Don Shead Gallery

[littlenige]

Tim - will check - but for sure there will be pics in Graham´s Library in the multimedia section on here! (only us southern europeans up at this time of the morning!)

[TimB-C]

bloody dogs and peacocks have me up at dawn.............

[mike k]

Originally Posted by TimB-C

bloody dogs and peacocks have me up at dawn.............

You should move to the East Wing then.......

[TimB-C]

nah back to living on a boat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SplitPin]

Originally Posted by littlenige

SOme of these are a bit dodfgy on the exposure front because they are pictures taken with the camera on macro through a handheld slide viewer!!
Anyone else remember this boat screaming its´ tits off trying to get on plane off Cowes??

Sounds like Gerve had the same problem Mike Doxford had with the V12 Jags. Had to scream the nuts off the engine to get the boost pressure up, to get the props spinning faster to get the boat on the plane. It was a catch 22 situation. I remember TP and Mike with Pete sitting on the bow trying to get it on the plane in Poole harbour. In the end they fitted the Borg Warner Autoboxes to get them going.

[TimB-C]

great learned something new.........................I never knew Time amd Mike ever ran Jag's, know Tim raced Jaguar cars as did Tommy Sopwith,cheers

[littlenige]

Come on folks - there must be more pics out there? Who´s got some?? Post!!

[TimB-C]

I think Debenhams/Shockwave and Delta 28 are the only 2 god damn ugly boats Don ever designed out of the thousands he has !!!!!

[Black_Tornado]

Great Shead! The Don of Europe. Would want us a book to him devoted.
Well done Nigel. The chronological order it's only a my phobia.
About the Castoldi Jet there are very poor info. Builded in England by Enfield it was apparently a sister boat of the legendary Enfield Avenger-Unowot....
Owned by the chairman of one of the biggest factory in hydrojet propulsion in the world,the Castoldi,it made the debut on the Leman's lake race in late 1972.
From that event to the last year of races in 1975 Franco Castoldi used the boat few times. Tim are right to say that the jet propulsion it was very limited on offshore races. The Castoldi Jet was powered with a classical couple of MerCruiser jointed to a single Castoldi jet propulsion unit.
The beautiful black and gold boat won only a race,the San Remo Trophy in 1974.And fight hardly to the leaderships in the Bellaria Blue Ribbon Trophy in 1975 against the old Black Tornado Cigarette 36'drove by a very exhausted Balestrieri in flat/medium waters. Was the last hurrah for the Champ.

[Black_Tornado]

About the Planatec here the Italian version;the Cobra 40'
Shead collaborated a lot with famous shipyards of Viareggio. I think that my town was the second town for Don.
The Cobra 40' was the Planatec design builded under license by the Tecnomarine of Viareggio. Here the only one in the race version,powered Lamborghini jointed to the Arneson. Roberto Biancalana,throttleman and owner of the Binautica Racing of Viareggio told me one week ago that the boat was fast but very instable because the Arnesons.

[Black_Tornado]

Here a Shead's hulls comparison;that of a 38' CUV and that of a 40' Cobra. Totally different the runnings strakes. It's my opinion that the 40' were hulls for flat water. Very fast. The 38' were for a mix solution preferring rough waters.

[littlenige]

Thanks for posting Marco! I forgot about that boat - just found it in another thread on here. Certainly a great looking boat. Your picture of the underside of the hull backs up the theory that maybe the boat suffered from a lack of lift at the stern due to the spray rails not running all the way to the transom. - sure would have liked to have heard this baby fire up!! Even now this boat looks futuristic.

(And sorry Tim I have to disagree - Shockwave looks a serious bit of kit if you ask me........!)

[BluFin]

As we dont have a book of "Don" for refrence.
What were his, lets say his first 10 boats?
He was already established when the Avenger sportsboats came along and we all know about the latter stuff.
Putting it another way we know about the Oak trees but what were the acorns???????

[Jon Fuller]

I don't like the horrizontal rail design in rougn water either. It can GRAB your attention from time to time

Originally Posted by Black_Tornado

Here a Shead's hulls comparison;that of a 38' CUV and that of a 40' Cobra. Totally different the runnings strakes. It's my opinion that the 40' were hulls for flat water. Very fast. The 38' were for a mix solution preferring rough waters.

[littlenige]

Originally Posted by BluFin

As we dont have a book of "Don" for refrence.
What were his, lets say his first 10 boats?
He was already established when the Avenger sportsboats came along and we all know about the latter stuff.
Putting it another way we know about the Oak trees but what were the acorns???????

Over to Graham..................................

[Jon Holmes]

Originally Posted by BluFin

As we dont have a book of "Don" for refrence.

I have to agree, that their isnt a lot of material available on Don Shead.

I bought a boat design book recently that includes a section on designers. All "The Names" and some ive never heard of, but no Don Shead!!!

It would be great if we could put a Reference section together on this man's work.

[Black_Tornado]

Originally Posted by Jon Fuller

I don't like the horrizontal rail design in rougn water either. It can GRAB your attention from time to time

I can't say something about that because I never drove the 38' and the 40' either.
However think that the best victories for a Shead/CUV 38' cames in rough waters; Argentina 1978(against all the best hulls of USA ) and Viareggio 1984.

[Black_Tornado]

It's very strange that in England country of the book publications of every kind is not thought about not only publishing a biography devoted to Shead but to a whole history on the Offshore racings.
Ridiculous, don't you believe?

[littlenige]

In many ways I agree Marco. I have always championed his designs and think he has contributed enormously to not only powerboat racing but to the UK marine industry in general. I think if his Sunseeker ventures had not been so successul we would perhaps have seen or heard from him much more in recent times - but I guess that he no longer needs to work that hard these days!! (of course I could be doing him a big injustice - maybe he´s working 24/7 on new Sunseeker designs!) Graham is probably one of the best people to write about him, having worked for him for years in the good old days. Pleeeeeeease Graham - don´t just lurk!!! You are after all one of the most knowledgeable chaps out there..................

Maybe Don should be put forward for a Knighthood?

[Black_Tornado]

Graham has just ended a beautiful homage to Shead. Have you seen Nigel?