to read History of the 24 Footer --
utilizing one of his designs. We used the latest in technology and assembled a team approach as Don did when he called that his "Formula" for success. The right design, the latest in technology and the right
people produced outstanding boats that are still highly regarded many years after their conception.To assemble my team, I turned to my racer/boat builder friends of many years. When you have people
with this type of background, you are actually getting an extra gear in your efforts, as it were. A racer knows that the construction must be above and beyond the normal because they remember from their
own experiences the weaknesses that showed up under race conditions and they want to make sure they won't ever happen again.
Before we began to lay the boat up, I turned to Bobby Saccenti
. Bobby and I raced against each other when he was developing a new race boat that eventually became known as the Cigarette Top Gun. Of
course, most of his fame comes from the fact that he is the founder and past owner of Apache boats. Both Bobby and I learned how to make high performance boats directly under the tutelage of Don
Aronow. Bobby generously shared with me the latest in composite technology that gives the maximum strength with the least weight. Bobby worked with and supervised our layup people to make sure that
every step is adhered to and no detail is left undone.
Another protégé of Don Aronow, going all the way back to the original Donzi days, is Allan Brown, better known to the marine world as Brownie
. Brownie is a past winner of the famous Miami Nassau race, driving a boat with two engines driving a single shaft through one V-drive. He was Chief Engineer
or Chief Executive, or both, for many of the best known high performance boat companies -- Donzi, Nova, Cary, Magnum, Cougar, Cigarette, Holman & Moody Marine -- and consultant to countless others.
Brownie, as an old friend, came forward and helped with the engineering for the engines, drives, prop selection, trim tabs and many more areas that are so necessary for boats of this caliber.
When it came time to rig the boat, to put all the pieces together in a way that the boat operates in the most efficient and reliable manner regardless of sea conditions, I turned to another one of Don's students. John Pompei
first met Don Aronow when he rode his bike by the factory on NE 188th Street and asked Don for a job. Don gave him the job of cleaning up the wood shop and John never left. He
progressed through all the various jobs until he was recognized as one of the top riggers in the trade. Today he is called on by companies like Nor Tech when they have a particularly fine rigging job that
must be done. With the depth of that background, he came aboard and joined the rest of us to build this tribute boat to our mentor.
With the finished boat ready for its new interior, only one choice could be made.
Mike Mears of Fineline Interiors was called upon to do the job. Mike was the man behind the fantastic interiors of the Apache
boats for many years and is still producing cutting edge styles and fabrics. He was the perfect fit to wrap this project up.
These are the people that we bring together as our "Formula"
to make a boat for you. What other company can offer this depth of high performance industry background, combined with the seasoned racers mentality? This is your direct connection to Don Aronow and his very intense and meticulous
method of building only the best boats.
All sales are Factory direct only and have a very limited production run each year.
I will meet with each customer personally to make sure their every expectation is identified and satisfied. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact me at anytime.
Charlie McCarthy
