Help me identify my hull! Rayson?

[philofab]

Hi, I need to identify this hull so I can register it correctly. I can't find a HIN but I'm sure it older than 72... It's been in my area for many years and I know of the former owners... but I haven't been able to contact them to ask what it is. It has Rayson Craft emblems... but I few people told me "No way is it one of rudy's hulls." It is 18 foot, set up for a chevy with a velvet drive and a crusader trans. Some parts inside are marked "Finish Line Engineering" in Van Nuys. I was told it was a circle boat... Please help!
http://www.philofab.com/temp/p3290240.jpg
http://www.philofab.com/temp/p3290241.jpg
http://www.philofab.com/temp/p3290242.jpg http://www.philofab.com/temp/p3290243.jpg
http://www.philofab.com/temp/p3290244.jpg

[canam10]

My guess is it's a Rayson Craft Looks identical to the two I have

[DaveA]

late 60's Raysoncraft J-hull. Nearly flat bottom, higher freeboard than the LP's (low profile) and with the tell tale wood 'half-round' glassed in down the inside of the hull below the cap and above the chines. And they were 18' boats.
It probably was a circle racer in the amateur ranks, if ever. One of mine was....strictly amateur! With the Crusader box and Velvet Drive, most likely was a ski/fun boat. A friend here in NC has an original J-hull w/Ford FE power, Velvet Drive and a Casale that was rigged by the NC dealer, with front/back bench seat. Hull is practically the same as yours. I"ll dig up the photos on the laptop and try to post sometime.
My guess- register it as a 1968 Raysoncraft 18' J-hull. You won't be far off, and the ACBS will recognize your boat as a classic....as well it should be...
Oh, and if you wanna sell the emblems, shoot me a pm!
DaveA
.

[racincraft440]

Well, I have an 18' 1968 Rayson Craft and it looks alot like the one in the pic. Not sure if mine has those reinforcements in the gunnels that run lengthwise. I'll double check.
If it has the old bubble deck for the rear hatch and you don't want it, PM me.

[ssmike]

I agree with Dave...looks like the J hull....
The LP lines are close but not spot on

[BROADMINDED]

i dont think it's an LP either but it is close. but definitly a rayson. like DaveA said it has the half roll down the side of the boat. ours has the same.

[philofab]

Thanks for the help. As soon as I get the paperwork streightened out it is getting a casale w/ a BBC. The hull is in suprisingly good condition for sitting outside so long. Anyone know how stable these hulls are? Are they good to 100mph? What kind of speed am I looking at with 500-600 hp? 85-90?

[Rattle Can Lou]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/autobody9/purpleRayson001.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d137/autobody9/DSC03129.jpg
Rayson Craft 1974.
This hull was built for many, many yeras.

[hm427donzi]

I don't mean to open a can of worms here but I have a question. I had a long conversation with Rudy Ramos and he said he has never heard of a J-Hull. He said the only letter designation he used was G and LP. I then called Paul Fitzgerald who worked at Rayson craft for many years and he told me the same thing, that there was never a J-Hull. According to Rudy and Paul the boat in the photo's is 17'10 and is called a G-Hull. I have several old Rayson craft brochures and have listings for a 15ft outboard, 16 ft, G-Hull, LP, 18 ft, 19.6, Daycruiser, and the old 20 ft. Allison powered Cream Puff. There is no mention to a J-Hull. Does anybody know where this came from. Again I don't mean to step on any toes, but i'v been a Rayson craft owner for 22 years and I'm very interested.

[DaveA]

April 2003 I met with Rudy over the course of 2 days and, among other things, we talked about all the different designs they had...decks, bottoms, etc. I know that I mentioned and discussed the term 'J-hull' with him because of showing him photos of a friend's boat here in NC that was always referred to as such. Hmmm. He never corrected me, unless he THOUGHT I was saying "G-hull" somehow....Now regarding the letter designation deal, Rudy also informed me that there was what he called the F-hull, which had a hinged cav plate as opposed to a plate recessed and bolted thru the bottom. I asked him why he used the letter F for some reason, and he called it an F-hull because, in his words, it was 'a funny hull'....? I just took that as gospel....After all, we were looking at his photo of one that was in Jersey and I asked about the cav plate mounting deal when I saw the photo of the back of the boat. And the 20' v-hull has always been referred to a a GN, for obvious reasons.
It could be very possible that some of these 'designations' were informal, or the product of a dealer/rigger, and not the official designations used by Rudy & Co. After all, the vast majority of Raysoncraft hulls in NC were bought as blank hulls and rigged locally by Rayson dealer Jimmy Gaskins in the late sixties and into the late seventies (about 1977 or 78 was when he did his last one, I'm told).
And I just saw Paul yesterday. I'll have to ask him this myself next time I see him!
.

[hm427donzi]

Dave, my conversation with both Rudy and Paul has been within the last 2 weeks and I took notes as we talked, I think I know what you are referring to in regards to the f-hull. The first G-hull came out in around 1963 and around 1964 Rudy decided the bottom was to flat to race. So If the boat was going to be a race boat they made a template and when the boat came out of the mold they ground rocker in the bottom of the hull. (Rocker is opposite of a hook) These boats were nicknamed Funny bottoms. This name stuck until the early 1970's. By this time there had been so many of them built, the Funny bottom probably wasnt all that weird anymore so they just became known as a rocker bottom boat. From what I have seen over the years most of the Funny bottoms were on the LP hull. As far as those plates mounting to the back of the transom instead of under the boat, I have also seen this but not 1oo% of the Funny bottoms did this. I have a 1964 G-hull that had the bottom worked. It was owned by Army Haines from Memphis Tn. Ron Larson from Long Beach drove it as SK-17, the boat name was MR. KILLOWATT. If anyone has info on it please e-mail me.
G-hull specs are the following according to dealer paperwork.
Length 17'10
Beam 85"
Freeboard 21"
Transom height 20"
Transom width 66"
Approx. weight 800 lbs. bare hull

[canam10]

Dave, my conversation with both Rudy and Paul has been within the last 2 weeks and I took notes as we talked, I think I know what you are referring to in regards to the f-hull. The first G-hull came out in around 1963 and around 1964 Rudy decided the bottom was to flat to race. So If the boat was going to be a race boat they made a template and when the boat came out of the mold they ground rocker in the bottom of the hull. (Rocker is opposite of a hook) These boats were nicknamed Funny bottoms. This name stuck until the early 1970's. By this time there had been so many of them built, the Funny bottom probably wasnt all that weird anymore so they just became known as a rocker bottom boat. From what I have seen over the years most of the Funny bottoms were on the LP hull. As far as those plates mounting to the back of the transom instead of under the boat, I have also seen this but not 1oo% of the Funny bottoms did this. I have a 1964 G-hull that had the bottom worked. It was owned by Army Haines from Memphis Tn. Ron Larson from Long Beach drove it as SK-17, the boat name was MR. KILLOWATT. If anyone has info on it please e-mail me.
G-hull specs are the following according to dealer paperwork.
Length 17'10
Beam 85"
Freeboard 21"
Transom height 20"
Transom width 66"
Approx. weight 800 lbs. bare hull
I can't tell you alot but I ran against Mr. Killowatt at the Nationals in 1968. What I do have are the results 1st Howie Benns- Chevy Too Much- 2nd Ernie Rodriguez III- Missie Too- 3rd Bill Burgess -Tor-Gre 4th- Robert Engo- Andiamo- 5th was Me- 6th- Ron Larsen- Mr. Killowatt- 7th-James Camp-Slo-Poke-8th-Thomas Donley That Yellow Boat-9th- Richard Voit-Mr. Conservitive-10th Cyril Smith -Widow Maker 11th-Howard Stein-Das Fireschpitten Louderboomer Again-12th Nick Faulkner Nick Nak. It was my first Nationals. We had to run several elimination heats to even make the finals. Most of the boats were Rayson Crafts back than I had a Bob Warren Hurricane hull.

[hm427donzi]

Thanks canam10, Thats pretty interesting.

[DaveA]

Dave, my conversation with both Rudy and Paul has been within the last 2 weeks and I took notes as we talked, I think I know what you are referring to in regards to the f-hull. The first G-hull came out in around 1963 and around 1964 Rudy decided the bottom was to flat to race. So If the boat was going to be a race boat they made a template and when the boat came out of the mold they ground rocker in the bottom of the hull. (Rocker is opposite of a hook) These boats were nicknamed Funny bottoms. This name stuck until the early 1970's. By this time there had been so many of them built, the Funny bottom probably wasnt all that weird anymore so they just became known as a rocker bottom boat. From what I have seen over the years most of the Funny bottoms were on the LP hull. As far as those plates mounting to the back of the transom instead of under the boat, I have also seen this but not 1oo% of the Funny bottoms did this. I have a 1964 G-hull that had the bottom worked. It was owned by Army Haines from Memphis Tn. Ron Larson from Long Beach drove it as SK-17, the boat name was MR. KILLOWATT. If anyone has info on it please e-mail me.
G-hull specs are the following according to dealer paperwork.
Length 17'10
Beam 85"
Freeboard 21"
Transom height 20"
Transom width 66"
Approx. weight 800 lbs. bare hull
Man, I appreciate the info and really enjoyed the phone call! Look forward to meeting you at the AutoFair....
Dave

[ssmike]

Man, I appreciate the info and really enjoyed the phone call! Look forward to meeting you at the AutoFair....
Dave
Dave:
It seems that the confusion over J/G hull is simply misused nomenclature.
What is funny to me is that, over the years, I have heard a bunch of guys refer to the "J" hull and can't recall ever hearing about the "G." I must have assumed that J was the ticket..
Oops.

[DaveA]

Dave:
It seems that the confusion over J/G hull is simply misused nomenclature.
What is funny to me is that, over the years, I have heard a bunch of guys refer to the "J" hull and can't recall ever hearing about the "G." I must have assumed that J was the ticket..
Oops.
Hey Mike-
Glad to know I ain't the only one thinking there was a J-hull designation. I began to suspect it was only a regional thing.
Whew!
DaveA
.