Anyone recognize this hull/boat. From the history I can gather my Dad bought it used in 1979 in Pompono Beach, FL. He said that it was titled as a 1976 26' Custom. It measures 25'10" and the most unique part about the boat is the v-drive.

This windshield was not on the boat when my father owned the boat. When he bought it in FL it was used as a race boat and the name on the side was "Warlord."

Hear are some recent photos and I will post old photos of it.





Does anyone know what it is????

Thanks,

Tim

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here are more pictures when it was purchased and then re-painted.

Has anyone seen a boat like this?

The single strake reminds me of the Seabird line designed by Harry Schoell , but there is something wrong with their proportions and length (I think !not sure). The sides of the hull also don't seem to have as much flare as he gave them either. BUT the keel and deadrise seem right and also the chine size and curve on the transom where it meets the hullsides. There was one relatively rare model they made that was the "Stilleto" that was a 26 footer and had a 26deg hull .
Coincidence ? Bet Brownie would know ....

Whose Brownie? See if he knows, because your right the seabird is similar, but I have found nothing exactly like it. I have to assume it wouldn't be a one off boat.

What is something like this worth?

My Dad sold it in 1982 for $15,100. It had a 427CI BB with 12.5:1 compression. He said it was a great boat in rough water, but very heavy. He said that the bare hull weighted 6000+lbs. He also told me that when he drilled into the boat it was atleast 2" thick. He said it was a combination of bulsa wood and fiberglass. I'm in the process of checking for weak spots, but my first glance is that it is still solid. I'm thinking of ditching the v-drive and switching to an EFI engine. Other than that just a normal restore.

If it is super rare then I will restore just like it was 30 years ago.

Thanks for all the help!

Brownie is the guru who regularly sets straight the 'experts' and 'know it alls' on more than one boat forum. He worked with Don himself for many years and founded his own boat company in the early years. There ain't much he has'nt done .And there is'nt enough room here to list his credentials.
He will surely chime in if he sees this.

It's been a LONG time since I've seen a photo of a Seabird Stilletto , but that single strake thing is what does it.
Coincidentally Seabird was one of the very first builders to balsa core their hulls. Is that the part that your referring to ?
Balsa cored decks were already reasonably common in the mid 60-s.

Back when Seabird was in business they offered their boats with I/O's and V drive inboards .. another coincidence ?

AS to what's it worth ....
As a boat owner they're worth a load to us , especially when we've spent a ton of time and money restoring them.
To a buyer .... It's just a 40 year old boat with a new motor ....
"I'll give you eight grand for it if the tank is full "

Steve

Yes, My Dad said that it was a Balsa Core hull....and would rave about how well the boat went through rough water. He said that if he was heading into the wind the hull would just float. He figures it would run around 60 MPH.

So should I sell or restore?

If it should turn out to be something that's 'historically significant' I would definitely restore it. Especially if you can do the majority of the stuff yourself.

Bear in mind that I have heard that one of the problems encountered on some of the Seabirds was that water would migrate into the hull coring around improperly sealed through hull fittings. This can create a nightmare .

Make me an offer? Not sure what something like this is worth.

The boats in Port Huron, MI.

What condition was the Donzi in?