Formula Boats for Sale

Formula

Formula / Thunderbird, a US boatbuilder with powerboat genes and a complete lineup: from the 24-foot Bowrider and Sun Sport Runabouts to the offshore racer for amateurs.

Family Affair

Formula sport boats are among the pride of American water sports. The boatbuilder now belongs to Thunderbird Products and is marketed by the even older "Thunderbird" yard.

The Thunderbird yard was founded in 1956 by Woodie Woodson in Miami/Florida/USA. In 1959 it became known worldwide in the water sports scene, because the first powerboat crossing from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas was completed on a Thunderbird.
Formula was founded in 1962 by Don Aronow, also in Miami. One of Formula's debut models was the 233 Deep V-hull, which later scored numerous wins on the national offshore race circuit.

Formula 1 from the "Thunderbird"

Formula was bought in 1964 by the Alliance Machine Company of Alliance, Ohio, later integrated into Thunderbird Products and then sold in 1969 as Thunderbird/Formula to Fuqua Industries. Vic Porter bought Thunderbird/Formula from Fuqua in 1976. Porter and his children still own and run the company today. Formula is now the brand of the boats sold, and Thunderbird acts as the company name.

Formula boats are known for their racing heritage; a Formula racer won the American Power Boat Association world championships in both 2000 and 2003. In 2006, the Formula "Unlimited Hydroplane" won the offshore world championship. In the same year, Thunderbird celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Formula expanded its production facilities by 8,000 m².

More than 125 km/h? No problem!

The driving force behind the successes of Formula and Thunderbird to this day is the Victor B. Porter family, with Chairman Emeritus Vic Porter, four sons and one daughter actively running the company.

The Formula categories: Bowrider, Sun Sport (hull and cockpit like the Bowrider, but without an open foredeck, with a cabin instead), Super Sport (larger Suns), FX (a mix of Bowrider and Sun Sport, but with plenty of power under the hood), Performance Cruiser (simply: cruisers that deliver serious performance), Yacht (45 feet), FAS3Tech (boats for people who don't want to settle for top speeds of around 80 mph or 125 km/h).