Hey all,
This seems like the place to put out a call for info on my Dad's boat, which is a 1961 Sanger Ski Hydro (hence the name!). This boat is definitely an anomaly, here's what I know about it:
It was sold new in Paso Robles, CA (not far from Sanger, CA) with a Caddy motor in it. It passed through a few hands before my Dad bought it in the mid 70s, with a baby-blue peace-sign hippy paint job. We've had it ever since, and restored it in the early 90's.
The boat is a shovelnose hydro, about 20' long, and built like a brick. According to the history of the company on Sanger's website, they weren't even building hydros in 1961, but here it is on the pinkslip, and it's been a 61 since my dad skied behind it in the 60s. According to my dad, it's 1 of 7 original prototypes that Sanger built, a predecessor to Climax and the other sanger hydros of the later 60s and 70s.
These pictures where taken about 5 years back, boat hasn't done much since, my Dad's back can't take it very well anymore, and honestly, I love the damn thing so much that I want to put it in a museum rather than go beat it up using it, but oh man is it fun.
http://cwssoftware.com/~charlie/hydro/hydro1.jpg
http://cwssoftware.com/~charlie/hydro/hydro2.jpg
I'm just looking for any additional info on the boat or its history. It has a lot of sentimental value, as well as possibly historical value being as rare as it is. Has anybody heard of these boats, or heard of another one? The next earliest Sanger hydro I've found on the net was a 66 IIRC. I'd like to know what happened in the intervening years. Hell, I'd just love to know more about the whole ski-hydro line, what it was about and what happened to it. Any old-timers out there know about these boats and want to share their knowledge? There's very little about hydroplanes in general available on the web, which surprises the crap out of me having grown up with one
Thanks!