When the Cougar cats were made of wood

[7xchamp]

Originally Posted by littlenige

Cheers Steve. Between yours (and Richie's and Brownie's and Charlie's) stories I am also learning a huge amount!!

If anybody has any more wooden cougar cat shots please post!!

Hi Nigel: I like your Avatar

Thanks 7XCHAMP

[7xchamp]

Originally Posted by littlenige

As usual Marco I think you´re right! The cockpit for 4 as opposed to 2?

Nigel: I was involved with three wooden Cougars with Gentry.

Bobby Beich and I moved to Calif. to rebuild the 47` wooden Cougar super boat ( four engine) which eventually set the Kilo record from Garcia and Arneson.
When we got the boat the tunnel was blown out of it, we redid the tunnel, remounted the motors put in the turbo`s and mounted the Gentry drive towers. I did all the development work testing etc. with the boat, ran some races with tom, Key West, Miami, Sarasota and couple others, for some reason I got into something else and John Connor took over. When I had the boat running the fastest I saw was 165 MPH. going to the start of the Miami race.
Second boat: I was briefly involved with was the Toleman Kilo record holder, very lightweight 38` sat outside the Cougar plant on 188th st for long time, I think it was on a tilt trailer. The boat had been extensivly lightened for the Kilo record by Smitty. so structurly was not ideal for rough water. I think Tom`s plan was to set a kilo record. I ran the boat in Key West with UIM motors, could not get on plane for the race, Sammy James was involved, he could not get it on plane either. I was there with the 46` Scarab super boat. Tom wanted to run the open class, but the motors were just not ready. It was a very frustrating week. Sammie and I were not really on the same page, Tom sensed that and had some strong words for both of us, like in get it together or else, It is the maddest I have ever seen Tom, he had good right, we were playing spoiled primadonnas.
Final boat was the 38` of Garcia and Arneson which Sammie James eventually worked with and went on to win several races.
I was involved also with two Alum. Cougars one 42` and the 50` super boat. The 42` was different, Tom wanted the V`s cut off the bottom at the transom and flat`s welded in, also the motors mounted in the tunell, and run small blocks in it. I ran the boat a couple times with **** Banks in Calif. we spun it out about 6 times around 100 mph. was not fun, I don`t know what happened to that boat, it was basically pretty cool, but never ran?????????
All for now 7XCHAMP

[BROWNIE]

Back in the day that Richie is talking about, some of the throttlemen were becoming unbearable to the big-buck owners. The owners got together and formed a group called FORCE, which was an acronym for Formula One Raceboat Constructors something or other. They attempted to bring the throtttlemen into line, both psychologically and financially. I was Prez of Cougar in those days, and we had "Smitty", Harold Smith, throttling for Ted Toleman. I always kept my humor-dagger buried deep in Smitty. I suggested that they form a 'Society to Heighten the Income of Throttle Men And Navigators'. or S.H.I.T.M.A.N. I'm not sure he ever caught on............

[seeroy]

Brownie - You got me laughing so hard I've got tears in my eyes. - Steve

[Ryan Beckley]

Which Conquest does Kurt Have?

[T2x]

Originally Posted by Ryan Beckley

Which Conquest does Kurt Have?

It's a running plug we built in 1985 for a 37' Chris Cat that never went into production....... It was built with exterior plywood and intended for a few test runs before making a mold. It had a low deck for testing purposes only, with the final production deck and cockpit inserts to be created after the first hull piece was pulled from the mold. Somehow Genth decided to race it....... and Ciasulli/Wellman ran it at Cape Coral and one or two other races.....(very fast but needed tweaking) then the project was abandoned (along with the entire cat program after the chief shareholder ate the capital) and it wound up converted into a pleasure boat. Last I heard it was donated to a charity and wound up at Kurt's.( Kurt can fill in the blanks).

The amazing thing is how long it has lasted and the shape that it is in considering the materials used and the purpose.

T2x

[Ryan Beckley]

Gotcha.....thanks for the info....that picture looks to be Key West.

[T2x]

Originally Posted by Ryan Beckley

Gotcha.....thanks for the info....that picture looks to be Key West.

Yes it does...... I recall the boat was at a few races but it was never much of a factor after it's first super fast start at Cape Coral. I lost interest as it was yet another Chris Craft PR project and we had bigger fish to fry.

The boat arrived back at the shop shortly after and Ken Adams discovered that Harry Wellman had put a bunch of scrap engine parts in the bow and foamed them in for "ballast". The fact that the hull could carry that junk around up there is yet another testiment to Ken's boat building abilities....and Wellman's penchant for shortcuts.....

T2x

[Steve 1]

Originally Posted by Black Tornado

The first cat and class 1 boat of Ted Toleman was this Cougar38' in wood with central cockpit and engines bay in 1979.
This cat according to Nigel was unsuccesful maybe because in the back of a tunnel must not obstacles, leaving that the air goes out.
Toleman tried to compete with this cat in two World Championships in 1979 and 1980 without results.

That boat was orginally rigged By Dave Wilson and Anglo Meli at the shop off 58st in Miami (old Haggerty place) Dave said they had problem's with the custom made drive spacers in those days. It later became the "Catman" Pleasure boat rigged in the Fayva shop by Idoni and Anglo!

[yeeharacing]

Heres some current pics of the conquest
These were taken in April