Switzer Wing

The 4 point hydro Switzer we named the "Hydro Cat"! Shortly after June of 61 the year U-4 was
built in 8 days flat, and went on to win the Winabago marathon. We kept on developing that concept
of boat. I think 6 wood models in all were developed including the # 7000, and one just like it.
A year of so after we sold the U-4 to a guy out in Ca. it was returned for some repair work.
We made a deal with the owner of the U-4 to cast a mold off of his boat in exchange for replacing
his wooden hull with a glass hull. He agreed, that was the beginning of the first 18ft. Switzer Hydro Cat,
soon to be renamed the Switzer Wing.

As I said, we built a few of them and they were doing so good that Mr. Kiekahafer, wanted to control
who they were being sold to. He offered to purchase the molds in exchange for an initial order for
30 boats. So, I figured, we must have made about 10 before we sold the molds to Mercury,
hence 40 18's in all.

Now, we were being asked to supply the OMC camp with Wings, and we couldn't, because of our deal.
So we developed the 20 footer, and I will be the first to admit it was probably years ahead of it's time.
We used a wing foil that was good for higher speeds than the engines of that day were capable of.
Hence, we only made 20, 20 footers. One of which was fitted with 3 Merc engines that won the
unlimited class in the Miami Marine Stadium. My guess would be in the early 70's. Funny thing,
that boat with 3 motors clocked out at 102 mph and with the center engine removed, she hit 112 mph.
Show's to go ya! how much a clean hull shape may mean more than just brute H.P.
Bob Switzer 14Oct2003

The blue buttons above and below are links to photo pages of each boat project....
link to the Cat House pages with more Switzer info..
link to Ernest Threlkeld's 3 wings from the past ........

Mercury (Kiekhaefer) owned the rights to all 40 18 foot Switzer Wings produced.
He did, in fact, have them in a warehouse....... but that cache is long gone.
Back then after 2-3 years Mercury basically wrote off and destroyed all
hulls in their possession...from hydros to Offshore hulls. The exceptions were
those that Merc employees and friends were able to get out the back
door...or buy outright. These 18 footers that are appearing here
and there....including Gene Lanham's, John Sherlock's, and a few
others are probably from that stash.

I believe that there are under 20 total left in existence including:
Note:
I have seen, corresponded with, spoken to the owners of, or verified...
#'s 1 through 12 above.
#'s 13 through 15 are from good sources...but I can't verify.

#) Boat Name / Race #	Owner / Driver	Location	Length
1)El Diablo III T119	Bob Valachovic/Kenny Kitson	New York	18'
2)	John Sherlock's "Wing on a Stick"....	Florida	18'
3)"Dust'n the Wind"	Darren & Rich Luhrs	New Jersey	20'
4)Boynton Beach Wing	Boynton Beach Wing........ Owner Ted Miller	Florida	20'
5)	Fort Lauderdale area Wing........	Florida	20'
6) #T135	Tim's Marine	Minnesota	20'
7) #T40 or 140 Bob Massey Bellflower Marine	Rick Connolly (located by Ron Hill)	Arizona	18'
8)	In a collection in Dayton, Ohio	Ohio
9)	In a collection in Dayton, Ohio	Ohio
10)	In a collection in Dayton, Ohio	Ohio
11)	Gene Lanham's in storage (reported sold to Keith Eickert 10 years ago) ............		18'
12) #326	Mertens family Wing....................		18'
13)	Wing at a motorcycle dealership in Canada.......	Canada	20'
14)	Barry Cohen's Wing .. now gone..		18'
15)	Wing in New Mexico rigged with 2 x 65's.....	New Mexico	18'
16) 108 T	GEORGE GUSTAFSON owner who had it stolen from Austin,Tx .. search continues (bought from Pete DeLackner in Ft. Worth)	unknown	20'
17) JJ 88	Steve Cox's Wing............The boat came from Ohio. Purchased from Jerry Book, before him the owner was Richard Clark.	Tenn.	20'
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