top banana arrives
 

finally she arrives in phuket thailand after a world trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae-t...ad_owner-smbtn

picture ; on a wooden trailer over the highway i did get a few years older in 1 day.

Shoulda bought the tractor and trailer too. Lol

1, That's a wooden trailer? Wow!
2, The boat in a box thing ....that's f_in unreal. Never saw one in a container or one taken out of one before, thanks for the vid. Getting it out is one thing. The real question is, how did they get it in there in the first place???

Pushed it in!!!

but how? Not like dragging something out. Maybe a forklift with really long forks? :eek:

Trailer is (or appears to be) a steel I-beam w/wooden bunks -no rear brake lights on trailer visable or any electrical connection to the pickup truck.....pretty scary!
A container with 2 open ends would solve the problem of loading it.......no push just pull it through, but I doubt that's the case..........glad it's there in one piece!

We have loaded heavy pieces into semis with three fork lifts, 28-30 ft machines. One fork on the front near the back end one fork in the middle. Back fork is at end, all three lift same time. The one at the end pushes and it slides on the other forks. Middle backs out when pusher is close and slides right in. Pretty scary but easy to do.

Congrats on your new arrival!

That trailer will be a timber Thai style trailer, no brakes, no lights, just a cradle with wheels. They use them for just about everything here. Cheap and easy to fix.

Couple of questions, we don't have big pick ups here for towing so the Nissan pictured is around the limit in terms of size. Without engines and drives the boat is pretty light, how did the Nissan cope towing (dragging) home slowly? I'm thinking about what I can tow with a Wildtrack or a Hilux (3500kg/7700lbs rec max) just to get to the marina and back.....?

Secondly, who's your shipping company in the U.S. that provides the wider than normal container?

There's a yellow cat (sail boat) here in Pattaya named "Gluay Yai" (Big Banana). I might ask him to change the name out of respect now that we have a REAL banana in Thailand,

Enjoy the project, looks great.

Jon.

would like to have them but to expensive to ship and 200+ % import tax on cars here,boats 7%

how they get it in there
 

like this ..............they flipped the container on his side put the boat in and then straight up again,what i did not know was that after 25 year in storage there was still a lot of gasoline in the hull that leaked out,this container was a bom.

That's better than a Christmas present in a box looks good.

trailer
 

the whole trailer is wood except the axles and tow hook , container opens only at one side there the beam is to wide you have to put the boat on the side

WOW that's pretty slick you have big ballz glad it worked out.

I was wondering if anyone checked those tanks. 4 engine room tanks and 2 forward tanks under the deck along with a 5 gallon oil tank that we had, in case the engines started to lose oil pressure way out on the ocean...just keep priming new oil in until the pressure picks up

stress
 

yes it was a nice present,but i bought it all by internet never saw the hull before so i had 3 months of stress and worrying before i had it here ,can not recommend it to anyone,needed 10 people to get it in my carpark that is very small as you will understand wife was a little bit in a shock when she came home ...................

towing was no problem did about 50 km per hour,most important is that the boat is well balanced on the trailer,i could lift the tow hook up with one hand so a very smooth ride the axles are the most important thing you have to check one wheel broke directly of the trailer after 2 meter driving.

there are no wider containers available, all are 7.8 wide 8.5 height so you have to flip the boat on his side.

I thought the container looked a bit wide and low in the video but didn't put 2 and 2 together! My bad.
Sorry you lost all that expensive fuel. Lol.

RR

Holy shlt!! You sure to have some moxy my friend! Congrats on the purchase and good luck with the project!! Keep us posted.

thanks for the advice ! no one checked the tanks i also did not expect any gasoline in it after 25 year , should be evaporated.i will post some pictures later,so many original things still in the hull,spare propeller , flags,peddle,ship radio station licence,racing gloves,anker ectr.
also i could use some advice about all electrical things in the hull,will post pics later,can not tell you how happy i am with this hull,please let me know if there is any lay available out from the electrical system.
now i am looking to get the layer of paint form the 666 nr of without damaging the the gelcoat and put 60 back on it,and the yellow stripe will be back in a few weeks !

thank you brian, when there is a will there is always a way !

Any aproximate, idea what the weight of the empty boat was? Have you seen the weigh bridge certificate from the U.S? May be lost in your masses of files from the export/import, just still wondering what I could get away with towing.

RR

Find a trailer with some sort of surge breaks. You could even adapt them to your wood trailer.

there are no engines in the boat i think about 2500 kg,but they tow here 42 ft boats with 3 engines with a normal 4x4 pickup truck,i did before 5000 kg + boats with my truck.

i will have a steel trailer made after,everything go's here on this wood trailers with out brakes,lights or anything, that is one on the reasons that i am here,can do whatever you want the law says you have to have a red piece of red textile hanging on the back,that's it.

Hate to see that boat leave the motherland but I don't think it could be in better hands. Congrats, good luck and keep us posted.

well you are right,i could not believe that this boat with such a history was for sale for such a long time and for peanuts,all my friends here say,wow was there nobody in the hole usa who was interesting in buying it ?
it should be in the u.s.a were so many people know it and much more fun to see it back on the water there were it belongs,really a shame but i appreciate and love this boat and did a lot to get it so my dream come true.

Congratulations on your purchase and your vision to get your boat to home, your home. I can not imagine what it costi in US dollars to get from the US to your car port. !
All of us seem to take the road less traveled with our powerboat purchase; from the vision to make it what you want and getting in the water !
This example here is what it Is all about, following a dream plan!

I've got 3 classic boats in stock (not including our 1982 PolarKraft, a classic in its own right). Just sold #4 a 1976 Donzi 18. Two of them are "race boats" (1967 Nova 24 & 1959 Biesemeyer 4pt hydro drag boat). So if another race boat comes down my street it better be picking my ass up cause its to cold to be living in it. lol

But you're right. I see them (race boats) all the time on the web but people don't want a project or don't have the skill to fix it or are just to afraid to pull the trigger and try. It kills me to see these lost pieces of history just melt away.
I'll let you all in on a secret though that 38Banana is just starting to find out. You can pull up to a dock that is covered with million dollar go fasts and yachts smothered in graphics, stereo equipment and chrome with a boat like ours and the seas will part. I even leave extra time when I trailer it up to the local gas station for people that want to talk about it. It's no longer about being noticed for 38Banana, it's about being remembered.

I agree with f_inscreenname about the cost of shinning new big power (boats) as opposed to the endangered (ever shrinking) number of old skool "glass classics" that have gone & never to return.
Very interesting statement by 38banana about the lack of interest (in US) for the 38' banana with a history & win(s) ...I wonder if Charlie M ever considered a re-purchase of his 38' for a HORBA
restoration......- or - was it not a boat significant enough for HORBA?.........Charlie??.
Back to the cost question (and it always seems to come back to that) if you have the means ($$$) to restore a classic ...sometimes it's a bare hull that's in bad shape worst times less engines & drives.
it's generally easy to acquire, but significantly expensive to reach the full restoration of a boat. we all see half restored boats sold off for lack of funds!....The idea that 38' banana was cheap on the dollar to purchase here in the US is because the full potential of it's restoration won't be cheap.....unless you have the means$$$...and it always seems to come back to that!
38banana............I think you know that here in the US (if you don't know how to do glass repair & you need a capable glass man) it could cost you $75 to &100 an hour for as long as you need.
Besides your "cost" of shipping the 38' and what engines & drives would be .....I would think that the rest would be pennies on the dollar for glass work in your part of the world compared to the US.

Re question on weight. It was built all glass and plywood, no Kevlar. Boat ready to be rigges at 38 feet was 3,800 lbs. Lot of time chipping out hardened resin the day following each layup.

Don't forget this boat held off for a full year of racing, the new 37.6 foot Cigarette, which later became known as Top Gun. Even that race, the 1980 Bahamas 200, we were leading with 5 miles to go and one engine started tightening up and we slowed enough that Ajac Hawk beat us by 30 seconds.

Yes, I tried to buy the boat back when it first came on the market, but found dealing with the guy selling was a bit much. I thought I had a deal ,but then he changed it, truck had to be included and then someone wanted the truck, so it all changed again. All I wanted was the hull and deck.....the rest was junk. So my next plan, after restoring my Benihana, may be to build a brand new Top Banana, painted the same with modern engines and drives. One day at a time.

One day At a time Charlie. Sad to see your old girl go but I know you have many other irons in the fire. Still sad.

Any news on progress on the old 32?

Sorry 38Banana but I just want to say this and I will let you get back to the glory and fun.
Hey Skip, I hear what you are saying but.. (and please no one take offence at what I say)
The bottom line is two things. People are just to f_in lazy these days and others hold on to things for much longer then they should. There is no reason these few boats with 320 million people in this country can’t find homes.
Lazy. What I mean by that is a lot of people don’t want to get their hands dirty. They think there is nothing I can do so I would have to pay for it all. For some that is true but if you can watch a you tube video and paint a wall with a roller you can do fiberglass. Not saying you will be ready for the body shop but doing stringers and transoms in rough glass is not that hard. But most would rather get themselves in 30 years of payments for a boat they won’t have 30 years from now just because it’s ready to go and their neighbor has one a tiny bit smaller. The days of buying something cool outright and fixing it up has gone by I guess.
Then there is the owners/sellers that just because the boat has a tiny bit of history (or they just won’t let go) wants gold bricks for something rotting away behind a warehouse or boatyard. When they are lucky enough to find someone with interest they chase them away with insane numbers or a shotgun. It makes me mad that they don’t think of the boat’s future. They act like they love it by holding on to them but then they let them rot away without so much as a tarp over them. They also have to know that when they are gone no one will protect them any longer and they will be at the mercy of a back hoe after the reading of the will. You ever try to estate sale an old wrecked race boat? If I had one thing to say to a race boat holder/sellers is, think of the boats future. Like a child it’s your responsibility to secure it future. There is only a small group of us willing to do these boats. If you have to because they don’t have the money give the boat to them and help them fix it back up any way you can. There is already a list of historical race boats that are just missing and gone forever. Help the history survive. If you can’t find a single person to take on the project then look into groups into boats or maritime museums, high schools shop classes whatever it takes to get these historical boats out of the weeds and to carry on the history.
It’s not only boats. They just found the first stock car to break 200mph sitting in a field for 30 years behind a garage. The owner knew what it was but just didn’t want to sell it. So instead of packing it away in an air tight bag he lets it sink up to it floor pans in mud in a field. WTF????????????????????? How selfish can one be? If it was mine it would be sitting in my basement. I would have to stand up to see the TV but who cares, checkout my historical stock car!

You can also add;
People’s misconception that re-building a race boat will cost a fortune. Most race boats are bare bones. You are not going to find a high dollar salon with 30 grand in stereo equipment in a race boat. In my boats case it’s a 1967. The finest of all race equipment from 1967 is pretty easy today. The hardest part I have is trying to keep today’s expensive stuff out of it. Not saying that race boats don’t have their own issues and I have been through them all with 2 motors to 1 prop but after restoring classic production boats I prefer race boats. Everything is pretty basic and right there in front of you.
More about the money, how much do you really think it will cost to restore a race boat? You also have to keep in mind race boats come in all sizes. You don’t always have to start with a 50 foot triple engine monster. With the internet today it comes up to nowhere near what a new boat cost.
More about money, most of your cost when it comes to race boats is motors. If you don’t plan on joining the race circuit no one says you can’t start off with something a little cheaper. I used 2 simple Merc 340’s 454s or what I called my show motors for a couple years until I got enough money and parts together to replace them with off shore race motors I copied / built this past summer. Before the boat was worth more than the motors. Now the motors are worth more than the boat. Lol.
It does shock me that some of you guys with money (real money), the same folks that are on here talking about dropping 5 grand on a cooler for their boat or have garages with their own zip code (you know who you are) don’t have a trophy race boat sitting around. Even a trailer queen. What better status symbol would it be to have a historical race boat sitting at your place? Not like there’s many of them out there. If just the people with money to burn on OSO went after these boats they could all be picked up in a week there’s so few. Then you would have something no one else has or can get because they aint making them anymore. Then there is that with any real race boat (especially offshore) is a first class ticket into any boat show. So now you get to hobnob with other boat nuts on a peer level.
They are not for everyone. If you just like to be on the water to enjoy the day with the Bimini top up and the wife in the salon with the AC on they may not be for you. If you like to go out and drive a raw ass boat and feel it then you may be headed in the right direction.
Getting these old boats out of storage lots and backyards and restored back to their glory even helps the environment for all you green folks.

f_screenname ..........If anything, no one can knock you for being so passonate about this subject!....and I'm also sorry to detract on 38banana in his pursuit to returning the glory to the old girl.

As scippy said, you really are passionate about your classics f_inscreenname. Agree with pretty much everything you have said but I'll just add, when fully restored, I suspect the majority of these boats will not be an every day boat, they will end up rarely used and more for show. That means you've got money tied up in a boat that may restrict you financially on your day to day boat.

Admire the o.p. for his vision and work to date. If the boat is complete, pretty much anything can be copied in Thailand and copied very well. I think this will be a great story and look forward to following the saga.

I too would like to get into something similar as a project. Biggest problems are shipping, he did well to get it in a container sideways. Couldn't have done that if it had motors I suspect and his shipping costs would have skyrocketed. Towing the boat is a smaller problem with typical tow rigs capable of pulling 7700 lbs maximum. The law won't be an issue in Thailand if your well over but towing any distance safely needs common sense. Biggest issue I can foresee is power plants. I guess it's still a fair way off for this Banana but I can't wait to see what goes in. We don't have big engines here in cars, trucks or boats. One Mercury dealer in the country and they don't handle blue engines. Biggest available is the 496. Never heard of an engine builder here because there are no big engines here! He may have to import everything, just depends how much power is going back in to the boat. With everything you guys have available in the U.S. it's near impossible to imagine how limited the resources are in Thailand for rebuilding a classic offshore boat.

I'm sure he's got most of it worked out and will do the boat proud. Lots of work, and im sure lots of headaches and beers but it will be worth it in the end.

RR

Sorry too, I really just think people are missing out on something, something important and big and the cost is nothing (for now) compared to other collectibles. After buying it I don't have 25 grand in mine over 6 years. It's an ACBS winner. I do everything myself but still...
I cant believe that some of the more wealthier members haven't snatched them up and dropped what they spend on greens fees for a year into one and have a show piece that gets them front and center at any rally, boat show or gathering and even car shows at will. Take Banana's boat. 30 grand to get it floating again (in the U.S)? Lot of bang for the buck. 30 grand in a car and you wont even get closer parking in the parking lot of a show. His boat with 30 grand spent wisely and it will be in the show front and center if he wants.

well it was cheap to get it to thailand including making the cradle loading the boat and then from new york to bangkok around 4000$ thanks to ;

mike,

who i can strongly recommend to anyone who needs to do a transport,the top banana arrived without a scratch or anything a very solid job i transported boats before but can say that this is the absolut top !

[email protected]

that is all correct but like,, inscreenname,, mentioned ; It kills me to see these lost pieces of history just melt away.you can not let a piece of history like top banana just rotten away,they belong in a museum at least :cartman:

agree 100% many thanks you saved me a lot of writing !

ehhh ??? a new top banana,i go quickly take a patent on it !!!!

i can make a mold and send it to you,this is the land of the copies after all.lol

hi,weight on bill of loading is 9000 lbs / 4082 kg,but that must be including the container ?