1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

[Trauma King]

Hello members! I have been out of the boating scene for about 15 years and have just had a nice present dropped in my lap.

1972 19 Foot Thunderbird open bow cathederal Tri-hull not quite sure what the "model is. it has a drive on trailer and a 1976 Mercury Cruiser "Tower of Power" in line 6. It has been in storage for about 10 years. Any information on this boat would be appreciated. It was given to me flat out so it will become my winter resoration project.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

Sounds like a great project for the winter. Once you get into that Merc, head for the Mercury section here with your questions. Lots of folks who will help you there.

For the boat, check the boat restoration section. They can help you with any problems you discover.

And read those sections, too. The search tool here works really well to find long discussions about things you may want to learn.

 

[oops!]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

yup....welcome......this is a great place.....instant answers...and lots of good friends......

check out the resto section and post picks......we look foward to seeing the proj

cheers
oops

 

[rimojop]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

Used to run one of those when I was a sailing instructor up on lake Michigan in the 70s. we used it for our"crash boat".
Pretty indestructable, bit of a rough ride in a chop. Ours was an I/O not an outboard.
If you can find any copies of the old "Flipper" TV show, you'll see that T-birds were always used in that show.
Good luck, have fun!

 

[hibbert6]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

I'm Jealous! My tri hull is only 15' with a 65hp Merc. The Tri hull design spoiled my family - it feels more roomy than an 18' i/o, even if it's open bow. So now that we need a bigger boat, I'm having to look at 20 footers. But I can't afford a 20' boat...

Maybe I ought to look for one like yours. Congratulations!

Dave

 

[rockyrude]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

Sounds like your i/o is a commanche, I've got a 70 apache outboard version. It is a well built boat. Hope yours was stored indoors, mine wasn't and had to do a total rebuild, nothing really hard. Lots of fun, if sreiner sees this he'll be a lot of help as he collects thunderbirds.

 

[Trauma King]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

Sounds like your i/o is a commanche, I've got a 70 apache outboard version. It is a well built boat. Hope yours was stored indoors, mine wasn't and had to do a total rebuild, nothing really hard. Lots of fun, if sreiner sees this he'll be a lot of help as he collects thunderbirds.

Rocky it seems I have a 1972 "Apache" as it is a 19 ft. with an outboard.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

From www.fiberglassics.com, the 1969 version of your 19' trihull was rated for 200 hp. I doubt that changed by 1972.

They have a brochure on the site for the 69.

 

[gene8084]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

Congratulations!

Mine's a bit younger, 1974 Thunderbird Formula 180 .

Check out the vintage brochures on the Formula website it you haven't already.

http://www.formulaboats.com/vintage_formula/vintage_brochures.aspx

Good luck.

Gene​

 

[grenman25]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

I am having some trouble deciphering what my boat is. It somewhat looks like a 1972 Thunderbird Apache. The title says the Year and Make is "1972 THUND", not sure if that is Thunderbird, Thunderbolt, or Thundercraft. The HIN is only 7 digits long, and the series/body is "POGPR18", when i look up the MIN coding, "POG" comes up as Pro Glass MRN-Valdosta, which went out of business in 1984. Can someone help me with this? I have pictures posted at the following link;

http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0049.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0050.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0046.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0047.jpg

 

[jarrpal001]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

I am having some trouble deciphering what my boat is. It somewhat looks like a 1972 Thunderbird Apache. The title says the Year and Make is "1972 THUND", not sure if that is Thunderbird, Thunderbolt, or Thundercraft. The HIN is only 7 digits long, and the series/body is "POGPR18", when i look up the MIN coding, "POG" comes up as Pro Glass MRN-Valdosta, which went out of business in 1984. Can someone help me with this? I have pictures posted at the following link;

http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0049.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0050.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0046.jpg
http://i1018.photobucket.com/albums/af310/grenman25/boat/IMAG0047.jpg

its a thunderbird

 

[rockyrude]

Re: 1972 Thunderbird Open Bow Tri-Hull

I'm guessing by now he figured it out.