1968 19' tahiti

brushhippie

brushhippie

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I recently found this hull, (Im a sucker for old, rare) it is a 68 Schuler, Tahiti 19 foot ski boat. It had a 455 Olds in it but it looks like they left the plug in and it filled up with water plus the exhaust manifold are split so it froze as well. no motor. It has a Berkely jet outdrive, Ive never owned a jet drive before but after wrecking more than a few lower units I look forward to having something without one! I have no idea about production number but I know it was built to look like the old woodhulls, anyway this is what Im starting with.
jetboat (6).jpgby (4).jpgby (6).jpg
 
Pmccraney

Pmccraney

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

I'm normally not a "go fast" boat type of guy, but this one hits my eye right... I really like it. Hopefully the tractor is yours too (because its also very cool)... You probably have a lot of structural work ahead of you in terms of stringers, transom, etc... , but there are tons of "how to(s)" around here on that if fiberglass work is something new to you.... I would watch Friscoboater's vids on his Carlson as a starting point...

Of course, you will need to figure out the power situation too, which will add some expense finding that and mating up to that jet (which hopefully works)...

Again, nice boat and welcome aboard...
 
L

Lone Duck

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Nice looking hull. You will have fun reviving it. BE AWARE!! When you have a Jet drive you tend to get cocky and run in skinny water on purpose , next thing you know , your hull is sliding over the rocks or gravel. The other thing is that the jet will suck up leaves and weeds & mud & sticks etc. I run a jet because of the skinny water in our river and I have to tell you there is nothing like running a back channel in 5" of water. Of course I have a wood hull with teflon on the bottom.
 
GWPSR

GWPSR

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Neat lines.

Of course, before the gang can begin to tell you how bad the stringers and transom are, and start predicting how much it'll take to rebuild, you'll need pictures of the inside :)

Edit: Seems three of us were piling on at the same time, and the "it's probably all rotted" warnings have begun even without pics :)
 
Last edited:
River_Lizard

River_Lizard

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Nice boat. Looks like it'll sit inches from the water too. A 455 would push that thing right along!! Look forward to the updates on your progress with it. Good luck.
 
Last Mohican

Last Mohican

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Subscribed. Cool old boat. The bottom looks real similar to a Rogers Cyclone. What part of the country are you in? Might sign up over at performanceboats.com as well. There is a very active jet section over there. I see talk about the Schuster tahiti's every now and then over there. iBoats is a great resource (Maybe the best out there) for hull restoration but there is not a very big jet crowd. When it comes time for the mechanical part PerformanceBoats.com will be just as valuable.
 
jigngrub

jigngrub

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

GWPSR said:
Of course, before the gang can begin to tell you how bad the stringers and transom are, and start predicting how much it'll take to rebuild, you'll need pictures of the inside :)

Edit: Seems three of us were piling on at the same time, and the "it's probably all rotted" warnings have begun even without pics :)
Click to expand...

No need for interior pics with the:
It had a 455 Olds in it but it looks like they left the plug in and it filled up with water plus the exhaust manifold are split so it froze as well.
Click to expand...

description.
 
RogersJetboat454

RogersJetboat454

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Nice looking boat!

Once you get done getting the hull back in fighting shape, the jet drive should be pretty strait forward. If you plan on sticking an Old's back in, be prepared for a pricey build!
 
brushhippie

brushhippie

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

GWPSR said:
Neat lines.

Of course, before the gang can begin to tell you how bad the stringers and transom are, and start predicting how much it'll take to rebuild, you'll need pictures of the inside :)

Edit: Seems three of us were piling on at the same time, and the "it's probably all rotted" warnings have begun even without pics :)
Click to expand...
This hull, the floor is the bottom for all but right up under the seat forward so the floor is solid and the transom (which really doesnt do anything) is solid as well. With a jet all the torque goes to the beams the engine mounts to and the bottom of the boat. This hull design was "splashed" from a Glastron with the aqua lift hull which they borrowed from a dealer overnight, there isnt alot of info on these things but its clear it was a stolen design! Im in Mo with lakes all around cant wait to get her back in the water.Oh inside....here you goes edit there was about 300 pounds of frozen leaves and a giant rotten "couch" that came out of it.
Tahiti (3).jpgTahiti (4).jpgTahiti (8).jpgTahiti (9).jpgTahiti (10).jpg
I stand corrected there is a strip right up the center that is about 2 foot wide that is not bottom from the motor well forward and it is solid! woo hoo!
 
Bondo

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,... Sweet find,.... Good news is, with those Berkeley's, you can still buy parts for...

The Olds is pretty outdated though,... A Nice BBC would be the Best option to replace it...

Ya got alota work ahead of ya, but the pay-off oughta be a Sweet ride...
 
jbcurt00

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Olds 455
Jet
BBC

Splashed from a Glastron mold....

Hecks yeahs I'll gladly tag along.....

Lots of sweet possibilities sitting right there in a field, filled w/ frozen leaves...

455 or BBC, you'll likely need to replace the smallish twin tanks (6gals or less each?) w/ some extra capacity :D
 
brushhippie

brushhippie

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

jbcurt00 said:
Olds 455
Jet
BBC

Splashed from a Glastron mold....

Hecks yeahs I'll gladly tag along.....

Lots of sweet possibilities sitting right there in a field, filled w/ frozen leaves...

455 or BBC, you'll likely need to replace the smallish twin tanks (6gals or less each?) w/ some extra capacity :D
Click to expand...

Yea no, that wouldnt last long! But I dont know about adding alot of weight either, there were two more tanks, one on either side in the back as well somebody has removed them.
 
Last Mohican

Last Mohican

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

If the gunnel tanks look to be original I would return to that configuration. It was pretty common for jet boats of that era to have twin gunnel tanks. I would do the best you can to determine the original config and return to that. Moving that much weight around can really affect the way the boat performs.
 
QC

QC

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Those were very common here in the early 70's. I love that boat. Most that style didn't have engine covers, but I always loved the glassed Tahiti cover. And I especially like the tumblehome which was also not common except on a few models. What was common were 17 - 21 foot jets, and she is a fine example. I note it has CF numbers. Those pics don't look much like CA except maybe around Redding. Where you from?
 
brushhippie

brushhippie

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

No that boat went from Cali to Texas then here in Mo. I just lucked into the guy I got it from wanted the trailer it was on and was going to burn the boat.....close one!
 
V153

V153

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

Not many people are aware of the Glastron-Tahiti/Sidewinder link. The Wriedt Flier hull is quite similar as well. Along with a few others. The early Checkmates & Bajas had a fair amount of Glastron in em too but I don't know that they were based on splashes.

Cool boat. BBC all the way. Mebbe not as authentic as a 455 but much cheaper in the long run. Mebbe use some'a that saved money to buy a depth finder ...? Heh heh heh, j/k! Ya jet pump parts shouldn't be a problem. Still widely available, so shop around.

Looking forward to seeing this project progress!
 

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Last Mohican

Last Mohican

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

V153 said:
Not many people are aware of the Glastron-Tahiti/Sidewinder link. The Wriedt Flier hull is quite similar as well. Along with a few others. The early Checkmates & Bajas had a fair amount of Glastron in em too but I don't know that they were based on splashes.

Cool boat. BBC all the way. Mebbe not as authentic as a 455 but much cheaper in the long run. Mebbe use some'a that saved money to buy a depth finder ...? Heh heh heh, j/k! Ya jet pump parts shouldn't be a problem. Still widely available, so shop around.

Looking forward to seeing this project progress!
Click to expand...

Great info in that attachment. Thanks for posting that. Harlin Orrin still posts over on PB from time to time.
 
V153

V153

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Re: 1968 19' tahiti

This is a Wriedt Flier: Look familiar? Mebbe kinda like a Sidewinder?

That crazy kid dumped more money into restoing that thang, and it did look good. But on a bad day I could still smoke him with the V153 ...
 

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