Wanted.........
09-29-2002, 08:42 PM
#81
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Gongrats! Keep us all posted on the progress. I hope you are planning on spending the night when you come down to pick it up, cause jeff will talk your ears off. 
09-29-2002, 09:02 PM
#82
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Location: Annapolis, MD ragboat capital of the world
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Cool pictures!
If you are a 50's and 60's Merc expert the picture on page viii is a very good puzzle. Look closely at the side emblem on that motor and you see: "Turbo Hydro Four".....the Merc designation for the 30 cubic inch motor. Supposedly Merc only made 298 of the Mark30H racing motor back in 1956. But this motor has the "square" top cowl and the stamped aluminum front cover that began in 1959. It also has the black/striped wrap around cover that would be correct for 1962.
Here is the answer: apparently there was a 1962 batch of Mark30H racing motors as well. As yet no one has come up with any documentation of the availabilty and sale of them from that era. One little clue we have is that these motors are pretty rare, I only know of 5 or 6 of them in existance.
The little that there is regarding the 1962 30H's also indicates a third batch of Mark55H 40 cubic inch racing motors also made in 1962. A few of them also seem to be in circulation, but experts had ignored the possibility of them being 1962's because a batch of 55H's had been made in 1959, probably with the same cowling.
Regarding the Dockbuster rotation: Don't sit up too late pondering it: The came in both right and left.....I can give you the part numbers for both rotation set ups.
Switzer Wing Steering: Dual Ride Guide...a separate cable from the steeting rack for each engine. This was a normal dual engine accessory available from the factory (but it would have only been used on a deluxe cabin cruiser or race boat with dual engines; customers considered it quite expensive back then)....I've never seen tie bars on a picture of a Wing, but tie bars go back to the 1930's on dual engine racing outboards
If you are a 50's and 60's Merc expert the picture on page viii is a very good puzzle. Look closely at the side emblem on that motor and you see: "Turbo Hydro Four".....the Merc designation for the 30 cubic inch motor. Supposedly Merc only made 298 of the Mark30H racing motor back in 1956. But this motor has the "square" top cowl and the stamped aluminum front cover that began in 1959. It also has the black/striped wrap around cover that would be correct for 1962.
Here is the answer: apparently there was a 1962 batch of Mark30H racing motors as well. As yet no one has come up with any documentation of the availabilty and sale of them from that era. One little clue we have is that these motors are pretty rare, I only know of 5 or 6 of them in existance.
The little that there is regarding the 1962 30H's also indicates a third batch of Mark55H 40 cubic inch racing motors also made in 1962. A few of them also seem to be in circulation, but experts had ignored the possibility of them being 1962's because a batch of 55H's had been made in 1959, probably with the same cowling.
Regarding the Dockbuster rotation: Don't sit up too late pondering it: The came in both right and left.....I can give you the part numbers for both rotation set ups.
Switzer Wing Steering: Dual Ride Guide...a separate cable from the steeting rack for each engine. This was a normal dual engine accessory available from the factory (but it would have only been used on a deluxe cabin cruiser or race boat with dual engines; customers considered it quite expensive back then)....I've never seen tie bars on a picture of a Wing, but tie bars go back to the 1930's on dual engine racing outboards
Last edited by Mark75H; 09-29-2002 at 09:09 PM.
09-30-2002, 08:13 AM
#83
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May I call you "T"? If I live to be 68, I will NEVER forget being in the pits at Pelican Harbor when Bobby pulled in with the Wing for the Gold Coast Marathon. I had never even seen a picture of it. They had a mechanical problem in the race, and didn't finish, but they won the hearts of everyone who could admire a fine horse or a beautiful woman. That picture is still in my mind.... The next year, Dave Craig drove the "Miss Skyways" in the same race. He had inline stackers, and made it from West Palm to Hallandale in 22 minutes. Three miles from the finish, the boat disintegrated in a ball of splinters from a big wake. They apparently don't slow down too well, either. I consider this boat to be the most significant single vessel ever built....
09-30-2002, 01:44 PM
#84
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Brownie:
"I consider this boat to be the most significant single vessel ever built...."
Coming from you that is high praise. I wholeheartedly agree, and you have a date for a spin in the boat after restoration...........
Mark 75H:........ The "dockbuster" rotation question....was rhetorical........ There were, in fact tie bars on the Wings, Powercats, Stylecrafts, and other twin(and triple) engine boats of the era....correct call on the dual Ride Guide, there were two versions light and heavy duty. We also used pure cable steering on the single engine tunnel hulls........ They still do in most cases.
T2x
P.S. Flashback....... Thanks for the pictures...... Great job and I appreciate it....... I have a feeling that the main issue will have to do with the lack of a full width transom for stability
"I consider this boat to be the most significant single vessel ever built...."
Coming from you that is high praise. I wholeheartedly agree, and you have a date for a spin in the boat after restoration...........
Mark 75H:........ The "dockbuster" rotation question....was rhetorical........ There were, in fact tie bars on the Wings, Powercats, Stylecrafts, and other twin(and triple) engine boats of the era....correct call on the dual Ride Guide, there were two versions light and heavy duty. We also used pure cable steering on the single engine tunnel hulls........ They still do in most cases.
T2x
P.S. Flashback....... Thanks for the pictures...... Great job and I appreciate it....... I have a feeling that the main issue will have to do with the lack of a full width transom for stability
Last edited by T2x; 09-30-2002 at 01:49 PM.
09-30-2002, 04:26 PM
#88
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T2x,didn't realize the wing was the one in the Nov/Dec 2001 Hot Boat Magazine. It was runner up for best wild paint job,page 78.Can't believe the owner would sell it. Keep us posted,I am envious. Magicfloat
