You must to find the 7xchamp posts about the 35', like this one:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...44#post1997144

I believe this Powerboat Magazine Nov 1974 was the best issue to cover offshore racing. Their was no less than four great stories, this is number two. This was Powerboats take on the Hennessy Cup.

Great articles! :cool:
Blonde III that raced after the Blonde IV......Damned Roger!
Many Thanks h2oboater!

Hennessy Cup
 

Some other finishers of interest, 6 place Bill Vogel he later became Betty Cooks navigator, and 10 place finisher Larry Smith in a 32' Cary [ Scaarb ] who later started Scarab Power Boats.

Interesting also to notice among the participants the Brazilian Franz with the Bertram with which he will win' the world title the year later and the Beep Beep Too designed on basic Cary from J.C.Simon that the year later he will design the first Cobra 38' for Joel Halpern.

Dad still has the 36' Cig (playboat) His others were sold back in th e day but are now re-appearing. I get hit time to time on OSO when people find one of his boats that they want to restore. I pull up the link and let him read it, then he'll tell me what info he had or has on the boat.

Jr.

Jr see if you can get your dad to tell the story of the Formula decks on the Magnum race boats. I can remember them coming down from Formula as Magnum didn't have a deck to fit that size boat ....The Hustler.

Here is a shot of the same deck used on the Formula race boat.

The River Crab Classic 1977, the points run down at that time, and how is this for a race course ! How many could run a course like this today.

Contributing with the old Powerboat magazines....
Bacardi Trophy 1976.

Last page of the Bacardi.
Bahamas 500 1976. The last(reduced)edition.

TB.. Just spoke to dad, Once upon a time....Jake Trotter and Danny Duroe had taken a 27' Magnum made a mold off it, they raised the sides and extended the back using formica and popped out dads 33' which was one of 5 made. Then they went to formula and found a deck mold that would fit the 33 footer, and thus came Hustler 4 a 33' Magnum that won the "Americas Cup" and was the first brand "X" Boat to stop the cigarette Domination. Then there were 3 other 33' Built then dad got the Hustler 5 which was the 31' Magnum which was too Light and too Fast for its time, the boat weighed less than 6000lbs Race ready was a 2 layer hull, which was so light that his navigator in California Frank Gerten put his knee through the side of the boat. In one of the Ft Lauderdale races he blew the Flywheel through the Bottom of the 5 Boat and tore the transome out, he made it to the beach where it sunk. A Fellow with a 4 wheel drive and a winch pulled it above the water line so he could get a crane to lift it, and put it on the trailer. This Boat has just turned up in California, it was the 126 boat called "Headhunter" a Single engine Magnum which is going to be restored by the finder. The mold to the 33' Magnum was purchsed by a boat company in Long Island Called....... who improved on the hull many many times and had set several records. Hope this helped or was informative.

Jr.

Thanks to Billy and Jr for the background....clears my memory banks a bit.

What's the story on the 27 Magnum "Lil rebel III"......is that right?

Don't think I've seen this before.....what else did it run as?....was it yellow?

Hey Billy, is there any chance you can post pictures of your dads 36, both inside and out? Also, if you either have a bio on your dad from some articles, or if you could write one,I bet lots of people would really like to read it.

Could you also if possible ask your dad about Snapper Norris's boat and whatever happened to him. Id love to buy Slap Shot if ever it turned up

Preston Henn in the Bacardi win had some crew... Sammy James and Errol Lanier!! Wow!!! what a combination!!

Bobby Sheer from "Little Rebel" had one of the greatest names for his next race boat "Sheer Terror." He was know as one of the top Modified Class throttleman, and he ALWAYS had the sticks pinned to the deck...ALWAYS!

Jr.

Was that the mold that became the Barcone?

Billy: Please pass my regards on to your dad........

and ask him what happened to his "Wing" up at Northwood Boat and Engine?

T2x........

Rich

The Barcone was taken from the 28 footer Ghost Rider and made in fiberglass. They went into production and the manager at the time was Bill Sirois.

Rocky Aoki's first race boat was a Barcone in Sports class.

Charlie:

I thought there was a bigger Barcone...made on Long Island.... Moriches, I believe.

I might be confusing it with something else......

Rich

Charlie,

your Plaque is on the way!!!!

Good artical by charlie It is now preserved forever

Marc

Rich,

I think you are referring to Bartel...as in Roy Bartel from Remsenberg Marina, which is the next town east of Moriches.

It was a 34 footer if I recall correctly...

Anyone care to guess who has those molds now? Hint: They are a well known builder also on LI.

:)

Sean

superboat?

T2X..... Dad says hello, Last he heard of the Switzer Wing it was in Bobby Davis' Gas Station in River Sticks Lake Hopatcong 30 plus or minus years ago, Might Try Bob Davis he now resides in Ft. Lauderdale Fl. We tried the Numbers that we had for him however they were no longer any good and information said thier were 4 Robert Davis' in Ft. Lauderdale. Sorry but thats all we could come up with. He remembers that it was stolen From the gas station along with 2 other boats at the time. Also Dad doesnt think that the mold did become the barcone but he is not sure. Hope this helped.

Jr.

Price B.... When we take the cover off the boat, probably in a week or 2 I will take some shots for you, as for the bio on him, lets just say he has led one hell of a life! I know some people have been contacting him in regards to a movie, as well as a book, but I dont know the specifics on whats going on with that. We'll see about getting some stories posted lol. Also I asked about Snapper Norris and the boat Slap Shot and he is not too Sure with either, he hasnt spoken to him in years, sorry I wasnt much help. When I post the pics I will Message you to let you know they are up, I will post them to this Thread.

Thanks,
Jr.

Hi Billy,

Mate, thank you very much for that information.

I was watching some old footage of your dad racing and it was just such a rugged sport back then.

Was your Dad a wealthy guy in his late 20's to afford to race back then? (if you don't mind me asking!!!). I often wonder how the racers in the 70's at the ages they were racing got the cash as I imagine it wasn't a cheap sport in the days of a fuel crisis.

My father was a boat builder in Australia in the 70's and had his own brand. He told about the marine industry when the fuel crash hit and said it almost destroyed big V8 powerboats here. This is how I became interested in old school offshore. I was going through my dads papers and made an album with all the articles on his boats and photos so they don't get lost in time, and I found an american powerboat magazine from 1974 with Snapper Norris on the front cover...and then began to read all about Bounty hunter, Slap Shot etc and then started researching on the net.

Personally I'm not into the new offshore powerboats they are racing here...the cigarette style boats are so much cooler.

Which class do you race? Would you like to post some info on your boat and class?

Look forward to reading more about your dad and can't wait to see the pics of his boat.

Can you scan and post here that powerboat magazine of 1974?:cool:
Have you pics of some open 1 australian boats?

Yep,no problems, should i scan the whole magazine?, or the pictures only?

the pics I have photos of are 17-21 ft jet boat runabouts and half cabs my dad built in the 70's. Most were fitted with 351s or 454s...some turbo'd. The fastest boat they fitted was a 100mph approx ski boat with a twin turbo'd 454. I did have a picture of this but cant find it unfortunately.

My dad was a pioneer of jet propulsion in the 70s and built the australian competitor to the hamilton jet called the vicalenjet. His jet at the time had better performance and far more thrust....i still have the stats sheet where they did the stats on a boat with a hamilton, took it out and put a vicalen in to prove it. I have two jet boats that dad built. He built a 17.5 ft runabout which later was modified into a half cab. Also at the begining of sprint boats he built one.

He was quite a visionary, but jets had a very bad reputation at the time here probably due to the prototypes from new zealand when jets were first released. My half cab has a 350 LT1 gen 2 engine producing 395hp. Considering the size of the boat and the weight it is doing about 55mph. The problems I have though are cavitation on acceleration from a dead stop. I have had the prop modified, but most of the guys who worked on the props/jet are now dead. So I'm type of stuck with the problems. I'm going to sell both and buy a mustang 28ft cruiser as I live on a marina and it is next to a bar....so I can bring girls back at night for a cruise :evilb:

I guess growing up in boat factory and being around constant boat development...then being given a scale model black 3ft cigarette at age 5, then a remote control wellcraft excaliber in the 80s...helped fuel my addiction! I'm buying my partner out right now in our business, then I plan to buy a 38 top gun. Unfortunately Australia is different to the Usa, there are not many offshore powerboats. My dads buddy Peter howells (was a mercury manager here) Use to know Peter Dean "slapshot" in the 70s and said offshore racing was much bigger in Australia back then.

The reason for dad having that magazine was there was about 4 pages on jet propulsion. Let me know what you would like and also some tips on how to scan it and i'll gladly get it done.

you are correct, sir.

priceb,you can post here so to alls OSO members.
I'm intersting the the pics and the articles of Powerboat (the cover with Norris?)magazine and your Dad boats too.:cool:

I would like to see pics of the Peter Dean's boats,Carr brothers and Arnold Glass too!

Hello Priceb,
I think that Billy's family had a furniture store in New Jersey back then,, I would guess that they still do,, been a few yrs since I did any boating in New Jersey with Billy Senior and the Magnums that ran around the Bay on the weekends.

Thank you
Jim

Billy did (does?) indeed own a furniture store. Back then he was a fixture at Lake Hopatcong and had a dizzying relationship with Bob Davis at Northwood Boat and Engine company and an OPC racer named Howie Stein. They had a remarkable collection of fast twin outboard hulls and that led Billy to purchase his first offshore racer, a one of a kind Luhrs hull ( from the classier side of my family tree:p )... that he called "The Hustler" as I recall......

Later he stepped up to the Cigarettes and set the fledgling offshore world on its ear.... This led to a close relationship with Carl K and Mercury..... and I'm sure he received the best of the best from them.... including that damn missing Wing that I'd give a testicle for today. Bottom line he's one of the nicest people the sport has ever developed....and a pretty fair country racer to boot. Early on he was also a world class party animal and is the person primarily responsible for us launching an Allison race boat into a motel pool in Lake George one night....:drink: ....complete with trailer.

He also gave a few guys a start in the sport.....Harry Wellman, Bob Idoni, and Roger Munn for example...

It's great that he has come back for he is truly an icon of the sport...and a champion.

Billy....you can quietly send me a check for the above endorsement.:p

T2x

We are currently Racing in the OPA (www.oparacing.org) Organization. You can also Check out www.thejerseyboyz.com and click on meet the boys for a list of the racers, we are currently running in the #4 Class which is a top speed of 85mph Now it is kinda like braket racing. If you type in the search mode OPA Ocean City you will find some pictures posted from this past june that we ran with.

No My father wasnt rich, we do own a furniture store, and at the time in the 70's we had 5 stores running and buisness was pretty good, but it took the 5 stores to bankroll his start in racing, until he recieved sponsorship from Mercury and Cigarrette, then things were alot easier. Today we are running out of our pockets with some help from AMF but the furniture Buisness is not as good as it used to be, so we are struggling to keep this thing going. Hint Hint to any readers looking to sponsor LOL.

If you also type in under the search mode Bounty Hunter, (there is another Bounty Hunter Owner-Mark McManus) and Billy Martin, you will find alot of good info on this site. Offshore Only is an encyclopedia of Offshore information, I also Posted some older pics in a thread called Offshore back in the Dayz

Just out of Curiosity are you involved in the boating Buisness, you mentioned that your father was?

Jr.

T2 We gotta sit down and talk one night lol A boat and Trailer in a hotel Pool that one he forgot to mention to me lol. Oh yeah and by the way, the check is in the mail lol!!

Jr.

Hi guys,

Firstly, next week I will go to a scanning company and scan the magazine. Also, I will scan pictures of my dads boats and brochures...they are similar in design to formula boats but older versions. I have a couple of wild pics of a surf rescue boat dad put his jet into and it is taken from a helicopter launching off a wave with massive air. Also I do have some good articles and photos.

Can one of you guys let me know how to post the pictures/articles/magazine?

Billy, that was really interesting about your dad. I am in a business I started with my dad in 1991 in beauty supply/manufacturing In the 60's my dad was involved in hairdressing supplies and made a lot of money, however he put all his money from that business into building his jet unit and boat moulds. This is going to sound bad, but kinda funny...mum said "the accountant looked at him and said why are you doing this? you are making money from water manufacturing shampoos?", Mum said "your dad looked at him in the eye and said "I cant deal with *** hairdressers anymore, I want to build jet boats!". So after blowing hundreds of thousands on them, and then getting divorced and nearly going broke in 1990 in the recession, we went back into hairdressing supplies, then moved onto beauty supply and are now one of the biggest in Australia in size, but profitability is still a problem and getting worse. My mate and I opened up a small factory in Orange County Huntington Beach about 4 years ago so I am quite often in OC, or Las Vegas. I am about jumping up and down with excitement when I go to newport beach and see the boat dealerships with the cigarettes etc!

Billy, In reference to your own business, I do believe it is a lot harder now for small business than it was back in the 70's. My dad often says "if we had this business in the 70's we would be filthy rich"...taxation here just kills it. Also, the red tape here is out of control. We have to pay our staff 9% 401k on top of their wages, 4 weeks leave, 10 days sick pay, 4% workers insurance...the list goes on and on. Our wages are very high here too. However, it still sure beats working for someone else.

My Dads good friend Peter Howells who I mentioned was sales manager for mercury Australia and he knows a hell of a lot about the offshore scene back in the day and he's a top bloke so I will follow him up and see what I can dig up. I was shocked when he began to tell me about a guy who built cigarette boats in a small town in my state and that turned out to be peter dean, then I started reading up on him. His company propco was apparently in the same suburb as where my factory is.

Getting back to your dad...whats with the boat in the pool???! You have to tell everybody on this site about it!.

A bit off topic, but Price, anytime you're in HB drop me an email or PM and and you're welcome to come out and play in the rough stuff with us in either the Pantera (24 is good as gone, but a 28 on its way this weekend) or the Gun.

While I'm sidetracking this a bit... Thanks guys this stuff is awesome! Keep up the good work!

Hey Dude! Sweet!,

I appreciate the offer and will take you up on it!. I will also pay the fuel.

My buddy in HB would also love to go out if that is okay?

I should be back over there end of May, and I can't wait!.

No worries man. Just give a shout. Any excuse to go play in the boat.

HI guys,

If you have a look at the attachment, this was a cool tv show in australia in the 70's. Check the jet surf boat coming off the wave!.

Hey Billy,

Is Ken Warby part of your boat team?

Regards,

Priceb

Ken Warby is Part of the AMF Team, he doesnt run in our boat. John Haggin the Founder of AMF invited us to the Point Pleasant NJ Race Last June, that was what started my father back into racing. Ken Warby was there and I had the distinct pleasure of Talking to him, Man what a Great Guy and Legend! You can usually find him in the pits at the AMF trailer at any of the events that AMF attends.

Jr.