Forty-Four Years of the Right Formula

The Formula 233 is a fabled design from the 1960s, and rarely has one been kept in constant use by the same family for 44 years.

The Formula 233 is a legendary design that dates back to the early 1960s. Despite the six decades since then, you’d be hard pressed today to find a better performing hull in the 23-foot (7m) range, especially when it comes to handling rough conditions.

This is a tough and sexy boat with a big open cockpit and a small vee-berth cuddy cabin. It offers versatility in use accompanied by visual appeal that still draws attention from both aficionados who recognise its proud heritage and from those who know nothing of its past but who still appreciate good design.

The design came from two famed names in the domains of powerboat engineering and offshore racing. They were led by the even more famous, and later infamous, ‘King Of Thunderboat Row’ Don Aronow (see Break-Out Panel).

Jim Wynne and Walt Walters were part of a team assembled by Aronow in Miami to build strong, fast and race-winning boats. In bringing together that team, Aronow believed he had the right ‘formula’ for success, and he named his boatbuilding company accordingly. Along with a 27-foot boat created concurrently (but designed by Peter Guerke), the Formula 233 was an immediate success, winning offshore races and market sales.

During 1964, Aronow sold the 233 design and moulds to Thunderbird Boats which still today produces a range of Formula-branded high-performance sportsboats and cruisers from its Decatur, Indiana, facility. Somewhere around the mid-1960s, Haines Hunter (then owned and run by its founder John Haines who later went on to establish Haines Signature) acquired the Australian rights to build and market the Formula 233. Haines Hunter did that very well; construction was always tough, and performance outstanding. A contemporary local test by Peter Webster, then editor of Australian Boating, queried if the 233 was ‘a Ferrari in a sea of Fords’, and essentially answered in the positive.

Well-maintained examples of the Haines Hunter-built 233 remain running strong and free on today's waterways. Other Aussie boatbuilders adapted the 233 design and all versions of it are still in high demand (such as from Edencraft at present, see Break-Out Panel). Some have been refurbished and others can be an excellent basis for a restoration project. Power was originally a single V8 or twin straight-six sterndrives, with outboards another option.

This particular 233 has a wonderful story. Built by Haines Hunter in 1968, it has been in the Toohey family continually since 1976. Current owner Michael Toohey (Jnr) took over from his father (also Michael) whilst their son/grandson James has been a constant participant in the 233’s aquatic adventures.

For many years, the Tooheys ran the boat across the pristine waters of Kuringai Chase National Park on Sydney’s northern outskirts. From there they had quick entry into Pittwater and out to sea past the Barrenjoey headland of Palm Beach. Used for all of fishing, cruising and watersports, the 233 was kept in the drystack of the Akuna Bay marina. More recently, Michael (Jnr) relocated the Formula to the drystack at Sydney Harbour Boat Storage in White Bay which gives excellent access to all the attractions of Port Jackson and its offshore environs.

During their 44 years of ownership, the Tooheys have several times considered moving to another boat. Each time, though, they decided that the Formula 233 remained their best option. Two years after they bought the boat, when it was already eight years old, it really needed some ‘TLC’ to bring it to the standard the Tooheys desired. A refurbishment project was undertaken so successfully that it was another 24 years before thoughts again turned to ‘restore or replace.’ By then Michael Jnr had grown up on the Formula to gradually become the more consistent user of it, and his son James was also in the crew to make it three generations of Tooheys that had enjoyed the classic craft. Wonderfully, it had been quite common for all three to be aboard at the same time. Over the years the Formula had done a sterling job towing skiers and tubes and other water toys, as well as providing a great deal of cruising and fishing pleasure for the family and their friends.

Around the turn of the century, the 233 once more could have benefited from some refurbishment. It had served the family exceptionally well but it would have been a good time to make a change. However, considering options available made the Tooheys realise how ideally the 233 suited their purposes, and how much they still loved its style and charisma. Additionally, they recognised they had a classic boat that deserved a further lease of life, and Michael Jnr was keen to undertake a major restoration.

So that was done over a somewhat drawn-out two-year project. The boat was stripped, the hardware restored or replaced, the hull repaired as needed and re-painted, new gauges and electronics fitted to a new dash panel, new fuel tanks installed, fresh upholstery fitted, and the original six-cylinder MerCruiser engines reconditioned and mated to new Alpha sterndrives. The result was an as-new Formula 233 that lived up to every expectation and that continued to provide regular enjoyment for the Toohey family.

Another twenty years passed in happy use of the 233. Recently though, realisation started to grow that although the boat had been giving regular and reliable service, it was once more starting to wear out in little ways. The hull was structurally sound but all of the mechanical bits were getting old, particularly the MerCruiser Alpha sterndrives which had accumulated two decades of use.

Michael Jnr knew that the boat needed another complete rebuild and re-power, but he wanted to avoid a repeat of the long two-year project that the previous rebuild had taken. Any fresh restoration project would have to be accomplished in a time-efficient manner. That would require available time, money, the correct place to do the work and the right team for the job. 

Then along came COVID-19. Disastrous in so many ways as that was, it was thought it could be a good opportunity to rebuild the Formula 233 as normal day careers would be put on hold for an extended period. Not only was it likely that there would be more time to commit to the project, but it could also mean that the required craftsmen would be available when otherwise it might have meant waiting months for them. 

Overall, Michael considered COVID-19 presented a ‘perfect storm’ for getting the job done. So the decision was made to go ahead and spend some money at a time when it was needed within the community; the project was sub-titled ‘Keeping The Economy Running’. 

Assembling the team and working out the various tasks that had to be done was the first priority. Knowing that some repower kits from Mercury would have to be purchased led to a relationship being formed with Shannon from Shannon Outboard Services who helped not only with getting what was needed but also with a lot of the specialised advice that was required.

The plan was to repeat the approach taken last time by retaining two six-cylinder engines and fitting new sterndrives. Michael explained, “We wanted to have two engines rather than one for the redundancy that gives us comfort when we go offshore. A single engine, whilst they’ve become more reliable, still represents a single point of failure. There have been times over the past 44 years when we managed to return safely on one engine after experiencing a problem with the other.”

Michael added, “We wanted to retain the 165hp straight-six engines as they represented the maximum power units that we could put into a 233 in a dual engine configuration. The boat is simply not wide enough to install a twin V configuration, and four-cylinder engines don’t have the power, or torque really, we want. We had found the MerCruiser sixes to be well-designed, well-proven and very reliable with due maintenance. Along the way, we had acquired two spare units.”

Those two spare engines were sent to a race-engineering shop where they were rebuilt to a higher specification. Taking advantage of what's available these days, roller rockers were installed instead of the traditional rocker set-up from 50 years ago. The engineers went through the engines and fitted new pistons, new valves, new valve guides and other stainless steel internal parts; essentially, everything inside the engines was new. 

Michael noted, “We repeated the process we’d followed last time. We bought two MerCruiser re-power kits comprising a package of a new four-cylinder engine (that had long ago replaced the venerable six-cylinder power plant in the MerCruiser line-up) along with a new Alpha sterndrive. We’d found that almost everything that is fitted as an accessory to the four-cylinder engines can be used on our six-cylinder units.”

So everything including the alternator, starter motor, fuel pump, wiring harness, bell-housing and engine mounts were taken off the four-cylinder kits and put onto the rebuilt six-cylinder base engines. There was a certain amount of integration required with the different electronics available today, including the engine warning systems that didn't exist when the original six-cylinder engines were built.  All those parts were incorporated as well as the use of the contemporary 14-pin harness from MerCruiser.

Michael added, “We could sell off the resulting bare four-cylinder engines whilst keeping the drives from the re-power kits. Overall, that approach was net less expensive than buying new drives and the engine update fittings alone.”

The choice of location to do the hull rebuild was the headquarters of Cosine Marine and the ‘dream team’ there led by Carl Hanley. Carl had worked on the Formula previously and was very familiar with it. He and his team pulled the boat apart. Everything came off including the windscreen, gun’ls, hatches, trim and helm. Then the condition of the hull was carefully examined to determine what repairs were needed. Externally, any weak areas and cracks were noted, repaired and re-sprayed. That process was quite painstaking and labour-intensive, but it also managed to fill in the holes for many items that were no longer used and so provide a blank canvas for the new boat going forward. 

Michael recalled, “One of the enhancements that we'd always wanted was an automated solution for the anchor. We knew from experience that it was difficult dropping the anchor and pulling it back in. That required getting up on the small front deck which needed a lot of balance and dexterity. We found at Lone Star Marine an automated winch system which is perfect for our Formula. To put it in, we needed to go into the rope locker and build a dedicated timber shelf, fibreglassed in place, and to locate the new winch drum mechanism on it. Then we had to add the electronics in the form of control cables to enable it to be activated from the helm. It was a lot of work, but boy it was worth it!”

Other enhancements included bringing all the lights up to current standards using LED technology which draws less power. The boat’s batteries now have dedicated master switches aft with labels on them and over-current protection. 

Next time we’ll complete the saga of the restoration project for the Formula 233, beginning with an unexpected challenge from hidden troubles.

THE FORMULA 233 AUSSIE EVOLUTION

Trade-a-Boat has been a long-time admirer and supporter of the Formula 233 and its derivations in Australia. Along the way, a number of local boatbuilders ‘took advantage of’ the superior design of the Formula 233 to produce their own versions.

Not so long ago in February-May 2016, John Willis reported for Trade-a-Boat on how the Haines brothers, John and Garry, made the first (official!) local development when, after manufacturing the original 233 design under licence for some time, John designed the Haines Hunter 243. Garry described that as “one of the best hulls they ever produced.” 

John had adapted the 233 with some extra length, an additional (third) strake along with a less-pronounced chine, reduced bow flair and a more level sheer. The 243 went on to become a classic in its own right on Aussie waters and influenced further Haines Hunter designs such as the 565L and 773L. The author owned each for years and can report that both were superb designs, the 773L in particular was a truly fabulous boat with amazing performance offshore. Owners of other boats who were taken for a run often commented on the 773L’s superb balance. Slight downward flairs between strakes right at the transom helped rising on plane and in maintaining a wonderful lateral trim. 

When the Haines Hunter firm experienced challenges in the mid-1980s, many of the company’s moulds were acquired by Ron Doyle who established Edencraft on the NSW south coast. Edencraft today still offers the ‘233 Formula Classic’ (see edencraft.com.au).

A lead boatbuilder for Ron was Erick Hyland who eventually obtained the 243 moulds and went on to establish White Pointer Boats in Bairnsdale, Victoria. He developed the 243 design into the renowned White Pointer 263 which John Willis in our 2016 reviews described as having an “Outstanding offshore performance” and as “Absolutely sensational” emphasising that “White Pointer deserves every word”. For more information on White Pointer see whitepointermarine.com.au. 

And so the heritage of the superb original Formula 233 design lives on in grand style all these decades later.

DON ARROW — 1 MARCH 1927 TO 3 FEBRUARY 1987: THE 'KING OF THUNDERBOAT ROW'

After making a fortune from property development in New Jersey, Donald Joel Aronow ‘retired’ at age 34 to Miami Beach where he acquired a powerful fishing cruiser, the 40-foot Tainted Lady. He was drawn into the growing sport of offshore powerboat racing for the 1962 160-nautical-mile Miami-Nassau event across the often rough waters of the Gulfstream. Aronow commissioned Howard Abbey to build him a 28-foot boat to compete. Powered by triple 409-ci Chev V8s, the boat was named Claudia after Aronow’s daughter. Despite a transmission failure in the race, Aronow finished fourth and was “hooked” on the sport.

He decided to start his own company to build faster boats and established an operation on a then near-deserted canal-side NE 188th Street off Biscayne Boulevarde in Miami Beach. He commissioned Peter Guerke to design a 27-foot race boat and in parallel had Jim Wynne and Walt Walters design a 23-foot deep vee racer. Believing he had the right ideas and people for a winning ‘formula’, Aronow called his company accordingly and so launched the Formula name to enduring acclaim in the powerboat world.

The Formula 233 went on to achieve considerable success winning races and being sold to enthusiasts around the planet. And that was just the start for Aronow. He went on to establish a string of powerboat companies whose names still resonate with speed and success. After Formula he founded Donzi (1964-66), then Magnum (1966-68), and Cigarette (1968-78). 

Determined, aggressive, fearless and charismatic, Aronow drove his own boats to outstanding accomplishments, while others queued to buy the designs that streamed from his facilities. 

Cigarette became, and remains, synonymous with ‘go-fast’ boats in both competition and recreational boating. A number of Cigarettes competed in Australia with owner/drivers such as successful car dealer Arnold Glass, Val and Paul Carr who were tragically killed in a race accident off Sydney, and Peter Dean who won a series of national Championships in his 40-foot Cigarette Slingshot. 

Especially with Cigarette designs along with his other marques, Aronow boats won countless races and championships both in America and internationally as well as setting numerous speed records. With model names such as ‘Awesome’ and ‘Mistress’ and a flair for promotion on top of his racing achievements, Aronow’s Cigarettes won world-wide recognition and led to personal associations with the rich and famous.

The boat companies he started all continued business along NE 188th Street and it became known universally as ‘Thunderboat Row’, and Aronow as ‘The King of Thunderboat Row’.

After Cigarette, Aronow established Squadron XII and USA Racing Team (1979-1987). However, his boats were achieving fame not only in race circles, but as vessels that were favoured by drug smugglers because of their speed that could out-run any Custom’s chase boat. So the US Customs, influenced it was thought by Aronow’s friendship with then USA Vice President George Bush, ordered some of Aronow’s USA Racing catamarans. 

The ‘Blue Thunder’ cats were immediately successful and Customs ordered another 12 in 1986. But then Aronow sold USA Racing Team to Ben Kramer, a champion offshore racer but also one of the biggest drug smugglers operating at the time. Hearing of that sale, Customs cancelled their order for 12 cats leaving Kramer and USA Racing Team in an untenable position. Kramer sold the company back to Aronow; Customs not only re-instated its order for 12 ‘Blue Thunder’ cats, but placed an order for a further 20.

It is still a subject of conjecture as to how involved was Aronow with the drug smuggling world, but on the 3 February 1987 he was gunned down not far from his boatbuilding facility in what is regarded as an underworld assassination by career criminal Bobby Young.

Aronow’s son Michael wrote an illustrated biography of his father’s life called The King of Thunderboat Row while the book Speed Kills by Arthur Harris speculated on his career and murder; that book was the basis of a film of the same name that starred John Travolta.

Whether drug involved or not, Don Aronow was a living legend and an example of what can be achieved with determination and courage. His heritage lives on with the marques he created, and a wonderful example is the Formula 233 that started it all.