apache powerboat founder

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Hey guys, I do not want to start a war of words here, but I was wondering if somebody would share a little of the history of these God Forsaken Apache molds everybody is squawking about. I know the Apache boats themselves pretty well, but I am clueless as to the history of the company, the various owners, and where it all stands today. Looking for a little Apache 101, without the BS opinions. Thanks.  

How much time ya got !!!!!!!! :winker: ??????  

Start here: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1135936 Hence, the animosity.  

I think you said the Apache word - uh, oh. Let me grab the popcorn - these discussions always take some bad turns. Exciting for those who are just watching. :bigsmile: <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNxdm006YYUS' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/5/5_8_5.gif' alt='Sharing Popcorn' border=0></a>  

And: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-18900.html  

Well lets start with the fact that Don Aronow had his hand in them and here´s a link to good thread. Apache is Back  

obnoxus said: How much time ya got !!!!!!!! :winker: ?????? Click to expand...

Somebody delete my thread.............I knew this wouldn't be easy! Thanks for the links so far. By the way, did Don Aronow help with the first Formula hulls?  

Oh boy, I just visited the sites you guys linked up here! What a cluster fudge. Once again, forget I asked.  

Don Aronow started Formula. I believe it was his first company. Ben Kramer started Apache Powerboats with Bobby Saccenti from the 41 mold given to Ben by Don A. Bobby owned and operated Apache "Performance Boats" that made the 22' 28' and 36'. The 36' molds were sold to Concept. When Ben went to prison for drug running, Mark McManus was appointed by the U.S gov. to run the company. McManus worked for Don A. at Cig and worked for Ben at Apache. Today McManus owns and runs Apache.  

I think Wynne did the Formula 23 for Don too.  

Jim Wynne was probably the main guy behind the first Formula and Donzi designs, but Don Aronow got the credit. Yes, Ben Kramer started Apache Performance Boats, but not with molds Don Aronow gave him. Aronow never GAVE anyone anything. I understood that the molds were modified Cigarette molds that Aronow held onto after he sold Cigarette. Since Aronow signed a non-compete clause with Cigarette, forbidding him from designing or selling V- hull boats for 5 years after the sale, he secretly was helping Kramer build Apaches with the molds. I`m sure he screwed Kramer on those molds somehow. And on February 5, 1987 Aronow was gunned down on Thunderboat Row by Robert Young, who was hired by none other than Ben Kramer. .............Pull up a chair and put on another pot of coffee, this is just starting to get good.  

This is exactly what I was hoping for! Good stuff. Question: Did Aronow have it coming, in a Tony Soprano kinda way? Not that murdering someone is ok, but you get my drift.....  

pasquesi said: This is exactly what I was hoping for! Good stuff. Question: Did Aronow have it coming, in a Tony Soprano kinda way? Not that murdering someone is ok, but you get my drift..... Click to expand...

mirage257 said: As much as I like Don Aronow's boats , nobody gives credit to Jim Wynne . Jim Wynne made successful hulls that ment to run real offshore . Don Aronow asked Jim in 1962 or 63 to make him a hull for offshore race , hence a 64 28' Donzi , Rest is history :winker: . Click to expand...

Ok back to Apache! Ben and Don were said to be good friends. either way Don helped Apache by providing a hull, whatever their arrangement was.  

Attachments

Reminds me of the Doloreon deal. Except he got jail instead of a bullet. heh  

corrado1 said: Ok back to Apache! Ben and Don were said to be good friends. either way Don helped Apache by providing a hull, whatever their arrangement was. Click to expand...

Just recently, I became very interested in the life and times of Don Aronow. I read "Speed Kills". Seems to be pretty accurate about the events surrounding his murder and this book does devote a chapter to Aronow`s life and his history in boat racing. Most of the book is about his murder investigation. "Blue Thunder" is a similar book, but it`s author had his own theory about Aronow`s murder and the authorities have proven it wrong. "Don Aronow -- King of Thunder Boat Row" is a book mostly about Aronow himself, but it was penned by Michael Aronow (his son) so I`m sure all events were seen through rose-colored glasses. How did we get so far off the Apache subject?  

There are only a couple of people that truely know the inner workings of the beginning of Apache...and they aint talking. So don't believe everything you read. It's entertaining for sure but mostly opinions and hear say. Enjoy.  

DonMan said: Just recently, I became very interested in the life and times of Don Aronow. I read "Speed Kills". Seems to be pretty accurate about the events surrounding his murder and this book does devote a chapter to Aronow`s life and his history in boat racing. Most of the book is about his murder investigation. "Blue Thunder" is a similar book, but it`s author had his own theory about Aronow`s murder and the authorities have proven it wrong. "Don Aronow -- King of Thunder Boat Row" is a book mostly about Aronow himself, but it was penned by Michael Aronow (his son) so I`m sure all events were seen through rose-colored glasses. How did we get so far off the Apache subject? Click to expand...

DonMan said: I`m sure there may be a few of those guys who masturbate to photos of old Apache race boats. Click to expand...

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VÉHICULE Presents: The Story of Ben Kramer's Apache 47

VÉHICULE talked to powerboat legend and race car driver Lorne L. about his Apache 47 – built and pre-owned by Ben Kramer – that is being restored into its original form in Miami right now.

"I saw the boat completed near the end of 1986 at Fort Apache. It was a monster – 3 engines dwarfed the 47. Ben went to one race in 1987, got busted. I thought it was at the Jockey Club in Miami.

Word got out that boat and rig were abandoned on the highway en route to the shop. I went on a mission to find that boat. No internet, everything was word-of-mouth – all fabricated stories of sightings from New Orleans East to Florida. All BS from it being in secure storage to left out behind a building full of water. All I knew was the feds had it. I never gave up on trying to locate it.

Out of nowhere I get three phone calls days apart in the spring of 1995 telling me the boat is going to auction with other boats and cars in a month at the Cape Kennedy facilities as shown in the monthly Boat Trader publication for Florida. I get a copy and its part of a double page spread. The pictures look pretty good and it's complete with the trailer, the spare engine and spare drive. So it appears it's been unmolested. I later find out the reason it took so long to go to auction was that seized assets cannot be disposed of until all appeals are exhausted for the convict.

I register and attend the auction. The boat looks great, everything looks great, surprisingly. In the office they have a video of the engines being fired up at a dock. I'm excited – most of the brokers that were in attendance knew I was serious about the boat and were already congratulating me before the auction started. The boat was obsolete as a race boat by now…

I hate writing letters, call me when convenient. You can record the answers to all your remaining questions."

VÉHICULE'S CONTENTS ARE THE PRODUCTS OF INTENSIVE, DIRECT SCRUTINY MAKING FOR A CONCISELY TAILORED CATALOG OF AVANT-GARDE TRANSPORTATION. IT ISN'T INTENDED FOR EVERYONE. LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL TO BE THE FIRST TO HEAR ABOUT VÉHICULE RELEASES.

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• APACHE STAR – WSR

The World Champion Apache Star

The Apache Star® is the most famous Deep-V offshore Kevlar® and carbon fiber race boat in history. Originally named Apache® Heritage, the boat broke multiple records and won world championships in 1992 and 1993 while writing powerboat history as the first sit-down Deep-V in the world .

Following more than 7,000 hours of painstaking work to refurbish the boat to as-new condition, The Apache Star® once again wears it’s famed Number 50 . Modern upgrades to the boat include new custom-made helmets and Recaro racing bucket seats that utilize technologies developed for next-generation fighter jets, plus twin Mercury Racing bi-turbo engines that generate a combined total of 2,700 horsepower. Apache Star® set a record for the fastest crossing between Key West, FL and Havana, Cuba on August 1st, 2015.

The Record Breaking Voyage

On August 1st, 2015, Apache Star® blazed a trail through the ocean, covering nearly 100 nautical miles in just 90 minutes! That’s over 4 hours faster than the previous boat crossing record. The epic journey started in Key West Florida and ended with a new world record for speed on the water. Keep reading to learn more about the Apache Star®!

The Apache Star Legacy

“apache heritage”.

• Originally built in 1992
• Restoration in 2012 as “Apache Star”
• Apache 45’ – Deep Vee manufactured by Mark McManus.
• Superboat class having three (3) 1000 HP engines
• Apache Heritage is the most valuable deep vee powerboat in the last 25 years of powerboat racing.
• A sale for the boat has never been advertised or promoted.

The initial cost in 1992 was $1.25 million Euros to provide Apache Heritage. The cost to replace Apache Heritage today is in excess of $3 Million.

Accomplishments

The success of Apache Heritage in 1992 and 1993 changed the future of the sport of offshore racing. The Apache 45 prototype is the only sit down Apache race boat ever produced. Apache Heritage proved that sitting under a canopy could be accomplished without problems for visibility and it added 10% to top speeds, in a safe cell for driver and crew. The design was successful winning two consecutive Super Boat Championships. Many manufacturers copied the design after production but no one has the laminate formulation or aware of how the hull was manufactured and the history of Apache Heritage has never been duplicated.

Apache Heritage was the first deep vee sit down under canopy super boat with three (3) engines in the world. It was a prototype that changed the sport of offshore for increased safety,speed and endurance.

Apache Heritage has raced 5 times, only in 1992 and again in 1993 at the Key West World Championship events. It raced against more than 25 competitors, winning Super Boat World Champion overall and total points champion in both years. These victories were over even four (4) engine catamaran boats

Press & Media

History was made in Florida on Saturday, August 1 , when the most famous offshore Deep-V race boat in US history set a new world record for the fastest crossing between Key West and Havana .

The Apache Star – a two-time World Champion , Kevlar and carbon fiber Deep-V race boat capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph – beat the current record with Apache Powerboats owner and offshore performance boating legend Mark McManus operating the throttles, and racer Roger Kluh driving. The crossing will mark the first time since 1963 that an American-built pleasure boat with an American crew has been authorized by the US government to visit Cuba.

Apache Star departed Stock Island Marina in Key West, Florida, at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 1, destined for the Hemingway International Yacht Club, Havana, Cuba.

The current record for the fastest Florida-to-Cuba crossing was set in 1958 by Forest Johnson, with a time of six hours, 24 minutes. This beat the original record, set in 1922 by Gar Wood.

The Apache Star® – originally named Apache Heritage – broke multiple records and won two world championships in 1992 and 1993, writing powerboat history as the first sit-down Deep-V in the world. Once again wearing its famed number 50, the boat has received a number of modern upgrades as part of an extensive restoration effort in preparation for its record attempt – including new, custom-made helmets and Recaro racing bucket seats that utilize technologies developed for fighter jets. Twin Mercury Racing bi-turbo engines that generate a combined total of 2,700 horsepower have pushed Apache Star to speeds of more than 115 knots in initial test drives. It took more than two years to prepare the vessel for this historic mission, and more than three years to secure the necessary permits.

Apache Star® made history on August 1, 2015, the first Pleasure boat with 4 passengers to travel from Key west to Havana Cuba in 90 minutes. The distance was 110 miles.

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