Announcement
 

Many thanks to all of the people that have been talking with us and givng us advice over these past few months. We especially appreciate the confidences that you have kept on our behalf.

There are a lot of rumors out there now and although everything is not 100% set to go, we feel that it is time to set the record straight.

Banana Boat Co is back in business.

We will be making four boats in the following sizes.....22 - 24 -28 -35.

The 24 will look pretty much like it always did with a few cockpit areas cleaned up and modified.

Model designations are:
22 Deuce, 24 Classic, 28SS, and 35 Spirit.

The whole line will look basically like Cigarette's in the mid 1970's. Old school looks with the latest technology.

We are NOT building cats, or steps, or boats with multi color paint jobs. We are staying with the timeless and classic look.

Both my son and I appreciate all of the complimentary comments and enthusiasm from our old customers. We look forward to building boats with a great deal of passion in what we are doing.

We feel that we will be creating some really special boats. We don't want to run a manufacturing company or a marketing company that just happens to make boats.

We will not be doing high volume, rather we want to do as I did before. We will work with each and every customer indivdually, to create together a really great boat that will be used for many years.

The first boats should be ready for photo shoots and testing around the Fourth of July.

Thank you

Charlie and Charlie Jr.

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Congratulations & best of luck. Can't wait to see the new products!

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Yes, congrats! For what it's worth, I think that you are on the right track with classic looks and no-nonsense, purposeful boats.

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C&C
You took my idea!!! Can I please have it back? I promise I'll build only 24,s and 30's in that classic "cigarettte" style.
Seriously, best of luck! I' ve always loved the classic look of your boats. Welcome back! Are you working out of Florida or RI?
C
P.S. I have summers off, if you need an extra set of hands, or some cheap labor, drop me a line. I'd enjoy being part of your revival.

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Mr.Top Banana, Congratulstions!!! I wish you and your son the best on your venture!!! Maybe we can race each other one more time or two, who knows/ Later, Pepe @ Pantera boats.

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THANKS!!! to everyone for all of the kind words and encouragement.

Here's a couple of pics of some 'ol 24s back in the day...

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Great idea!..best of luck and keep us posted...Matt

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Best of luck on the new venture! What is the Beam on the 22---24---and 28?

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Thanks....these are the molds I bought from Cigarette in the mid 70's they are an 8 foot beam.

The 22 is actually out of the 24 mold, so it will carry the same chine it is just shorter along the sides.

Take a look at the picture of the yellow boat above, Banana Split....now see that lip on the side just above the name? The 22 will not have sides any higher than that, but from there down everything remains the same.

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Good luck, I love old school boats. Steve

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...and here's a couple of cool action shots of a famous old 28SS...

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Congrats! Sounds promising. Any webiste yet?

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Congrats!...Best of Luck to you guys..... :cool:

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Congratulations to clan McCarthy. I look forward to more info about your plans. As the former owner of at least two of those boats, I'd have a particular interest in your project.

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Congratulations to both Charlie sr and jr!

At a time when the Flash of Thunderboat Row has faded to urban renewal, its nice to see the legacy of that "grass roots" Deep V Offshore design being kept ALIVE! Yes, the Timeless, Classic look, Function and design!

Best of Luck to you both!

Dave

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Can I have the first one?
:D :D :D :D :D :D

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Congrats :drink: Welcome Back!!

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Absolutely......I told you to have a little patience didn't I?

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I HOPE THEY DONT BREAK APART LIKE THE TWO I HAD BECAUSE THEY Where BUILT LIKE SH t WHEN THE OTHER GUYS MADE THEM It TOOK ME ( YEARS TO GET ANYTHING OUT Of THEM IN COURT AND AND WHAT HAPPENS THE SECOND ONETHEY GAVE ME BROKE ALSO BEWARE I HOPE THEY ARE MADE BEtter This Time Around

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Charlie I have a question that i thought you might be able to answer for me.My dad had a 26 Monza sportdeck from the mid 70's that the hull looked almost identical as the 24 Cigarette hull,did this design come from the same reduced drawings as the old 36 as did the 24.

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Lightspeed I don't want to start an arguement on this thread but I don,t feel that this is the time or the place to bring up your past issues with the quality of your old boats and to make the assumption that Charlie did or would build an inferior product.Many a product has been P.O.S. as you like to say, after another company has taken over (Harley Davison after AMF bought them out comes to mind)so I feel it is a bit unfair to pee on Charlie,s parade here.

I applaud Charlie and his son for their idea and I wish them the best of luck.

And that is all I'm going to say about that!

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Lightspeed

You were not one of my customers. If you bought a boat that broke, you bought from the people that bought the small mold from me and they haven't made any of those boats since 1992.

What years did you buy your boats in?
Do you have the hull numbers?

I still have the original layup schedule given me by Don Aronow. He built over 1200 boats using that schedule and never had a hull problem. These new boats of mine will not be the lightest or fastest, but they will be around for a long time.

I still have a 24 that was built in 1976. I raced it and used it over the years in much rough water...it still is in great shape.

Tommy Monza
I do not know the history on that hull. I can ask around from some of the other old timers and see if I can find out for you.

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Thats good news,there is a market 4you classic lines,manny sizes,best of luck Tripps

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Tommymonza

Here is some information on your boat.

It was designed by Don and was going to be a 26 foot cabin boat, that's why it has an 8.5 beam. The hull mold was sold to a couple of guys from the food industry before the project was complete.

Bob Saccenti took one of the boats and stretched it to 28 with Don's approval and that became the 28 foot Apache Brave. That boat ran great with twin 454/360 Bravo package doing 71 -73 mph.

That boat was taken by another group and stretched to 30 feet and became the Baja 30.

Eventually almost all deep v's came from Don's 32 Cary, it's like all of us from Adam and Eve.

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Congrats, Charlie Sr. & Jr.! I wish you the best of luck in the new bussiness. It will be great to see some nice boats out on the water agian that don't depend on their flash to get your attention. I'm sure a lot of other people have been wondering so I'll ask for them. What type of power options are you planning on?

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Where did the 28 come from? I have an '85 but I'd love to have 2005. Are you going to build them at Pt. Edgewood. I used to live right down the street from there on Washington when I went to college. That deli across from Shell has the best chicken parm sandwiches ever. It's been 10 years and I still think about them

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Great news, and good luck!

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Now that's some good news.
Congratulation and thank you. :drink: :D :drink:

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Charlie thanks for the Info on the Monza.

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All new boats will be built in Florida.

Port Edgewood has nothing to do with this line of new boats....please read comments above, we had nothing to do with the people from Port Edgewood.

Banana's are back!!!
 

Charlie Sr, and Jr,

The silence is broken! Great news...

I currently own two Banana Boats. One for pleasure and just picked up one for racing. I guess I need to start saving for a third one now. :drink:

Congrats to both of you! I can't wait to see the 35. Will it look like the flat deck? That is my favorite.

I have only one request, no lightning bolts on the side of the hull or paint schemes that look like someone used it for a paint ball target... :eek:

I know the new banana's are going to be tuff and very high quality boats. Will a race lay up be available?

Chris

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Are there any pictures of the 22 Duece

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Nothing yet....check back in July.

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I have just returned from a week long trip to Florida to meet with various OEM suppliers.

I previously stated in this announcement that the first boats would be ready for testing and photos in July....
I WAS WRONG.

Since we are a small volume builder, we cannot command instant response to our needs from the suppliers. In addition, I have found sevral sources of much higher quality products than was used in the 70's, and these need to be engineered to meet our demands. Time and more time.

So, bottom line.....the boats will be ready when they are ready, .........but when they are ready, they will be everything that I hoped they would be.

Fortunately we don't need to meet a deadline in order for us to eat this week or next. We have the luxury of setting a very high standard and not releasing the product until it is exactly the way it should be.

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Can you tell us who is holding you up? Is Merc the problem? Can you give us an example of these better products. Come on......... give us something to chew on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hang in there...a banana boat website is on it's way. There'll be alot to "chew" on there...

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I think I did this link right...

guess not - trying to make website address part of my signature??? anybody know how to do this?

Anyway here's the site address: www.bananaboatco.com
...still under construction.

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where in florida?

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I met with people from Gainesville to the Keys.

Are you an OEM company with any parts we might be interested in??

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no,i meant where is your shop going to be in florida?