    squirtcha,
    I checked out the link to RJB. That boat's a long ways away from where I live in so cal.
    To be honest, after reading your post over there, I wasn't a rigger at Tahiti, my dad was. I was just a yard lizard, bilge rat, whatever you want to call it, I was mainly in the way. Just cleaned molds, cut wood, sand molds, little glass work, shit like that. Just something to do after school and on Saturdays. I thought it was very cool to hang out, even for a little while, and watch these boats being built. When I was 10 or so, I thought it was a monumental amount of work to build a boat and got a big buzz outa watching my dad take a bare hull and put it all together. They were pretty basic boats back then, not many options, but it was cool.
    I didn't rig until I went to work for Roger at the end of the 70s when Hawaiian went tits up.

  5. #5
    dmontzsta
    old rigger are you available this weekend?

  6. #6
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    Sorry for giving out incorrect information. I actually figured that out after I responded to that message in my usual quick draw style (if you can call it a style). I was going to make the correction and spaced it out.
    I started thinking about our ages and realized that would've been a little before your time. In any case, you're still the best source of Info I've found (especially regarding Tahiti) and lots of other classic glass, so don't sell yourself short.
    I appreciate the response. Did ya ask the guy what was up with that? Just curious as to why he wanted the info.

  7. #7
    Heatseeker
    Old Rigger, did you guys put a mark(like your dad's intials on the ID tag on Diggler's boat) on the Roger's hull somewhere, when you rigged them? Where you there(Roger's) in 79? You may have told me before, but I think I'm getting a bit of CRS disease!
    Sorry to highjack your thread Squirtcha!

  8. #8
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    No problem John.

  9. #9
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    squitrcha,
    yeah it was before my time as far as working there but I was hanging out there for no other reason than I thought it was about the most bitchin place on earth as a 10 year old. It was almost a cool as being at Disneyland. It sure smelled better. To this day I love the smell of resin.
    I didn't reply to the guy over at RJB. I've never signed on there and figured you'd post that stuff up.
    Heatseeker John,
    No, over at Rogers we didn't sign the boats. Roger knew every boat and buyer by heart. Really he did. He built a fraction of the boats that Tahiti, Hawaiian, Eliminator, Hallett, or most of the other guys. The reason we signed the boats, was for warranty work. We all worked piece work so they usually made you fix your own screw ups. It was totally different working for Roger compared to the other places. Not as much money, but it was alot of fun. I started there in '79 or early 80. I'd have to look it up in my old crap to be sure. It was right after Hawaiian went down.

  10. #10
    Heatseeker
    Thanks for the info, OR. One of the reasons I scooped up this Roger's of mine was the way you hold Roger in such high esteem. I know that the boat was built right, not in a hurry.
    You may have worked on mine too, it's a 79 TR.

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