Aeroglastics Corp. was formed to cater to the small-but-dedicated segment of the market that has its heart set on performance. In 1971 the company introduced its first boats under the Cobra name, finding that others shared its passion for producing a well-built high-performance boat. In 1973 it formed the Baja Boat Division and laid the foundation for a line of boats that would persevere through good times and bad.

Fast boating in the '70s meant jet power. At Baja it meant the V-1800-J. 'We introduced the V-1800-J in 1974,' remembers Doug Smith, co-founder and later president of Baja. 'Berkeley, a Californian company that was one of the first boat jet pump manufacturers, supplied an insert that would fit right into the mold to mount the engines to the transom. These were the first Berkeley 'E' pumps. Before these came along, the pumps were right inside the boats. The engine had to be mounted eight inches further up from the transom to accommodate the jet. On the 'E' pumps it put this outside the transom and put the bell housing right up to the transom, much like on an I/O.'

The V-1800-J was more than the first Baja jet ' it was also the first Baja inboard. Up until that time, all Baja boats were outboard-powered, relying on the expertise of the outboard manufacturers to produce high-performance engines.

With an overall length of 18 feet 1 inch, the V-1800-J was also the largest Baja in the lineup. It weighed 1,789 pounds, and standard power was an incredible 455-cubic-inch Oldsmobile engine hooked up to the new Berkeley 12JE pump. The V-1800-J was available in an almost endless variety of two-tone metalflake colors, and interiors were available in white/black/orange or saddle/moss green/regatta blue.' 'The V-1800-J was the launching pad for many different models for us, both open and closed bow,' says Smith. 'We started with the Oldsmobile 455 engine and later the Chevy 454. It took a huge amount of power to get to 60 mph, where most of our jets ran.'

'We were the first to build our jets into bowriders,' claims Smith. 'We had a lot of requests from families for more room. We started with the 18. With bowriders you need a balance between the front bow seating and the rear seating. The 18 was just a little short. The problem was that the rear seating was just a little too cramped. It worked, but not as well as the larger boats.'

By 1976 the fast 18-footer became the Baja 18 Jet, with more elaborate paint schemes and a deluxe interior. Options included a glove box, accent rails, foot throttle and a center console with radio/cassette player. And who could live without the optional shag carpet? Power options included the standard 324-hp Oldsmobile 455 or a 325-hp, 460-cubic-inch Ford V8.

'There were things you could do to get it above the 60-mph threshold,' says Smith, 'like polishing the rotors. There were also some stainless-steel rotors produced that would increase the top end somewhat. Berkeley also came out with a Jet-O-Vator that would lower the nozzle around two degrees and raise it about four degrees electrically. You would lower it to come out of the hole quickly, and raise it as you came out. There were also some high-performance intake grates that were available as aftermarket items. With some of these performance items combined you could get maybe 80 to 90 mph out of them.'

In 1976, a fire completely wiped out Baja's Bucyrus, Ohio, plant. When it re-tooled, the 18 Jet had
changed dramatically. The 20SS was the new flagship of the Baja line. With I/O or jet power, it was more versatile within the Baja lineup. The 18 Jet had fulfilled its purpose: taking the boatbuilder one rung higher on the ladder in that high-performance arena.

Doug Smith's enthusiasm for boating is higher than ever. After selling the company to Brunswick in 1995, he's once again with the company that he helped found back in 1971.