Truth vs Fiction

[Top Banana]

Just answered a question on another site re the heritage of a particular boat and thought it might be interesting to the serious members if we started something over here too.

For instance did you Know, that a very talented guy by the name of Gary Gabrecht once worked for Mercury Marine running their racing division. In 1979, he and another guy started a new boat company with a deep v design and put a pad on the bottom of the boat.

If you listen to the rumor mills, you would hardly ever know that Gary was ever involved in the start up of that company and had a lot to do with it's inital success......the company is known as FOUNTAIN.

[Top Banana]

Also the model now known as the TOP GUN started out in 1978, being just called the 37.6. Cigarette was making a 39 footer that was 8 feet wide, but it had a bottom that encouraged flight.

Jerry Jacoby and Don Aronow thought that if they took off the rear portion of the bottom, the boat might be a winner, so they blocked the 39 hull mold and shortened it to 37 feet 6 inches.

Since they didn't have a deck mold, they laid up a race deck in the 36 foot long by 10 foot wide race deck mold and chopped off the extra width, stretched it and then glassed it to the 8 foot wide hull and put a rub rail over the rough bond. Voila', the first Top Gun is born and was called AJAC HAWK.

It was then rigged and wrapped in plastic and shipped off to Argentina for the December 1978 World Championship in Mar del Plata. It arrived at the sub base that we used for the pit area and was unwrapped to great admiration from all of us on hand. The photo in Argentina clearly shows the designation of 37.6 on the stern.

At the same race, Richie Powers and Bob Biech unwrapped their latest creation for Tom Gentry, AMERICAN EAGLE. A new 38 foot Lary Smith Scarab. Both boats were the cuttng edge at the time. The photo below shows Richie, Bobby and me in the cockpit of the American Eagle before the race. The other photo shows the boat coming back from having the compasses swung.

[BY U BOY]

Very cool! I'm glad you are here to give us this awesome history.

[Top Banana]

Very cool! I'm glad you are here to give us this awesome history.

Thanks........Chris invited me and he understands how important the history is especially for those who were not lucky enough to be there as it happened.

We are also trying to bring the history back in our own boats. We hope to have a Don Aronow Limited edition 28 for the Miami Show that will be in his color scheme but single engine as a sit down boat like the specials that he made at the end of his career. We also have his son Michael helping us with this limited edition to make sure they are very special boats.

[cosmic12]

Thank you. I look forward to more and more history lessons. How about if you were to do a question of the day and see what we really know. It might be a fun thread.

[Ratickle]

Thank you. I look forward to more and more history lessons. How about if you were to do a question of the day and see what we really know. It might be a fun thread.

I think it should be a question of the week though. Otherwise I'll never get anything else done.

[cosmic12]

I think it should be a question of the week though. Otherwise I'll never get anything else done.

I agree might be a little easier.

[boatme]

Charlie Good to see you as always

Marc

[wstultz]

Nice! Love the boat. Was the 39 version the black number 8 called Cigarette Hawk???

[Top Banana]

Nice! Love the boat. Was the 39 version the black number 8 called Cigarette Hawk???

No, that boat was built later in the 80's......... the 39 that was built out of the first 39 mold was Bounty Hunter for Billy Martin.

[wstultz]

No, that boat was built later in the 80's......... the 39 that was built out of the first 39 mold was Bounty Hunter for Billy Martin.

Do all of the 39's have the little freeboard kick up near the transom?

[Top Banana]

Do all of the 39's have the little freeboard kick up near the transom?

Yes, you have to remember that the 39 was just the 35 footer stretched.....that means they took the back of the boat and just kept adding on, until they got to the point where they said OK.

Now the 35 as can be seen in the photo here, Natural Light, sat low enough with the twin staggered set up.....to stretch it and not add to the freeboard, they would have had the transom underwater on a 39.

So, they added the lip to the side of the boat to bring the deck up higher on the 39 as seen here on Long Shot. They did the same thing to the 40 when they stretched the 36 footer to 40 feet.

[wstultz]

Thanks for the info Charlie. By the way, Do you know if Daddy Cool is in the same spot it was eight months ago?

[Top Banana]

Thanks for the info Charlie. By the way, Do you know if Daddy Cool is in the same spot it was eight months ago?

Sorry don't know!!.

I know that he has that boat and the old Michelob Light and has only been using the # 3 boat rather than Daddy Cool.

MARC....thanks....glad your on board here also.

[stecz20]

cool daddy is for sale on oso... its in the race boat section... just saw it the other day...

[T2x]

But it wasn't called Fountain......... and it wasn't built by either Gary or "His Shortness"......

Two questions...name of boats?

Name of builder?

T2x

[cosmic12]

But it wasn't called Fountain......... and it wasn't built by either Gary or "His Shortness"......

Two questions...name of boats?

Name of builder?

T2x

About time you showed up Glad you made it

[Top Banana]

Welcome aboard......Excalibur .....and Bill Farmer !!

[T2x]

Welcome aboard......Excalibur .....and Bill Farmer !!

Wrong on the first answer.

Correct on the second

[Geronimo36]

There's an old 39' here in NJ that sits on a trailer at Julian's Bait and Tackle on route 36... It has a 3-pack cockpit but with TRS Drives, black hull, white deck, no name.... It's behind a fence and i've never inquired, anyone know what boat that is???

Rumor has it the owner of Julians took the boat, flipped it over and pulled a mold from it , stretched it and made his own open fishing boat.....