Dateline speedboat

[g0lib]

I have a 16 foot speedboat made by Dateline(Bikini), I can't seem to find any information about the company, can anyone shed any light about the firm.

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: Dateline speedboat

Dateline Boats were manufactured at Dockray Hall , Kendal in the 70's. The range at the time consisted of the Suva, Samoa, Bikini, Bounty, Bounty GL, Fijian and Hawiian. They ranged from circa 13 feet to Circa 21ft inboards and outbords. The most popular were the Bikini and Bounty with their classic wrap around windshield and very streamlined bodywork. Still quite stunning 30 years later.

The most popular models; the Bikini and the Bounty were actually clones of an American boat called the Super Sidewinder 16 (Bikini) and the super sidewinder 18 (bounty). Dateline changed only minor styling to get around copyright.

This is a super sidewinder 16:

The Sidewinders were a much better constructed boat. The wood, glass and strength were far superior.
I'm just finishing a full rebuild on a bikini (see sig) and I've done it to sidewinder specs and then engineered my own few tricks here and there.

Hope that helps

 

[spoilsofwar]

Re: Dateline speedboat

Awesome reply, just about 10 years later.

 

[oops!]

Re: Dateline speedboat

16 foot dateline bikini

yep......excellent post .....

however......as noted.....this an older thread....

lets just let this one die in the archives.

if another poster has questions about the same or similar hulls, they can start a new thread,,,,,,,,this one will be in the archives

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: Dateline speedboat

Haha sorry guys. Didn't notice the date on the original post :facepalm:

 

[phillnjack2]

Re: Dateline speedboat

why put something in the archives when people are posting and reading this today.

Ive only just seen this thread and would like to put my two penneth in.






I had a dateline Bikini, and to be honest i thik they were crap .
Nothing to do with build quality,just terrible hull design for what looked like a great all round sports/speedboat.
As far as it being a copy of a usa boat i dont think that is correct, i think dateline boats had the bounty out
before the american sidewinder.
The bounty came in a 16ft inboard version atleast before 1973 as i rode in one in 1972 at windsor on the thames.
During the 1980's i had a Bikini, 15ft with 70hp Volvo on the back, great on a lake or river, but when put on sea it
was a dangerous boat.
I wanted it to perform like my trusty old broom speedboat, it was a close call in straightline speed on river, but
terribly unpredictable on the sea as to what it would do in waves.



phill

 

[kwik_uk]

Re: Dateline speedboat

why put something in the archives when people are posting and reading this today.

Ive only just seen this thread and would like to put my two penneth in.


View attachment 142569

View attachment 142570

I had a dateline Bikini, and to be honest i thik they were crap .
Nothing to do with build quality,just terrible hull design for what looked like a great all round sports/speedboat.
As far as it being a copy of a usa boat i dont think that is correct, i think dateline boats had the bounty out
before the american sidewinder.
The bounty came in a 16ft inboard version atleast before 1973 as i rode in one in 1972 at windsor on the thames.
During the 1980's i had a Bikini, 15ft with 70hp Volvo on the back, great on a lake or river, but when put on sea it
was a dangerous boat.
I wanted it to perform like my trusty old broom speedboat, it was a close call in straightline speed on river, but
terribly unpredictable on the sea as to what it would do in waves.



phill

Hi Phill, I agree with you regarding the performance of these boats on the sea. It just doesn't work. Unless it's a perfectly flat and calm day I never take mine out past the mouth of the river.
On the river however it runs like a dream, very smooth and very stable.

The Super Sidewinder was filed for patent in 1969, and it was granted in 1970 and they went straight into production. From what I've managed to find out, Sidewinder boats had a real issue with people copying their hull design. In 1971, Ken Baker, president of Sidewinder Marine, Inc. in Palo Alto, California was in litigation over a lawsuit filed by Sidewinder Marine against twenty manufacturers, who had copied the Super Sidewinder design, first produced in 1970. Imitators included Marlin, Tahiti, Wriedt, and Taylor.

My Bikini used to work at it's best on lakes. Loch Lomond in Scotland was particularly nice

Mark

 

[john_g]

hi all.. newbie here.. I think I have brought a dateline .. can anyone confirm?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-...Ovz4bim04Tw/w1598-h899-no/20140608_123256.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...eo5uNPDGEEk/w1598-h899-no/20140608_123322.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...uGVXvswWaBw/w1598-h899-no/20140608_123306.jpg

had a quick look at Mark's blog on here earlier, and my boat is slightly different.. I have 'tubes' or stringers I guess, of FG crossing the boat hull , which Marks doesn't seem to?

boat is not in good shape, but trying to get it looking ok ..

concerned about comments regarding use in anything but flat water..

John

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard John - it's against forum rules to post in a thread older than 90 days, unless your the original poster. Kinda' tough to tell right now as our recent upgrade has the place kinda' scrambled lookin'.

I don't know the Dateline boats enough to tell you if you have one ... but it's cool lookin'.

Start a new topic in this forum, and you'll probably get a lot better answers.

 

[john_g]

will do.. many thanks