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Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 10:05 AM
A couple days ago, a good friend here mentioned that he was thinking about buying an older 24' Excalibur that was green. I told him that there was a good chance it was my old 1977 which I custom ordered with that color. It was the first forest green Excalibur that they had built, and the president told me when I went to Sarasota to pick it up that they liked it so much after they popped it that they were going to shoot a couple more. It was stolen from my condominium property in about 1979 and the insurance company settled with me. In about 1983, a friend told me about a green Excalibur for sale in the Dallas Morning News classifieds. I called the insurance company to see if it was still listed as stolen - it was. So we called on the ad and went to see it - pretending to be buyers. It was my old boat, so I turned it over to the Dallas detectives who set up a sting and confiscated it along with the Rolls Royce the guy was driving. After it all settled out, it turns out the guy could prove he bought it from 3 other guys who could prove they bought it from a younger guy who apparently was the one who actually stole it (he was out of jail on boat theft probation for having stolen a doctor's boat in Dallas). The thief let it cool off in Galveston for a couple years before selling it is what I heard from the detectives later. Anyway, here are a few pictures of it now after my friend just picked it up Wednesday evening in Fort Worth. Unbelievably, most of it is still like when I bought it with no color changes, etc. Small world. :yes: Bill

MDonziM
01-22-2011, 10:57 AM
Thats a pretty wild story Bill. The boat still looks cool and original. Did you spot it for sale again and your friend bought it ?

Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 11:17 AM
Thats a pretty wild story Bill. The boat still looks cool and original. Did you spot it for sale again and your friend bought it ?

No, my friend told me about it on Tuesday, and I told him that it was probably my old one when he said it was green. When he got to Fort Worth to buy it, he called me with a few details that clinched the fact that it was indeed my old one.
Yesterday when I went by to see it, he mentioned that he would like me to Imron it back to the original color. I painted a dark blue 22 Donzi for him a few years ago that turned out near perfect in trade for some engine/outdrive work. I might actually do it since it would bring my old boat back to its former glory. :yes: The stringers, floor, and deck seem solid. He will be replacing the bad transom anyway due to converting from TRS. Bill

1996Z15
01-22-2011, 12:21 PM
That is a great story; I always liked the looks of those old 24' Excaliburs. I recall there being a lime green one around the Margate, NJ area during the '76-'77 timeframe. As I said, it was lime green and white, had a Berkely jet and was named the Exorcist. Never really saw it running as I usually saw it getting gas at the dock.

Please post progress pictures of your old boat.

Barry Eller
01-22-2011, 02:08 PM
In downtown Pensacola, there is an old Excalibur outboard. It belonged to the late Sam Patti. Sam was one of Joe Patti's sons. The Patti family has been in the seafood business in Pensacola for decades. Joe Patti Seafood is ranked as the 3rd best seafood market in America, behind Pikes Market in Seattle and one I can't remember the name of that is in New England somewhere. In the link at the bottom, there will be changing header photos and one of the photos is in front of the market and the "Patticake" can be seen. The next time I go there, I'll take my camera and get a good shot of it.
http://www.joepattis.com/Joe-Pattis-Seafood-Company-Welcome.cfm

2donzi2
01-22-2011, 02:31 PM
Hey Bill,

I just bought this one back in Sept from Tennessee. Bought from second owner who owned it 10 yrs, freshwater, 454 TRS. Boat is water ready, but I am going to do a makeover on it keeping it completely original. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who can make a set of original "Excalibur" decals do you? Gonna get rid of that ugly stuff on the side. I've always liked the old 24's. Thinking about getting rid of my Hornet and maybe the 18.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 06:04 PM
Hey Bill,

I just bought this one back in Sept from Tennessee. Bought from second owner who owned it 10 yrs, freshwater, 454 TRS. Boat is water ready, but I am going to do a makeover on it keeping it completely original. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who can make a set of original "Excalibur" decals do you? Gonna get rid of that ugly stuff on the side. I've always liked the old 24's. Thinking about getting rid of my Hornet and maybe the 18.

Wow! Yours looks as if it is already restored. No, I don't know where you could get new decals, but my original decals looked a lot like yours - just smaller and set about two feet from the transom. I see you got the newer style dash layout like my 1977 had. My friend is going to see if he can get new decals made from the pattern of what is left - maybe you could do the same. Very nice looking boat! Bill

smidgen too
01-22-2011, 06:11 PM
Hey Bill,

I just bought this one back in Sept from Tennessee. Bought from second owner who owned it 10 yrs, freshwater, 454 TRS. Boat is water ready, but I am going to do a makeover on it keeping it completely original. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who can make a set of original "Excalibur" decals do you? Gonna get rid of that ugly stuff on the side. I've always liked the old 24's. Thinking about getting rid of my Hornet and maybe the 18.

You could try RYAN BECKLEY he can make most any decal..
www.KineticAnimation.com (http://www.KineticAnimation.com)

Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 06:20 PM
I should add that someone replaced the really nice chrome on brass hatches with the cheap plastic ones on it now. Excalibur did not use cheap hatches. Bill

2donzi2
01-22-2011, 06:41 PM
Yeah, those are the decals i'm looking for. Almost in the same spot as a cigarette decal. Mine does have the chrome on brass hatches as well. The only thing I wished it had was the teak platform. Previous owner put a ski tow bar mounted on the transom which will be coming off and am probably going to get a powder coated aluminum platform made. Thanks for the info.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 06:59 PM
Yeah, those are the decals i'm looking for. Almost in the same spot as a cigarette decal. Mine does have the chrome on brass hatches as well. The only thing I wished it had was the teak platform. Previous owner put a ski tow bar mounted on the transom which will be coming off and am probably going to get a powder coated aluminum platform made. Thanks for the info.

A nice powder coated swim platform would really set it off better than the old school teak one anyway. Since the beam is only about 6' 4", it won't take a lot of material - lol. Speaking of teak, does yours have a teak floor like mine did? They also added a teak strip under my lifeline which I ordered. Bill

2donzi2
01-22-2011, 07:51 PM
A nice powder coated swim platform would really set it off better than the old school teak one anyway. Since the beam is only about 6' 4", it won't take a lot of material - lol. Speaking of teak, does yours have a teak floor like mine did? They also added a teak strip under my lifeline which I ordered. Bill

No teak floor and no center strip of teak, just the lifeline and hatches. My 26 Corsa had the teak strip down the center with the same hatches. Buckets were replaced, but rest of interior is original, even the beige carpet in the cuddy. The only thing that drives me crazy is the way they hold the rear deck hatches up. An aluminum rod going across the fire wall on each side. Makes for a real pain to work on, plus with the 7' beam leaves little room in the engine compartment. I can do practically anything I want on my Hornet, but this thing certainly doesn't give you much room to work other than on top of the motor. I'm sure you remember when Frank Pillsbury Sea Ray was selling them for awhile. There were a few blue ones and a few orange ones running around lake Lewisville back in the day. Blue ones were 350-280's and the orange ones were 454-330's. Yours also had the bolsters which was nice. Mine has the buckets. Little more room in my cockpit.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-22-2011, 10:34 PM
No teak floor and no center strip of teak, just the lifeline and hatches. My 26 Corsa had the teak strip down the center with the same hatches. Buckets were replaced, but rest of interior is original, even the beige carpet in the cuddy. The only thing that drives me crazy is the way they hold the rear deck hatches up. An aluminum rod going across the fire wall on each side. Makes for a real pain to work on, plus with the 7' beam leaves little room in the engine compartment. I can do practically anything I want on my Hornet, but this thing certainly doesn't give you much room to work other than on top of the motor. I'm sure you remember when Frank Pillsbury Sea Ray was selling them for awhile. There were a few blue ones and a few orange ones running around lake Lewisville back in the day. Blue ones were 350-280's and the orange ones were 454-330's. Yours also had the bolsters which was nice. Mine has the buckets. Little more room in my cockpit.

I actually bought mine through Frank Pillsbury, but I drove down with the custom built Magnum trailer to pick it up. They messed up my custom order a little - like mine did not have thru transom exhaust as ordered. Also, there was a back order for the 370HP 454 so I settled on the 330HP. A good friend on Lake Lewisville, Johnny Simms, talked me into buying mine since he took me in his orange one for a few runs. After I bought mine we ran together a few times at Lake Lewisville, Lake Texoma, and a fun trip up the Arkansas River to Russelville through the locks with a few other Dallas boaters. Surprisingly, Johnny had the 370HP with thru transom exhaust, but my 330HP with thru hub exhaust ran the exact same speed. Good times - :yes: By the way, mine originally had the buckets - someone added the bolsters later. Bill

Greg Guimond
01-23-2011, 08:24 AM
Pretty cool story Bill! Good to see a bunch of the old Excalibur's being reclaimed, I always thought the boats lines were some of the nicest. I did not remember the beam being that narrow, is the beam 7' of is it 6'6" and is that truly the widest point of the boat or is the measurement taken across the transom? There are not many wave crushers out there that were built with 6'6" beams in the 24 foot class.

Conquistador_del_mar
01-23-2011, 10:38 AM
Pretty cool story Bill! Good to see a bunch of the old Excalibur's being reclaimed, I always thought the boats lines were some of the nicest. I did not remember the beam being that narrow, is the beam 7' of is it 6'6" and is that truly the widest point of the boat or is the measurement taken across the transom? There are not many wave crushers out there that were built with 6'6" beams in the 24 foot class.

I believe beam is a measure of the widest point of the hull, but we measured 6' 4" at the top of the transom on the outside of the rubrail yesterday after talking about how narrow the hull was. The running surface width across the bottom of the transom was in the mid 5' range, but we did not try to get it exact since the transom assembly was in the way. They are narrow boats. Yep, I always like to see the older ones restored. It has been a while since I have seen a 24' Excalibur here at Lake Texoma, but there were quite a few in the early to mid 1980s. My friend will probably want to upgrade the drive, but I am going to try to talk him into using a TRS speedmaster that I have and probably won't be using. Bill

Greg Guimond
01-23-2011, 11:04 AM
Interesting to say the least. My Warlock measures 6'2" left edge to right edge at the transom rub rail. I always thought it was the narrowest boat of its size that still had a 24 Degree old school V. Looks like those Excaliburs are right next to it with the 6'4" transom width. That narrow a boat makes for a fast hull for sure. Good luck to you and 2Donzi2 with your 24's. Be cool to see if anyone else on the board has an Excalibur 24 :cool!:

Conquistador_del_mar
01-23-2011, 11:38 AM
Be cool to see if anyone else on the board has an Excalibur 24 :cool!:

In a picture album I posted a while back are three 24' Excaliburs I have owned/restored. The green one shows when I owned it in about 1978, a brown one, and a light blue one I restored that used to be yellow. Bill

http://www.donzi.net/forums/album.php?albumid=72

smidgen too
01-23-2011, 01:16 PM
I believe beam is a measure of the widest point of the hull, but we measured 6' 4" at the top of the transom on the outside of the rubrail yesterday after talking about how narrow the hull was. The running surface width across the bottom of the transom was in the mid 5' range, but we did not try to get it exact since the transom assembly was in the way. They are narrow boats. Yep, I always like to see the older ones restored. It has been a while since I have seen a 24' Excalibur here at Lake Texoma, but there were quite a few in the early to mid 1980s. My friend will probably want to upgrade the drive, but I am going to try to talk him into using a TRS speedmaster that I have and probably won't be using. Bill
Bill narrow you bet !! My Cobra is the same hull but with twin 302 Holman Moody eng's. I had this one for about 5 years but hope to start this project this summer. Mark h2o

rchevelle71
01-27-2011, 07:36 AM
Be cool to see if anyone else on the board has an Excalibur 24 :cool!:

Not an excal, but close. nice boats everyone!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcJn92joEsM check out the :27 second mark

tmitchell
02-01-2011, 09:35 AM
I have almost finished restoring a 24 Excalibur. Had the decals custom made locally from and original black and white advertisement. Went by memory for the colors, worked a couple of customers Excals over the years. If need be let me know I will try to find out if the company still has my artwork available.

2donzi2
02-01-2011, 10:05 AM
I have almost finished restoring a 24 Excalibur. Had the decals custom made locally from and original black and white advertisement. Went by memory for the colors, worked a couple of customers Excals over the years. If need be let me know I will try to find out if the company still has my artwork available.

yes, i could definately use them. I know exactly what they look like, just can't describe to a sign company to produce them. Your help would be greatly appreciated! If you have any pictures, would like to see them. Thanks, Mike

RBT
02-04-2011, 02:40 PM
Cool thread,

I am in muskoka canada, I had a Blue 24, and there is a green 24 still on the lake.
Looking at this thread sorta makes me wish it was never sold.
It had a 330 TRS, when we first got it, when it was sold it still had the trs, but a merln headed 454 with a b&m 174 blower, gil exhaust, latham steerng etc. A LOT of money into that boat.

BUT, what I am getting at it I am 90% sure i still have some ORIGINAL from Bill Farmer Excalibur decals.

Conquistador_del_mar
02-04-2011, 03:24 PM
Cool thread,

I am in muskoka canada, I had a Blue 24, and there is a green 24 still on the lake.
Looking at this thread sorta makes me wish it was never sold.
It had a 330 TRS, when we first got it, when it was sold it still had the trs, but a merln headed 454 with a b&m 174 blower, gil exhaust, latham steerng etc. A LOT of money into that boat.

BUT, what I am getting at it I am 90% sure i still have some ORIGINAL from Bill Farmer Excalibur decals.

Highly cool about the decals. I met Bill Farmer when I went to pick up my boat in 1977 - good guy. Bill

OFFSHORE GINGER
02-04-2011, 05:20 PM
Not an excal, but close. nice boats everyone!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcJn92joEsM check out the :27 second markDawg , whats up and how are you ?

OFFSHORE GINGER
02-04-2011, 05:23 PM
Bill narrow you bet !! My Cobra is the same hull but with twin 302 Holman Moody eng's. I had this one for about 5 years but hope to start this project this summer. Mark h2o Mark , how many projects do you have and how fast was the Cobra at WOT ?

Greg Guimond
02-20-2011, 09:14 AM
Here is a brochure on the 27. On the 24 footer, I did not realize the width across the transom was 5'8" or 68" :shocking: