Looking for history on my new boat find swift big bee

[craigcraftguy]

I just purchased this 1957ish swift big bee and I was told it ran in Georgia in a C alky with a 30h in the 50's-60's before it was brought to Washington and used as a play boat until the early 70's when it was put away in a garage.

I would like to find out who ran this boat (it is original paint, or at least it has only been painted once for its first owner).

I also would like a picture of it racing as im sure that someone out there in hydro land has a shot of it.

any help would be great, it ran under F55

[ZUL8TR]

Swift

Nice looking rig. It would seem to be not enough boat for a C alky. What is that attached to the right sponson side? Give some dimensions like length, after plane length and bottom width and weight.

[john527]

Nice number!

[craigcraftguy]

Nice looking rig. It would seem to be not enough boat for a C alky. What is that attached to the right sponson side? Give some dimensions like length, after plane length and bottom width and weight.

The swift big bee was marketed as a B/C boat, I have been told that in the 50s there were people running 9foot boats in C. Supposedly if the letter is before the #s it is a mod class.


The thing on the right sponson is a home made skeg mount that needs to come off.

[T Chance]

Big Bee

An ad for the Big Bee, There was also an Atomic A and a Big Dee and later a Super Big Bee. Then in the early 60's a whole new line of boats was introduced with an all new hard deck Big Bee, Big Cee, and Big Dee. Not many were sold and Joe Swift eventually ended up with Mercury working on Public Relations and using his knowledge with the OPC racing programs. With a number before the letter it could have been either a Mod or Pro boat.

[ZUL8TR]

swift ad

In the swift ad is that a left non trip mounted fin or some strange pic shadows? If the fin was mounted on the bottom it seems to me that it wouldn't appear that deep.

[F350BMB]

In the swift ad is that a left non trip mounted fin or some strange pic shadows? If the fin was mounted on the bottom it seems to me that it wouldn't appear that deep.

That is the "Dihedronic Trailing Edges" referred to in the ad. The sponson bottom extended beyond the sponson bulkhead and was cut at the angle shown. Joe Swift, in addition to building 1000+Hydros a year at the Mt. Dora facility when it was at its peak, (as was boat racing) also was a master marketer. That is probably one reason why he and the "Iron Fist" got along so well. They sold lots of boats and motors for one another.

This was the time when you could go to your friendly Merc dealer and walk away with a complete racing outfit, and finance it as well. One reason why boat racing thrived in that time frame.

[T Chance]

The boat came with a great big fin on the bottom, about halfway between the sponsons and transom. I can't remember if it was dead-center or offset to the left. After I had the boat in the photo for about a year I removed the center fin and replaced it with a sponson fin. I raced this Big Bee in the late 50's and early 60's, then I sold it and bought a Sid Craft. Photo was taken at Duluth, Minnesota. Motor is an alcohol burning Champion Hot Rod. I also ran a KG-4, KG-7, 20H and an A Konig on it.

[Graham]

Swift Big B and Atomic A

My first race boat was a new 1957 Big Bee and Merc 20h. Nice ride. In 1958 I purchased a new Atomic A which was another great ride. Finally ended up with a Sid Bull Dog followed by Marchetti boats. Seemed to be the good stuff back then. And oh, by the way, guys back then did run the Big Bee with Merc 3oh's.

Sincerely,
Don Graham

[ZUL8TR]

swift

That is the "Dihedronic Trailing Edges" referred to in the ad. The sponson bottom extended beyond the sponson bulkhead and was cut at the angle shown. Joe Swift, in addition to building 1000+Hydros a year at the Mt. Dora facility when it was at its peak, (as was boat racing) also was a master marketer. That is probably one reason why he and the "Iron Fist" got along so well. They sold lots of boats and motors for one another.

This was the time when you could go to your friendly Merc dealer and walk away with a complete racing outfit, and finance it as well. One reason why boat racing thrived in that time frame.

I was questioning the fin not the back of the sponson.

[craigcraftguy]

looks like some fun times, Is there any one on here that has a spare 20h/30h lower unit that is re-buildable?

[Ron Hill]

If This Is A Big Bee...

I just purchased this 1957ish swift big bee and I was told it ran in Georgia in a C alky with a 30h in the 50's-60's before it was brought to Washington and used as a play boat until the early 70's when it was put away in a garage.

I would like to find out who ran this boat (it is original paint, or at least it has only been painted once for its first owner).

I also would like a picture of it racing as im sure that someone out there in hydro land has a shot of it.

any help would be great, it ran under F55

Several things don't look right. (I have forgotten, but there was Atomic A, and Big Dee, that had wood decks. I don't recall if there was a1957 Big Bee).

The 1956 Big Bee we owned did not have the cockpit sides like these pictures and had a cloth deck like Tim Chance's Big Bee. There may have been a 1957 Big Bee with the higher cockpit combing ides, loonger cowling and wood decks...

[T Chance]

I think your F-55 is a "Super Big Bee" Tony LaVelle from Hopkins, Minnesota had one and it was bigger than my regular Big Bee.

[ZUL8TR]

swift model

I think your F-55 is a "Super Big Bee" Tony LaVelle from Hopkins, Minnesota had one and it was bigger than my regular Big Bee.

The Swift decal on the cowling reads Big Bee, did the word Super appear on the decal for that model? Also in all the adds I have seen for the Swift hydros the decal is on the rear cockpit sides, this hydro has the decal on the cowling, were they ever placed there?

[Syd Marsden]

Here are pictures of a Swift that I picked up to restore. Anyone have any info or input for me. Thanks, Syd