Restoration of McManus Apache 42 OFF DUTY
 

I saw in the Apache Pics thread a couple of requests for pictures of Off Duty. I am fortunate to be the owner of the boat and thought you might enjoy some pictures of the restoration process. I have a handful of the "before" shots that I will post today, followed by some progress shots over the next few days.

As some of you may know, this boat was built for a very important figure in the boating industry. In respect to his privacy, I refrain from using his name because I have not asked him for permission to associate him with the boat.

Following is the history of the boat as I know it. Feel free to add or correct any incorrect info I have.

The boat was built in the Hollywood factory by McManus' crew in '93/'94. OVer 3500 man hours went into the original build and finishing of this project.

First few pictures:

head-on view:

Interesting paint at the bow.

Top deck view:

Engines:

A custom, one of a kind muffler / exhaust system hiding under the swim platform.

forward bolster and helm:

you gonna leave that muffler ?

Instrument panel. I am told that each of the instrument faces were custom cut, anodized in the cranberry color, laser etched, and recalibrated by the instrument manufacturer.

the likely heirs of the boat:

The original owner had an interesting request: he needed storage space for an Avon inflatable, a 10 hp motor, a pump to inflate the boat, and a crane to lift the inflatable and motor out to the water.

This request was accomodated by shortening the cockpit and putting a storage space behind the rear bolster, accessed by raising the engine hatch.

All the switches at the helm are labeled with cartoon characters. Each switch had a character, drawn by the owner, and laser etched into the cranberry anodized dash plates.

switch detail:

very neat piece of history and beautiful boat............have a great time.

Jay

Best of luck!

You need to get the copy of Powerboat that had that boat race a Lambo from Miami to KW.

Awesome Tom! Best of luck!!!!!!!!!
H:
:D

I have it. I'll look for it. There was a bit of mention in that article (or the side article about the boat itself) of the custom touches.

I musta read that article 50 times. The boat was ahead of it's time in terms of attention to the details.

Look where we are now.

It was a Ferrari (348) it raced against.
And "everybody" knows who the boat went to..it was printed in the pages of Powerboat at the time so no real secret...
But it was not Flintstone.

Nice boat keep us posted with results. :D


Cougarman

cool boat.. :) Jamie / Lakeside


.

Way cool Tom! Keep the pix coming. I've been wondering what 'project' you've been referring to recently. Looking forward to seeing an Apache in the FMO fleet!

I thought the boat had some kind of hamack that could be set up on the stern!

No, I have removed the muffler in favor of traditional air activated ones.

I have the Powerboat Magazine with the boat on the cover. I also have the corresponding Auto Trend version with the same story.

There was a hammock. If you turned the dive ladder upside down and reinserted it into it's slot, it stood upright at an angle away from the swim platform. There was a corresponding stainless steel upright on the other side of the swim platform that allowed you to hang the hammock between them. Unfortunately, I do not have the stainless steel pieces. So, no hammock!

More pictures coming in the next few days.

I was intrigued by the idea of a hammock on a boat years ago. It suited my style- in those days I would spend days at a time on board and wanted a comfortable way to 'hang out'...:D I had an idea to fabricate a couple of alum posts with a ring on the end... one to fit in a rod holder and the other would clamp against the corner of the windshield frame. When the guys at the marina saw this they started calling me Gilligan.:confused:

Never carried through on it tho... I moved to sw Florida shortly after this picture was taken and subsequently lost the boat in Hurricane Charley. I still have the hammock.:p

First time I met the former owner was on the innaugural Georgian Bay poker run in 93 or 94. He was hanging in the hammock at the lunch stop. Of 16 boats that actually had the nuts or were nuts and left Grand Bend headed north that day, he was one of the 6 of us that actually made the lunch stop. I can remember looking to my left for mile after mile and watching that boat launch and fly. It sure was a wild looking rig for its time. The dash panels were all the talk that day. :)

Good luck with her. Its such a cool and historical boat.

So who owned the boat?

Tom are you going to restore the boat to its original paint/design or restore it to your own design?

As an acknowledgement of the historical significance of the boat and the hours that went into the paint work, I am keeping the paint scheme. I am updating the cockpit and engine compartment.

With the goals of the project being 1. Safety, 2. Reliability, and 3. Performance, alot of my restoration dollars have gone to items like replacing control cables, new steering, new fuel system, new electrical system, and other items that affect the ability to get my family back to the dock. As you might imagine, engines and drives eat up an awful lot of the budget as well.

T

I ran in a poker run that this boat attended with its original owner "Fred Kiekafer Jr"

He said "you have to be confident in your equiptment to paint your drives the color of lemons" LOL

Is a great boat

Good luck with the new ride

Tom,

Now I understand why you've been so busy!

The boat is beautiful - I bet you can't wait to take it out on its innaugural voyage! Best of luck!

That boat is bad ass, I remember reading about it in Powerboat and Boating when I was a kid. Can't wait to see more pictures of the resto

fred jr.......his dad was Carl...he started all this.......

Who's Fred "jr." ??? I only knew of Carl and his son Fred.

INCOGNETO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few "in process" pics.

empty engine compartment;

Engines out and boxed to ship to Mercury Racing for the Refresh ...

Cockpit bolsters removed and the Avon storage compartment removed.

(We went through six Sawzall blades cutting through the carbon fiber and kevlar.)

more cockpit ...

draping some vinyl to test for effect ...