What do you guys feel is the best Apahe hull ever the 41, 45, or 47? Not the that won the most, but purly the best....

I would have to say the 41 or 45...

41 in smaller seas 45 in larger because it didn't get as much air and could keep the drives in the water more....plus the 45 could carry 3 motors....

I can't see any advantage the 47 had over the 45...

Just my thoughts...
Scott

I like the 39.......

"Best" is a tough one. Depends on the definition. The 41 is best just from its pure impact on the sport. The 47 is best because nothing will run harder in nasty water. The 45 is best simply because of it's uniqueness.

On the 45 vs. 47, I suppose the argument could be made that if the 45 bore any advantage, there would have been more of them.

In the end, the 41 is probably the best- it can be owned and operated by mere mortals. The other two have operational barriers. Towing, storage and mostly, feeding 3 short-life monster blower motors instead of two.

I have always thought that the 41 was the best of the best in comparison to all the "Cigarette" variants. The aspect ratio of width to length seems to have resulted in the best offshore vee bottom in history. The 47 has always seemed like a horsepower eating dog to me and was not that good in the rough given its size( A twin engine, naturally aspirated, 41 Skater, "Spirit of Norway" ate a triple engine, supercharged 46 Apache,"Tweets Revenge" for breakfast in storm seas in a legendary confrontation off Ocean City, Maryland, a race we covered and have on tape.).

Richie Powers' 45 , Apache Heritage, was a whole different animal and seemed like it was what the biggest Apache was always meant to be. Sadly only one was made.

T2x

My personal favorite was the 47` Triple as that`s the boat I won back to back world championships in. I have been around since the inception of Apache and am very close friend of Mark M. the real Apache race boat builder. The true Apache`s were the 41` s and the 47` s. The 45` was a very limited number boat, I only know of one, which was the original INXS, and it was from the mold of the 47` just blocked at the transom. I believe on almost any day the 47` would outrun the 45` The picture of the Apache in this thread that claims to be a 39` is actually a Squadron raced by Jerry Kilpatrick in the early to mid eighties. The 41 and 47 Apaches were the best there was for the era, and to this day hold there own against anything out there. You have not lived until you run a 47` Apache triple engine boat in 6` to 8` seas at close to 100 mph. After winning the Key West worlds in 1993 with Apache Heritage, we gave Mark M. a ride from the Galleon to the launch area up the coast, it was 6` to 8` we set it on 100 mph, and he could not believe what a ride it was, he had no idea we were running in the 100 mph range, he thought we were doing 75 or 80. He said hell let`s keep going to NY. That also was the first canopy and only canopy Apache ever built. To this day if I were to do any long distance endurance races, like round Britain etc. I would be in the biggest canopied Apache I could build, and I would be hard or impossible to beat. Anyone up for the challenge.

Out of curiousity, I see talk that the Apache Heritage was the only 45... but then Hot Duck (oso name) has a 45 for sale. What's the "back story" on that boat?

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o14820-en.html

In the 80's you couldn't beat the 47' in the rough like 7x says. Just think about '88 or better yet '89 in AC the 41's nor the 45 couldn't come close to the 47. The Gancia could not keep up with Lil Cesar's, that boat was just the best running boat ever in it's day.

I echo what 7x times says about today as well, put that 47' out there in monster water with people that can run right and there's nothing that will walk by her - nothing!

Joe Gere

Was the 47 stretched from the 41 ?

The 45 was KID originally. That's the boat that's for sale now by Hot Duck, the Lynch Mob boat. Only 1 45 ever built.

Spirit of Apache