Thunderbird Products
Thunderbird was started as a boat company by Woodie Woodson in 1956 in Miami, Florida. The primary design for the original Thunderbird boats were created by Naval Architect Richard C. Cole and consisted of both semi-vee hull and Tri-hull or cathedral hull designs.
History
Thunderbird was purchased by Alliance Machine and Foundry in 1961, later combined with Formula, and then sold to Fuqua Industries as Thunderbird/Formula in 1969. Vic Porter purchased Thunderbird/Formula from Fuqua in 1976. Vic and his children still own and operate the company today. Formula is now the brand of boats sold, and Thunderbird is the company name itself.
Two Thunderbird Iroquois model boats (a 1964 22', and then a 1965 23'), designed by Richard C. Cole, were featured on the original television series Flipper.