Kaama Raceboat Restoration Moving Forward
 

Cool project with a long way to go, http://speedonthewater.com/boat-rest...moving-forward

Hummm... Been there and done that. Would like to see how far he gets this year.

Perhaps now that the boat is (literally, I think) in the owner's backyard progress will be made. Whatever the result, we'll report it.

That's the great thing about projects like this: They're labors of love that harm no one.

It is not that far away, hopefully I will get to see it!

Padraig

Congrats on the boat and the restoration project---I would love to own that boat and restore it as well---I have to admit I'm a little jealous. :o

I think it was about 1975 or so, I was just a teenager,...I remember reading about Betty Cook and her race team/boat KAAMA in Motor Boat & Sailing Magazine. Betty and her 38' KAAMA boat inspired me back then. In 1974, my neighbor friend's Dad ordered a brand new 1975 30' Scarab w/twin 260hp small block Chevys and TRS drives with stainless steel cleaver props and (get this)---above the water exhaust ports with the Salsbury flippers! Ha...above the waterline exhaust was hardly was a very rare exhaust system back in those days. He was the only person in the St. Joseph/SW Michigan area to have a twin I/O "Cigarette" style/type of boat back then that I new of. I grew up in St. Joseph and lived on the St. Joseph River.

And although it is certainly no comparison to the looks and lines of today's profiles of boats, it was absolutely the badest looking boat in St. Joseph, Michigan during it's era/time. Everybody's jaw dropped when our neighbor would idle by in that 30' Scarab. And I was always invited on it with his kid as my friend.

Of course, the 38' KAAMA race boat and it's run off "KAAMA Special Edition" and the "KAAMA KV Miami Vice Edition" takes the cake on looks over a 30' Scarab any day---no comparison!. It has always had great "lines" and will never lose it's great looks and profile.

Anyway, I remember when I finished my 4-year enlistment in the U.S. Marines,...I went to Saugatuck with some friends for the Coral Gable Offshore Races and I remember Betty Cook being there with her boat a few times during the early 1980's.

Nice to see this classic boat getting restored! Can't wait to see the finished product. Thanks for sharing!

I say that being he lives up north. I'm still waiting on the weather to replace motors in my race boat and I live 100's mile south. Also the boat looks bigger then the house so unless its sitting there waiting to be warehoused or he will be at the mercy of mother nature and the north east is not looking good this year.
I re-did a 1959 Biesemeyer from in the weeds for 20 years to on the water in 4 months. The same with a Donzi and a couple Monza's at about 6 to 8 months each. The Nova 24 .... 2 years and then there has been major projects adding many more months of work over the last 5 years I've had it. For as simple as a race boat look they can be very deceiving.

There's an image in the article's slideshow that shows the boat "back in the day." What struck he was how straight, tall and flat-out vertical its hull sides were. Totally different look from today's V-bottoms, but still a total stunner. Your words, "a jaw-dropper," say it all.

lots of cool projects going on at thunder boats inc.!!!