Older 70's Performance Boats?
 

Last summer went up the Antique Boat Museum (website)

abm.org

and had a great time, if you ever get a chance to go, it is in Clayton NY on the Thousand Islands, and it has the coolest Hacker that for $15 they take you out for like an hour on the St Lawrence..

Anyway, after looking at the old vintage wood stuff, I cant help but believe that boats like the 70's 27/28 Cigarette's, Magnum's, Bertrams are going to be similar classics X number of years out. (BTW you guys know these better than I do, what other Flat Deck V hulls are worth looking at, and have you ever heard of a Excalibur?)

So that being said, and after looking around I am "in love" with that look. How would you guys suggest actually making a run at buying a good one?.. should I look fresh water only? any places to look? any good deals that you know about?

My last speedboat was a 22' Donzi, and I would like something a bit bigger for a dayboat here in the SandyHook NJ area.

The money I spent here on my membership I think was probably the best $$ spent...

stephen

stephen,

been there, done that...I put a Cigarette 28SS together from scratch and Wally has as well. Some things I would suggest about this type of project are:

Look for a boat that does not need to be completely repainted/regelled, because, in my opinion they are worht more on the backend than a boat that's been painted.

Salt or Fresh, it really doesn't matter if you plan on redoing/replacing everything, but if you're looking for something fairly turn-key, you should look for a fresh water boat...and be prepared to spend some bucks...jus take a look at that Magnum on Ebay.

The biggest problem I see is that there are alot of 28 Cigarettes, Magnums and 35 Flat Decks out there that have been redone 2,3 or 4 times and have had more holes patched up than a pice of swiss cheese. Your best bet is to find something like Too Old's boat that hasn't been hacked up and leave it just that way.

Resale is pretty lousy on the old girls, but guys like me look for boat that are completely original or close to it, although, guys like me are few and far between, so prices are pretty low...I think Too Old let his go for about 45K which is cheap of a 35' performance boat...never mind it being a Cigarette.

Bottom line is right now there is a limited market for these boats, so it could be a buying opportunity for someone with some spare change laying around.

If you intend on buying a project, be prepared to spend some bucks...regardless of whether you plan on doing it yourself or not. Here are some of the big expenses to consider when redoing a boat(these are the prices I paid...individual results may vary)

Hull------------5000
Engines-------25000(NEW 350 Mag MPI with Bravo1 drives)
Interior-------8500(includes cabin)
Paint----------5000(plain white Imron)

That's just the big stuff---Its the little stuff that kills ya like steering(I bought cable, not hydraulic), gauges, throttles, switches an panels, props, tie bar...the list is seemingly endless...

Here's the boat when I completed it after spending close to 60K

http://www.thunderboatalley.com/olsen_2.htm


Best places to look are in people's back yards...always keep your eyes peeled and get out to your local marinas and boatyards and look behind the buildings etc :)

On the internet:

www.offshoreonly.com
www.boattraderonline.com
www.yachtworld.com
www.thunderboatalley.com(my site)
www.usautions.com
www.yachtauctions.com
www.ablboats.com(many here hate these guys, but I bought my last boat from this site)
www.donzi.net

Hope some of this helps...

Hi.. can you send me a pic of your Excalibur?
 

Can you send me a pic of your Excalibur...

How long is it, what do you think one would sell for, and where would one look? I saw one last summer that looked very nice and clean..

lots of room, twas impressive

EXCALIBUR
 

STEPHENWSMITH,PLEASE SEND ME YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS.I HAVE A 1983 EXCALIBUR 40 HAWK COMPLETE REDO IN 99'FOR [email protected]

Hi your email is bouncing..
 

[email protected]
SMTP error from remote mailer after end of data:
host mx2.mail.yahoo.com [64.156.215.5]: 554 delivery error:
dd Sorry your message to [email protected] cannot be delivered. This account has been disabled or discontinued [#102]. - mta132.mail.scd.yahoo.com



[email protected] if you want to contact me..

LifeLines down the Bow
 

When did performance boats stop coming with the Lifelines down the bow, and why were they there, and why did they remove them from the new boats...

Or was it just a "look" thing?

stephen

STEPHENWSMITH TRY [email protected] .NOT SURE WHY YAHOO WON'T WORK!MABY TRY NO CAPS.

Stephen.. it sounds as though you,Sean and I are on the same page here.
There's an awfull lot of zippy new machinery out there but I still get my inspiration from the old 'originals'.If that's what your looking for there really is only 8-9 players and then the size you want might narrow it down even more.If you originally had a Donzi 22 I know what kind of thing you might be looking for but will you end up with another old(er) classic ?

As for Sean's project.. its called a labour of love !
I did probably an even more drastic resto on a Magnum 25 three years ago.. it was gutted (NOTHING) and upside down.It turned 30 in Feb/03 and almost looks as though it just rolled out of 188th St.
That was a full 2year 3 month job ... one (stock) engine cost $5000 more than Sean's two.. cabin was 3000 less but paint was 6000 more and like Sean says the list goes on and on ad nauseum ($hit the bow rail and gas tank were $8000 alone.. I think my latent suicidal tendencies are returning):drool:
Anyway.. I would'nt trade it for anything else between 20 and 29 feet !... ever :confused: And now I'm about to do the same thing to my old (37 years) Donzi St tropez.

I'll stick with my (really) old toys,but I'd sure as hell have a fun time looking for another one,as it seems you're about to do ;)

Another Stephen

Stephen,
Check out the "Magnum Forum" from December-"My old Raceboat", like many others this is a MAJOR project. I started it 3 years ago, should be finished this summer, and I won't owe a dime on it-paid as I went along. Double the amount of dollars you think it will cost and triple the amount of time.
Good luck!
BOB G>

There is this Cigarette 39 right near us
 

There are two interesting hulls near me:

#1 a 1979 Cigarette 39, Black with white top deck.. but the bad news is that it is a 3 man setup (was a drug boat siezed)...

Has 2 engines in it (staggered), but not really practical as a DayBoat for me.. Has been sitting for a couple of years in Atlantic Highlands NJ across from Julians Bait and Tackle (they own it)..
They are now really ready to sell... but not sure if I want that much empty (there is no cabin or even a way to get there..)

#2 a Magnum 27 1974 Sedan, no power, two old TRS outdrives, good gelcoat (yellow) oh my... decent cabin (needs new carpet/cover) however everything else just needs cleaned..

Probably new everything else on the helm... and probably new outdrives (the TRS look tired)...

#3 There is a Bertram Baron 28 (Speedmasters) down in Florida, cool boat, original owner, runs fine (old Volvo drives), I think he still "likes" the boat too much, but it is for sale. Looks great in the pictures, would fly down and look at it... Does have the requisite lifelines running down the bow.... and probably could buy it and run it as is...

Come on guys, maybe you have other ideas... ps. If anyone wants info on that 39 Cigarette, I'd be happy to hook you up, I'd love not having it tempt me...

stephen

Longshot,
My Dad had two 27 Excalibur Speedsters in the early 80's. One had a single 454 TRS and the other had t-2.4 mercs. Both were fun but the o/b boat was a rocket compared to the IB. I will see if I can scrounge up a photo of the old boat.

There is a 27 speedster in CT. for sale. I have one but very limited on space though that one is a tall deck and does have more cabin room. Mine is a blast to drive and still people look at it at 20= years old. Mine still has the original stripes on it. I don't have a digital camera so i can't post any pictures. Forrest

Speedster by who..
 

Sorry to sound like I missed something..

Stephen,

Excaliber made the Speedster in a flat deck version and I "high" deck version which had a windshield. The flat deck version is downright cool and is a sit-down boat. There were two here in NY by me and they are now gone...I wish I had the money at the time cause the boats are pretty cool. they are also very narrow which makes them a dream in the rough water.

I dunno much about the 28 baron...i don't believe many are left...but they're certainly a cool looking boat although in my opinion, they have a "runabout" look to them...I've seen pics of the one in FL, and it looks pretty clean...

If it were me and I were in your shoes, I'd look at a Cigarette 28, Magnum 27 Sport or a Excaliber 27 Speedster...In that order.:D :D

Sorry,
The Excalibur 27 was called the Speedster. The outboard boat had a pretty funky cockpit design: It had two front seats that were molded as part of the cockpit innerliner and the rear seats had a break in the middle where a cooler would sit. If I remember correctly the boat had only a 6'10" beam. It was narrow but the boat would run over 70 mph which was moving in 1983! Does anyone who lives in South Florida remember when the ICW used to be no-wake and no speed limits?

Stephen, get us somemore info on that Cig....i'm sure someone here will be interested in it....i know i would love to see some pics of it and know what they are loking to get for it :D

Hi.. How would I see pictures somewhere of these?
 

Any idea where on the net photos of these might be?

My boat is posted under the thread excaliber it is mispelled and also the freidmans 27 tall deck raceboat. Do a search on boattraderonline there is a 84 speedster that is redone for 16,500. The tall decks were much slower than the flat decks. same hull but the tall decks wieghed alot more. Forrest

Who built the Excalibur's.. any other brands?
 

Other brands I should look at...

I've liked some of the pics.. the look is good, how does the build quality compare to the Scarabs? and other boats?

The original executioner was built by excalibur for fountain off of the 32 hull. chris craft also used this hull. Wellcraft bought excalibur I believe in 1984 or 85. They continued to build them for a few years and quit. I always wondered what happened to the molds. There are some 27 foot boats out there that have the same dimensions as the speedster and look like the tall deck version of the excalibur boats.

So are they as good a boat as the others
 

Cigarette
Magnum
Bertram 28 Baron

others I am missing?

Hi... Any Performance Focused Boat Yards in NJ
 

Hi... Any Performance Focused Boat Yards in NJ

regards,

stephen

Rock solid.... older performance boat with same owner for 15 years! Sounds interesting.

http://adcache.boattraderonline.com/6/7/8/43044978.htm

may or may not be what you are looking for but thought I'd let ya know anyhow.

Good Luck

That cigarette is a old race boat can`t remember the name (Jane knows)

All its good for is to plant flowers in

What Cigarette isa RaceBoat?
 

I missed which Cigarette is a raceboat?..

Sean, that's beautiful, you're my hero. It's awesome to see something so classic returned to it's original glory. Kudos

Any Other Vintage boats for sale
 

Seems to have slowed down here.. any other vintage 70's or so boats for sale?

I wanted an original Don Aronow hull and got lucky and found a '76 raised deck Awesome 35 footer that was built to the same standards as the Cig race boats. There are no ripples, cloth print through, or cracks in this hull except for the area between the dash and windshield. Easily fixed. Here is a picture if it loads. I can stand up in the full galley that I am installing, and I can get laid in the king size bed if I can just procure a few more parts! God, I will get nailed on this one!

Here is one more view.

Very Cool Boat..
 

Are you restoring her... About what did it cost to buy, and what is the model name.. I'd love some interior pictures...

stephen

Hey Fred, she's looking good. When are you going to spash her?

You had some good quotes in Powerboat Mag. I think the guy that wrote that must watch OSO he had 3 members in the article.

CLASSIC ... Just CLASSIC......:cool:

There really isn't anything nicer than a nice classic muscle boat.

Angel

Fred, is that Mistress UV protected? She is really pretty! Mine sits in the damn Colorado sun(see cover detail below) and doesn't get wet either , yet! Maxxk9 is finishing my hydraulic steering as we speak. He has been outstanding on communication and updates. Have two sets of Lightning headers. One set for the port 454 is candy apple red, and the second set for the starboard 454 that had an aluminum ceramic coating is getting metallic blue powder coating. My guages are color coded the same to match the engine colors.


Actually Westland covers are really accomodating me and basically making me a custom pacific blue Sunbrella cover for the Cigarette. They normally only go to 30'. Very nice people as are all the people that I have met while involved in this project, especially on OSO.

The interior is stripped, but I found and ordered pacific blue and white exterior carpet for the headliner and walls. It has a very thin but tight weave and thickness. It is not your ordinary marine carpet. Once I receive it, I will be happy to supply samples, sources, and details if anyone is interested. No one seems to make white boating carpet(actually slightly grey/white, but not tan), but I found a source! Also, the cockpit floor and interior floor will be teak with holly spacers. Bob.

For your information the first
SCARABS were built in the mid
70s at Hallett Boats in SoCal.
There might be a few of them
left around but they would
really be Classics.
I own the 4th 26ft Flat deck
Scarab and am restoring it now
Mike J.

Hey Too Old, what is that other boat behind your Cig in #34? Looks like it is too close to be hooked to another truck but it may just be the perspective fooling me.

Hey!
I'm not shy, I never pass up a chance to post pics of my 84 Excalibur!

another

This is the only side shot that I have on my computer.
It's a like a year before I bought it, before the scoops went into the hatch.
Sorry about the nerdy guy in front of it!!

Zanie
 

..Great Looking Ride! :cool:

Hey!
Found another pic!