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Thread: Hawaiian boat info?

  1. #11
    RiverToysJas
    I do own a 1976 18' Hawaiian.
    Mine is very much original, having sat in indoor storage for nearly 15 years. the interior is still original, although the wood has been reglassed a few times. The passenger seat developed it's first small tare last season. Mine still sports all of the original plastic embles.
    The boat runs great, but that was my engine building more than Hawaiian's 70s workmenship. The bottom is straight as an arrow. there are not stree cracks, although the dash has cracked under the tach. I replaced the floor, bulkhead, and installed a custom post.
    Here's mine: http://www.rivertoys.com/featuredboa...awaiian18.html
    I am only selling it soon for something bigger due to family needs.
    I know old rigger takes no pride in the work he did at Hawaiian, but this boat has provided my family with years of good service.
    I have delt with the current "Team Hawaiian" in recent years and have options about them. I'll only say this, check them out well. Spend some time there. Ask a lot of questions and listen cearfully to the answers! If you can, find a "team hawaiian" boat owner and ask about their experiences.
    RTJas http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

  2. #12
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    RiverToysJas:
    "I know old rigger takes no pride in the work he did at Hawaiian, but this boat has provided my family with years of good service".
    RTJ,
    at the time I was working there I took alot pride in my work, and built them to the best way I knew how. It was only after I went to work for Roger's that I learned better ways to do things.
    It's tough to build them to a higher level when you are doing 6,7,8,9 boats a day.
    I think it's great that there are so many of them out there. My dad had one for just over 20 years, when he died I sold it and now I wish I hadn't. It was a nice boat, still had the original seats, carpet and gel-coat.
    Lot's of dumb things happened to the boats at the shop, but that was because of so many employees, shit is bound to happen. All the hulls were hand laminated, and there were 2 laminators to a boat, so at, let's say 6 boats a day, there 12 guys right there, throw in 2 gelcoaters working 2 shifts, 2 tapers, and one guy to grind the parts after they are pulled, whats that, 17 guys in the glass dept. plus 1 foreman. Over where I worked was the assemblers, there were 3 of us and a floater that we paid to help us out. Next were the riggers, 6-8 of them at any given time. And finally the detailers, where the seats, bow rails and windows were installed, usually about 10 of them. Throw in another foreman and his helper and there's another 23 or so. Almost forgot our touch up guy and his helper and the guys that waxed the molds.
    50 or so guys in the 2 shops. Not big by the standerds of some companys, but pretty big for a So Cal boat shop. Shit just happens, no matter how hard you try to avoid the little **** up, it will always be there to bite you in the ass.
    Remember these were entry level boats, just like Ultra and Comander were a few years later.

  3. #13
    RiverToysJas
    Yeah I understand. I made that comment because you had posted a few months ago that you weren't proud of the work you'd done at Hawaiian.
    My boat is nice but not perfect. The taping was sloppy for sure, among other things. But it's fun and drives better than a lot of boats like it I've been in.
    I have a couple of questions.
    Were you with Hawaiian in 1976?
    Are the hulls considered heavy for their size? Mine always seemed heavy/strong and is sturdier than many others I've seen.
    RTJas http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

  4. #14
    hawaiian21
    I know mine seem heavy, it has a semi v hull with chines on it. The place diverter help with some lift. just need more hp now.
    I bought the boat from the second owner for $3,800.00 in july of 2000, he said he bought the boat from the first owner for $11,000.00 in the early to mid 80's. they must have been expensive still then. also I'm still waiting to get a pic scanned so you can take a look for your self.

  5. #15
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    RiverToysJas,
    yeah,
    my dad's boat had a few spots on the hull towards the transom where the tape job was a little iffy.
    I was at Hawaiian from the day they started to the day we closed the doors.
    Yes, the hulls were layed up heavy. If there was one common thing from the Tahiti to Hawaiian thing, it was Schuster was never one to lay up a light hull. The problem with the boats getting spider cracks isn't from lack of glass, but improper placement of the wood in the hulls and decks. Deck braces, dash wood, etc. Another common breaking point is on the dash where the tach or speedo is. A problem not limited to only Hawaiians stuff.
    Having said Dick built them heavy, I will add this little story, because there are lots of old Hawaiian owners that would argue the point.
    Groom decided that the laminators were making too much money, so he cut their pay per boat back. (this in itself should show the mind set of this guy. he was a pin head) We all, except the detailers, wood cutters and a few others worked piece work. This didn't go over to well with the glass guys (duh) so in retaliation, they left a layer or two or three out of the layup of the hull, being smart enough to add glass in the area where the rigger would cut out for the intake, giving the impression of a complete lay-up. None was the wiser until, 2 or 3 months down the road when the boats had had some use, the bottoms started cracking wide open.
    This was a major nightmare to say the least and added, in the long run, to Hawaiians demise. Sal our repair guy, fixed bottoms on boats for over 2 years solid, until the place went under. That's all he did. Fix boat bottoms. There were probably over 100 boats that had to be fixed. The customers were the ones who got shafted though, and word got out about the problem big time.
    Things between Dick and Dickhead were never the same and it created a strange work environment. Jerry was always trying to show his power and Dick would come in behind him and be-little him in front of the guys. He had a real dry sense of humor and it was pretty funny to see him cut Groom down. In fact Groom fired me one day, jumping in my face about something, and I jumped right back in his. I was 19 or so and thought I would kick his butt (looking back, what an asshole I was) so I chased him through the shop, my hands dripping with resin and glass, the whole time him yelling out that I was fired. I never caught him, so I loaded up my tools and went home. My dad is the one who really caught grief though. After I had left, Groom went across the street to where my dad was the foreman and rode his ass all day.
    Anyway, the next morning I got a call from Schuster wondering where the hell I was. I told him what had happened and he said to get back to work. Groom showed up for work after I had aready gotten there, he was on a work release program from prison at that time, and was super pissed off that Dick did what he did. We didn't speak to one another after that.
    I don't want to give the impression of working in a gloom and doom type of place. It was really alot of fun. We all had a blast back then, and on the whole things ran smoothly. The guys working there were pretty cool, lots of them going on to bigger and better things in the boat world. But the main drawback to Hawaiian was Groom . He was his own worst enemy.

  6. #16
    Chestah Cheetah
    OldRigger, your stories are always intriguing, informative, and funny at the same time. It's very interesting to learn about the history of some of these builders. This thread popped up a day before a buddy asked me if I knew anything about Hawaiian (he actually has a 24' Team Hawaiian) - I have already emailed him the thread. Thanks!

  7. #17
    mario
    I have one of these Hawaiian boats a 28 ft. one. Thought one of these big jets would be cool, can't wait to finish the project to get it wet.
    Mario

  8. #18
    jim lee
    I wonder why Schuster didn't undo the paycut if he didn't think it was a good idea?
    I thnk my Hawiian is one of the ones that didn't get all the glass. All wobbly, cracking and some previous doof removed the brace under the deck. Gotta' fix that before this spring.
    Great storys OR!! Keep 'em coming!
    -jim lee

  9. #19
    Senior Member
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    [QUOTE]Originally posted by jim lee:
    [B]I wonder why Schuster didn't undo the paycut if he didn't think it was a good idea?
    jim lee.
    Good question. My only guess is that Groom did it while Schuster was out of town somewhere. Even if he was only gone for 2 or 3 weeks, that could have been, at 6 boats a day, 90 boats. At 8 or 9 a day, 120 to 135 boats. Wouldn't take long for the ****-ups, intentional or not, to start piling up.
    The pay thing was resolved, and no laminators were shit canned.
    Where're you going to find that many laminators if you got rid of them all. They would have lost even more $ while production was down looking for and training their replacements. Laminators had them by the short hairs and they knew it.
    [This message has been edited by old rigger (edited March 07, 2002).]

  10. #20
    SB
    Great stories. There's a '98 Hawaiian 21' for sale at yachtauctions.com. Anyone know if these newer boats are any good?

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