Such a great thread. I wonder if Knocky House and Michael Aronow had any idea, when they towed Don's boats all over Europe in the 60's, that there would be this much interest in those very same boats more than 40 years later.

I guess this is a perfect example of a "timeless design"

Thank you to everyone for their contributions.

Love the "Anaconda"

PJ is a veritable fountain of misinformation. The 28' Magnum was built in 1966 at Magnum Marine by Harry Schoell, who also designed it. He is sitting about 6 feet from me as I write this. He built the plug, and the Magnum guys made the mold and the raceboats. It was 28' x 8' including the rubrail. Aronow sold the mold to Kiekhaefer, who gave it to Mabrey Edwards, Memco, who sold it Randy Rabe. The 27' Magnum was a vertically cut down model to the 28' plug, which was shortened because of the slant of the bow when it was cut down. The 35' Magnum was designed by Wynne and Walters, and built entirely at Donzi. It was included in the sale to Teleflex. They later gave it to Don in return for him f**king them on the non-compte clause. The Magnum company was named after an old Humphrey Bogart movie, where Bogie was holed up in a roadside cafe/gas station. The brand of gas? Magnum. I called Don at home and suggested it, and he went for it, despite stories to the contrary.

You should see how great Anaconda looks today fully restored, owned by ironhead here on OSO. Sparky at Vicious Marine did the glass & Paint work. This how she looked when she came out his fiberglass shop. Anaconda is now up & running back home on Lake St Clair.

wow, now that's cool!

Without getting into a he said - she said - bottom line here is:
Don drove 27s in 67-68.

That's the story I have used. Right from the horse's mouth.
Thanks Brownie
The history of the Magnum name is very cool.

Mange

The low slung Magnums with wooden deck patches (not hatches) and ALL 27's. The full height ones are ALL 28's.

Brownie, I sure could use your help identifying this one. It's my new project, and was supposedly a first season racer for cigerette. Production class?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=190383593783

Flying Fish,
I think that 4 inchs are little as cutting. I think it was of 1'. Even Balestrieri in 1971 when he made a similar work,cutting the freeboard of one of its 32' Cary obtained a reduction of 1'.

To argue Brownie about the actual length of these Maltese Magnum of 1967 arrives the same Don Aronow in an essay in 1976.
That's what he wrote when he talks about the boats of 1967 ;
"...to demonstrate this point, we built two Maltese Magnum hulls of 28' with a maximum beam of 8 feet, because I could take them, in Europe."

Below, just a joke making a comparison between a 28 'cut and a 27'. You get the same boat.