1969 Hydrostream Panther?

['69 Panther]

Hello all,
I just purchased to what I believe is a 1969 Hydrostream Panther. Its a true tunnel hull design.
From my understanding these are very hard to come by and a part of racing history as they were sold as race boats when Hydrostream first started out??

Can anyone give me any info on these boats, maybe to what the value may be, where I could look for more info?
I checked out the hydrostream registry and theres very little info on these boats.
Thanks for your time
Chris

[BUSHWACKER]

There is an e/m address that you can ask Questions on the International Hydrostream Owners site.

['69 Panther]

Ive tried that and it bounces back.
Alot of the links on the site seem to be down.
Thanks though
Chris

[Raceman]

I've never seen one, but if is in fact a true tunnel from the 60's/70's, I'd be VERY careful with a V6 on it. The current thinking then was usually a lot of lift with the tunnel since the engines were considerably smaller than now. Most boats from that area are easily blown over with V6's.

[Mark75H]

Reread the information on the Hydrostream Registry very carefully. The Panther is important in Hydrostream history .... but it is unknown in racing history. It does not say the Panther was sold as a race boat, nor that any Panthers were actually raced.

I would really enjoy seeing more pictures of the bottom from the front and back ... it is truely a one of a kind find these days! I bet a lot of others would be interested in seeing pictures too.

Like Raceman says ... 140 hp, as listed on the Hydrostream page, is probably all that is safe on a Panther.

['69 Panther]

It has a 100hp 4 on it now, and im sure thats all id want on this little thing, prolly enough to scare me as is.
Heres a few QUICK pics, as it started to down pour as soon as I stepped outside.
Ill get better ones tomorrow.

['69 Panther]

Two more.

[1BadAction]

neato... a tunnel hull ventura 1

['69 Panther]

Pretty much huh? Heres a quote from the registry.

SPECIFICATIONS:

<TABLE cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=2 width="54%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width="100%">

• "Catamaran Sport Hull"
  
• Length: 16'
  
• Beam: 74"
  
• Depth: 28"
  
• Transom Height: 15"
  
• Power Range: 80-140 HP
  
• Seating: Back-to-back buckets
  
• Available Colors: Red, Blue, or Yellow "Fire-Glass"
  

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


There are a few HydroStream Panther hulls still around, but they are rare enough that few people have seen one, and very few know they even exist - unless they are visitors to this website. As obscure as it is, the Panther model is one of the most important hulls in HydroStream's history. Although it is a true tunnel bottom, it was actually the foundation for the development of the formidable HydroStream V-bottom hull. Here is the brief history as told to me by Howard Pipkorn:

While in St. Louis, Pipkorn visited a Mercury team racer who described a new type of tunnel hull boat he had seen that was very fast and had great performance. This boat was a Molinari, a plywood-built boat from Italy. As many boat history enthusiasts know, the Molinari introduced some new innovations in tunnel hull design, and the result was a great performing boat that influenced a lot of new designs from other builders, including Howard Pipkorn.



This Merc racer sketched out the bottom shape for Pipkorn, and he ended up making the Panther which used this hull design along with a deck that was an adaptation from his Cougar design. The Panther turned out to perform fairly well, and it was great in rough water, but a friend of Pipkorn's said he wouldn't be able to sell it since tunnel hulls were still a relatively new concept at the time. His friend said he needed a V-bottom and should just splash a Glastron (like many others did at the time) and start from there. Pipkorn agreed about coming out with a V-bottom, but he took a different approach: he took his Panther hull and flipped it over. He literally cut off the sponsons so that the tunnel area now actually became the pad. He shortened the keel in the back by 5" - this recessed pad was a huge innovation and was the basis of other model Streams that followed. It's design was a built-in setback that gave the engine a longer leverage point and a better dispersion of water back to the prop. So innovative and influential was this design, that Pipkorn regrets to this day not having patented it.

The result of the Panther conversion: the Ventura, a spectacular boat that went on to set many records and was the boat to beat on the race course.

[Richard]

having had a few hydrostreams in the middle and late 70's, it's always great when I read about finds like yours. Never heard of a Panther and I thought I knew them all. Nice find and good luck.

[tico frank]

You might want to get a boat cover soon I hate to see that boat uncovered in the rain.

[lilbuff]

I also purchased a Panther.
However, I'm at a loss on how to register it cuz I do not have any numbers on it. I also can not find a whole lot of info on it. If anyone knows anything, or knows someone that knows something...feel free to contact me [email protected]

Thank you,
Tom

[racerallen]

Hello back,I have a 1986 Ventura II and the deck looks identical. The bottom here is a mod V with pad.

[Se7]

The Panthers were raced here in MN , Region 8, primarily with Merc 1100 and 1250's. They were quite fast and great in rough water. Many were finished in the heavy metal flake Pip liked.

[LakeFever]

Theres a YouTuber restoring a panther now. Rum’nboats, doin a fine job too. Give the guy a watch and a like

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nx8oO4TadxM