The "Wing" has landed
 

Reports from Professional Marine Racing indicate that our (Darren's) Switzer Wing arrived safely from South Carolina this afternoon.......... Now the project can begin.

Our goal is to have her in pristine condition for the 2004 Clayton, N.Y. Antique Race Boat Regatta...... We'll post pictures as things progress...

Sharkey......... We need to talk.

T2x

Keep us posted...Fred

I might need to take a ride with my camera tommorow.

Are you going to use a new style trailer or restore one like was used in the late sixties?

Magic:

Good question........ Probably a "retro" trailer. (The one it's on now has probably created most of the hull damage). We'll get something that looks appropriate for the time with updated wheels, axles, bearings and support rollers.

T2x

Awesome project !! Can't wait to see some pictures ! Whats' it powered by ? Good luck to you and darren . JOE

The power is TBD....... We're working on some interesting ideas.

Anybody seen any "Stackers" lately?

T2x

T2x
Super Cool ! I may stop by one day for a Look see.
:)

Steve....... Anytime...and bring your work clothes.....but no "popping" allowed:p

T2x

That was cold.:p

Can not waite to see the project. This should be real interesting :D:D

Jon

I found the 1962 article by BobSwitzer,"The day I flew a Boat",the original 100 mph Wing. Don't have a scanner but can fax it (3 pages) if someone can post it. It is a very interesting read.

So what year was the first Wing made?

1961 should be pretty close

T2X Good to see you and your better half this weekend..while we were ripping thru N.C. today on the way home low and behold the only perf. boat I saw on the highway the whole trip was none other than Darrens new toy heading for home...just saw it in passing...contimplated a bootleg 180 in the median but everyone was sleeping... enjoy , Mark

Mark 75H...and Magic:

I still dispute the year.................... The first boat had Mark 78's on it......and they were new..... There were no speedmasters for that motor........ until 1960............. and the boat had stock standard gearcases....... I peg this as 1959.....therefore the boat would logically have been designed in 1958.

The second boat featured Merc 800's and they were new.......and sported the "new" Speedmaster lower units... I peg this as 1960.

I remember reading an article in 1959 about the first boat in Popular Science or Mechanics..... (my subscriptions were through my grade school.......which ended in June 1960.)

Mr. and Mr's Habit:

Glad you got a chance to see it....... I would have thought that the paint job made sleep within five miles of it.....impossible.

T2x

:) This is fun,2, maybe 3 old guys discussing a boat designed before most of the board members were born:p .According to an account from Bob Switzer posted on Fiberglassis.com a year or so ago,the U4(which I always thought was the first wing) came out in 1961,the U-106,later known as the U-6 hit the water on Nov 29,1962 with 80 hp Mercs. Steve Bowman,help me out here,I know better than second guess T2x. Maybe Bob got his dates wrong. MagicFloat:)

Who am I to question Bob Switzer?

But, I still think I'm right;)

T2x

T2x,

Nice seeing you Sunday. Best of luck to you and Darren. I look forward to keeping up with the progress.

Congrats to you and Darren. I am sure this will be one of the truly enjoyable Father/Son projects, and with a partner like Darren, who could not enjoy it? He is a great young man. Enjoy this special time.

Shane

U-4 was, in fact, the first wing......... but those 80's in the picture weren't the first engines on her.

Take a good look at T-298 in the Fibreglassics section............. What the heck is that.......U-4 in another life?

Back to the dates......... My buddy bought a two year old(1961) Merc 800 "Dockbuster" from Bright's Boats in Flushing in 1963....... The engine was on an old display in their showroom that had a picture of a canopied Wing (Miss Skyway) at Lake X sporting twin 1961 Merc 800's......

Therefore..... since U-4 was older than Miss Skyway..................

T2x

Gee....... I should be a tech guy on boat racing TV........ oops I already did that;)

Can't wait to see it done, good luck guys.

T2X There is a 140 Tower of power on sceam&fly... Don't know if that is of any use to you. Antique outboards have a web page also.. Maybe something there... Good Luck Great project. Be sure to give Darren some power to throttle with:eek:

T2x

I rode by today, good looking boat,

Good luck with it.

Mike

I am looking forward to following along. Great project!.

RT

Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts and good wishes...... ..... The "#1 fan" and I appreciate it.

T2x

Camera and car keys in hand.

congrats on the purchase rich.. good luck to you and darren.. tommy was wondering if you would like some high perf boat driving lessons before it is ready.. ;-} lolol .. sorry to hear about your powerhead :-[
stop by soon.. george

I took some photos and added them to Darren's site. This will serve as the official site for the Switzer restoration project. I'll add photos form time to time as Pro Marine is only a few miles away.

http://darrensoffshorephotos.homestead.com/

Look for the FLYING WING link on the bottom of the home page.

Hey, its just another reason to come to Skaterfest next summer.

Very Cool...lotsa luck with the project! :cool:

Great job Ron, Thanks.

Will love to watch this project from the start.

All the best, Dean