Horizon

The following information and photos was sent in by Mike--Thanks Mike!
Two Boats--Keep Reading!
If you can add or help define this info please send me Mike or me an E-Mail.

Horizon Boat Co. of Costa Mesa, CA.   It was a fiberglass boat manufacturer owned and operated by a guy by the name Bill Holmes. I've heard rumor that Holmes might have learned some of his hull building techniques by working with the Miss Budweiser team, but I can't confirm that rumor. He later sold the company and the new owners went out of business in the early eighties.

Horizon Jet-A Model
This boat was built in the early seventies. It was 21 ft long, powered by a 460 Ford and Jacuzzi jet. It had a top speed of between 65-70 mph with 4 people seated. With the efficiency of the hull, the fuel consumption was 6-7 gallons per hour. This boat had tremendous power and had the distinction, at an informal pull-off at a local beach, of pulling up 6 skiers out of the water at once, which it even out pulled a V8 I/O drive.

Horizon Daycruiser
Click on Pix  for full size!		Click on Pix  for full size!

The second boat was a 21 ft, 24 if you count the swim board, Daycruiser with sleeping quarters in the bow. It had a top speed of 60 Mph with 6 people and burned 10 GPH with a 454 and Berkeley pump. It was a much bigger boat than the Jet-A, a lot more freeboard and much heavier. We used this boat to run Hells Canyon on the Snake River. The water pictures are of it running Granite Creek Rapids, a very powerful class 4 rapid that frequently overturned rafts and sinks powerboats. (I've heard rafters say it's only second to Lava Falls on the Colorado, but I've never seen Lava Falls so I can't say for certain.) We would often fill the bow with a 1/2 ton of camping gear, load six people, and carry enough fuel to travel 90 miles up river and spend all weekend fishing. This boat featured the same hull bottom as the Jet-A, in fact, this is the boat that inspired Doug Riddle, formerly of Weldcraft boats, to build the first aluminum whitewater racing tunnel back in the early eighties. He came and test drove and boat and mentioned that it was the best handling boat he's ever driven, and not to mention, turning on a dime and spit out change. The very same hull design made the boat handle very well in whitewater, had a smooth ride, and sliding was non-existent. The center shoe of the hull eliminated cavitation. We hit a rock this boat and it was repaired by Jake Wyatt (Snake River Jake), but with rising fuel costs and a desire to explore the high mountains, it was sold to someone in Minnesota. We've never heard what ever became of it, but I'd like to find out if it's still running.  Please contact Mike if you know.