The really "Old School" boating thread

[westair]

A first from Eliminator. lol '73

Attachment 28487

I wonder how many of those they sold ..... not the safest looking setup

[Wheeler]

1975. Rudy may have had a couple out there before they went public. He was pretty good about running and testing them before selling them.
Like I posted earlier in this thread, this is Numbero Uno of the 21 ft cruiser. Not much of a race boat is it. Even has a bow rail.

I've seen one of these floating around Parker, it appeared to have more freeboard than and newer 21' Rayson.

[RyanPartridge]

1975. Rudy may have had a couple out there before they went public. He was pretty good about running and testing them before selling them.
Like I posted earlier in this thread, this is Numbero Uno of the 21 ft cruiser. Not much of a race boat is it. Even has a bow rail.
To my knowledge, nobody raced one in the GN class until around 79 or so. Maybe even a little later. It was built as a ski race boat, and it is still one of the better ski race boats in my opinion, even though the Schiada is more popular.
You should consider a different "favorite". It doesn't have the win record you would like to believe it does.
Thruthfully, there is maybe 4-5 people EVER that could race the 21 successfully, and maybe 1 or 2 of them perfered not to use the 21 even though they could win in it and you know who is not one of that 4-5 people. There isn't a long string of successful 21 cruiser drivers.
Watch Robbie Devine drive a 21 and he looks like he is constantly making steering corrections in the boat. He is. But the boat is going dead straight. Watch Joey and he looks 8/10s out of control, He is, because he isn't making the steering corrections. The 21 is QUICKER than the 20, and just as fast. It doesn't handle rough water as well UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE DOING!! At speed, in rough water, the 21 demands your attention.

I know, I know, you just love the boat. Tell me that after you have tried driving one at 100 plus. It takes some special skills to drive fast WELL. Trust me.

About 4 or 5 years ago I'm driving out to Parker, on Rice Rd, and I spot this RaysonCraft out front of McGoos. The owner's name was Gene and I want to say he may have worked for Rudy at some point, can't remember for sure. When I mentioned that I had a checkerboard Schiada flat he told me he was there when Leonard popped the first glass boat out of the mold. He said he helped deliver one to a guy back in Pennsylvania in 68 or 69. Wish I would've got to spend more time BS'n with him but his family came out of McGoo's and wanted to hit the road.

Anyways, original owner of this Rayson...I vaguely remember him saying there was a twin to this boat made.

[Wheeler]

About 4 or 5 years ago I'm driving out to Parker, on Rice Rd, and I spot this RaysonCraft out front of McGoos. The owner's name was Gene and I want to say he may have worked for Rudy at some point, can't remember for sure. When I mentioned that I had a checkerboard Schiada flat he told me he was there when Leonard popped the first glass boat out of the mold. He said he helped deliver one to a guy back in Pennsylvania in 68 or 69. Wish I would've got to spend more time BS'n with him but his family came out of McGoo's and wanted to hit the road.

Anyways, original owner of this Rayson...I vaguely remember him saying there was a twin to this boat made.

Nice Find Ryan! Thanks for the pix.

Did they make any of this model in an open bow?
I bet one could fit a dozen seats in that boat and with the freeboard it should carry the weight.

[Sharp shooter]

Hey Jerry, have you any pix of Dennis Pollocia sliding on his ass as he passed through the timing lights?

I'll look.

[Sharp shooter]

[gn7]

I've seen one of these floating around Parker, it appeared to have more freeboard than and newer 21' Rayson.

All 21 Cruisers you see racing and that vast majority of the recreational cruisers have less freeboard than the mold. There are very few full height cruisers out there, and when you see one, you know it. I have only seen one.
I think there may be a slight height difference with the boats that have the crown deck like the B&W pics I posted, the boat in the as that Shooter posted, and the ones Ryan posted. I believe the flat ski deck like the ones on the majority of the boats racing GN. The only crown deck that comes to mind that raced recently is Devine's GN47. I don't think its a lot different in the freeboard, but I think its slightly taller. The deck plays a role in how far they cut down the hull. The more they cut the sides, the shorter and narrower the boat gets and the deck doesn't fit properly and needs modifying.
The mold is about 6" taller than the boats you see racing GN. Most of the boats that are taller than the GNs are less than 2 inches taller, even though they look much taller. A full height 21 cruiser is HUGE looking. The one and only full height cruiser I have seen was a outboard center console whaler. The guy worked for Rudy back in the 70s and uses it for fishing in the ocean and runs to Catalina.

Nice Find Ryan! Thanks for the pix.

Did they make any of this model in an open bow?
I bet one could fit a dozen seats in that boat and with the freeboard it should carry the weight.

They have been built in every conceivable configuration you can think of. V drive, jet, outboard, open bow, whaler. Not too many boats that do very well in competition, ski, circle and offshore, usually do well as recreation boats. He sold a ton of them.

[2manymustangs]

We touched on this topic before and I recall you saying that all of the cruisers were cut down before the tops were put on... That is very interesting to me and I do believe that I can see the difference in the height of the transoms like your saying...

I recall Eason saying that they took EXTRA EXTRA out of the bottom of the FAT ELEPHANT BASTARD and had one hell of a time putting the top on the due to the extreme mismatch...

I'm sorry but I think they just look bitchen sitting in the water and I wouldnt be the least bit scared running a hull like this in LOTO, not at 100 but maybe 80

Jerry, in RiverRats I recall just a SHORT clip of Pat in his elephant bastard, is there more OR some good clear pics??? Caroline dug out the photo album of this boat when I was at their house a few months ago... Their girls were LITTLE ...

[gn7]

We touched on this topic before and I recall you saying that all of the cruisers were cut down before the tops were put on... That is very interesting to me and I do believe that I can see the difference in the height of the transoms like your saying...

I recall Eason saying that they took EXTRA EXTRA out of the bottom of the FAT ELEPHANT BASTARD and had one hell of a time putting the top on the due to the extreme mismatch...

I'm sorry but I think they just look bitchen sitting in the water and I wouldnt be the least bit scared running a hull like this in LOTO, not at 100 but maybe 80

Jerry, in RiverRats I recall just a SHORT clip of Pat in his elephant bastard, is there more OR some good clear pics??? Caroline dug out the photo album of this boat when I was at their house a few months ago... Their girls were LITTLE ...

I think Pat only own that boat long enough to burn a tank or two though it. It wasn't exactly around long enough to get many pics of.
Boat is still around if you are interested in buying it. No hemi though. But them you don't care, you'd want a cammer anyway.

Getting the flat deck to fit a hull that is cut down a extra bit is easier than trying to fit the crown deck. Then there is the Tub Of Fools which has the appearance of being cut down more in the back than the front. My understanding is, it was not deliberate, but due to the way the gel coat was stripped in the mold and it kind of sealed the deal on how the hull had to be cut when it came out.

[2manymustangs]

I would take a Hemi as long as it was a Arias or Donovan, I wouldnt want to risk sinking my boat with the INCREDIBLE weight of an elephant...

I like this one too: