Dan Arena—arenacraft Barracuda

[my arena]

I have a 1966 Arena craft designed by the legend boat racer Dan Arena and built by his son Kit Arena.
The boat I have is the Barracuda model. It is registered as a 21’ boat but it is a little short of the 21 feet. I have owned the boat for approx. 15 years and have only used it 3 or 4 times during that time. When I did have it on the water it ran perfectly and would run in the 45ish MPH range.
I know that there are a lot of people looking for these boats to restore and keep the legend alive, which I fully agree with, but I no longer have the time or wherewithal to put this boat back into the pristine condition that it deserves.
I have not had the boat on the water in several years so I am unable to tell you at this time as to the condition of the engine but within a month or so I will have that information and I will also provide a ton of pic’s so you will know exactly what you are getting into.
If the engine is not locked up or frozen this should be a pretty easy restoration, meaning that all that would be necessary would be the upholstery. Someone has repainted the top part of the boat with a dark blue over the original metal flake but the metal flake is still present under that paint. It still looks pretty good as is though.
The boat is 100% complete, with the exception of the passenger side of the front windshield which was shattered while in a storage yard, only thing missing is the glass, driver side and entire frame still good and in tact, nothing rearranged or tampered with. It appears to be 100% stock as it came when built.

To the best of my knowledge the engine is the 312 Ford interceptor (could be wrong) inboard. The configuration of the boat is as follows. Front seat is a solid full seat that will accommodate 3 people with the steering on the left side as though driving your car.
Engine and engine compartment sets directly behind the front seat in the center of the boat with a rear facing seat on either side of the engine compartment. Back seat is also a solid (side to side) full seat that will accommodate 3 people. The gas tank sets behind the rear seat.

I live about 50 miles east of LA and the boat is in Big Bear Lake Ca. I will be going up there for the summer in a few weeks and will post all the pic’s as soon as I get there. In the meantime if you have questions or comments about the boat please feel free to give me a call or e-mail.

I won’t be able to get many pics on here so if you would like to see pic’s of the boat I will e-mail them to anyone who asks. Just e-mail me.


Can be reached at 951-735-2481 if no answer leave a message or ddmsmp@gmail.com

Thanks

[lakeboat]

hi i have a boat arena craft i don't know the year no papers came with it what year is yours
do you know what year my might be please help tell me model type anything please
utube=arena craft id black white four pic's
thanks to all

[my arena]

Hi lakeboat
I have a 1966 Arena Craft Barracuda, 20' length. I don't know that much about them either
There are several links you can follow by googling dan arena, arena craft, and some forums. Where would one find pic's of your boat? There are several different hull styles.
Sending some pic's of your boat would be the best way to start identifying the model you have. I also have a direct connection to a member of the Dan Arena family who is still in the boat business.
If you don't already have pic's, go and take lots of them and send them to me and I will do the same of my boat and we can start comparing. Send the pic's to ddmsmp@gmail.com I will reply with pic's of my boat
Look forward to hearing from you!

[lakeboat]

hello please send photos of yours
thanks

[lakeboat]

i was told mine it's a Bonito. Maybe 1962 or so. They came in two models. V drive and strait drive
mine is strait drive
Dan Arena Co. 215 hp, 8-cylinder Dearborn Interceptor engine
iam looking for a window
and if anyone knows the year of mine please help
i did find numbers on the motor can i track anything with that ?
thanks to all

wavewatcher@yahoo.com