Important Note:  I'm looking for someone to take over the Banshee page! 

So send me email if you're interested:  b e n t z @ b e n t z - e n g i n e e r i n g . c o m probably works best.

 

 

Banshee Logo

Welcome to the Banshee Class Web Page


The Banshee

Banshee Line Drawing Photo of Banshee sailing
 w/babe




The Banshee is a very fast 13-foot fiberglass sailboat. It was designed by Richard L. Reid. It weighs 120 lbs., and carries 82 square feet of sail. It is very quick, responsive, and fun to sail.

Richard Reid designed the Banshee in 1969. He had been building Flying Juniors which had been winning races. The Sunfish was out, and Richard thought that there was room for a mass-market boat a bit more substantial.

He was a retailer in Foster City, CA. He used the hull shape of the Flying Junior as his model, making a few minor modifications. The first fleets were in Foster City and at the San Jose Sailing Club. These boats were built by Richard Reid himself (his company was known as Marine Plastics.) He began to subcontract construction to Merrysville and Santa Cruz.

Barry Bruch raised venture capital to establish Banshee International, which took over production of the boats (with Richard Reid as VP). They built boats in Santa Cruz (from 1974) and Scotts Valley (from 1982).

Some Banshee drawings: Drawings from Steve Bonham

Click here to see an early brochure on the boat.

An experimental variant, the Griffon, was built by Banshee International. It used very lightweight materials (e.g. carbon fiber), had the same deck, and basically the same hull (with some minor modifications - for example a slightly fuller bow). It weighed 80 lbs! Fifteen were made.

Abbott Boats of Ontario, Canada was licensed to make 500 boats. It isn't known how many they made, or what became of the molds.

The primary Portsmouth Number (D-PN) for the Banshee is 94.3. This number represents the length of time boats take to sail a common but unspecified distance; the numbers are useful for comparing boats (The Laser is 91.3). A smaller number indicates a faster boat. This number was taken from the 1993 compilation of Portsmouth numbers by the United States Sailing Association, as quoted in "A Field Guide to Sailboats", by Richard M. Sherwood.

If your hull still has it's Hull Identification Number ("HIN"), you can determine what it means from this web page: http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm.


You may download the proposed new class rules as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file by clicking here.



A decent view of the boat

 

Class Rules

Click here to view the Class Rules, scanned/OCR'ed/cleaned up by Steve Bonham.


 

Lines

If you're interested in making a half-model of the banshee, here is a sketch of the lines:



 

Maintainence Tips

Parts for the Banshee are available from:
Banshee Central Hart Sail Design
8006 Clifton Road
Sacramento, CA 95826
(916) 736-1620
hartsail@sbcglobal.net

They have taken over basically all of the equipment from the original manufacturer, and can provide you with just about any part you'd need.

Another source to try is:

Abbott Boats
Sarnia, Ontario
(519) 542-2771
abbott@ebtech.net
http://www.abbottboats.com


 

Sailing Tips

(As with the entire Web Page, please send me suggestions for this category.) Anecdotes would be most welcome. An excellent guide to heavy weather sailing is Bill Haile's Guide to Heavy Weather Sailing for the Banshee. A discussion of rigging options is Mike Salmon's Guide to Rigging the Banshee. Another excellent page on rigging is Steve Bonham's.



Fleet One

From John Poimiroo:

A sacramento Banshee fleet was officially organized Feb. 27, 1998 in George Koch's family room...

There was quite a bit of good-natured discussion about what to call the new fleet. After Tom Goodwin suggested "Sacramento Banshee Fleet #1", one of the other bird boaters said, "How about 'National Banshee Fleet #1', while another joked "Why stop there, let's name it 'World Banshee Fleet #1'". After much discussion, the group settled on "Banshee Fleet #1 (Sacramento)", setting a precedent for the development of other such fleets.

For more Banshee information, look at the Banshee Fleet One web page.

(Ed. note: for futher info, check the Folsom Lake Yacht Club Page.)

 

Owners & Locations

This section is included to allow owners to find others nearby. If you'd like to be listed here, send email to:
.
We used to list email addresses, but due to the possible snarfing of these by spammers they've been moved.

There is now a password-protected page with this information here. Email me (Bryan Bentz) if you're a Banshee owner and would like the password. These addresses are not for further distribution.

 

Banshee Owners

Steve Bonham

Tom Clark

Jameson Epp

#(Gryphon)
Al and Jesse Felato

P. Hodgson

#1453
Brian Larson

Steve Leddy

Tom Miller

Robert and Erik Nass

Alabama

George Gowan
Montgomery, AL

Alaska

Randy Wagner
North Pole, AK

Arizona

Brian Johnson
Phoenix, AZ
#627
Thomas Hippert
Tucson, AZ
#1708, 971

California

Ögyen Dorje
Alameda, CA
Ralph Sklar
Alameda, CA
Kevin Storm
Alameda, CA
#3897 "Wet Romp"
John Andrew
Aptos, CA
Jim Moodie
Cameron Park, CA
#2358
George R. Koch
Carmichael, CA
#2546
Pamela Price-Knox
Carmichael, CA
Ed Hunter
Castro Valley, CA
#6534
Randy Hollingsworth
Citrus Heights, CA
#4929 "Yowler"
Sue Hollingsworth
Citrus Heights, CA
#31 "U-31"
Duffy Langford
Citrus Heights, CA
#1308
Rodney Phillips
Citrus Heights, CA
Chris Schmieding
Citrus Heights, CA
#2768
Philip & Becky Frame
Clarksburg, CA
#2311
Greg & Aaron Partell
Colfax, CA
#400
Bob Backer
El Dorado Hills, CA
#8212
Kerry Johnson
El Dorado Hills, CA
Craig Lee
El Dorado Hills, CA
#264
Mary Niederberger
El Dorado Hills, CA
John Poimiroo
El Dorado Hills, CA
#2760, 2000
Jerry Beavers
Elk Grove, CA
Charles Hess
Elk Grove, CA
#1479
Wayne & Joanna Arnold
Eureka, CA
#265
Jim Christopher
Eureka, CA
#5001
Carolyn Alva-Wright
Fair Oaks, CA
"Luck o' the Irish"
Herb & Kathi Heil
Fair Oaks, CA
#200
Mack Bishop
Folsom, CA
Dean Eppley
Folsom, CA
#7413
Daria Eppley
Folsom, CA
#8034
Pam Knox
Folsom, CA
Todd A. Craig
Foresthill, CA
#1472
Matt Boroughf
Foster City, CA
Konrad Pearce
Glendora, CA
#194
Chris Hillard
Larkspur, CA
Mike Pocha
Livermore, CA
Bill Potts
Livermore, CA
#6504
Jay Bruch
Los Altos Hills, CA
#711
Barry Bruch
Los Altos Hills, CA
#711
Barbara Titel
Los Gatos, CA
Richard Slade
Morgan Hill, CA
Steve & Melinda Dudley
Nevada, CA
#8009
Skip Stanyon
Northern Auburn, CA
Max Strube
Novato, CA
#6500
Ward Fulcher
Oakland, CA
Paul Granthem
Oakland, CA
#4122
Mary Fisler Rude
Placerville, CA
Bill Rutherford
Plymouth, CA
#3047
Brent Granthem
Pollock Pines, CA
Greg Rogers
Pollock Pines, CA
#7027
Ryan Twelves
Pollock Pines, CA
#382
Wade Behling
Sacramento, CA
Mark Dawson
Sacramento, CA
#2760, 5064 "Spirit, Quietly Making Noise"
Michael Drews
Sacramento, CA
#3251
Tom Goodwin
Sacramento, CA
#5426
Sherron Hart
Sacramento, CA
Phill LaZier
Sacramento, CA
Charles Witcher
Sacramento, CA
#1453
Mick Alias
San Jose, CA
#7885
Bill Blosen
San Jose, CA
#3972
Don Hubbard
San Jose, CA
#7885
Curt Rodgers
San Jose, CA
#5105
Rick Espinosa
Santa Clara, CA
#19
Heidi A. Palmer
Santa Clara, CA
Bill Walters
Sonora, CA
#529
John Maguire
Tujunga, CA
Bruce Hatch
Ukiah, CA
Alan Jess
Winters, CA

Colorado

Burt Revell
Centennial, CO
Mark Miller
Denver, CO
#8020
MacGregor Smith
Fort Collins, CO
#571

Connecticut

John Courtney
Milford, CT
#2071
Bryan Bentz
Stonington, CT
#1331 "1/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)"

Delaware

John Diskau
Milford, DE

Florida

Michael Salmon
Boynton Beach, FL
#2285
Rebecca Adams
Ft. Walton Beach, FL
Michael H. Hulme
Panama City, FL
#6600
Robert Childers
Sarasota, FL
#2359

Georgia

Josh Weithop
Augusta, GA
Jonathan Davis
Rome, GA
Bryan Shealy
Rome, GA

Idaho

Peggy & Donata Don
Sandpoint, ID
#4126

Illinois

Craig Rost
Champaign, IL
#6553
Steve McClellan
Evanston, IL
Kent Lowry
Normal, IL
Harold Rail
Woodstock, IL

Iowa

Fritz Goeckner
Burlington, IA
#3951
Eric Larson
Des Moines, IA

Kentucky

Rob Rorg
Murray, KY
Rob Sorg
Murray, KY

Maryland

Bill Haile
Annapolis, MD
#2863
Elaine/Ted Ferraro
Ocean Pines, MD
Gabor Karafiath
Silver Spring, MD
#2329

Michigan

Harry Breakstone
Ann Arbor, MI
Bill Wright
Ann Arbor, MI
Scott Veenstra
Hancock, MI
#3272
Jeffrey Gage
Milan, MI
#1765
Peter T. Bliss
Northville, MI
Phil Guichelaar
Portage, MI
#4120
Margaret Counihan
Whitmore Lake, MI
#3281
Steve Chaikin
Witmore Lake, MI

Minnesota

Adam Campbell
Lake Elmo, MN
Ben Carlson
Minneapolis, MN

Nebraska

Stan Woodring
Lincoln, NE
#2458
Bill Moore
Omaha, NE
#1046

Nevada

Joe Webb
Incline Village, NV
Chris Smart
Las Vegas, NV

New Hampshire

Rich Wilk
Nashua, NH
#284

New Mexico

David Myers
Albuquerque, NM
Scott Paalsce
Albuquerque, NM
#87110

New York

Jacob Pinskey
Coram, NY
#7042
Richard Szczepanski
Schenectady, NY
#1030

Ohio

Mike Turcotte
Cincinnati, OH

Oregon

  Dave Rossman
Corbett, OR
#4752
Scott Carroll
Corvallis, OR
David Waldron
Jacksonville, OR
#5422
David Beach
Sherwood, OR
#2754; 4202
Stave Piazza
Wilsonville, OR
#2004

Pennsylvania

Karl Marchut
Carlisle, PA
Beth Beacham
Exton, PA
Steven Nuttall
Lebanon, PA
Bill Yeager
Middletown, PA
#2032
Bill Johnson
Wayne, PA
#977
Jane Heller
York, PA

South Carolina

Chris Freeman
Columbia, SC
#411
Allen Langhans
Jocassee, SC
#2043/5143
Rick Hasser
Taylors, SC
#5075

Tennessee

Harry Stuber
Cookeville, TN
#4627
Steve Byrne
Humboldt, TN

Texas

Steve and Abbey Kornblau
Nassau Bay, TX

Utah

Mike and Trevor Gibson
Salt Lake City, UT
#2315

Virginia

Tim O'Kane
Fairfax, VA
#2348
Ken Eyerman
Herndon, VA
#3234
Sean Wilson
Spotsylvania, VA

Washington

Kathy Halpin
Bellevue, WA
Ken Perine
Bellevue, WA
Don Rees
Carnation, WA
Scott Shirey
Kent, WA
#2200
Trevor Kovich
Lakewood, WA
Mark Anderson
Olympia, WA
#5422/5022
Scott Foster
Seattle, WA
Bob Dustan
Treasure Island, WA
#2766
Jessica & Alan Stokke
Vancouver, WA
#4202
Allen Rossman
Woodinville, WA
#8022

Australia

Nick Dahl

Ken Dewar

Eliza Blackstock
Melbourne
#6076

New South Wales

Tony Rose
Grafton, New South Wales
#6056

Canada

Alberta

Lynn Clark
Alberta
#1256
Craig and Judy Wallace
Alberta

Ontario

Tom Donnelly
Goderich, Ontario
#1276 or 1279
Albert/Sonya Whissell
Sudbury, Ontario
Calvin Brown
Toronto, Ontario

Germany

Nils Hoffman
Hamburg

The Netherlands

Marijn van Heeswijk
Utrecht

 

Wanted & For Sale

May 17, 2004
For sale (Massachusetts): Banshee #4226, for parts or restoration. Has original mast, sail, dagger board. Rebuilt rudder (does not swing). For anyone who is interested in a restoration project, hull had a tree fall on it during a winter storm and has a crack running through the front quarter. I will be moving soon and I can not take it with me. Question, photos, etc, please feel free to contact Eric at (617) 916-2900

April 12, 2004
Banshee for sale in Santa Cruz, CA. Immaculate Banshee fully rigged with sail and new trailer. Fully race ready, all spars. $1500 obo. Must pick up - 2 inch trailer ball. Call Janet (w) 831-426-8697 or (h) 831-429-8950.

Banshee #1494, 100% race ready. New sail plus original. Compass. Two daggerboards. Smooth bottom. First place, SS # 1, May 00. Second place, Gold Country Regatta.
Sacramento, CA
phllazier@aol.com

Wanted - August 28, 2000
JoeXB12@aol.com is looking to purchase a Banshee in good working condition. He's in the SF Bay Area.



 

Final Comments

I'd like this Web Page to grow based on the interests of Banshee owners. If you have good photos, anecdotes, or advice, please send it/them to me. (The photos on this page slow it down already, but I might create a separate 'photo album' page.) Likewise, if you know other Banshee owners, point them to the page!

Last update: 06/15/04.