Hi guys, looking at replacing all stringers and floor on my 233. What's the best way to support the hull while I remove all the stringers at once. Any advice would be appreciated.
hi simon i made a very precise cradle for mine that was adjustable and portable, its very critical to make sure the hull has no twists etc when its been glassed back together. if you have a look on you tube under the name galaxy 11 fishing you will find a movie on mine with pictures of the work we done under our floor in my 233.
cheers jim
Cheers Jim, have seen your rig on formula 233 website. You have done an amazing job. One other question for you is where on the boat was the Haines hunter plate you showed in one of your photos. Cheers
it was on the transom inside the well. are you trying to find yours?? and what year hull is yours??
cheers jim
It's a very early model,Early 70's or older. Still trying to work out if it's an old thunderbird or Haines. Would like to find out one way or another .
Ive confirmed mine was made in 1972 and at goodna in Brisbane by john haines and back in the early days it had thunderbird stickers on it and now some experts tell me its not?? so how do we find out?? one bloke reckons they have a different front deck to mine??
cheers Jim
The only point of difference I can see with ours,is your transom is slightly different. The step in your transom above the motor is a little larger and more square than mine. The later model Haines is even larger. Mine kind of blends in with the transom in the middle. Have you got any photos of the your original setup.
Cheers simon
The transom pad is a potential indicator of whether you have a Formula Thunderbird 233 or a Haines Hunter 233.
On all the Thunderbirds, the top of the transom pad blends in to the upper center of the transom.
I'm not sure if this is also true for some of the very early HH 233's, but do know that they changed it at some stage. On the more recent HH233's, the transom pad is pronounced all the way around.
As for Formula Thiunderbird, they made several changes to the deck and helm of their 233's in 1973, making it easier to pic a manufacturing year range.
The deck and helm on the HH 233 is the same as that on the 1972 and earlier Thunderbird 233's.
Jim, do you have any idea of when HH made the change to the transom pad? Alternatively, it would be great if you could post a pic of your transom here.
Hi hh, I think aroun 78 Haines changed the deck arrangement and the more pronounced transom pad, but does anyone know when Haines first started production of the 233. 72 is earliest I have heard of.
I'm not sure what year HH started producing them either but do know that the change to the transom pad occurred very early in the piece. For example, Jim's boat is a 72 model and his transom pad is different to that on the Formula Thunderbird 233's. (I found a pic of Jim's on Youtube)
Having said that, they may have changed the transom pad twice, as I have noticed some appear more pronounced than others.
Thanks spiro, if you have a look at my photos on formula registry(Simon s) There is a photoof my transom. I was told it was a Haines, it has green resin/glass and the gelcoat is that baby blue of the Haines generation. All the a mercian formulas on the site seem to have a brown layup. Would like to hear your opinion.
Cheers Simon
galaxy 2 final 063.jpgIMG_0275.jpggalaxy 2 final 007.JPGgalaxy 2 final 015.jpghi here are some photos.
Very nice Jim. Thanks for putting them up. There's no doubt in my mind that yours is a Haines Hunter F-233
Hi Simon, I searched the registry and cant find any of your pics. Are you able to post a few here.Originally Posted by simon656
In the meantime, I've made calls to a few contacts and have asked:
1. In what year did HH start producing the 233?
2. In what year did HH alter the transom pad?
With Jim's being a '72 it's clear the answer to both above questions is pre-72, however, I have not been able to get firm answers for either.
If all else fails, I'll contact HH as I believe they still have all the original drawings.
Ooooops, just found them. It's not easy to find things on there.
Simon, your transom is the same as Jims. That together with the other information you have posted tells me yours is also a Haines Hunter F-233.
The deck and helm on your boat are same as that on pre '73 Formula Thunderbird 233's. If you search the US sites, you'll see they went away from the curved gunnel and helm sat basically adjacent to the entry in to the cabin. Pre '72, the gunnel and helm are just like yours.
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