Printable View
How about a history lesson on this venerable hull including design, manufacturing, racing, and current production of the 21 Challenger, Superboat, Rallysport, Shadow, Activator, Switzer, Scorpion, and Tuffboat (did I leave anybody out?). It would be great to hear from all of you experts and fans of this hull. Also, any old and current owners; any pics you can post? There must be a ton of them floating around (no pun intended) out there. Thanks in advance;)
Don't forget Hammond,Apache,Predator,Stryker,and maybe Sonic and Hustler?. If George Linder had a dollar for every hull build from his design he would be extremely wealthy. First one I ran was at Merc Dealer Congress in 1976. They had a couple of yellow Challengers to debut their first Black Max outboard. Probrably one of the few builders to pay George was Bob Hammond,who used the running suface on the 2150 Hammond Challenger starting in 1979, It stayed in production til Hammond closed in 1983. Strkyer from Huntsville,Al aquired those molds and built them til they closed 3-4 years ago.Predator of Jasper,Al built several of the original hull from 1990-1993? There is a beautiful 21 Apache version in Orange Beach ,Al being fitted with a killer BBC now.An employee of ours has a completely restored 1981 Hammond 2150, people keep wanting to buy it but he won't sell it. A friend has a pretty rough but restorable 82 that would be cheap but needs a lot of work. It is a tribute to George's genuis that after almost 30 years there is still in my opinion no better handling 21' vee out there.
Former offshore racer Mark Weigl(TUFFBOAT) is spearheading this project with George Linder's blessing and input. The new boats will incorporate some new design features yet remain true to the original. The hulls will be built by one of the country's leading constructers. The hulls will feature vinylester resin FULL VACUUM BAGGED balsa coring ie; bottom, sides and deck. Hi quality interiors,hydralic steering as well as Gaffrig instruments along with hi quality hardware.
I have seen the new deck plug and mold and they are works of art.
These promise to be the best of the breed, combining a proven classic design with the best methods of construction as well as the lastest in materials available today.
I know the people involved and they want nothing but the best. They know they won't build a million boats, they just want to build a few good ones for enthusiasts who appreciate the difference quality makes.
If you are serious about a truly well build 21 V bottom hull this is the one.
Found these on another thread
Another
I love the Quote............ "Arguably the greatest Vee bottom ever"...... But I was talking about the Challenger 21....... and the Shadow 21 later. Who authorized my name on that banner for the Tuff Boat?
T2x....aka Rich Luhrs
T2x, I wasn't trying to cause any trouble, I don't know Tuffboat, I do think what he is doing (building a modern version of this classic boat) is pretty cool. I found these photos on someone's boat show thread, so I don't know anyting about your quote on the banner.
If it is you quote, can you share some of your experences that led you to say it?
Also regarding Hammond, I found this brochure pic on a Glastron site:
George Linder and I have been best friends, racing team mates and business associates since 1962. We both raced wooden Deep Vee Eltros in the late 60's and that "non constant" vee design later led, in part, to George's masterpiece, 21 Challenger. Later George and I colaborated on the Shadow 21 (updated deck... recessed transom....and a couple of trial "step bottoms") and , of course, The Shadow Cat. I later started Conquest Marine and we ( George and I along with Ken Adams), created the Conquest Cats (Jesse James 36' and 48', Rolling Thunder et al). These boats were made of wood/fibreglass composites constructed from a series of unique one-off designs.
The original Challenger 21 molds went to Shadow (Image Boat co.). A second set, that I was unaware of at the time, were sold , at auction to Superboat (John Coen). John marketed the design as the 21 Superboat, used cheaper hardware, and little or no core materials. (The original Shadow molds were recently sold for a pittance to a guy on Long Island.... They are in very bad shape.)
Later, Bob Hammond licensed the 21' bottom design for the very Glastron looking Hammond Challenger. This boat has a lot of fans, but not as many , I suspect, as the original Challenger/Shadow/Superboat pieces taken out of the original molds.
In the years after George and I left Shadow( early 1983)........, Raptor, Apache, Tuff boat...etc. took molds off of various Challengers, Shadows and Superboats.......some claiming George's "blessing". You must remember that George is a true gentleman, easy going, likable, talkative and outgoing. People frequently mistake this for a "collaboration" when, in fact, all it is...is conversation. "Collaboration", to me, means a paid license to sell the design with construction schedules, hardware, etc ...specified by the designer. To my knowledge, no such agreements existed with anyone but Shadow, and Hammond for the 21 footer. So.... Caveat Emptor.......
There are also a bunch of "stretched" 21's...... up to probably 30 feet at this writing....and mostly made on or around Long Island. While a lot of these guys..... talked to/invited/ displayed to/ picked the brain of....... George as well.......none of them has a "blessing" either.
Finally, You mentioned Switzer ..... I am unaware of any Switzer designs taken from the Challenger 21....or anything else for that matter. The Switzers, Bob and Dave, have always been amazing innovators and manufacturers of their own (revolutionary) designs....... (See my "Wing").
The quote attributed to me in the TUff Boat boat show banner pictured above comes from an Offshore Only.com post I authored called "Great Moments in Vee Bottom History"..... I was specifically referring to the creation of the 21 Challenger in 1976.... obviously, this has nothing to do with the 2003 Tuff Boat. Since, unlike my buddy, George, I am not a true gentleman, easy going, likable, talkative and outgoing......... This pisses me off! You can "pop" a design........ but be damn careful about quoting people by name.
Hope this helps to set the record straight.
T2x
That's great info, thanks T2x!!!
My appoligies for the "Switzer" listing, I was typing from memory and I really meant to list "Strkyer".
Anyone else have anything to add? Racing stories. Current owners and their impressions of their boats. Different power combinations tried.
I love this pic: found it here on S&F: :D
Hey,T2x,Happy Birthday. You may be as old as I am. :)
Thanks Magic:
You and I raced at about the same time...so.... you're a really old guy!
T2x
Gee whiz Rich,I see the Grumpy old man is even over here:D And here I thought you only grumped around OSO. Hope ya had a good Birthday.
Thanks Airpackr...........eh?
T2x........... Translating English into Canadian as a free accomodation
This really cracks me up.................
can this be fixed?? good thing they were built so solid or i'd be dead.