New Summer Hobby- Vintage Boats & Motors

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,527]

Well some of you know that KenB is big into vintage boats and outboard motor collecting and restoring. He got me hooked... Here are two of my boats before and after pics. I want to thank Terry for all his help in making the decals. He made a set of reggie lettering and Crestliner side decal that is being shipped now for the aluminum boat. I love the horses but as Ken says it is a nice change to have another hobby. 

[Fun Engineer 859]

Those are REALLY nice Steve. Love the polish job on the Crestliner. Is that Wheel Horse red? :)

[Ken B 3,189]

Lookin good Steve. I'm still undecided about which boat to bring to the meet this Saturday. One yr. I was so undecided It came down to this..

[Brrly1 1,146]

For some reason the red looks really close, can you say it Wheel Horse red or al least very similar. Steve we can't tell that your a wheel horse guru, no, not at all

 

Yes, I had to edit! Same goes for you Ken, Is red the only color they have over there on the east coast?

Edited September 5, 2014 by Brrly1

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,527]

John- The BEST color. It is actually called Bright Red made by Petitt Marine paint. Easypoxy is the kind. 

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Nice boats you two.  

[fireman 1,022]

Steves trying to get me to start collecting them too. Isn't gonna happen. I've already seen what an addiction can do to a person! 

 

Not to mention I don't have any room.

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,527]

Small outboards take up a lot less room than tractors.. All you need is a small rowboat with no winterizing just flip it over.... 

[AMC RULES 37,196]

They already got me... 

been looking for a Feathercraft for the Hudson.

[Ken B 3,189]

They already got me... 

been looking for a Feathercraft for the Hudson.

I have owned at least five FeatherCrafts. The one you want is a Vagabond. A Deluxe Runabout will do as well. The Vagabond is 14ft.7 and the Deluxe is 13. The Vagabond can handle some rough chop really well. It is built extremely well. I really wish I had kept these two boats. The first pic is of my Vagabond I restored and the second of a Deluxe Runabout I restored. I restored both motors as well. The Lark on the Back of the Deluxe Runabout is a very rare motor. I bought it at a outboard swap meet in piece's in a box. I went thru everything and repainted it in the correct colors. I love the Wheel Horse hobby and especially the guys. BUT... While I find alot of enjoyment riding a Wheel Horse I'm a speed junky. I would still have my race boats If my knees and back were in better shape. Nothing is more fun than doing 50 plus in a 10 ft. boat...For me it has always been boats and outboards in the summer and busting out the tractors in the fall. I might be in trouble with Steve's wife for getting him into this second hobby because Steve has already told me he has told her its all my fault! Take the plunge Craig, you won't regret it, blame it on me! I got Steve to join the Antique Outboard club and he really seems to be enjoying it, a bunch of great guys in that club just liike there is on Redsquare. There are a ton of very cool looking runabouts out there that might be a little easier too find and cheaper to purchase than a FeatherCraft. F/C's have a huge following and good one's command top dollar. Your wife can enjoy it with you as well, my wife isn't really into boating.

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Confirm, the first pict...

is that the Vagabond Ken?

[Ken B 3,189]

Yes it is.

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Awesome..

the search begins.

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,130]

Nice boats (both of you). I love boating as well but my non-shiny non-collectable boat is strictly a fishing machine. I have owned a few boats with the big hp outboards, the biggest was a Johnson 115, and I will admit the lower hp stuff is so much more dependable and less finicky. My Johnson 28SP is an absolute pleasure to own.

My ol' dog loves a boat ride  !!

Mike.........

 

 

[Ken B 3,189]

Hey Sparky, what lake is that? Nice boat ya got there...

I'll be taking one of these boats tomm to our outboard meet. STILL kinda up in the air as to which one...

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,130]

Hey Sparky, what lake is that? Nice boat ya got there...

I'll be taking one of these boats tomm to our outboard meet. STILL kinda up in the air as to which one...

 

The second and third pics are at Gardener Lake in Salem Ct where it sat in a slip all last summer when we had a seasonal campsite there. The first pic is at my favorite place to fish....Mansfield Hollow (Mansfield Ct). Its a 8mph limit lake so its great for fishing without having the jet-ski and water-ski crowd tearing around. And its plenty big that I'm never fishing next to anyone else. I think its 460 acres which is big for this side of the state. In the picture of my boat beached you can see a "corrugated tube" going under the road, that tube is big enough to motor right thru.

 My boat is actually all hooked up in the driveway behind my Dodge right now for a Saturday morning trip to Mansfield.

  Mike............

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Hey Sparky, what lake is that? Nice boat ya got there...

I'll be taking one of these boats tomm to our outboard meet. STILL kinda up in the air as to which one...

 

I vote for the blue one Ken.  

[wh500special 2,262]

Sparky,

Those Johnson's and Evinrudes in the 20-35hp range are about as bulletproof as an engine can get. We've had a few of them and they're amazingly reliable, require little maintenance, and laugh at all the guys that bother to winterize.

About the only things I can think of that wear out are the shift dogs and the powerpacks.

I've never looked to see what makes the 28 so special. I know they used the older style gearcase and I assume they have the same carb and manifold as the 30/35.

The old 35s in that class were re-rated as 30's when thy started measuring hp at the propshaft rather than the power head. So older twin cylinder 35s and newer 30s are basically the same power.

Good luck on the lake tomorrow!

I remember having old "classic" ob's when I was little. And how frustrating my dad and uncles would be on a cold morning when they wouldn't start. Never thought they'd be collectible. I recall one Western Auto being so trouble prone that my uncle unclamped the sucker from the transom in the middle of the lake and dropped it in. Might have been a Chrysler.

Keep posting pix guys!

Steve

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,130]

I hope I'm not hi-jackin this thread.....but I was able to get on the lake this morning.

How was the fishing you ask.....crappy! But I wasn't at work and I wasn't working on a honey-do list for the wife and my fishing partner didn't yak my ear off (caught ol' yeller with her eyes closed a couple times). Caught the usual sunfish on every third cast  , and one good sized perch. No large or small mouth bass for me today. 

 

 

Mike..........

 

 

 

[Ken B 3,189]

Steve, myself and our boys Brennan and Cole had a GREAT time yesterday at our outboard meet! I took my Runabout as Craig suggested and I brought along my tube to pull the two kiddo's around and pull them around I did! My rig purred like a kitten all day..  I might hit up another meet in Wayland Mass. this coming Saturday... I didn't get any pics maybe Steve did?

[AMC RULES 37,196]

 What?

 

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,130]

Not that I'm looking to join (my boats an 87 and the motors and 89) but are these meets like a tractor/machinery show? A chance to show your boat and yak with other vintage boat guys? Or are there competitions with judging and all that going on?

Just curious.

Mike..........

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,527]

No pics be a great time for sure.

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,527]

Ken and I met up on the lake today for an afternoon burn... His is a 1954 Crestliner and mine is the 1955 version. You do not see one of these boats everyday let alone two....

 

I was eating his wake all afternoon because he cheats..... 

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Man, soooo...nice.

Looks like fun.