G Man

Friend of mine and I redid his 79 Banana 24 which was originally black and cream with a non skid deck. Had a 1,000 HP big bock with twin turbos and a speedmaster drive when he bought it about 10 years ago. Anybody remember this boat????? We redid the boat top to bottom. Now all white with black, purple, and pink Formula style stripes, 454 with a TRS drive. May post pics if I can figure out how to. Saw the boat this weekend and it still runs and looks as fresh as it did 10 years ago. Had a discussion about this site with him and we looked at the hull number. Last two digits are 79 which I know is the year. First 3 are BCV and then a bunch of 0's and then a 6. Seems to me this is boat #6 Anybody know how many 24's were made in 79 ?

Dregsz

You are in the ball park, Hull # 14 came out in '79

Lets see some pics

Air Dog

Hello G Man,

Welcome!

Dude, you gotta post the pics.

Sounds like it is hull #6 alright.

Top Banana or Chatim racing should be along shortly to tell you the history of the boat.

Were is the boat located?

How fast does it go?

Top Banana

Close but no cigar.....hull #6 was built in 77 not 79.

G Man

Is there a number in the hull number that designates what sequence hull it is?????

Chatim Racing

also hull # 14 was built in '78 not '79. It seems like you have the sequence right...maybe it's 26 and the 2 isn't clear - looks like a 0??? #26 would put it in line with being built in '79.

G Man

Full hull number is BCV00006R179 Does this tell us the hull # or what boat it is.

Chatim Racing

The letter R should not be there.....I can tell you that it is not one that we made. It must be from the second generation.

If the year is right...79, then it must be in the high 30's or so.

Post some pics, maybe we can help you from that.

G Man

Ok, all I have is pics and I don't have a scanner. Will get some digital shots this weekend and post them.

What is second generation????

Chatim Racing

First Generation are the first 30 boats built by my dad under the name Banana Boat Co. In late '79, he licensed Banana Boat Ltd. to build them. Legally I cannot disclose the terms of the agreement, BUT I can tell you that a royalty was due payable to my dad for every boat sold - THAT is why I think we may never actually know how many were built. They built them sporadically from 80-91 with the exception of a special race boat in '93. I believe the infamous "Hells Banana" was their first attempt which would make that #31 but I can't be sure.

The quality and construction varied greatly on these boats - seems like the ones from 88-91 were the best 2nd gens. Your hull number doesn't surprise me - I actually saw one with a number BCV000001977. Now what the heck is that and when was that built - definitely not in 1977!! Banana Boat Ltd. officially went out of business in 1995 when their corporate charter expired. I have slowly been building a database of HIN#'s - perhaps someday we will solve this mystery - no one would be happier to learn exactly how many 2nd gens. were made than my dad ($$$$$!!).

As far as that boat being #6 - DEFINITELY NOT as my dad built #6 for himself and still owns her today.

Now the new ones, which I will call "3rd Generation" are definitely superior in both quality & construction. The differences will be obvious when you see one. Much more will be coming on these 3rd Gens very soon....