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Robert Geoghegan
01-11-2002, 09:43 AM
The following are photos and text from my restoration of “White Knight”, a 28’ Magnum/Donzi Race boat.

Photo # 1.I first considered purchasing “White Knight” back in 1989 after seeing an advertisement in a local boat shopper for a 1967 28’ Magnum Race Boat hull. Due to business commitments, I decided on the hour long drive home, not to buy her.
Imagine my surprise when 9 years later I stumbled across her sitting in the same spot. I bought her the next day.
Although” White Knight” was at best a “Handyman Special”, I could see the beauty in her if she was fully restored. I also knew this was Not a weekend project! I bought the boat “as is”, which was the hull only, no hardware, engines or drives.
The following needed to be replaced, repaired, or rebuilt:
· The deck forward of the cockpit was replaced with plywood at some point, the entire plywood deck needed to be removed.
· The deck from the cockpit aft was balsa cored and water saturated and needed replacing.
· The transom, cutouts for 2 drives was exposed to rain, needing replacing.
· Several Bulkheads needed replacing
· 3 huge gas tanks, foamed in place needed to be removed.
· 2 Stringers needed replacing
The Hull was actually in good shape, no stress cracks, spider cracks or blistering.
Photo # 2. The ugly plywood deck.
Photo # 3. After removing the plywood deck, Dura-core balsa strips was epoxied together and then fiberglassed over.
Photo # 4. The cockpit and engine area,-notice the * power washed engine hatch.
Photo # 5. The fuel tanks, one 100 gallon, two 80 gallon tanks had to be cut apart in order to be removed. The Tanks were “foamed” in place-causing bulkheads on both sides of the tanks to be shot. The Foam was water saturated which took dozens of hours to remove.
Photo # 6. The Balsa was so saturated; I could squeeze out water like a sponge. The Balsa is sandwiched between two layers of glass. I set the saw for 1/8”, and cut the top layer of glass off. This left the bottom layer to act as a form, this worked out well.

After purchasing the boat, I found out through previous owners, that this was Billy Martin’s “Hustler” and Don Aronow’s original “Maltese Magnum”, the 1967 World Champion! There are some great photos of this boat in “The King of Thunderboat Row” on pages 72/73, and Searace.

For those of you who noticed that the transom was cut out for 2 drives and the photos from the book showing a single drive, the boat was changed over to a pair of small blocks when it became “White Knight”. (I know some of you are very observant) Also, Thunderboat Row refers to this boat as a 27’; it is a 28’, which is a different hull and deck then the 27. It is sometimes referred to as a “High Deck”. The book Searace does refer to this boat properly as a 28’.

Looking forward to your comments!
Bob Geoghegan

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan1.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan2.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan3.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan4.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan5.jpg

http://www.donzi.net/photos/bgeoghegan6.jpg

Voodoocanoe
01-11-2002, 12:26 PM
Wow, What a great piece of history you have there.
That picture of the deck reminds me of a 32' Excalibur that my father had in the late 70's early 80's in S.Fla it was fiberglass of course but it had a highly varnished mahogany deck on it boat was red with blue stripes and carried the trademark Excalibur sword on the sides, It also had Kiekhafer 482's with Patterson stainless headers on it that exited thru the deck just above the rubrail. I think it was the only one like it that mr.Farmer created, I have always wondered where that boat is at these days, if it still around.

RickSE
01-11-2002, 02:06 PM
Awesome! Looks like a fun project. Are you restoring it to its original racing condition? I've always wondered why more people haven't started snatching up these old race boats and restoring them. I wonder how many old one are left around. They seem like an important part of our history, like an old racecar.

Keep the pictures coming.

olredalert
01-11-2002, 10:11 PM
Robert,

------What a neat find!Im not telling you anything you dont already know but it is a huge commitment.Truly will be worth the effort though.Im very envious.
------What makes it even worse is that I passed up a chance to buy one of the original Banana boats of Dons back in 1997 or so.It actually appeared to be in better shape than your project.Sometimes my stupidity even amazes me............just......dumb.......ol red!

Robert Geoghegan
01-12-2002, 08:57 AM
Voodo, Rick, OL'Red,

Thanks for your input! I've wanted to post photos for a while, however I'm not very computer literate. A friend at work scanned the photos and posted them for me.
I've had the boat for a couple of years, the first year, I gutted the boat, second year-nothing(didn't have the money)third year fiberglassed the deck. Currently, I had a professional re-gelcoated the sides. I will gelcoat the deck when warmer wheather comes. I'm having 2 new stringers put in and having the transom replaced. I picked up a 502 Merc, the next huge expense is the drive.
Initially, I was going to set it up as a typical performance boat-two bolster seats and a back bench seat, however after contacting one of the previous owners, I found out this was Aronow's original 1967 World Champion "Maltese Magnum". Once I found this out, my plans changed to make it as close to original on the outside, but modern power/drive.
I was also hoping to have it used in the Aronow movie, but it appears that this may not happen.

What ever happened to the Bannana boat that was tracked down about a year ago in Mich? I was hoping one of the board members would bye it.

I should be making alot of progress this year,(just paid off 2nd mortgage!) I'll post more often in the future.

Thanks for your encouragement!
BOB G.

Forrest
01-12-2002, 07:02 PM
Robert, you have a big job ahead of you, but it will be worth it! Keep us informed as your historic Magnum comes together. You never know, I may actually be able to answer a few questions since I've had my 1972 27 Sport for a few years now and done a ton of stuff to it.

Robert Geoghegan
03-30-2002, 07:55 AM
TTT,
Just sanded/buffed one side after having it sprayed with Gelcoat. Looks Beautiful! Re-gelcoating was much easier than I thought it would be.

BIG BAD DONZI
03-30-2002, 11:14 AM
This a great story, just a few questions?

Who converted this 1967 US/World Champion single engine 27' into a the 28' "White Knight" racer with twin small blocks.

What races did the "White Knight" compete in with its twin small block engines and how did it perform?. Which small blocks were they?

When did Billy Martin take ownership, before or after the conversion? Did Billy race this boat in the 60s? If so, where and how did he do?

How did the boat end up in the condition you purchased it and who did you purchase it from?

Love hearing the history!!

Robert Geoghegan
04-02-2002, 08:24 AM
Big Bad,

It's nice to know others are interested in some classic history!
I purchased the boat from a man in Heightstown NJ who had plans to restore and race the boat. Marriage and kids interfeared with his plans. The boat sat for 10 years collecting water. I contacted the former owner, Frank Lach,who raced the boat as White Knight, and he offered valuable information as to the boats history. According to Lach, he converted the boat from a single big block to twin small blocks. (I was later able to verify that this, while redoing the transome-I found the patch for the single outdrive, I have photos of this which I will post later) I dont know all of the races it entered, however, as a kid, I saw White Knight race in the first Benihanna Grand Prix in Pt. Pleasant NJ, 1974? I believe it ran the previous year in the Hennessy Grand Prix.
I think this boat was Martin's original "Hustler",
he later had Hustlers 1,2,3,4 and then "Bounty Hunter". I dont know what years Martin ran this boat, but it is mentioned several times in John Crouse's book Searace. Martin also from North Jersey, bought the boat from Aronow who was a major builder in Jersey.
Aronow ran the boat as "Maltese Magnum" in 1967, as a single. There are several great photos in "Searace" and "The King of Thunderboat Row". This is the same boat that hit a helicopter during a California Race.
One other interesting note, I'm friends with Rich Sutphen Jr., after meeting Rich Sr., I found out that Rich Sr. had done fiberglass work for Martin on this boat after he bought it from Aronow.
If you want some Great history, you must check out "Searace" and Michael Aronow's "The King of Thunderboat Row"! Happy Reading.

Formula Jr
04-02-2002, 10:05 PM
Bob, don't know how to say this correctly, but Big Bad Donzi probably doesn't need to refer to "King Of Thunder Boat Row", unless he is signing a copy.

:D

Robert Geoghegan
04-03-2002, 07:12 AM
Learn something new everyday. Maybe I should get my copy autographed.

Secret F233
04-03-2002, 02:41 PM
WOW eek! What A thrill I didn't realize the magnitude of the People on this Board. I AM Honored & Very Proud to be apart of this. Thank you for all of the treasured memories fellas you'll never know what it means to me & others that I get to share them with!!!!!

Dr. Dan
04-03-2002, 07:50 PM
wink

ToonaFish
04-05-2002, 10:01 PM
Thank you all for the best belly laugh I've had in ages... this site is the greatest!

Bunches,

Celene 'it's a small world after all!'

MIKE MEROLA
04-06-2002, 08:47 PM
rob g

get him to come to toms river nj .to see the boat

McGary911
04-09-2002, 05:44 PM
BobG,
Bob, I was just cruising OSO (bored at work) and came across this pic labeled Florida 1972. Is this your boat?

White Knight Magnum? (http://offshoreonly.com/cgi-bin/gallery/index.pl?photo=468)

If you click on the 'see all of users photos' link, there's a ton of other pics of this boat.

I lived in East Windsor, 1/2 mile from the Hightstown border about 5 or 6 years ago, and your boat looks a little familiar. I may have seen it sitting somewhere, but for the life of me I cant remember where.

Good luck with the resto'

Donzified
04-22-2002, 06:34 PM
http://www.yachtsalvage.com/Listings/32Excalibur82.htmn An Excalibur Classic.

Christian
04-22-2002, 09:09 PM
911, neat-o pics.
maybe there was more then 1 WL?

http://rosebudracing.tripod.com

Stay well and happy boating!
Christian

HELLERBOY
04-29-2002, 05:59 PM
great project. :cool:

Voodoocanoe
05-01-2002, 09:33 PM
Donzified
Extreme Member
Member # 790

Member Rated:
posted April 22, 2002 06:34 PM
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http://www.yachtsalvage.com/Listings/32Excalibur82.htm An Excalibur Classic.

--------------------
Keep your nose up

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Posts: 90 | From: Mi | Registered: Sep 2001 |

WOW that is real close, Except for the dual cockpit set up.

MIKE MEROLA
07-30-2003, 07:46 PM
Rob

Hows the the boat come out ???

Mike

Robert Geoghegan
07-31-2003, 12:30 PM
Mike,
I have recluctantly sold "White Knight". The good news is that I sold it to a man in Seattle Washington who is going to be restoring it as Don's original raceboat. I could have sold it locally-several fisherman thought it would make a perfect center console. However, I accepted the offer from the man in Seattle ONLY because he is going to restore it to it's original condition. I just don't have the time (working 2 jobs) or the energy to continue with this project.
Soon I will be hauling the boat out to Milwaukee and meeting up with the new owner, I will then hitch it up to his truck and wish him the best of luck.
It would have been so much easier to sell the boat locally, but I feel I'm doing the "right" thing by selling it to someone with the energy and forsite to complete the restoration. I will miss working on her! :(
In the mean time, I'll be on the race course (P5)with the new Sunsation.
BOB

vintageoffshoreclassic
12-04-2003, 11:06 AM
:D Group,

I like too say, the boat lives on, I'm the new owner. Bob is still very much involved with the project and the plan, now the boat is being restored to it's original racing condition?

Many contacts have been made to find all the correct information about the boat, R. Powers, Lake X, and others to be named at a latter date. I would like to say the transom is complete and the bulkheads, and stringers and being re-wrapped with 1700 woven roving (old school) the deck will be the next item to address.

Anyone with information, Pictures, or old rigging supplies
please contact me @ Hhulman@hotmail.com

:D Hugh VOF

smoothie
12-04-2003, 05:06 PM
Pleeease keep us posted with pics,It would be great to follow your progress to the end with this pc of history,who knows maybe it will end up in a movie someday :cool:

oldLenny
12-06-2003, 10:42 AM
Hugh, I see that I am going to have to cross the Strait this summer and see this beauty! More Aronow history in my back yard! Yee haa, keep it coming.

70 nautical miles from you, Lenny

vintageoffshoreclassic
01-12-2004, 04:24 PM
Lenny,

Any time I can use good help (smile) we really are making good progress.


Hugh