Kitami's destiny...
 

Hallo Mr. Gere,
thanks for giving a glimps into the Super (Hero) Hawaii venture. Like I mentioned in a thread back in 2005 I encountered the Super Hero boats at the Los Angeles Boat Show in I believe 1990. I met Kitami's son and he showed me the boats, which I believe were a 46 Monte Carlo and a pleasure SH Euro 38 in white , black and yellow stripes. He also gave me the sales broushures with the blue 40 and red 34 displayed. I've always been a fan of Buzzi's designs and I love the race SH 38. I put a link in to the older thread;
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...87&postcount=8
Part of it says;
"The molds for the 38 are still sitting in the intrepid graveyard. For some reason or another John Michel was really fond of that boat, he still has the 38 SH raceboat as well (powered with 3 seateks). He wont part with either the boat or the molds."
Mr. Gere do You happen to know Mr. Michel and the current status of the molds and his white 38? Seems such a waste to tuck away such a nice design, but he crushed the SH 34 mold also, so I guess anything is possible.
What eventually happened to Mr. Kitami and his son? How did they get involved in the offshore racing scene in the first place? I know they lived partly in Hawaii (I guess that's why the name Super Hawaii) and the son was a big fan of late Tom Gentry, just like myself.
Hope to hear the whole story. Sincerely,
Lars Lindroth.

I'll answer what I can of what you ask.

I don't recall a boat show in 1990 in Ca maybe in 1991 (doesn't matter)?

Kitami children were very small, the person I think you call his son was actually one of two young men he brought over from Japan to hopefully "run the plant" or become operations in Japan. Unless there was a first marriage that we didn't know about?

John Michel is still Intrepid as far as I know, I saw him at the Miami boat show a few years back?

The 38 molds, why he has them or won't part with them??? They were never his to begin with, so I doubt he would sell them or the agreement was only SH could use them. When Buzzi sold you something there were lots of stipulations with, he wanted control over everything and you to just write checks. It worked for him so far he's done very well, can't fault him.

Kitami started racing in Ca in a outboard powered boat, I believe a Checkmate 28? He was racing with a gentleman out there named Steve Carr who was a neighbor/freind in Hi - very nice man! Steve had a full time job and did it as a hobby when Kitami became full time it was too much for Steve but I later hooked up with Steve again with Cigarette Lady.

I need to run now but will tell you the reason for SH when I get back tonight as I know it and saw it.

First, Super Hero and Kitami were not about racing, racing was an means to an end - Kitami was a real estate developer first and foremost. Here was the master plan for the whole thing:
- start race team, have many wins get a following in Japan (US was an after thought)
- start pleasure boat company to sell wana be Super Hero's boats in Japan and of course US also
- start diesel engine company because Japanese want to buy packages not peices like in US ie Cigarette boat, Merc drives, Hawk engines need all Super Hero brand throughout if possible.
- acquire marina in HI to host driving school to cater to wealthy Asians
- create 3 levels of driving skills that require 3 separtate trips to HI to attain pro-status
- crate 3 levels of school boats identified by color ie Red Boat, Blue Boat & White Boat being highest level
- acquire hotel across from marina in HI so pupils in school have somewhere to stay and can bring family for vacations and get a taste of the "good life"
- establish club med type resorts around Asian rim that feature ability to rent/include use of "White" boats while at these resorts
- these resorts were to be memeber only clubs with very high fees. In 1989 is when the news broke that wealthy Japanese business men were paying $1 million to join country clubs there - it should work for boat/resort clubs too?

That is what Super Hero was all about, not racing it was a business venture and there were many turns within that plan from Patrol boats to acquirng Intrepid because now the Japanese needed fishing boats, to people telling him the market was here in the US, you don't need Japan. Buy a marina here in Fl because we need that now - on and on and on, I felt sorry for him.

We had several meetings with Andera Bonomi (Seatek), Cummins (Jim Shipp VP Marine) about all our work with Cummins and that hot rod Cummins were a more viable product than Seatek could ever be. This is when Seatek needed to have a V-12 or else doom and gloom. We (US) all felt the future was in small bore not big bore products. Buzzi killed all those attempts at partnering because at that point he, Buzzi would have no say and no purpose, you can't blame him?

It goes on forever without a happy ending for everyone except John Michel. He made a better deal than all of us and he made out, hats off to him!

In the end I don't know what really happened? I know his lawyer and I agreed I should opt out rather than fight and maybe have trouble later on because I would have been financially responsible as well at some point for some things. Looking back, Cary did me right!

That's the 30,000' from my eyes,
Joe Gere

The boat I have is a white hull. Pics on the Randy Nuzzo site.
http://randynuzzo.com/images/albums/...d0b/HRPA01.jpg
Has been boatel kept from day one, CMI's, K & N's, and everypart of the drive system has been replaced with new.

There are also many more pic's on the Rabdy Nuzzo site. Hit his link for ImageQuix and hit the Super Hawaii site under the 2007 Hampton Roads Rendezvous Poker run. He has not had time to post this years pics, our run was Saturday.

Last weeks photos
 

If anyone is interested, The photos from the poker run last week are available now. People can get to the photos by visiting my web site for the link, or following this link directly:

http://www.imagequix.com/photog.php?id=69Z829N

Just hit the Super Hawaii button.
91 Super Hawaii

Here's some photos from 1991 or1992 on Lake Michigan.

1 more

That's the 4 engine Gancia dei Gancia, look at the exhaust coming out the sides of the boat. If you recall if left a soot trail and stain in the water for hours after it passed you!!!

You look at the birth or growth of racing diesels in offshore boats and it had a prettty good start. When we added the big engines to this boat, it was the begining of the death of racing diesels because this boat single handed lead to an ban of diesels racing in Key West for awhile.

The environmentalists (my moto is pave the planet!) could show how that boat stained the water and could have an adverse affect on Key West.

Anyone that was close to it ithe pits wll recall the black soot and stain that was left on their water line and it didn't come out all the way.

That is why you see all the SH race boats painted in dark colors, the lighter boats couldn't come clean!!!

Payton on the board has a real nice 34. He is the big guy in the pic that looks like he should be playing D line in the NFL.

I can't believe I've missed this thread for 2 weeks!

Great info and stories Joe. Your info kind of straightens out some of the stories I was told when I first bought my boat. A lot of what I was told had a little bit of truth, but kind of went the wrong direction.
Mine is an all white Imron 1991 34' with staggered 454 mags, now putting out about 425 hp. The pic MM posted is is how the boat looked for the first 4 years I owned it. I had the flames added. I changed the graphics this past winter. This is how she looks now.

And the winner of the 2008 Cowes Torquay Cowes race is?

Payton - the name fits the boat!!!!

littlenige - Cowes is one of the great races, it seperates the men from the boys. It's offshore racing as it was intended, I liken it to LeMans and what is done here in the US, well it's NASCAR at Dover Downs, the Monster Mile!!!!

I wish I could support Top Banana in his efforts to bring Offshore Racing back again, just don't have the $'s to even race anymore.

Kitami, despite the "masterplan" that went array, he was committed to trying to push offshore racing and not settle on just using existing technology. He spent millions to develope new products that could go into production.

I'll say it again, Offshore Racing was not designed to be a spectator sport, just like Paris Dakar or Baja, it's for people or companies with's lots of money to push the envelope of endurance technology and hopefully put a trophy on a mantle. It's man vs the elements, not like boats with like engines running in circles.

Joe, they should bring it back in the US that way. Google Earth could sell a live feed on Pay Per View.


I did learn a little more about my boat yesterday. Over the winter I had installed a fuel flow meter and Northstar GPS. On flatter water my boat had a tendancy to porpos a little if I got the drives up anywhere close tolevel with the bottom. Well yester day I was watching gallons per mile drop as I got the drives up about 1/2 of a mark above level, while dropping the tabs to 2 marks below level. I always imagined I was scrubbing off to much speed with the tabs down that much. I had always tried to drive with them level. Looks like I was doing it backwards. I have to tried a WOT run to see how she runs then. But, gaining effeciancy at 45mph should be the same at 70+:cool:

91 Super Hawaii, great shots of your boat! And a nice looking boat.

Regarding the red 34' and blue 40'
 

We had both of those boats at Everglades Marina when the boats were new. It's been a long time and I'm getting senile, so I can't tell you exactly when that was.

If I remember correctly the boats both had standard MerCruiser power. The red 34' had staggered engines and the blue 40' had SBS. One of them loved to porpoise.

Finishing work was awesome, but we never sold any. Were ahead of their time.

Ed,

That's where I know you from!!!! I could never place where, it's Everglades!!!!

Joe Gere

Small World
 

Amazing what a small world the high performance boat people have.

I was at Everglades from Jan 1987 to April 1993 with a 9 month hiatus to Champion Marine from Nov 1989.

One quick question, what did Jeff Stoops have to do with Everglades or was he a customer?

Payton,Thanks.
Do you remember our meeting during the party in miami a few years ago? We talked on line a little before (when you were considering buying your boat) and when i heard you were there i made sure to say hi.

I'm sorry, but I don't know who Jeff Stoops is.

The exotic cars Ralph used to drive in had Il license plates on them which I believe were registerd to Stoops Trucking / Stoops Freightliner. I was wondering if he (Jeff) had money in Everglades or was a customer whose cars they drove around?

91 SH, I do remember meeting you. There aren't to many of us SH owners. In fact you are the only other current owner I've met.

Joe, could you mean Jeff Riss? I know he was at Everglades. I think about that time. He did some engine work for me a couple of years ago. He is up here in the middle of corn fields still working on boats and drag racing jetboats.

Payton,

I never met Jeff at Everglades I just used to see the dealer plates on the Lambo and such that Ralph drove around/kept there as I recall. They quoted us trucks a couple times so I just wondered if they were involved in backing Everglades or anything else, nothing pressing just wondered that years ago?

Joe Gere

Joey: "How ya doin"? Aloha from Hawaii. Thanks for the compliments in this forum.

Super Hero, Super Hero Boats, Super Hawaii Racing etc. are probably my fault! I intoduced Kitami to offshore racing in 1988 and we purchased "Waterheater", yes, a 28' Checkmate from Alan Shapiro. Kitami and I (and a cast of dozens) raced the boat in POPBRA was a year and then Kitami's desire got huge and the rest of the story unfolded. For the next few years, millions were spent on his boat racing, boat manufacturing, cars (15 AC Cobra's!). Kitami always kept me as his "friend" and right hand man. He also had a desire to have the best and spared no expense to hire the best he could, or advised he could. Fabio Buzzi, Bill Sirois, the list is long! It all came to an end in the early 90's when Kitami's brother was arrested in Honolulu on financial corruption charges in Japan. It was reported close to $100,000,000.00 was bilked out of Japanese banks and investors through Kitami and his brother.
I do know the history on some of the boats, but there wewre so many! There are 2 40' American Series here in Hawaii in a junk yard: One is my old boat with stars and stripes that was on the cover of PowerBoat. Both are wasted fiberlass shells full of termites! Great, fast and furious times. My wife has a condo on the intracostal a few hundred yards from Shooter's in Fort Lauderdale. I love to sit on the lanai and watch the boat parade by: just last November, a 40' SuperHawaii cruised by and I though I was back 20 years when we tore up the intracostal in the blue 34' and red 40' based out of Everglades. Back to reality! Joey, we'll keep in touch. Aloha, Steve Carr

Steve - so good to hear from you!!!!!

I see Anna in NY from time to time. After Morris passed she married Ben Benson. The son has grown up to be quite the man as well!

I don't want to tell much either of the story but you know the lawyer Cary and I went round and round for awhile too!

Hey it was good times and we walked away, that's all the matters!!!

Do you see Greg or Eric Schiff out there?

Joey: I do see them quite often. Email me @ [email protected]

First time there saw that; I remember it thinking it was Chicago based as well. Thought just a small world???

AO31, I'm glad someone else picked up on that, I begin to think sometimes I imagine things? (LOL)

I remember Ralph driving those cars around and saying "what's the tie here?"

I thought that's what you get to drive when you're in the boat biz!:cool-smiley-027:

"I intoduced Kitami to offshore racing in 1988 and we purchased "Waterheater", yes, a 28' Checkmate from Alan Shapiro. Kitami and I (and a cast of dozens) raced the boat in POPBRA was a year and then Kitami's desire got huge and the rest of the story unfolded."

Not to hi-jack this thread but............................


As I own a very rare Checkmate 2800SX Outboard, I would enjoy finding out more about the "Waterheater" Checkmate raceboat! How was it set up? What speeds were they seeing? What motors were they running? etc.. You may have some great Checkmate history that guys on Checkmate-boats.com would love to hear!! Any Pictures would greatly be appreciated!!

Here are a few links to articles in our very much missed Powerboat Magazine.

http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...CING%20(2).pdf

http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...T%20RACING.pdf

http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...CING%20(5).pdf

Thanks larslindroth! I didn't realize the above links were in response to my thread on the Waterheater Checkmate raceboat! Very cool old articles. I'm going to copy and paste them to Checkmate-boats.com!!

Stevehaolecrab, I don't want to hijack this thread but do you know the whereabouts of the 28' Checkmate raceboat "Waterheater"??

My SH
 

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I have a 1300 hp SH 34 1991 . appreciate the info

Trying to post pictures but not having any luck