What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
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12-08-2006, 08:48 PM
#3
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Re: What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
It was built in 1978 by Jerry Jacoby....called Ajac Hawk
Originally it was thought that Don Aronow had stretched the 35 ....a design that he felt was the best of all time, but the 38 was actually a blocked off 37.6 foot, pulled from the 39 foot mold.
The first time it raced, was in Argentina in December of 1978 and the first race it won, also with Jerry driving, was the Bahamas 200 in 1980....beating me by 30 seconds unfortunately.
After the movie of the same name came out, they stopped calling it the 37.6 and started calling it a 38 foot Top Gun.....same boat different name.
See our website for more info.... www.historicraceboats.com
Originally it was thought that Don Aronow had stretched the 35 ....a design that he felt was the best of all time, but the 38 was actually a blocked off 37.6 foot, pulled from the 39 foot mold.
The first time it raced, was in Argentina in December of 1978 and the first race it won, also with Jerry driving, was the Bahamas 200 in 1980....beating me by 30 seconds unfortunately.
After the movie of the same name came out, they stopped calling it the 37.6 and started calling it a 38 foot Top Gun.....same boat different name.
See our website for more info.... www.historicraceboats.com
12-08-2006, 09:00 PM
#4
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Re: What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
Originally Posted by Top Banana
It was built in 1978 by Jerry Jacoby....called Ajac Hawk
Originally it was thought that Don Aronow had stretched the 35 ....a design that he felt was the best of all time, but the 38 was actually a blocked off 37.6 foot, pulled from the 39 foot mold.
The first time it raced, was in Argentina in December of 1978 and the first race it won, also with Jerry driving, was the Bahamas 200 in 1980....beating me by 30 seconds unfortunately.
After the movie of the same name came out, they stopped calling it the 37.6 and started calling it a 38 foot Top Gun.....same boat different name.
See our website for more info.... www.historicraceboats.com
Originally it was thought that Don Aronow had stretched the 35 ....a design that he felt was the best of all time, but the 38 was actually a blocked off 37.6 foot, pulled from the 39 foot mold.
The first time it raced, was in Argentina in December of 1978 and the first race it won, also with Jerry driving, was the Bahamas 200 in 1980....beating me by 30 seconds unfortunately.
After the movie of the same name came out, they stopped calling it the 37.6 and started calling it a 38 foot Top Gun.....same boat different name.
See our website for more info.... www.historicraceboats.com
12-08-2006, 10:06 PM
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Re: What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
Originally Posted by fountain40icbm
Isn't the deck different between the two?? I know the hull is the same. The Top Gun has a slightly raised deck, and recessed deck hatches, along with a different fairing, doesnt it??
12-08-2006, 10:28 PM
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Re: What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
Originally Posted by FeverMike
Great info. Now, how can talk about the different step bottom the 38 Top Gun has had?
the three different bottoms? straight hull, Single step and twin step. Unless you count the nothced transom and non-notched transoms different bottoms.
12-08-2006, 10:40 PM
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Re: What year was the 1st 38 Top Gun built?
Originally Posted by P Offshore
Correct and the first year for the "Top Gun" was 1987.
Jerry Jacoby, Founders Equity and Integrated Resources purchased Cigarette that year. Jerry had just won the World Championship and his friend Jerry Burton needed a replacement for the Excaliburs because I think that Wellcraft was purchasing or purchased Excalibur. I think that Jerry Burton had also been instrumental in putting together the deal to purchase Cigarette with his friend who was head of Integrated Resources.
They built a 38 out of the 39 mold just like the races boats but it sported an 18 degree transom instead of the race boat's 11 degree. It made it a real 38 foot boat. They redesigned the deck to accommodate the Hawk 500's that were using large air cleaners on Holly Dominator Carbs and recessed the hatches for a sun pad, put a new windscreen on it and the 38 was born. They made a completely new mold and the rest is history.
The 39 mold made another replacement boat for the aging Cigarette Hawk (Ajac Hawk renamed) that was never rigged for Jerry. Jerry loaned it to Don A for a plug for the USA 40 and the 41 Apache from my memory. It was then sold to a customer of Bobby Moore's and made a pleasure boat from what I remember around early 1985 or late 1984.
As far as the actual name of the boat becoming 38 Top Gun, that could have been around 1987 after Cigarette was sold again.
AC
