rak rua

Any aproximate, idea what the weight of the empty boat was? Have you seen the weigh bridge certificate from the U.S? May be lost in your masses of files from the export/import, just still wondering what I could get away with towing.

RR

f_inscreenname

Find a trailer with some sort of surge breaks. You could even adapt them to your wood trailer.

38banana

there are no engines in the boat i think about 2500 kg,but they tow here 42 ft boats with 3 engines with a normal 4x4 pickup truck,i did before 5000 kg + boats with my truck.

38banana

i will have a steel trailer made after,everything go's here on this wood trailers with out brakes,lights or anything, that is one on the reasons that i am here,can do whatever you want the law says you have to have a red piece of red textile hanging on the back,that's it.

payuppsucker

Hate to see that boat leave the motherland but I don't think it could be in better hands. Congrats, good luck and keep us posted.

38banana

well you are right,i could not believe that this boat with such a history was for sale for such a long time and for peanuts,all my friends here say,wow was there nobody in the hole usa who was interesting in buying it ?
it should be in the u.s.a were so many people know it and much more fun to see it back on the water there were it belongs,really a shame but i appreciate and love this boat and did a lot to get it so my dream come true.

xxxxxxx1

Congratulations on your purchase and your vision to get your boat to home, your home. I can not imagine what it costi in US dollars to get from the US to your car port. !
All of us seem to take the road less traveled with our powerboat purchase; from the vision to make it what you want and getting in the water !
This example here is what it Is all about, following a dream plan!

f_inscreenname

I've got 3 classic boats in stock (not including our 1982 PolarKraft, a classic in its own right). Just sold #4 a 1976 Donzi 18. Two of them are "race boats" (1967 Nova 24 & 1959 Biesemeyer 4pt hydro drag boat). So if another race boat comes down my street it better be picking my ass up cause its to cold to be living in it. lol

But you're right. I see them (race boats) all the time on the web but people don't want a project or don't have the skill to fix it or are just to afraid to pull the trigger and try. It kills me to see these lost pieces of history just melt away.
I'll let you all in on a secret though that 38Banana is just starting to find out. You can pull up to a dock that is covered with million dollar go fasts and yachts smothered in graphics, stereo equipment and chrome with a boat like ours and the seas will part. I even leave extra time when I trailer it up to the local gas station for people that want to talk about it. It's no longer about being noticed for 38Banana, it's about being remembered.

scippy

I agree with f_inscreenname about the cost of shinning new big power (boats) as opposed to the endangered (ever shrinking) number of old skool "glass classics" that have gone & never to return.
Very interesting statement by 38banana about the lack of interest (in US) for the 38' banana with a history & win(s) ...I wonder if Charlie M ever considered a re-purchase of his 38' for a HORBA
restoration......- or - was it not a boat significant enough for HORBA?.........Charlie??.
Back to the cost question (and it always seems to come back to that) if you have the means ($$$) to restore a classic ...sometimes it's a bare hull that's in bad shape worst times less engines & drives.
it's generally easy to acquire, but significantly expensive to reach the full restoration of a boat. we all see half restored boats sold off for lack of funds!....The idea that 38' banana was cheap on the dollar to purchase here in the US is because the full potential of it's restoration won't be cheap.....unless you have the means$$$...and it always seems to come back to that!
38banana............I think you know that here in the US (if you don't know how to do glass repair & you need a capable glass man) it could cost you $75 to &100 an hour for as long as you need.
Besides your "cost" of shipping the 38' and what engines & drives would be .....I would think that the rest would be pennies on the dollar for glass work in your part of the world compared to the US.

Top Banana

Re question on weight. It was built all glass and plywood, no Kevlar. Boat ready to be rigges at 38 feet was 3,800 lbs. Lot of time chipping out hardened resin the day following each layup.

Don't forget this boat held off for a full year of racing, the new 37.6 foot Cigarette, which later became known as Top Gun. Even that race, the 1980 Bahamas 200, we were leading with 5 miles to go and one engine started tightening up and we slowed enough that Ajac Hawk beat us by 30 seconds.

Yes, I tried to buy the boat back when it first came on the market, but found dealing with the guy selling was a bit much. I thought I had a deal ,but then he changed it, truck had to be included and then someone wanted the truck, so it all changed again. All I wanted was the hull and deck.....the rest was junk. So my next plan, after restoring my Benihana, may be to build a brand new Top Banana, painted the same with modern engines and drives. One day at a time.