Best Apache Ever 41, 45, or 47?
 

What do you guys feel is the best Apahe hull ever the 41, 45, or 47? Not the that won the most, but purly the best....

I would have to say the 41 or 45...

41 in smaller seas 45 in larger because it didn't get as much air and could keep the drives in the water more....plus the 45 could carry 3 motors....

I can't see any advantage the 47 had over the 45...

Just my thoughts...
Scott

I like the 39.......;)

"Best" is a tough one. Depends on the definition. The 41 is best just from its pure impact on the sport. The 47 is best because nothing will run harder in nasty water. The 45 is best simply because of it's uniqueness.

On the 45 vs. 47, I suppose the argument could be made that if the 45 bore any advantage, there would have been more of them.

In the end, the 41 is probably the best- it can be owned and operated by mere mortals. The other two have operational barriers. Towing, storage and mostly, feeding 3 short-life monster blower motors instead of two.

I have always thought that the 41 was the best of the best in comparison to all the "Cigarette" variants. The aspect ratio of width to length seems to have resulted in the best offshore vee bottom in history. The 47 has always seemed like a horsepower eating dog to me and was not that good in the rough given its size( A twin engine, naturally aspirated, 41 Skater, "Spirit of Norway" ate a triple engine, supercharged 46 Apache,"Tweets Revenge" for breakfast in storm seas in a legendary confrontation off Ocean City, Maryland, a race we covered and have on tape.).

Richie Powers' 45 , Apache Heritage, was a whole different animal and seemed like it was what the biggest Apache was always meant to be. Sadly only one was made.

T2x

My personal favorite was the 47` Triple as that`s the boat I won back to back world championships in. I have been around since the inception of Apache and am very close friend of Mark M. the real Apache race boat builder. The true Apache`s were the 41` s and the 47` s. The 45` was a very limited number boat, I only know of one, which was the original INXS, and it was from the mold of the 47` just blocked at the transom. I believe on almost any day the 47` would outrun the 45` The picture of the Apache in this thread that claims to be a 39` is actually a Squadron raced by Jerry Kilpatrick in the early to mid eighties. The 41 and 47 Apaches were the best there was for the era, and to this day hold there own against anything out there. You have not lived until you run a 47` Apache triple engine boat in 6` to 8` seas at close to 100 mph. After winning the Key West worlds in 1993 with Apache Heritage, we gave Mark M. a ride from the Galleon to the launch area up the coast, it was 6` to 8` we set it on 100 mph, and he could not believe what a ride it was, he had no idea we were running in the 100 mph range, he thought we were doing 75 or 80. He said hell let`s keep going to NY. That also was the first canopy and only canopy Apache ever built. To this day if I were to do any long distance endurance races, like round Britain etc. I would be in the biggest canopied Apache I could build, and I would be hard or impossible to beat. Anyone up for the challenge.

Out of curiousity, I see talk that the Apache Heritage was the only 45... but then Hot Duck (oso name) has a 45 for sale. What's the "back story" on that boat?

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o14820-en.html

In the 80's you couldn't beat the 47' in the rough like 7x says. Just think about '88 or better yet '89 in AC the 41's nor the 45 couldn't come close to the 47. The Gancia could not keep up with Lil Cesar's, that boat was just the best running boat ever in it's day.

I echo what 7x times says about today as well, put that 47' out there in monster water with people that can run right and there's nothing that will walk by her - nothing!

Joe Gere

Was the 47 stretched from the 41 ?

The 45 was KID originally. That's the boat that's for sale now by Hot Duck, the Lynch Mob boat. Only 1 45 ever built.

Spirit of Apache

Isn't there two 45's ??

1) Heritage 50 which is a 45' / Richie Powers boat.

2) Apache Kid / Hot ducks which is a 45' also.


That's the impression I was always under is these two boats were the only 45's


Thanks
Jon

45 Apache kid was a dammed 47 in the mold.

45 Apache Heritage was a cut down 47 thus shortening the length to 45

45 Apache Heritage had to runs at perfection, first time out if I remember the story they could see over the deck safely.
Headed back to the shop for a serious overnighter to cut the deck off and lower it have the boat all back together to win the worlds. I 'm sure there are some details missing but thats the jist of it.

Anyway's all that aside there are two 45' apache's.
Other than the deck being cut down cause it was not only the first canopy boat, but also the first sit down boat Hence it needing to be cut down............

So if both boats were stand up bolsters and the deck didn't need to be cut down ..........then is either boat a better build than the other from being dammed off or having two feet cut out and reglassed together to both end up at 45' ?

Just asking due to your explanation, I think both boats Rock!
And both are great History pieces.

Jon

how fast does she run? wow great boat to update. great price i think no?

The way I've always understood the Heritage story, the deck was lowered, hence the "cut down". The operators weren't able to see over the bow when sitting down. Obviously that would shorten the boat some small amount... but 2 feet?

Unless I have a compete misunderstanding of the story, the boat was not shortened- no section of the hull was removed.

Joe,

Will used to own my 28 Pantera (so he's a member of the Family! :D) He's trading the Apache in on a 39 TG Unlimited (next week). So if you like it give him a call!

Here is a link plus Story from 7XCHAMP in post 11.
Also have the magazine artical somewhere. :-)www.offshoreonly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156495

It is a long story re: Apache Heritage, I could write a mini book about the ADVENTURE and the crew. I`ll shoot for the highlights. The boat is a regular 47` cut down. Everyone thought it was a 50` because of the race number which I was given by Don Johnson after racing the 50` Revenge super cat.
I was interviewed by Omar Danial and Patrick Mercurio for the throttleman position along with Bobby Moore, Bobby Idoni, Steve Curtis etc.. When I met the driver Omar we had instant chemistry and we said let`s go racing, rest is history, three world titles later, all first place finishes except one, where we finished second to Tres and INXS water turned out calm first race in Key West in 1993 we had our boat set up wrong, next and final race was 6` to 8` seas with 20 mph winds. We averaged in the 101 mph range consistant every lap and won, Beat all the cats, and won overall.
when we were in progress of building the Heritage, I suggested to Mark McManus that we make it a canopy sit down boat. Mark was all for it, many others who heard about the thought laughed and said we would get beat up really bad, and this was from some famous guys in the sport. I told Mark and Omar that nothing hit harder than a 22,000 lb. four engine fifty foot cat at 135 mph. in six footers. The V-bottom would be incredible, which it was.
When we tested at Lake X on a monday before having to be in Key West for first race on Wed. we found that we could not see over the bow, we failed to cut the bow down enough, so we hung out of the canopy and finished our set-up work. Top speed was in the 115 mph range. We called Mark and told him the problem, he said bring it back to Miami and we`ll fix it???????? Monday night Curtis Chapman cut the front of the deck lose from the hull all the way back to the canopy, then commenced to cut about another 18" or so out of the nose, dropped it back down on the hull glassed it up. we left for Key West, for drivers meeting etc. boat showed up at 6:00 am Wed. morning at stock Island, we nervously put her in the water, as we dressed for the race, all the time wondering how she would sit.
When we took off to go to the Galleon it was approx. 5` to 6` following sea, we could finally see pretty good, the faster we went the better we could see, we didn`t even realize how fast until we looked at the speedo and was a solid 100 to 105.
Apache Heritage is by far the most incredible boat I have ever raced. Once we pulled the straps down and became part of the boat, it was history. Incidentally it was the first time Omar had ever raced, and first time we were together in an ocean race, and of all things the worlds in Key West.
The Apache Heritage TEAM was the best I have ever had the pleasure of being associated with. And I believe history was written. To the best of my knowledge we built the first successful canopied V-Bottom race boat, which set the benchmark for all others. Power was triple Merc. 1,000`s number six wet sumps. Check out an article that Poker run magazine did last year on the boat team etc. It was a great article. Thanks for remembering the Heritage 7XCHAMP

Yeah, I re-read that last night. It isn't really clear what he's saying. The part about cutting 18" out is baffling. It would be tough to cut a foot and a half from the nose and splice it back together. Hopefully he'll clarify.

Interesting story anyway.

I think they dropped the deck 18" in the nose/ bow area to clear there line of vision. But that quote mentioned it being a 47' and I sure thought the magazine said it was cut down to a 45'?? Hopefully 7XChamp will chime in and let us know. :D:D

Jon

If it was a Fountain, a little deck lowering would have knocked 8' off.

I like the 47' Spirit of Apache. Go to www.apachepowerboats.com and there, somwehere, is a video of the boat, a complete walkthru etc.

i"ll bet you would come close to shaving 2 ft off the lenght by dropping the deck 18 inch, if you took a plum line off the point down 18" and then drew a line parallel to the bow you would be close to shaving 2ft off the lenght.

later

Here's a good view of a cut-down hull. This was pulled from an Apache mold.

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o21109-en.html

Apache's aren't nearly as "pointy" as many other performance boats. Sit a 41 next to a Cig 42 and you'll be surprised how much further the bottom extends before curving up to the bow.

Just like Sutphen's!!!

47's are awsome, I rode in my buddys 47 KEMOSABE the day after I had rode and bought my 41. It's amazing how good they ride in big water, 41's are awsome and 47's are the best, and Komesabe is the best 47.

Look at how a cut down 38 Top Gun became a 36 Gladiator.

I always liked the 41 better . The winscreen on the 47 looked like it was too far forward , I like the long deck profile .
You could never mistake an Apache for anything else .
Remember Predator ? Danger Zone ? Lethal Weapon ? Starchaser ?

Danger Zone was a 38 Cig......

Danger Zone a Cig ? Could be , that was a while ago , was it a blue Cig then ?

Yea, blue Cig 38 I am pretty sure....

I was just watching "Apache Year in Review" the other night and I seem to remember a "Danger Zone" 41. I'll re-run it and look. I can only watch these things when I'm home alone. I get quite a bit of grief about sitting in a dark room watching a boat roaring across the water for 2 hours straight.

Broken Arrow.....another incredible 47

The one I think was Light Blue with orange lettering I think....

Kemosabe
Steve Nykamp say's it's the best...........he knows the tribe!

Broken Arrow is a very nice 47, Tommy has really done some amazing work on that boat. Almost all 47's have a little differnt deck, as far as length. Kemo has the longest deck of all the 47's. When you sit behind the wheel, the deck seems to go on forever. I had the joy of detailing Broken Arrow back when Mark used to do the Lauderdale show, the deck is almost the same as a 41.