Excalibur questions...
 

Out of curiousity, what is the story with the Excalibur 31':

What was the first year that it was produced?
How did Chris Craft become involved?
Did they sell them as Chris Crafts and Excaliburs at the same time?
When was the last year of production?
Any rough production figures?
Did they come with single (port/starboard) bolster seats or side by side/double bolster seats like the Fountains?
How did Reggie Fountain wind up using their hull for his first offshore boats?

Any pics to post?

There is a red and white 79/80 Excalibur 31 in my area (once owned by a large local car dealer) and a dark blue and white EX 31 in MD off of 301 near Kent Island/Piney Narrows at "Chesapeake Outdoors"...not sure if that one is for sale or not? Both boats have peaked my curiousity/interest. I love their shape/style.

THANKS for all your time, help and info.

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hello riverunner,i too like yourself wanted a excalibur 32, after my 1983 27 speedster, but they started getting too old, you start dumping lots of $$$ in and old boat,then you lose your ass ,beware of saltwater boats , then reggie put that silly beak on the 32 and called it 33 executioner, my buddy has a 1988 fountain 33= 10meter, if you or anyone you know is looking for old school looks, flat deck, my 1992 28 pantera sport is in the pantera section in the classifieds, freshwateronly28,lots of pics it has factory installed TRS drives, rare for that year, breakable bravos come out in 1988, my boat runs a honest 94mph on lake erie, a guy from baltimore area, wants my boat, says not many could beat him on chesapeak bay, are you there.my boat is a steal, i will take $50.000,it needs nothing

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I'll do some digging.
here's something.

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THANKS for the post Zanie!

Do you know what model year this is from? Is there a date somewhere on the spec sheet?

Is this from when Chris Craft was marketing them??
(Looks like it says Chris Craft in the port/left side windshield pic)

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I have a 24 Excaliber hull from 1977,The info I have is that they were built in sarasota and that they are one hell of a nice design!I would like to get more info if anyone has any?my e-mail address is [email protected]

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I have found out a little more about my little excalibur!They were built in sarasota by a gentleman by the name of bill farmer and somewhere around 1978 he sold the 31ft mold to reggie fountain of fountain boats!!!From what I gathered he then sold the rest of the company to wellcraft somewhere around 1983!If this is true we excalibur owners have the for-runners to really good boats!

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yes it is true.. a while ago I posted a few scans of old Excalibur borchures... one of them has Reggie as the driver of the Excalibur pictured

Ernie

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Where can I find those old Excalibur brochure scans? I love seeing this old stuff...I am a big fan of all the classic boats!

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Gentlemen, I just found this site. I have most of the history about Excalibur Marine's life. I am the son of the man who became one of the first Excalibur Boat Dealer's. It was back in 1974. My father, Jerry Allen was the Excalibur Car Dealer in Ft Lauderdale Fl. and had been since 1965. I was 15 years old when a guy pulled up in our driveway in Key Biscayne Florida pulling an 18 ft cailfornina looking jet boat. It was a dual cockpit deck. A lift out hatch covered the two front seats and you drove it from the back. It had a 460 cu in. ford in it and a Berkley jet on the back. It had the T handle Jetavator with 8 positions. You could force the nose down or blow a 50 ft. rooster tail. The man who brought it was Bill Farmer. My Dad bought the boat and I had many a day and night running 75++ mph with that boat in the Miami Marine Stadium and around Key Biscayne. My dad and Bill became instant friends. The name of Bill's company was Lighting Boats of Sarasota Fl. Bill had a forman by the name of Don Able who was and is still the best Rigger in the business, I heard he was still with Wellcraft. My father introduced Bill Farmer to the Famos Design Enginer and creator of Excalibur Auitomobiles " Brooke Stevens ". Bill had just bought the 24' X 6'.5" hull. I cant remember if this hull was a Jean Clyde Simon design or a Don Arrownow. Don was a good friend of my father and Bill. Reggie can verify this, because he was hot on the scene at the boat show's with us. Stevens over cocktails agreeed that Bill should change the name of his boat company as my father pushed it so he could be the only Excalibur Car and Boat Dealer in the world. The first 24 had that 460 Berkley jet set up and it worked for a stable and safe 60 MPH boat. We sold several and then Bill got the 27' he called "THE RAKE" We put twin 200 Evinrudes on 2 or 3 of them but they would Chine walk badly about 75 MPH. By 1979 we were into the 31's. My father was the one with the old school love for teak speed boats so that's where all those teak decks were inspired and we never looked back. Those were fantastic times. We had some great boat stories. Bill sold Excalibur Marine to a guy by the name of Tony Nicallie out of Cherry Hill N.J. and he sold it to wellcraft in 1985. My Father passed in Ft Laud. 2002, and the last time I saw Bill was in 1995 in Hilton Head at my father's home. Bill owns a great store in Highlands, N.C. and probubly still does. You cant miss it. He has his car collection in the store. I now live in Richmond Va. and own a pristine 1980 24' that has been pictured in the back of POWERBOAT mag. most of last year for there I SOLD IT HERE claaified ads. I have a balanced 496 with aTRS ( nose cone) and she will walk the walk. A little scary over 75.. And so it is..... Grant Allen, Richmond Va.

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I have a Question that maybe you will be able to answer then.
Where or when did Chris Craft come into the picture in making Excalibur boats? I have a Excalibur but its titled as a Chris Craft, I checked through the C.C mariners museum to find out some info but they said my hull # was a Excalibur # so they had no info. the boat came stock with merc. 400 cyclone motors and the hull is laid up in Kevlar. there is a imprint in the floor of the cockpit with the Excalibur logo . the boat came with two captains chairs instead of the bench seat that most of them I have seen have. Hopefully you could have some input on my search, thanks Brad.

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Hello Brad, That merger was after wellcraft bought it. What year is your boat?

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1979 31' excalibur hin starts with NAP
no notched transom no pad bottem no teak on the boat except for the cabin doors

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So Grant, how about a little info on the 40ft Hawk? i have a 1982. Its always cool to talk with someone who was 'there". I heard some of the hawks were laid with Kevlar, but I dont think mine was. I also seen that some had notched transoms, mine does not. I wonder what ever happened to all the old excalibur paper. Like factory orders, boat specs, etc.

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Batty,

There is one near me that is nearly identical to yours...same red, white and black (possibly factory original) paint job.

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Any original factory literature still preserved...anywhere??

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We never stocked any Hawk's. They were just to big for our store on Sunrise Blvd. The Auto Toy Store that you see advertizing in magazines like Dupont Registry is our old location. My father preferred the 31's. I had gone to work for the Ferrari Dealer down in Miami in 1981. My father and I were on the outs from 81 to 83. You know, the old I know more than you do, father and son working together thing. Now as far as old brochure's or info, I have none and don't know where any is. I will try to contact Bill Farmer or his last wife today. Stay tuned. and as alway's, I welcome any question's. Grant Allen.........Kevlar was used in alot of 31's and 40's in 79,80,81, but I cannot confim all. If I find Bill I will ask.

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Mr. Excal,Thanks for all of your info....one more question, how can you tell on the trasom stamped numbers and letters if the boat is a kevlar one or not?....were kevlar editions available in 84 and 85 with the Wellcraft 40' Excalibur Hawk hulls? Thanks for any info again, Fred

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After 3 phone calls to Chamber of Comm. and local Sherriff's Dept. in Western North Carolina I was giving Mr. Bill Farmer's phone number. My source said Bill has had a couple of stroke's and some other medical problems but his wife Catherine is taking care of him. I left a message yesterday morning and have not heard a word yet. They may be away or something. I see all the interest about the Hawk's and Kevlar.. I will ask all of the right question's. He is in his middle 70's now but if he can I know he will contact me. Thanks, Grant Allen.

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Sonic28 had one a few years ago and sure he could help with expectations.

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With all the excalibur chit chat we need to form a Excalibur site!Anyone interested?These are great little boats that have been overshadowed by the new stuff! Dave

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Mr. Allen,
I can not thank you enough for becomming involved, and helping to pass on information about these legendary boats, I have a 1983 hawk, and learning about bill farmer, and the excalibur history ie. larger Hawk models, has become a passion of mine. I too am curious about old paperwork, and kevlar.
thanks,
Kevin Gereke

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Gentleman, I just got off phone with Mr. Excalibur Boat himself Bill Farmer. He has had two strokes so his speech and memory is slightly impaired. But we plan on having several more conversations soon. For now, this is what I have so far. ALL 40' and 42' Hawks, are KEVLAR hulls. Most 31's have Kevlar from the 1978 prodution run on, none of the 24's are Kevlar. Chris Craft paid a Royalty to Excalibur Marine for the two or three years they built there 31', just to use the hull mold. Yes Reggie bought the 31 mold from Bill and re-worked it into the EXECUTIONER. Due to his condition conversation was difficult so we have to take it slow. Tomorrow I will speak to his wife. So bring on the question's and I will do my best to get them answered. Grant Allen.

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all the hawks were kevlar? Awesome!

Ask him if he has any paperwork for the boats. Like ordering spec sheets, etc.

Sorry to hear Bill Farmers' not doing so well these days, but tell him I personally say thanks for building such a great boat, and that all the Excalibur owners here wish him well. Maybe we could get an excalibur picture almbum together and send them to Bill, just so he can see that a lot of his boats are still out there crushing waves.

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Tried Farmer residence today and got machine. I need to talk to Catherine his wife. She can help remember what Bill was having trouble with yesterday. I told him that you all were out there and wondering about the history of his boat company and it gave him a chuckle. His reply was " oh really " with a laugh. Anyway, I like both of the idea's posted about an EXCALIBUR boat owner's site and putting together an album of photo's of our boat's. Bill would appreciate that very much I am sure. I will attempt to post picture's of my 24' when I sit down with my " I.T. Man " in my office on monday. Until then, dont forget to turn the blower on at idle and as they say in the south, DRIVE LIKE YA GOT SUM CENTS! C-Ya.. Grant Allen

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There is a lot of interesting information on the site these days. Here's a little more. The Chris Craft 39 Stingers built in 1982-83-84 used the same hull and deck molds as the 40 Hawk long before Wellcraft bought Excalibur Marine so Chris Crafts deal started with Bill Farmer. The 40 Hawks I'm sure are not all Kevlar. I personally have seen about 9 or 10 Farmer built 40 Hawks and only the Manhattan Express out of New york area with Big Hawk marine Power and Speedmaster # 3 drives I think was a Kevlar Hawk. Steakleys Blue and White 40 out of Texas with Flagship Marine Twin Turbo's and Speedmaster # 3 drives was Kevlar. Also we saw a Yellow and White 40 Hawk at LOTO I think it was Kevlar. There was a White 40 Hawk in Michigan that was Kevlar. Michael Albert from MYCO Trailer had a Farmer built 40 Black & Red but I do not think it was Kelvar. In the Excalibur Marine Retail Price Sheet dated June 15, 1982 Kevlar was listed as a $ 8,280.00 option on the 40 Hawk I/O. I have not heard of any 42 Eagles that were Kevlar. Bill Farmer only built a few Eagles most were built at Wellcraft. Don Able went to Wellcraft Marine when Bill Farmer sold Excalibur Marine and he was still there a few years back. I'm sure Don probably knows as much as anyone about the boats as he was involved in building all the 40 Hawks from Farmer to Wellcraft. I bought a new 40 Hawk just as Farmer was selling the company to Wellcraft and our boat was not Kevlar. I worked with Don Able on the details for that boat. It was started at Farmers shop and finished at Wellcraft. The 40 Hawk was a Trick boat for the day with big wide beam, big cockpit, great cabin area, and large sun pad deck area. The boat took rough water as good as anything out there. Hopefully Bill Farmer will get some enjoyment in knowing his design and boats still bring this much interest 20- 25 years later. Thanks Jon

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Dear Jon, I am only stating what Bill Farmer told me yesterday from his wheelchair in his home in Florida. I will ask him again in the next few days, but it was alittle overwhelming for him to talk to me after ten years, and me to jump right in and hammer him with questions about 25 year old memories. I asked were all hawk's built with kevlar 49 and his answer was yes. Now he may be refering to only the boats he and Don finished under Excal marines roof. I plan a slower more refined meeting via telephone with him on Monday. He is dealing with multiple medical condition's. When I asked him for his mailing address, he could not remember it. I rest my case. His wife will be of greater assistance. She was out in the yard working and he said he could not get her attention. Bill said Don Able was living in Braidenton (sp). I will try to reach as well. Grant Allen.

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Patience is a virtue...especially in this case. It will all come out in due time. We would all love to hear from Mr. Farmer himself when he is ready. Best of luck to him in his recovery.

I like the idea of a website for Excalibur fans...with article and brochure scans, photo gallery, various information, classifieds for boats and parts, etc. It would be great to incorporate an owners' registry as well with H.I.N.'s, general info. and owners' locations so we could tie together where all the boats are nowadays. How about "www.excaliburfan.com"??

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For The 40 Hawk fans there are two 40 Hawks on E-bay one 1985 Wellcraft 40 Hawk, project boat at $ 6,701.00 (Sun PM) E-bay # 4586918155 And one Bill Farmer built 1983 40 Hawk restored with trailer # 4587067590

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Here's the back of Excalibur's Retail Price List from June 15, 1982.

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I found the 1979 article done by Nautical Quarterly on my father and the Excalibur 31'. I am going try to get it put on disc and post it. It states that the total retail selling price with Kevlar 49 in 1979 was $38,000 and change, BRAND NEW with stock 330's. Talk about cutting edge in design and price. It also state that the 31 is a Jean Claude Simon design. I think the 24' was originally a 26' design by Don Arronow. Still checking.

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Hey Glenn,
Sorry to hear of Mr. Farmer's health.

I bought a copy of that Nautical quarterly off ebay 2 years ago, just for that Excalibur article.

My 1984 Excalibur 31 is not Kevlar, (My Hull # starts with NAP and ends with 84). It's got a pad bottom and notched transom.

My buddy bought mine off a Florida used car lot in 1990.
It originally had small blocks and thru prop exhaust with the merc transmissions, but offshore motor mounts.
He swapped in 454s , latham steering and thru transom exhaust (below the rub rail). In 1995 thieves stole the boat, yanked the engines and left it in a field.
I bought in 1996 after my buddy fought with his insurance company for 9 months.
I installed another pair of 454s and continued abusing the merc transmissions until fall 2003 when I disassembled her.
I have installed a new transom core, and outer stringers and paint from the rubrail up, it's taking far too long.
It should hit the water in the spring with bravos outdrives and a 19-1/2 X dimension!

My boat is white with blue and red stripes.
I'm guessing they are Imron, any idea how can I get the paint codes?
I can get the red matched, but my local jobber just cant get the blue right.
Here's a few shots with the TRS



Regards,
Dan Swanson

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Hey Zaine, Its Grant but thanks away. I just got off the phone with Don Able. I gave him this site and told him to sign in and let it rip. He said he would. In the meantime he told me that all 31's are Kevlar and that none of the hawk's built under excals roof had kevlar. All excalibur marine boats serial numbers begin with NAP. for North American Products. That is my Dad in that 65 MPH shot with the hammer's against the dash in N. Q. Anyway, Don has all that most of you want to know. Let's give it a day or two and if we dont see a note from Don, I will give him a call. I gave Kathryn Farmer the site and she said she would check it out and show it to Bill. I told them how much you would all like to hear from them and also how much you all wanted them to know how much you like there boats. Grant Allen

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Sorry, I mean Dan not Zaine. Beautiful boat. Brings back alot of memories. I dont know about that blue. My Dad ordered all of his boats in 1970 FORD CODE X blue. It was much darker than yours. He insisted on teak decks and red interiors with single stand up bolsters.

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Zanie-
Thats a nice boat!!! it will be awesome when your done!!!

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HI-THIS IS NEW TO ME :rolleyes:

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This is great stuff. I am really glad that all of the excalibur owners love there boats. Lets get a site going.

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Hello Don, it is good to see you on this site. My boat may be familiar to you. It is the original boat that Jim Chappel bought new in 1982 and was stolen. I believe you rebuilt it at Wellcraft and sold it to Fred Hall.
-Matt Beddoe

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Hello All,
I recently purchased an original magazine ad that displayed the 40 hawk, the fairing in this picture is unlike any I have seen, probably drawn in for effect. To stay on subject, the ad indicated a 27,31,32,38 and 40ft version this is a 1982 ad it notes Bill Farmer, pres. Excalibur Marine and its location, but it also notes Hawk racing team out of NewYork, I guess this is where the "hawk" notation comes from?, I am curious if there was a 38 hawk, or just a 40 hawk, and how to tell the difference. Also I am sure one of the HIN numbers must signify a Kevlar hull, and which it would be, I am sure if we compared our hin #'s between non kevlar and a known Kevlar owner, we could determine their significance. Finally, I purchased the ad from a company on Ebay called Vintage Vessels, I spoke with the owner a few months back, and he found this ad specific to the 40' hawk for me, I know he has a few articles for the 31' and 27', http://stores.ebay.com/vintagevessels.
I truly hope we can encourage Mr. Farmer to a full recovery , with our praise of his work, as for me, I have an excalibur just waiting to give him a ride when he feels up to it. :drink:
Kevin Gereke

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Hello, Kevin. Have you gotten your boat going with the new power yet? I have the engines back out of mine doing a few little things in the bilge and freshening up the engines. I will post pictures of the new bilge soon. We need to schedule some poker run trips next year. I would really like to get all of these boats together.