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  1. #76
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    RE: Switzers

    I completely agree with tomaprilsswitzers.

    I don't remeber anyone owning a shooting star that set high expectations on turning and rough water handling. Speaking with Bob or Dave Switzer way back, they (Bob and Dave) drove home the fact that the shooting star was not a rough water designed boat. Back during production of the Shooting Star, there were a plethora of flat bottom designs, all fast, all quite hairy to drive and slowly these designs paved the way to v-bottoms.
    Personally, I learned to drive a v-bottom beginning with the "hugger" and "Baby Bullets". Driving any other v-bottom (after a Hugger) felt like a Sunday drive. They say if you drove and balanced a "hugger" @ 70 mph, you could drive anything.

    Unless you can convince me otherwise, I still beleive that a "Switzer" pound for pound was an engineering marval of the time and Dave Switzer was the genious behind the scenes.


    My two cents,, go sox!

  2. #77
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    I don't think I'll read all the way back through this thread to see what I've posted on it in the past since it's long and old, so sorry if this is duplicate, BUT I had what was probably the nicest original Shooting Star on the planet. It was in covered storage from early 70's, never run again, and the original owner and his daughter had a discussion as to whether it had "less than 10 or less than 5 hours" with both seeming to agree that it'd been out of the garage only 3 times and never again after 1973. I thought it was one of the coolest looking boats I'd ever owned, but also the WORST handling and riding of anything I'd ever seen. They may've been innovative in their day, but DAMN what an awful ride.


    Incidentally, mine had a Twister and Speedmaster on it, and I find some of the speeds listed here VERY DOUBTFUL to put it mildly. In the first place, they'd have shattered all the APBA and NOA Kilo records of that era if they were even remotely accurate.
    Membership upgrade options: http://www.screamandfly.com/payments.php

  3. #78
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    Here's what a Switzer should be.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 4_small.jpg  
    Bruster's Mercury solid motor mounts, details here:
    http://www.powercatboat.com/Bruster/Bruster.html
    I'm been living in fast forward, now I need to rewind real slow....

  4. #79
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    What a bummer, I planned on having that boat as part of my retirement package.

    I had one back around 68, I think it was a 66 model. Black with silver metalflake, 1100 with SSM, side mounted steering with twin buckets. The "fastest boat in town" at that time claimed 80 mph. I took his title away with a speedo that read 78. All the ladies loved it and it would lose approximately 5 mph when I took one for a ride ( the amount of speed loss was directly proportionate to the amount of beam width on board ).
    I loved that boat, knew better than to try to run it when it was rough. All my passengers were treated to the flat out skidding turn and , as you may have guessed, none of them ever asked for a second ride
    Quote Originally Posted by Raceman
    BUT I had what was probably the nicest original Shooting Star on the planet.

    Incidentally, mine had a Twister and Speedmaster on it, and I find some of the speeds listed here VERY DOUBTFUL to put it mildly. In the first place, they'd have shattered all the APBA and NOA Kilo records of that era if they were even remotely accurate.

  5. #80
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    A 1970 newspaper article showing Alan Wynn's record-setting Switzer in one of his earlier attempts with this boat is shown on the Bridgesboats site. A later attempt set another record of 114 MPH with him and the boat crossing the finish upside-down after a blowover.
    Remember, the engines of the time were small on cubic inches compared to what has been available to the average boat owner in the last 25-30 years. The utmost attention was paid then to underwater drag, water conditions, speedmaster direction of rotation, etc. and not the brute torque from the hopped up large cube, fuel-burning special-built engines today. This is one reason you see all the 3,4,5 and 6 engines on some of the off-shore rigs of the time. 90 and 100 cubic inches was not much compared to todays power-plants.
    I too owned a Switzer Shooting Star (a wooden one) and I had to pick my water to run it on and most of the other boats of the day did to if they tried to keep up.The wooden Switzer bottom was much different than the later glass ones and ran igh on the nose. The aluminum angles on the glass ones were not on the wooden ones because the bottom had these air traps built in and tapered to the rear of the boat.

  6. #81
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    Quote Originally Posted by Raceman

    Incidentally, mine had a Twister and Speedmaster on it, and I find some of the speeds listed here VERY DOUBTFUL to put it mildly. In the first place, they'd have shattered all the APBA and NOA Kilo records of that era if they were even remotely accurate.

    RM...The Switzer shooting Stars DID hold APBA and NOA kilo records.....but the boats used for those attempts were the wooden ones...not the glass hulls.... To my knowledge none of the glass flatbottomed SS's set any records to speak of.

    There was a 13 foot version that was cute as a button with a merc 500 on it in E class.

    T2x
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  7. #82
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    Smile NOA records in Shooting Stars

    Alan Wynn set NOA records with both wooden and fiberglass boats; the fastest was with the glass boat with a 1350 stacker.

  8. #83
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    Single engine marathon

    For such a crappy riding boat how did they ever win the marathons in the 60s, this one won in 66 I believe
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails 640xU7Star.jpg  
    "EVEN DUCT TAPE CANT FIX STUPID"
    20' STV, 17'Action, 16' Fantasy, 25' Checkmate Convincor w/twin 2.4 Offshore EFI's SOLD, Allison XR2001 Drag, Allison 15R, Allison 16R, Allison 2000SS Elite SOLD, Glastron Carlson Scimitar, Contender, Challenger, Glastron Carlson Corinthian & CT-15, Switzercraft 20SS SOLD, Switzercraft 20SC, 1966 Switzer Craft Shooting Star, Glastron GT160,
    13', 15 & 16 Lasers, Switzercraft 13'

  9. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4-MULA-V
    For such a crappy riding boat how did they ever win the marathons in the 60s, this one won in 66 I believe
    Nobody said they were slow

  10. #85
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    Marathon Switzer

    I was saying that a marathon is usually a little rougher ride than a trip across the duck pond. Nothing then rode good by todays standards, the guys that raced then with that kind of equipment were either nuts or REAL racers.
    "EVEN DUCT TAPE CANT FIX STUPID"
    20' STV, 17'Action, 16' Fantasy, 25' Checkmate Convincor w/twin 2.4 Offshore EFI's SOLD, Allison XR2001 Drag, Allison 15R, Allison 16R, Allison 2000SS Elite SOLD, Glastron Carlson Scimitar, Contender, Challenger, Glastron Carlson Corinthian & CT-15, Switzercraft 20SS SOLD, Switzercraft 20SC, 1966 Switzer Craft Shooting Star, Glastron GT160,
    13', 15 & 16 Lasers, Switzercraft 13'

  11. #86
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    Quote Originally Posted by 4-MULA-V
    For such a crappy riding boat how did they ever win the marathons in the 60s, this one won in 66 I believe

    FYI.......

    In the early 50's a young Jon Culver won the Hudson River Marathon...racing 130+ miles from Albany to NYC......

    He was racing in, I believe, a B utility or BRR........ ON HIS KNEES......!

    In comparison to that..................... a flat Switzer was a limousine.

    T2x
    20 Foot Switzer Wing 2 X S3000 (Dust'n the Wind II)
    !6 foot Wood Eltro Vee (2X Merc 1500's) (Dust'n the Wind IV)
    15 foot Powercat 15C (2 X Merc 1500) (Dust'n the Wind III)
    (Single engine boats are lacking something)
    15’ Wooden Switzer Shooting Star...
    16 foot Lee Craft Merc S 3000-(Gold Dust II)
    (The exception proves the rule)
    Obsolete and Proud of it

  12. #87
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    Ride quality

    T2x I think the key word in your information is "young", I dont know how they did it.
    "EVEN DUCT TAPE CANT FIX STUPID"
    20' STV, 17'Action, 16' Fantasy, 25' Checkmate Convincor w/twin 2.4 Offshore EFI's SOLD, Allison XR2001 Drag, Allison 15R, Allison 16R, Allison 2000SS Elite SOLD, Glastron Carlson Scimitar, Contender, Challenger, Glastron Carlson Corinthian & CT-15, Switzercraft 20SS SOLD, Switzercraft 20SC, 1966 Switzer Craft Shooting Star, Glastron GT160,
    13', 15 & 16 Lasers, Switzercraft 13'

  13. #88
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    A little hard data to back up some of the comments......
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Bob1960-Racing -ab.jpg  

  14. #89
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    Record setting fiberglass Switzer

    Click on this link for the newspaper article of a record setting fiberglass Shooting Star in 1970 (94.9 two way average) This is one of many records that Alan Wynn set and broke during the late sixties and early seventies in both wooden and glass Shooting Stars:

    http://groups.msn.com/bridgesboats/wynnrecord.msnw
    Scott


  15. #90
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    I live one mile from the original factory and have lived there most of my life, my ex brother-in-law was a painter for Switzercraft. As a young man growing up, I spent alot of time at the factory and test site in Algonquin Illinois. As far as I was concerned there was no better place to be @ 6:00 am than at Algonquin watching Bob drive and fly a Switzer,,,great years and great memories!

    Was your X brother in law Howie who used to be partnered with Bill at Burtons Bridge Marine?

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