1966 sam griffith memorial race winner being restored

[scanshift]

here is how "#10" looked when it won the 1966 race after the preliminary winner "thunderbird" was disqualified

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here is how it looked after hurricane wilma trashed it under a seawall



a few links that mention the 1966 race

http://freespace.virgin.net/john.moo...1/1960%27s.htm

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...8271/index.htm

http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,...35214,00.html#

[1965 thunderbird]

Thats quite a find, I don't think too many people knew that boat was still around! It looks pretty sad, but it weathered that storm alot better then some of the newer boats did. I imagine it was made a little bit sturdier than most boats. Does it have extra stringers or thicker hull?
Good luck and have fun with it!

[scanshift]

The hull is incredibly thick. When we put a transducer in the hull, we found that it was 1 1/4 inches thick. Who knows how many layers of hand laid fiberglass that adds up to?? There was no foam in those days.

It has some unique features. The open triangle compartment in the front of the boat held a water bladder full of whiffle balls for ballast. Probably weighed 1000 pounts. That bladder could then be drained through two outlets about two inches in diamete at the bottom of the cutoutr that are coverd up with some bronze fittings. As far as the stringers, this boat is built like a tank, with all the wood being mahogany. Even though it has been 42 years, the hull is in fantastic shape. I will take some more pics to show you how the restoration is going.

How is the thunderbird fairing these days?

[1965 thunderbird]

I had to put the thunderbird on the back burner. Still trying to figure out if I should put up the money to reinstall turbines or just freshen up the drives that are in it already. Anyway it is inside and covered up. Maybe we can recreate the 1966 race since we have the only boats that finished! LOL Don't put too big of outboards on there I want to at least keep up!