Wings

[Fast Fred]

lookin for production numbers for the 18' hull, and or blue prints of the same.
guna plug a pic of one up hear so ya know the ones i'm talkin about.
http://img424.imageshack.us/img424/131/missdiablo059uv.th.jpg (http://img424.imageshack.us/my.php?image=missdiablo059uv.jpg)
like this one

See more Wings Here: http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3

[Mark75H]

There are no blueprints and the molds were destroyed in a fire at the factory in the late 1960's. Production numbers are in the letters Dave Switzer wrote in answer to some queries a few years back: There were 40 18 footers.

[Mark75H]

I think there were 4 wood Switzers and 23 20 footers, total of 67.

Dave only mentions one weight, I think it was an early 18 footer 1,000 fully loaded.

[Fast Fred]

so the Miss Diablo is a glass wraped hull? no pic of the wing strucksure in side?
what dose a 1350 stacker weigh in at? :cool:

[Mark75H]

The construction is basically eggshell. There is no significant "structure" inside any part of them. The motors weigh about 300 each. The motors on the boat with the weigh quoted were 100's souped up to 125+. They weighed a little less.

[Fast Fred]

so 18' and 20' are the only sizes? what did the 20' weigh in at? what was transome weigh on a 20'? did thay make a 20' with the lines like the Miss Diablo

:cool:

[Mark75H]

The only weight I recall being mentioned is that one 18 footer.

20's look a little different from the 18's ... there is some minor variation in many of them. There were a few center cockpit Switzers, I think they were all 18's.

[Ron Hill]

Looking through this old 1970 Powerboat...cool picture of Jerry Walin at the wheel of this first DeSilva Wing ever built...

[Skoontz]

The more I think about it, I remember the Switzer wing that was errected with a USA-1 winning banner in front of the Switzer Boat company was a center steer. Is there anyone here who ever visited the Switzer company on Rt. 14 in Crystal Lake, Illinois? Also, after a killer windstorm, or even a micro burst I think, the boat broke into pieces because they mounted it on 4 4" diamter postes in a position making it appear to fly. I also beleive this boat was a faded black color from the sun/weather around it, and no one ever shined it. There it sat, this funky weird looking boat in a very peculiar spot......Anyhow, that's how I remember it, anyone else??????

[Miss BK]

During those hard years they actually made more money building portable outhouses and mobile offices than they ever did making boats.

It was the same way in the 90's. We built giant flower pots and medical trash bins so we'd have enough income to build race boats! lol You don't know how common that is....

Now that I think of it, I dont think the shop we went to was in Crystal Lake. It was a shop pretty far from his home - we drove for quite some time - but not sure where it was??? This was only about 5 years ago.

Here's the boat he and Brad were playing with....
http://www.powercatboat.com/Switzer/NewSw01.JPG

[Fast Fred]

well think it has to do with ware your from, the old guys called it rocker,Hook,
hook was and is something You do not want, that is when the hull comes around
with no request to do so.seems to have alot to do with how much flex the Booms have indapendantly of each other.

are you goin after 117mph wing record, or 112 or what ever it is?

[Fast Fred]

all hulls have it, negitive, neutral, or possitive.
the Hook that T2X is talkin about is the same thing as rocker.
which is the the profile of the shoe front to back when the hull is level as it would be on plain.

hook is allso used to talk about the big suckin dent in a hull when glassed poorly, seems to happen when you pullit to early. or the layers don't kick right.

[Mark75H]

all hulls have it, negitive, neutral, or possitive.
the Hook that T2X is talkin about is the same thing as rocker.
which is the the profile of the shoe front to back when the hull is level as it would be on plain.

hook is allso used to talk about the big suckin dent in a hull when glassed poorly, seems to happen when you pullit to early. or the layers don't kick right.All hulls do not have it. Rocker does not universally refer to the trailing edge shape. Rocker refers to a convex bottom shape only, hook refers to a concave bottom shape only. If your boat is straight and flat it is just straight, flat or "true" ... it has no "rocker" or "hook" ... No terms such as "neutral hook", "neutral rocker", "negative rocker" or "negative hook" are commonly used or understood.

I've never heard "negative rocker" before this thread ... and I know guys from all over. What you and your friends are doing is making up your own language; you'll have a hard time communicating with other racers if you don't use the same terms the same way.

"Hook" as a verb, where your boat spins out, is completely different and not related to or caused by bottom shape.

[T2x]

All hulls do not have it. Rocker does not universally refer to the trailing edge shape. Rocker refers to a convex bottom shape only, hook refers to a concave bottom shape only. If your boat is straight and flat it is just straight, flat or "true" ... it has no "rocker" or "hook" ... No terms such as "neutral hook", "neutral rocker", "negative rocker" or "negative hook" are commonly used or understood.

I've never heard "negative rocker" before this thread ... and I know guys from all over. What you and your friends are doing is making up your own language; you'll have a hard time communicating with other racers if you don't use the same terms the same way.

"Hook" as a verb, where your boat spins out, is completely different and not related to or caused by bottom shape.

Well said Sam.......

Isn't that the name of a Rock Group?

Or am I thinking of John Lee Hooker?

Or an ageless Rocker named Mick?

Perhaps Fred is on to something....soon we can say things like my inverted step hull is in need of additional post planing reflective hook, whereby I am capable of attaining a noticeable reversal of decrease in mph allowing me to repair the broken record..... easily.:D :D :D

T2x

[Fast Fred]

wow, mess with Freddy day, even the dude with the 500+hp dust collector:eek:
OK Mark75H, ware did you say i could get that book,drawing progam thing?:cool:

[Mark75H]

wow, mess with Freddy day, even the dude with the 500+hp dust collector:eek:
OK Mark75H, ware did you say i could get that book,drawing progam thing?:cool:http://www.aeromarineresearch.com/index.html

With this information you could possibly design and build a boat that looked like a Switzer, but worked even better (excuse the blaspemy ;) )

[Skoontz]

hook is allso used to talk about the big suckin dent in a hull when glassed poorly, seems to happen when you pullit to early. or the layers don't kick right.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's the one I was talking about.....

[T2x]

wow, mess with Freddy day, even the dude with the 500+hp dust collector:eek:
OK Mark75H, ware did you say i could get that book,drawing progam thing?:cool:

That's 700+ hp dust collector to you fella......:p

T2x

[T2x]

Thanks for the pic. That's the first picture I remember seeing of a center seat wing.

Mercury cut off the upright cowlings and cockpits of the wooden Miss Skyway Wing and decked over the resultant open sponson areas. They then placed a single cockpit in the center of that wing as well and Dave Craig raced it in the January 1966 Orange Bowl Regatta. He was not competitive and I never saw the hull again. I was told it was burned shortly thereafter.

T2x

[Mark75H]

Mercury cut off the upright cowlings and cockpits of the wooden Miss Skyway Wing and decked over the resultant open sponson areas. They then placed a single cockpit in the center of that wing as well and Dave Craig raced it in the January 1966 Orange Bowl Regatta. He was not competitive and I never saw the hull again. I was told it was burned shortly thereafter.T2x

Could you go back and look again, it doesn't look like a wooden boat to me: post# 16 (http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22525&postcount=16) It just means there was more than one center cockpit Wing

[T2x]

Could you go back and look again, it doesn't look like a wooden boat to me: post# 16 (http://www.boatracingfacts.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22525&postcount=16) It just means there was more than one center cockpit Wing

I'm talking about a different hull...the one in post #16 is a standard glass 18 footer with a hole in the top of the wing section and no standard cockpit cutouts. The Skyway was cut down to a flat deck layout.....

T2x

[Fast Fred]

Canadian, Thunderbolt 16, Not sure i'm likein this style deck, am Likein the P-38 look of the 18'er, but for sure likin the way She flys, (we call it climin on the Bubble, but that mite not be how you say it, but that is what she's doin and doin it well.:eek: ) with 280hp.:cool:

[Mark40H]

Quincy Boat Club held its sixth annual classic boat and motor show this weekend. Thursday evening we learned that Kenny Kitson was coming with the Switzer Wing. On Saturday we had some high winds. Kenny decided not to run the boat. We did have some excitement as Dale Littlejohn from Peoria IL brought his Glastron Carlson single cockpit tunnel with a 150 Merc on it. Dale made three nice passes but on the fourth pass headed south, he caught the wind and blew it over backwards. Luckily Dale was not seriously injured - some minor bruises and scratches. The boat was busted pretty good but it is repairable.

On Sunday morning the weather was heavy overcast and we had a 1.5 inches of rain. At about 1:30 it cleared up a little bit and Kenny did get the Wing in the water many passes for all to see the boat in action. The crowd was very appreciative. Kenny and I had a great conversation about several of the old drivers who used to come and race in Quincy. For those of you in the Midwest area, the Quincy show is getting bigger every year. We would like to have anyone with old racing equipment to come join us next year. Quincy is located 300 miles SW of Chicago and 135 miles north of St Louis and 245 east of Kansas City on the Mississippi River.

Steve Roskowski, a mod racer, from Indianapolis area brought over a real nice restored McDonald cab-over. The show is usually held the third weekend of September. Mark your calendars and I will post the dates on the events and happenings forum next year.

I tried to post five photos from today but was unable to do so. Kept telling me I was not logged in.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Try again Mark 40H. It used to not do that but for some time now, If you try to write or post something that takes a little longer, you get logged out. When it does that just scroll down where it says member name and password and log back in. It will save your stuff, you will have it posted and you can go on back to the forums. Otherwise, if you don't, all what you have done just vanishes in the ether.

[Rocket Man]

Here's my memories of Kenny Kitson. July 4,1965 he was at Lake Park in Lake of the Ozarks. My last vacation with my family before I left for Viet Nam, Republic of. He was tuning and tweakin'. I couldn't believe the turning radius!
I met him, asked a lot of dumb questions and he answered them all even though he was obviously very busy. A real Gentleman.
Forever in love with the Wings I took a Polaroid of the Black U4 boat in Chicago at a boat show. I don't know who owned it at the time but I think he was a member of the Chain of Lakes Race Club

[Ron Hill]

I wanted to post these Wings from Hot Boat.

[Fast Fred]

thanks for them thare shots ROCKET MAN, got that P-38 look, ya 65 was agood year:cool:

[largecar91]

What Color Was The T-119 Boat In The Picture That Rocketman Sent?? Anyone Know What Happened To It?

[Fast Fred]

feelin some blasphemy comin on:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :cool:

[Rick Connolly]

Mercury cut off the upright cowlings and cockpits of the wooden Miss Skyway Wing and decked over the resultant open sponson areas. They then placed a single cockpit in the center of that wing as well and Dave Craig raced it in the January 1966 Orange Bowl Regatta. He was not competitive and I never saw the hull again. I was told it was burned shortly thereafter.
-T2x

I asked Dave Craig about this rumor. In 1966 it was not a cut down wing he was driving. It was a completely different hull that didn't work very well. The canopy Miss Skyway was turned back into Mercury never to be seen again. Rumor has it the boat was destoyed when Mr K left Mercury.

Barry the red w/white stripe 119 wing was first Kenny Kitson's and then he turned back into Mercury when he got the lighter Miss Diablo III. Ernie Threlkeld got it next and ran for a while then gave it back to Mercury....it's has never been seen again to my knowledge.

[T2x]

I asked Dave Craig about this rumor. In 1966 it was not a cut down wing he was driving. It was a completely different hull that didn't work very well. .

I don't think that this qualifies as a "rumor" since I was there and raced against it. I will, of course, defer to Dave, who actually drove the boat. I was told at the time that the boat was a cut down Miss Skyway, and, as we have seen, there was more than one of those. In any event, it was all white, had a center cockpit....and didn't perform well.

T2x

[Skoontz]

Switzercraft had a white with red inlay boat very much like T-119 set on 4" pipe in an offset position in front of their factory on Rt 14 for years. It had lettering that said USA-1 on it. Then, about 1979, we had the killer winter from hell. Back when car emmisions were causing GLOBAL COOLING...Bong da De Bong Da De Bong.... Anyway, the car emissions caused global cooling, which in turn produced lots of snow in 1978-79. So much snow that in 1980, a chicago election was lost to the first woman mayor ever elected...

A greater loss, as I read through this thread to global cooling, was the boat Dave and Bobby had on display, which cracked in half and dropped around the poles to the 36" of snow on the ground. As the snow melted during the beginning of the global warming cycle, which we are now heading out of, the boat broke further and further. As the grounds crew began it's spring clean up, it was cut up and taken to the burn pile. Old man Switzer had passed away 10 years or so before, and, if he was alive, that boat would have been restored to race condition and resurrected...That was a guy who could be given a set of boat plans and in 24 hours, the craft would be ready for paint....

Instead, that great boat, USA-1, on disply for 10 years in the Illinios elements, was lost forever, to global cooling......

[Rick Connolly]

A lot of interesting boats got destroyed by out living their usefullness and the ravages of time.

[Ted March]

Funny thing, that happens to people all the time in the corporate world.

Reagarding the wing you're referring to that Ernie had. Was that the one he blew ober at Norristown, PA? I was there with him at event. So were Jack Leek and Paul Kalb. Quite a story behind that deal.

[Rick Connolly]

Reagarding the wing you're referring to that Ernie had. Was that the one he blew ober at Norristown, PA?

Not sure where Ernie blew his over. It was destroyed and running GT-115's. Can you share anything you remember about it ????

Picture is of Jan's wing which got wrecked in kilo run

[beaver]

hi rick is that your yellow wing?

[Rick Connolly]

Yes, took me 5 months to track it down... A little more info and pictures can be seen here....there are two pages - http://www.retroboats.net/gallery/main.php/v/Switzer+Wing/Don+Edmonson/?g2_page=1

[Skoontz]

What gearcases were on the black and white, or the fourth picture in the list?

[Rick Connolly]

BP's gear cases I believe. I was given them when I bought the wing........wish I had the motors as well. Was told they wound up at the bottom of Havasu when a Kitson Craft they raced blew over. It was pulled up in the late 80's with the stackers still on the motors.

[Rick Connolly]

BP gear cases I believe. I was given them when I bought the wing........wish I had the motors as well. Was told they wound up at the bottom of Havasu when a Kitson Craft they raced blew over. It was pulled up in the late 80's with the stackers still on the motors.

[Rick Connolly]

I could never really pin that one down. As a "semi" educated guess I would say 1962 for the wood wings and 1964 for the fiberglass 18' wings and 1968 for the 20' wing.

[Mark75H]

No need to guess, here are the direct quotes from Bob Switzer:


In 1961, the Switzer (U4) wing was a major breakthrough in the twin engine Stock Outboard Pleasure Craft Class U. (Unlimited engines but required to be a minimum of 15 feet in length.) The first Switzer Wing was built in 9 days, just prior to the [1961] Winnebago Outboard pleasure craft event, where the Switzer Craft Wing finished first overall


started making an 18 ft. version in 1965, there were 42 of the 18's made in all. And, a couple of years later, we tooled up a 20 footer, with a lower profile wing that was actually ahead of it's time. It actually needed faster engines. There were only 20 of the 20 footers made in all.

I think the fire was around 1968 ... That's why there were only 20 20's ... but they had excess stock of 20's at the time and had no reason to rebuild the molds. By the time the last 20 was sold, they were being outclassed by twin Moli's that could both fly and turn.

There were 5 wooden Wings before the 18's. Grand total of 67.