Thread:

GS Daytona....Eliminator Daytona???

Ok, I know I'm new to all of this so would someone please fill me in? I always thought Daytonas were built by Eliminator Boats out of Mira Loma. Now I see pictures and information on a GS Daytona. Are these the same boat? I know there are a lot of copies out there as I had one (Liberator) and was hoping the next time to be able to step up to the real deal. Is there not a real deal anymore? Is an Eliminator Daytona and GS Daytona the same boat? If not what makes them different? Not looking for a race hull or anything but a good lake boat I can have fun with and detail to the max as time goes on. I have never seen a real 19ft Daytona in the flesh but have seen some of thier larger hulls from time to time and the attention to detail is what just blew me away. From the full length stringers (my Liberator did not have them...don't know why) to the beautiful balsa floors and a lot of little things that just got me hooked on wanting a Daytona. Since I have started this research here on the internet I have yet to come across even a photo of an Elimonator Daytona less than 10 years old. Have they gone by the wayside or just no demand for them? Just does not make any sense to me.
Somebody Please set me straight.

Thanks
Gary

In 1976 I was at Eliminator Boats and had the privledge of successfully racing the first l9' Eliminator Daytona. As things go, because of it's popularity and keel mods made to the boats after they were built, Bob Leach decided that Eliminator Boats needed a second set of l9' Daytona molds. This set of molds are still owned by Eliminator and have occassionally built a l9' Daytona for one of Bob's customers.

The first set of molds were not used that much and became more popular with the outboard customers. As interest faded in the outboards, the first set of l9' Daytona molds sat idle for a number of years.

Cliff Lotz, who I worked with at Eliminator and a good friend of Bob Leah, owner, decided that he was going to go into the boat business and manufacture his own line of boats. The name of the company was Caliber One. Cliff approached Bob and purchased the first set of l9' Daytona molds. In doing this, I believe he built five or six under the Caliber One name. I am not quite sure how they moved to San Diego, but Neil at San Diego Performance became the new owner of the first set of l9' Daytona molds.

After a period of time Neil decided that it was time to get ride of the l9' Daytona molds and also a l9' Gullwing mold. Dave Batista, who used to work for me, and after leaving me started his own business called TurnKey Marine, decided after being out of the business for a number of years, to get back in. He purchased the molds and came to realize that with building a new home, holding down a day job and also completing a garage project at the river, he no time to deal with the boat business. Mike DeClark and I purchased the l9' tunnel mold.

I forgot to mention that during the time that the molds were at Neil's at San Diego performance, Jeff Bennett was recruited to modify the center keel with a small radius for better performance. At this time the flat keel bottom molds are a thing of the past.

The new l9' Tunnel is being manufactured under the name So Cal Performance Boats Inc. At this time we sell it as our l9' Tunnel, no longer referring to it as a Daytona. Hopefully, for now on, the name So Cal l9' will catch on, but everyone knows it is still the l9' Daytona.

Any questions, please contact myself or Mike DeClark.

Real nice boats

hey greg I have a faketona or a caliber one 19 .

Originally Posted by zipper

Real nice boats

Thanks zipper !
I`ve got a can of canary Yellow and Platnium gray just for you

Originally Posted by greg shoemaker

In 1976 I was at Eliminator Boats and had the privledge of successfully racing the first l9' Eliminator Daytona. As things go, because of it's popularity and keel mods made to the boats after they were built, Bob Leach decided that Eliminator Boats needed a second set of l9' Daytona molds. This set of molds are still owned by Eliminator and have occassionally built a l9' Daytona for one of Bob's customers.

The first set of molds were not used that much and became more popular with the outboard customers. As interest faded in the outboards, the first set of l9' Daytona molds sat idle for a number of years.

Cliff Lotz, who I worked with at Eliminator and a good friend of Bob Leah, owner, decided that he was going to go into the boat business and manufacture his own line of boats. The name of the company was Caliber One. Cliff approached Bob and purchased the first set of l9' Daytona molds. In doing this, I believe he built five or six under the Caliber One name. I am not quite sure how they moved to San Diego, but Neil at San Diego Performance became the new owner of the first set of l9' Daytona molds.

After a period of time Neil decided that it was time to get ride of the l9' Daytona molds and also a l9' Gullwing mold. Dave Batista, who used to work for me, and after leaving me started his own business called TurnKey Marine, decided after being out of the business for a number of years, to get back in. He purchased the molds and came to realize that with building a new home, holding down a day job and also completing a garage project at the river, he no time to deal with the boat business. Mike DeClark and I purchased the l9' tunnel mold.

I forgot to mention that during the time that the molds were at Neil's at San Diego performance, Jeff Bennett was recruited to modify the center keel with a small radius for better performance. At this time the flat keel bottom molds are a thing of the past.

The new l9' Tunnel is being manufactured under the name So Cal Performance Boats Inc. At this time we sell it as our l9' Tunnel, no longer referring to it as a Daytona. Hopefully, for now on, the name So Cal l9' will catch on, but everyone knows it is still the l9' Daytona.

Any questions, please contact myself .

Nice post! I believe this boat came out of the same original mold

Would a Daytona splashed in 79 have been a flat keel? Were the flat bottom keel boats undesirable?

Chance's are if the boat was stock from Eliminator it had a flat keel. Alot of the early performance records were set with the flat keel. We went to the radius bottom when we lightened the boats up. At that time we found in order to keep the boat hooked up the last part of the 1/4 mile we had to modify the bottom.The flat keel can be hardwared for competitive lake wuse with any problem These boat are generally on the heavy side but I've always felt that the flat keel gets on plane quicker.

Thanks Greg.

yes sir and he can still roll that thing over like he did back in the day!

were gonna bolt that thing on the wall in his shop when i get my new SO CAL 19 .....ONE DAY !

Originally Posted by Mike D

Nice post! I believe this boat came out of the same original mold