Thank you Tristar, Maybe Comanche3six should ask Bob about the real story...there is a thread on here where it is all explained. Then everyone may look at McManus' work a tad differently. It is a great thing to be able to resurect the old Apaches...but....

I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone involved in this great site! I'm brand new here and already love what i see! Fun history.

Hello Omar,
I have had the opportunity to ride in and drive quite a few different boats. One boat, in particular, that really impresses me is the 39 Phantom. Its another of the custom-made-to-order boats with lots of success on the race course. It has been around now for 6 or 7 years now and Will, the owner of Phantom, has learned a lot about the boat, since first designing it. I have ridden in the Donzi ZR and like the way it rides, but, don't like the high production of Donzi Inc. Its my opinion that some quality and details get lost in there somewhere.

I have been in a 47 and a 36 Apache at over 100mph. I can't deny the ride and the incredible feeling that it gave me. It always amazed me how little running surface was it the water at high speeds on a 47. It was only like 8 or 10 feet.

Have A Great Day
Big Andy

Ed,
Please don't insult my intelligence. I have been around this business for a quite a few years. I'm not talking about boats sitting at dealers lots. Raise the bar and sell your idea. I know that in the 80's, if you wanted a boat built by Apache, they had to like you or they wouldn't build you a boat. I also know that Pico laid-up the race boats. 90% of what I learned was not from reading forums. It was from being in Florida and from talking to people with the knowledge.

Not everyone wants a personal custom touch. A personal custom touch = $$$$$$, like it or not. Some people just want to get in a boat and be cool.

All this BS for expressing my OPINION about a top-deck of boat. What BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

Omar
You and I share the same idea. That is exactly what I was envisioning. I, too, don't think that it makes sense for that kind of price.

Big Andy

Big Andy
It's not the 80's, it's 2009. And an Apache in 2009 will be expensive. If someone wants a cheap powerboat to just be cool in, well there are plenty out there.
Ed

Omar, Cig now offers a 44 sit down poker run version as well. The strength and honor boat is for sale, that was their old kilo boat. I'm not a fan of the deck on cold war, but I didnt stroke the check for it.

What kills me in this whole story and this thread I started is: I love Apache's and I spend all my time looking at other solutions!!!!
If I walked up to Mark he would sell me his designs but could not test a boat we are talking about apart from Cold War or Tsunami...now that to me is bad business judgement, why?
Because you built stuff for the people that pay you the most but you destroy your brand value and loyalty along the way because the guy that bought the boat for twice the price will never buy another from Apache because he is most likely disappointed from his boat in the same way we are today and the guys that would have bought more boats for a reasonable price can't afford it at twice the price. Net net, you are left with occasional refits which in my case was also a disappointment with Heritage. If I were Mark, I would put my money where my mouth is, I would build the boats I design, prove they work and sell them (that is what we did with Heritage, the first sit down canopy V bottom in 1991 and won two world titles with it). That is how every factory started and is alive today. I don't know why Apache would escape the "gravity" of market logic, they are after all heavy boats and should therefore obey the same market "gravity" logic unless the business model is about refitting the old hulls at the price of a new one....but that also has limits in time. The hulls will age and the boats aren't worth the hull's residual value so your audience of potential refits will shrink with time and not grow. Maybe the cycle has come for Apache to build new ones again? How many times can you recycle a hull before it is rotten to the bone? The time has come to get real again Apache, else you will be like the American Indians that once ruled this land, sitting in a reserve and slowly abandoned as your refit options will expire. Sorry to all for my frustration, but when it comes to Apache's I get really emotional.

Omar
I don't see Apache brand loyalty or value destroyed. I think Apache guys are probably the most loyal and used Apache powerboats among the highest priced. Even in a terrible market. I also think that Apache customer satisfaction is very high. I agree with Top Banana about today's buyer, they are really not interested in a offshore powerboat's rough water capability, they want high top speed numbers. That is why other manufacturers went to multiple steps, they give high top speed numbers. But, there are trade off's like in everything, and some of those trade off's deal with personal safety.
So, in the end we all have to decide what we want in a powerboat and how we will spend our money.
This has been an interesting thread. Good luck in your search.
Ed

Omar, was that the wide-body 36'???

You've been there and lived it and in my opinion you have the right!!! The rest of us just grew up watching and dreaming from the sidelines!

BTW, I spoke with Bobby the other day as he was pulling a boat to change some cutlass bearings and getting ready to head out of town. We were chatting about a project I'm working on!

Thanks for contributing to the site, it's great to hear your input!