Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

These photos are due to come out next week on our site for the Historic Race Boats. www.historicraceboats.com

But as a thanks to Steve, here is a little preview.

By the way, next week we have 75 new cat photos, like the Cigarette one that is posted in the other thread....a lot of people didn't know Cigarette ever made a cat, much less that it was designed by Billy Seebold.

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

Here is the Cigarette cat I was talking about.

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

Was builded for Doct. Francesco Cosentino defending the 1979 World Title in Venice.
Was a disaster,after hundreds meters the start, the cat almost went in opposite sites with the spoons because a structural defect.
After it was send in Usa Seebold itself made an other attempt with it but it failed.

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

It raced again in New Orleans, but it once again had some structual problems. It tested very strong with speeds well into the 90's...which was good for the time.

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

It think it was very fast too. It was very light!

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

Very cool!

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

Within a year after boats like that, and the sales figures that followed, Halter begged DA to buy back in to Cig. He did and soon bought Halter out.

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

This is the Cat I was hired to throttle for Cosantino in Italy, Don personally hired me, I was actually working for Tom Gentry at the time, and he loaned me to them to run the boat. It arrived in Venice 3/4 rigged, basically thrown together, props which were sent were way to big, they were expecting 120mph plus speeds. That`s actually me in the picture that`s being shown. Boat ended up running if I remember right between 97 and 101 mph. Same race Renato Molinari showed up with his huge wood cat, that everyone thought would be super fast, turned out to be a turd like my boat, I think it made the start and was so non competitive they pulled out. Anyway we started the race and first thing Francesco pulled the kill`s, fired back up went for the lead and the tunnel blew out and we almost sunk, but made it back DNF, bad for my record. A little history from 7XCHAMP Richie

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

hope you would post a lot more

Mike

Re: Thanks Steve...heres some previews of photos
 

Richie have quoted the other cat that made the debut in Venice 1979: the Molinari wodden cat for Guido Niccolai.
It was a fiasco more of that of Halter/Seebold and after a short test the early morning before the race was immediatly abandoned to the old mono.
Niccolai was second miles behind Betty after a big duel against the Cigarette 35' Limit Up of Tim Powell.
That Molinari (Angelo not Renato) cat I saw last time totally abandoned fifteen years ago.
It's a pity because the tunnel design(narrow) was reprised in the eighties by Shadow,Jaguar and then Skater....

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/87/drycat79pm6.png