28' Thunderbird Formularace boat from the '60's
 

What was the boat derived from...an extended 233 or was it a separate mold all together. Having never seen one I don't know.

How were they set up? Was it ever a production boat?

I was hoping some of the old school racers would jump in on this...but not yet.

Not sure if I understand the question. Are you asking if they extended a 233 into a whole new boat?

Or are you asking if they made any race boats larger than the 233?

I'd guess it's wood and done before the 233. I don't recall a 28' Thunderbird or early Formula. The earlier in the 60's the better chance it's wood.. Brownie would know.

The 233 came out in '62 and was Arronow's first Fiberglass boat. The 28 was campaigned in the mid to late '60's...I think there were a few in the Bahamas 500 races.

The vintage Formula brochures don't go back before the early '70's so no help there.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8349d2ce.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps62ba8c52.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...psdca6297d.jpg[/IMG]

I snagged these off of the HORBA site...all from the '60's

I am asking if was a completely different boat as in a production boat or were they extended 233's?

I don't have my archives handy at the moment, but am pretty sure the 28 was a prototype, and then shortened to become the 233. Both were identical in every dimension, besides length. I'll look around for the article that explains this.

It goes without saying that the 28 should have been a production model. I can well imagine an F-283 Interceptor with a pair of Vortec or LS strokers and Bravos. That'd be special.

Two different boats.

Two different molds.

Thank You for that.

OK...I wonder if any of these are around anywhere? Were all of the 28's set up as inboards or were they also I/O's? Are there any pics or specs on the 28 out there that anyone knows of?

Claudia II was a Formula 276.
 

Don Aronow had a 27' Formula designed by Peter Gurke for himself that was named Claudia II. Mr. Aronow had he few more made for others to race and called them Formula 276. When he sold Formula he didn't include the mold for the Formula 276. It was sold to Marlin Boat Works in North Carolina and became a sportfisher. My instinct is that you are looking for information on the Donzi 28 and that is the next chapter in Don Aronow's boat racing.

http://www.magnummarine.com/aboutMag...er-in-1965.jpg

Cleveland Propeller
 

Where does this Formula fit in the puzzle, Cleveland Propeller ?????

I'm not sure but looks like a 302 with a custom faring to me. What does the HIN# reveal?

Not a 302, but a early 70's formula 32' hull I believe built just for racing.........

Don was a great one for being economical with his tooling. Look at some old photos of Billy Martin racing his 30 foot Magnum. When they built the boat at Magnum they didn't have a deck mold, so they sent the boat down the street to Thunderbird / Formula and they put one of these decks on.

That is a real deck from the factory at the time.....I don't remember a transom like that, maybe that is how they made a 30 foot boat into a 32 foot boat.

There was another 28 that raced under the T/F brand. It was a boat called Holocaust that Bob Nordskog bought from the owner of the T/F company Merrick Lewis. The boat had two engines running power to the prop on a single,shaft.

With that much torque the boat,had a tendency to chine walk more,than a little bit. They came up with an idea to put down hydraulic skids on both sides of the boat to keep it more stable. They looked like skis and they operated just like trim tabs do on the transom. That boat had a narrow beam at 28 feet compared to the above,photo of the 28 foot Donzi.

A few years ago someone sent a few photos to HORBA and let us know the old Holocaust was sitting in a field up in Michigan or Indiana or somewhere in the midwest. We posted the photos and notice, no takers.

That 32' looks like what became a Tempest 38'. Very few built, Fred Kiekafer had one. ( I know it's probably not, but sure looks similar) The 44' Tempest was a Gara/Corsa and I know the 38' wasn't derived from that....IDK..

Thunderbird Formula 28.
 

Thank You Charlie for mentioning the late great Bob Nordskog's endeavors in the Holocaust Thunderbird.

Picture: http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...caust%20II.pdf

http://seriousoffshore.com/forums/at...1&d=1381808444

Pics from about 10yrs ago.

Charlie, that Thunderbird with the # 250 looks like a Bertram hull. Maybe Don used one to make the raceboat?

Formula 283 by Thunderbird is a stretched 233.
 

Was busy over the holidays, but will make another post after this and show a few photos of the Formula 283 race boats. They are stretched Formula 233's and the first were made in 1964/1965 supposedly. U.F.O., Thunderstreak II, Holocaust etc. were some of the well-knowned ones. Here are a couple of photos. More in a later post.
http://www.mercuryracing.com/blog/wp...rmula-1965.jpg
http://www.boatmad.com/forum/attachm...1&d=1285708726
http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/PA...(1967)_jpg.jpg

WOW!!!...That's what I'm talking about!! I womder if there are any of those around anywhere?

That is one sweet looking old boat!

Yes, U.F.O. sold in the U.K. not too long ago and is going through a complete resto. Hopefully she'll be ready for the Venture Cup this summer.

Here in the 1969 Round Britain(Tim Powell): 1.http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...%20BRITAIN.pdf
2.http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...TAIN%20(5).pdf
http://youtu.be/pG5RYuyVxRA?t=6m24s

http://youtu.be/C6iChCEZhYA?t=1m11s

http://www.boatmad.com/forum/attachm...5&d=1286005248

Thanks for sharing!!! That was an incredible race....is it still run or was that a one and only?

The 283 Formula had an impressive performance...1400 miles plus completely navigating all the way around Great Britain...finishing second overall!!

Round Britain.
 

Getting off the subject here, but I it's a good one and Your thread sprink58, so here's some info. The Round Britain took place in 1969, 1984 and 2008. My friend Mike Lloyd was the director for the Round Britain 2008 and pulled off an amazing event despite world financial turmoils. Mike just posted up a neat little documentary of Round Britain 2008,
check it out: http://youtu.be/T-qb2feaKKI

Here's a link to a 3 part video of footage from the Round Britain 1984: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1d...4-part-1_sport

Some RB84 reading courtesy of Powerboat U.K.: http://www.powerboatarchive.co.uk/Ma...N%20%20(6).pdf

http://www.fptindustrial.com/FPTGall...FPT-02_LOW.jpg

This boat belonged to Steve Hrumjyck, owner of Cleveland Propeller, Denison & West 65
 

[QUOTE=h2oboater;4040596]Where does this Formula fit in the puzzle, Cleveland Propeller ?????[/QUOT

[WOW, a blast from the past!!! This boat belonged to Steve Hrumjyck, owner of Cleveland Propeller, Denison & West 65th Street, and his nephew Chuck, who had a body shop on same property. The boat was purchased by Chuck/Steve, I believe in 1977, or 1978, had 482's in it. I clearly remember seeing this boat run in one race/Cleveland.[/B]