nocigarette

Thanks I Use To Get That....i Must Pull My Head Out Of My Arse..........

CigDaze

I know how that is.

mjfgoddaert

Just dicovered this website! AMAZING what info is out here!
Thanks to all for sharing all this history & knowledge.

The early Formula 233 is definitely my favorite nr1! The simplicity of those boats made them so timeless. Simplicity as the ultimate sophistication!
Anyone any more pictures from the Formula 233 at the Sarasota event?

I guess, back in the sixties it must have been about building as fast as possible - molds - white gelcoat - hull - stringers - engines - floor - deck - some hardware, some striping, a cool name & number and go boating.
If I see the recent PRA boats - I almost have to cry; seems the boats (...and their owners ) have grown a lot over the past decades - looks more like floating christmas trees to me...there's even sunbathing during the race??

Those first Miami boats beat all of them!

Top Banana

[QUOTE=mjfgoddaert]Just dicovered this website! AMAZING what info is out here!
Thanks to all for sharing all this history & knowledge.

(QUOTE]


If you like this kind of history.....then check out
HORBA

Historic Offshore Race Boat Association

www.historicraceboats.com

PJRIZ

A bit of interesting trivia - Michael told me that the font of the words "The Cigarette" on the transom (in 63) is the exact same font Don used in 69 on his world champion "The Cigarette", the foundation boat of Cigarette and which he also used on the original Cig logos. It is a roman font that Don liked when he first noticed it on Roulette Record album covers. Roulette was owned by his good friend Morris Levy. That 23' Formula started it all and yes, it is the boat Don took the Beatles out in.

mjfgoddaert

Registered there yesterday! Thanks - great initiative - the F233 should be in the member section asap!
As far as I know, the boat was more or less the start of the 'production Aronow era'.

Keeps amazing me how many people remember so many detailed things - must have made quite an impression back then!

Banana Boat Co should definitely restart building something like the 24 Top Banana with the vintage look - and while you're at it relaunch the super cool Banana racing jackets!

berns29scarab

i was there.... lets tslk about me....

mjfgoddaert

Any pics of Hijacker available?

So where did these boats come from? Were they the first 23footers out of the mold? Hull form makes me think of the early Hunt V-boats - just a different/less Carolina styled bow section?

I read stories about Wynne having designed the boat but didn't he previously work with Hunt & Bertram? He was more into technical engineering than naval architecture?

Elsewhere I read about the selling of Formula to the Thunderbird Co - was a story of a guy who was working on his 233 and a man passing by who told him he was a glass worker at the time of Formula Marine and that 'while one of the partners was up in NY, the other one sold the company...' great story - could have been Don selling??

ducktail

I would like to mention something the most here know already. Many books by elderly witnessers were not written by them alone but also by a professional writer. The teams of those two authors usually start working by taping the memories of the witnessers. The professionals ask questions in order to get the memories of the witnessers awake.

As it seems that the elderlies of offshore racing might write down a little bit faster their extraordinary stories there might be a team of questioning and taping ladies and gents that might interview the elder racers in order to get the books finished in the presence of a running taping engine/ camcorder.....
That might be a work for the wives/friends of the inner circle of offshore racing. It would be very sad if the most of these interesting stories vanished without a track left.

littlenige

It looks the same but the registration on the bow appears to be different. Is it possible to re-register a boat in the U.S. once it's in the system? Sal Maugeri photo from Searace.