on the trail for vintage fiberglass

[old rigger]

It's no secret that I like old boats, but that's no big deal on the boards here, lots of guys like old boats too.
(sorry delawaredave, this might be a long winded post. :) )
i know this sounds sorta fockin wierd but about 6 months ago I had a dream that I found an original, un-rigged, all white, 17 foot boat stuck away in someone's shop. Cool enough, not a cool as a sex dream, but pretty cool none the less.
Strange thing was that I knew the boat in the dream even though I've never owned that certain model. I've always liked the lines of it, nothing special, it had the old Tahiti bottom but the dash had a ton of crown to it and the sides of the hull were 'special' to that certain buider from back in the day.
A few months later I had almost the same dream, same hull stuck in the back of a shop and so on.
Had the same damn dream 2 weeks ago so I though just for the hell of it I'd do a little research.
The builder of the dream boat had long since gone out of the boat biz back in the mid 80's. By that time, after the crash of the late 70's he, like lots of other builders, shifted gears and started to build whatever kept the doors open. He was very successful in building non-marine parts, sold the biz to some other interests back in the late 80s who continue to run the shop to this day.
I found the phone number and gave them a call.
" I know this sounds funny but do you have any old boat stuff left over from the old days?"
"Si."
"Uh, what do you have?"
"Si."
"You have any hulls or molds laying around?"
"Si."
This went on for a while, his English was shitty and I flunked two straight years of Spanish in high school so we were going no where fast, but I did figure out that there was a few hulls and 'many' molds still on the property.
Now we were talkin', so today I gased up the '41 and went for a drive to check out this place. I have to admit, there were a few molds runnin' through my mind as I drove out there that I wouldn't mind having. Not that I want to get back in the boat deal, but it would be a blast to clean up a set and build one more boat.
When I pulled up in the driveway, there wasn't a boat mold or hull to be seen but I found my amigo and he took me back to the farthest corner of one of their buildings. This place is HUGE and it's been turned into chopper gun hell, some of the buildings were as big as a costo building and they were all full of parts and molds and workers.
But I'll be go to hell, as we walked into a dark building, I could see a few things that looked familar to me, a set of molds for some kinda small hull, an old hammered 22 foot cruiser that was half rigged and full of parts sitting on an old single axle trailer, and last but not least, almost the exact same boat that I saw in my dreams. The only difference being this one is an 18 footer and the one I wanted is 16 or 17 feet. This boat was the last one made from the molds and has been sitting inside, under a roof, on a dolly, since it was layed up in the late 70's. It was covered in fiberglass dust about 1/2 inch thick but you could see the sides of it and it has the typical 1970's look to the gel. It was layed up to be a I/O.
I couldn't believe it.
I asked about the molds and showed him pictures from old ads and pictures of friends boats from our family albums and he told me that I was 10 years too late. As they needed the room to store the other molds they make money out of, all the ones I liked were cut up and thrown away.
The shit's is it's not the hull I'm looking for, but on the other hand, it's a pretty cool find. I asked him what he wanted and was told to call back at the end of the week and he'd have a price.
Stupid dream. why couldn't I see the winning lottery numbers instead of an old boat...
Here's one picture. You can see just how much dust is on the deck, it almost completly covers any detail to it.
I haven't mentiond the builder or the name of his boats, I was just curious if anyone but me on the board remembered them? They were very popular, some were very fast (for the day) and some were raced. They were built from the early 60's to the mid 80's.
Anyone got a guess? :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/xxx.jpg

[Oldsquirt]

Rich, I have no idea on the boat make, but that is a damn cool story. :D

[SK48]

?? Its now a chopper gun place. Must be Gaylord.

[v-drive]

Don't know but please don't leave us in the dark. I used to go to the sanger shop across the street from the tahitian village on lakewood...v-drive

[malcolm]

I always hate long posts, but I couldn't stop reading! Great story! Can't wait for the next chapter.

[old rigger]

?? Its now a chopper gun place. Must be Gaylord.
Nope, but that's a hell of a guess. :)

[Marty Gras]

Kona? In your travels, if you ever run across an all glass 17' Warren Hurricane flatboat, please let me know. Thank you!

[old rigger]

I used to go to the sanger shop across the street from the tahitian village on lakewood...v-drive
You're at least heading in the right direction, and by that I mean going North on Lakewood blvd. :)
Saw Rick Nelson back in the late 70's one night play at the old Tahitian Village...another cool place that's no longer around. :cry:

[old rigger]

Kona?
Nope, that's East.

[El Prosecutor]

Sidewinder :)

[victorfb]

wreidt or however you spell the damn thing?

[dragstr19]

regatta

[DelawareDave]

(sorry delawaredave, this might be a long winded post. :) )
No need to be sorry! You can make all the "long-winded" posts you like. :) I'll keep readin' em too! Good story!

[atxwrangler]

great story, i'm all ears! :cool:

[atxwrangler]

Marlin????

[racincraft440]

Cool post!
Wild guess from a rookie.......Cheetah?

[Jim Hall]

Spico or Poty?

[Cas]

Weiman/Rogers and now Advantage is what I'm thinking.

[roostwear]

With that steep entry, I'm thinking Weiman, too.

[BigDoug]

I would say regatta too... :)

[steve d]

Treasure hunter---Next time you do something like that give me a call.
Very good post...check your P.M.....Steve

[old rigger]

Congrats to Dragstr19 and big doug, it is a Regatta.
I knew if I had posted a picture of the sides of it, everyone would have guessed it right off.
Here's it's sides...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/regattahull003.jpg
Here's the one I was hoping it was...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/8a_1.jpg
Here's the first little Regatta, already showing it's flaired sides. A detail that was carried over to almost all models of their boats...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/regatta15.jpg
Here's who I believe to be Mr Wilkerson driving the factory boat in a marathon race. He was the shop owner. This hull was listed as a 20 footer, but it looks closer to the one I found, cept for the flaire sides. hmmm, parker 300 coming up, all I'd need is some vintage power to go with the hull. lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/Regatta20-20Bob.jpg

[maxwedge]

I'm going to guess that was made by Bob's Badass Boats. Not because I have a clue, but more because nobody else said it yet. :D Ops too late!

[old rigger]

I'm going to guess that was made by Bob's Badass Boats. Not because I have a clue, but more because nobody else said it yet. :D Ops too late!
You'd be right too! Mr. Wilkersons first name was Robert. :)

[maxwedge]

You'd be right too! Mr. Wilkersons first name was Robert. :)
I Knew it! LOL That's still a cool looking hull. I think you should pick it up if the price is right. Hell, you should buy it even if the price is ridiculous. This is obviously fate. Dreams are always slightly different than reality :)

[dragstr19]

that is a crazy story, with a cool find. i knew being around boats all my life would come in handy sometime

[wsuwrhr]

Keep the long winded posts comming.
You know which one is my favorite.
Brian

[flat broke]

Rich,
I don't think opportunity knocks much louder or clearer than that. How many times to you hear of barn boats etc, and wish it would happen to you; now it has. Doesn't look like it was cut for an I/O so would that mean you could hang an outboard on it? Either way, cool find and hopefully it all shakes out for ya.
Chris

[taylormanss]

Congrats to Dragstr19 and big doug, it is a Regatta.
I knew if I had posted a picture of the sides of it, everyone would have guessed it right off.
Here's it's sides...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/regattahull003.jpg
Here's the one I was hoping it was...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/8a_1.jpg
Here's the first little Regatta, already showing it's flaired sides. A detail that was carried over to almost all models of their boats...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/regatta15.jpg
Here's who I believe to be Mr Wilkerson driving the factory boat in a marathon race. He was the shop owner. This hull was listed as a 20 footer, but it looks closer to the one I found, cept for the flaire sides. hmmm, parker 300 coming up, all I'd need is some vintage power to go with the hull. lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/Regatta20-20Bob.jpg
I just sold one like the black one,but it was a clamp on,great little running boat had a jack plates for setback and a 140 johnson with a chopper prop,also had a skeg in the bottom.

[old rigger]

taylormanss,
I'd love to see some pictures of your old Regatta. I know this forum isn't the place for outboard stuff, maybe you can send some, if you have any, to me in a PM? How'd it run with that 140 on it?
Sound's what you just sold is what I'm looking for. lol I'd rather have the jet hull and hang a bracket off the back though instead of having an ob well.
I saw one out in the valley last year, but the deck had a little raised section that ran down the center of it and wraped over to the dash. Was yours like that one?
I'm surprised no one said anything about the dolly that this old Regatta is sitting on. It's in it's own mold, or what's left of it. Why butcher a mold just to make a dolly out of it? :frown:

[Devilman]

Wasn't that little black boat on Ebay recently?

[old rigger]

Yes it was on ebay, 'bout a mont ago I think. It sold for 600 bucks which I thought was a fair price considering it had a berk still in it. But it was back East somewhere, I didn't want to mess around trying to figure out how to get it back to so cal.

[Gayleen]

Old Rigger, Congrats on your new baby. She looks like she will be sweet when you are done with her.

[malcolm]

Hey Old Rigger, I was just over on Realoldspower and saw this little jewel.
http://usera.imagecave.com/72BBO/J-1/IMG_0263.JPG
http://usera.imagecave.com/72BBO/J-1/IMG_0278.JPG

[eek-a-RAT]

another archived thread i havent seen! i thought id add this being lakewood blvd was mentioned. this is off my 67 tahiti. a dick schuster 16'.

[beerjet]

http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16764
http://www.***boat.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16765

[dmontzsta]

That is a bitchen story Rich. :)

[james]

Looks like my dad's 1972 Glenco

[steve d]

RICH...........................
I know more than likely alot of these old boats have a spot in your heart.
I truely enjoy all these old stories and watching you discover something new that's out of the past----whether it be a boat, magazine..etc.
But I gotta know...........What is your all time, give it to me straight, double throw down, donate your left nut...." DREAM Boat"..??..............Steve

[steelcomp]

Pretty dang cool, Old... that Sportivo reminds me of the "batwing" offshore boats.
That fiberglass/choppergun facility sounds like Newport Laminates, run by a guy named Barry Bollman.

[HotRod Sprint]

This is obviously fate. Dreams are always slightly different than reality :)
OR, thanks for a great story; and I do agree you should buy it.
Rod

[GottaJet]

Thanks for another great story :)

[old rigger]

I'd kinda forgotten about this thread from back in april, until Malcolm posted up that other Regatta. Cool boat, I always liked the way the sides flared out on the regattas.
That little Tahiti ID tag posted by beerjet is very cool. The address on it is a little historic, (in a small meaningless, means nothing to anyone elses on the planet except me) kinda way. In that building which was across the street from Mr Weimans shop, not to mention just around the corner from our house, was once the legendry racer Bob Masseys boat shop. He was famous for many things but most everyone remembers him as the owner/driver of one of the Switzer flying wings. When he was killed, he'd already moved his shop over on Artesia blvd, that would later become Marine Associates. It's gone too. My dads close friend was on Masseys crew and he would always have one of the wings in his driveway doing glass work on it, so I use to sit in that mother and pretend I was driving in an enduro. lol.
A few years ago a guy over on the scream and fly board posted that he just bought a wing and had a few a pictures of it. It was pretty banged up, but Masseys name still blazed across the hull as well as my dads old friends name. I put the new owner in touch with our friend and he's been a big help in the restoration of the boat, putting this guy in touch with Bobs widow too. Should be nice when it's all done.
Next guy up in that building was Jerry Wriedt who was there until he moved to Santa Fe Springs.
Then along came Schuster with his little Tahiti. That was actually his second building. The first one was (if I can remember right, this shit goes back 40+ years) on Bellflower Blvd and was in Long Beach. I use to have the 29th Tahiti built and that was the address on it tag. Something is telling me that he used his home adress on those first ones, maybe my dad told me that.
At any rate that building is long gone. Schuster moved the new shop back behind where the old one stood, off Ramona, and by the time he sold to Bell inc, he had 3 buildings that took up an entire city block. They still remain and Competitive trailers is in one of them, the first one.
Steve d...my all time, number one (two actually) with a bullit, give either one of my nuts up to have, would be my dads first boat, the one I grew up in pictured below. Built by a local fireman that had a shop on signial hill, he called his boats 'Catalina Conquest', 'cause he and his buddys raced them in the catalina races that were popular back in the day. He only built 12 boats, dads was the last one.
It was 16 feet long, all maghony, and maghony skinned plywood. Single back to back bench white tuck and roll seat. Had a 1960 75 Evinrude on it running a mag, no alternator, and with dads good 2 blade prop would dance around 52-53 mph. Not bad for 1961. We had it 10 years, then it went through 2 uncles and then it was lost, I'm sure it was long ago use for a bonfire.
I was also hit by this boat when I was 10, cracked a hip, but that's another story.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/thumper1.jpg
The other would be a boat I saw at Havasu Springs in the late 60's. I was about 12 and 'it' was tied at the dock and it literally stopped me in my steps. It was a monkey pod wood deck Stevens, with a center deck too, running a SBC with a chevy FI unit on it. Through the transom exhaust, miles and miles of tuck and roll interior, just enough stewart warner gauges to do the job in the dash, no key, just a on/off switch. My dad had to come back down the ramp to find me and he stood there pointing out all the details of the boat, I can remember it like yesterday. Never saw the boat again, never heard it run, never saw it leave, but I've thought of that boat a thousand times when I was building boats. It represented to me then, and still does to this day, the epitome of clean, simplistic, functional boat building.
Moot point, with my bad back I won't be having a flatty anytime soon! :)

[victorfb]

more great stuff rich. i dig the pic of the "catalina conquest". reminds me alot of the mandella that i saw here in town when Harlan and his grandson was stopped in a parking lot. same colors, white over wood. looked real classic. i believe it was pictured in ***boat a while back with a couple page article of Harlan Orrin. may issue i believe. you and i need to go to his place someday and check out all his boats. about 5 minutes from my place. i think he's got like 17 boats there right now. i talked to Harlan a couple weeks ago, and he mentioned he had a "toad" sitting there, reminded me of you. i remember you telling me about that boat.
i think you may have missed one boat on your list of keepers. what about the boat your boy built last year? dont let him ever get rid of that thing. he will kick himself later, but you know how we do things when we are younger.

[old rigger]

Vic,
Harlan had the 54 Mandella again this year at the races. For the last 2 years he brought an old hydro out for display. That boat is amazing, and he built it from memory and photgraphs from originals. He's a true craftsman. I was talking to Dave Mandella quite a bit there too and we both we're drooling over the bare hull. I'm surprised no ones bought it up. Harlan has all the stuff to rig it, including a vintage olds engine and it's sporting new interior now. 20K seems a great price considering what you're getting. Beautiful boat and I can't believe I forgot to get some pics of it at the races.
I'd love to go to his place with you. We'll have to pick a day and go. Maybe record some stories. Like to see that toad too. Harlan lived 2 blocks from us when I was a kid. He was neighbors of Gil Gaska who tooled up the original deck for the 16 Tahiti. :)

[steve d]

Thanks Rich...I knew you'd come up with something out of the ordinary.
How 'bout a cruise in my Spectra 19 v-drive.....5:30 A.M? Bad back oriented!

[eek-a-RAT]

actually the tag was one i posted up, beertag helped me out by gettin it posted. that schuster is for sale. pm if intrested old rigger. it was originally a BBC boat but has a SBC now. that tahiti(schuster) is the same hull as picd below.

[old rigger]

rat,
has your boat been on craigslist? I saw one listed that used that old ad along with a pic of the boat.
The guy driving the boat in that ad, Dick Clark, was also at the races in long beach. I talked to him again for about an hour and he had some great, funny stories about Schuster/Roger Weiman/Tahiti/the first v-bottom jet/ and racing the Hairy Canary.
That was the last time that he raced that boat, when he set that record, and he did it with the then brand new droop snoot. The first one made. That boat had a nasty habit of making hard right hand turns when he'd get off the gas, and most drivers he ran against let him have the right lane because they didn't want him plowing into their boat at the end of the 1/4 mile. Every time they'd gain a little speed they had to correct, or try to correct, the bad habit of bow steering...Roger Weiman took care of that with his 18 footer a few years later.
He also shed some light on the connection between Tahiti and Sidewinder boats back in the day, very interesting stuff. I'll post it some other time. I'm telling ya, these older guys have some great stories, and they should be saved one way or another. :)

[victorfb]

I'm telling ya, these older guys have some great stories, and they should be saved one way or another. :)
couldnt agree with ya more rich. even those casual conversations at the races should be video recorded. im glad to see "***boat Magazine" touching upon it again. kinda like the Harlan Orrin article, but there seems to be ALOT more great info and awsome read oportunities out there. even your story you started this thread with would make a great article. guess the editers have bigger fish to fry.

[steve d]

I had the unique opportunity to hang with the K-5 group and listen to
Bubby Wilton and Julian Pettingale rant all weekend. Very interesting..The History and the countless stories. Would have taken a full video crew all
weekend....PRICELESS

[old rigger]

Yep, you were hangin' with some heavy hitters Steve...way outa my league. That's a whole different world that I know next to nothin' about. :)
I had the unique opportunity to hang with the K-5 group and listen to
Bubby Wilton and Julian Pettingale rant all weekend. Very interesting..The History and the countless stories. Would have taken a full video crew all
weekend....PRICELESS

[steve d]

Yep, you were hangin' with some heavy hitters Steve...way outa my league. That's a whole different world that I know next to nothin' about. :)
Gotta believe you'd fit right in.......................

[eek-a-RAT]

[QUOTE=old rigger]rat,
has your boat been on craigslist? I saw one listed that used that old ad along with a pic of the boat.QUOTE]
it sure was, to many ankle biters there. i have this old droop that came with that boat. hangs super low & has a few degrees wedged.

[steve d]

Yep, you were hangin' with some heavy hitters Steve...way outa my league. That's a whole different world that I know next to nothin' about. :)
You've never mentioned Cracker B's. Did any of those ever
blow your dress up........................?

[old rigger]

You've never mentioned Cracker B's. Did any of those ever
blow your dress up........................?
Long been my favorite class, since I was just a young-un. I almost bought a wood cracker in the 70s called the 'orange crate'. If I remember the story right it was won in a raffle, and then it sat for a few years at Parker at a water front place up river from us about a mile, very near the old Sports Valley. I don't remember why I didn't buy it, it was in pretty good shape, but I didn't. Looking back, and knowing now how much it would have taken to run something like that, it's just as well. :)