07/22/2026
Seeing Double – 1979 & 1984 The Squire Shop
I was able to build these two around the same time, and I thought it would be fun to highlight them together. The evolution of hydroplane racing has always fascinated me, as it was figured out through trial and error, along with a lot of cash. At first glance these boats look very similar, but once you take a closer look, the differences really begin to stand out.
The ‘79 hull was built as a sister to the ’79 Circus Circus. The pair earned the nickname “Cathedral Twins” because of their radical cathedral style rear wing design. It was a bold aerodynamic experiment that only lasted a few seasons before teams ultimately settled on the now familiar straight rear wing design.
By 1984, you can see how much had changed. The rear wing and fairings had been redesigned to the latest standard, and the front of the center section had been moved rearward, introducing the front spar (the U-2). It’s a great representation of how quickly these boats evolved in just five years back when the sport was at its peak.
The paint for these boats are extremely hard to do and get right. While the paint scheme isn’t too bad to do, the “Old English” lettering takes an insane amount of time to draw out and paint, but at the end it looks very clean and classy. These are my 3rd and 4th “Squire Shop” I have done, so it does get a little easier each time.
Thank you Jason and Ron for the request and I hope you love them!
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