TOPIC: 1961 Shell Lake Rocket

Hello, Everyone;

New member to Fiberglassics. My wife's and my latest project together is this little number. We love the look of this vintage model and are looking to learn as much as we can about it. If any of you have advice or information beyond what we have gleaned on the internet, I would welcome your input. Not much out there for original parts, I suspect. We've got some dash instrumentation to figure out.
Thanks in advance,
RJ

Sweet looking boat Rob.

Thanks very much, Morris. We're currently shopping for a used outboard so she's ready to roll next spring, really looking forward to that.

rob, nice boat. i have a 1958 rocket, i was going to sell it cuz of health reasons but decided to hang on to it for another year and then get back to working on it. mine is not that good of shape, you can see mine in the members project pages, you may have to go down a few pages . did you get yours in little falls mn? i seen one on cl that was for sale there . looks just like yours. what part of mn do you live at? again nice boat. frog

Thanks, Frog. Finally decided to take the leap, and yes it was in Little Falls. I've been reading your monumental undertaking of restoring your Rocket. Looking forward to seeing your work completed. I'm not of that skillset by any means, so you have my respect. New to boating, my wife and I are overcoming a little sticker shock on used outboards!

RJ8ball wrote:

................my wife and I are overcoming a little sticker shock on used outboards!

Something you may want to consider RJ: Many times you can get a much better deal on a motor by buying it as a package deal on an old boat you don't want. Believe it or not you can literally save hundreds of dollars doing it that way! Of course you then have to sell or dispose of the boat and maybe the trailer, but you can sometimes get lucky and sell them off to help with the cost of the motor. Good luck with it, HTH.

Thanks for the advice, Mark. Hadn't considered that, we'll definitely add that to our list of options.

RJ. seems to me if my mind is clear, that your transom is for a short shaft or has been cut down. is your rocket a 14 ft or a 16 ft? frog

Hey, frog; It's a 16 foot and the transom will accommodate a long shaft, plus there's an aluminum reinforced sleeve where the engine mounts.

8ball, how are you doing on your rocket? have not heard anything in a while, just wondering. find a motor yet. I took a year off of working on mine due to health. but am planning on hitting it hard next spring. after I get my grandsons pirate ship set up for a club house. hang in there and post some pictures of you progress. frog

Hey, frog;
Hope your health improves for you soon and you're back up to speed. I know that trouble.
We've shelved work for the season, snooping around for storage.
My wife did find a plexiglas stern light shaft on ebay, we think it's off of an old Chriscraft perhaps...looks great when lit, though a little yellowed with age. Hooked up battery and found all the nav/spot lights work. Pulled all old carpet off, laid some new on sides and planning to Durabak the floor. Putzing around with trailer parts, a friend says its an old Highlander.
Planning on taking it to a local dealer for engine/controls after 1st of the year. They've a good selection. Hoping by spring he'll have more (inexpensive!)used come in, probably go with 60-70hp.
Thanks for checking in, frog. Regards & better health.
RJ

Frog;

Spring has sprung and we're nearly water ready. Hope you've licked your health issues and you've been able to resume work on your Rocket.

I've been busy and confess it looks pretty sweet. Didn't go vintage on the engine, got set up with a remanned '94 50HP Merc. Did some dash reconfiguration, cleaned up wiring under, gas tank checked, floor/walls work, new steering mechanism. I'll post pics soon.

Best,
RJ

rj8ball, great , can not wait to see your boat, are you from little falls? iam in aitkin. frog

Barnesville's home.

rj, why don,t you join the chat room tonite. a lot of fun. 7 or 8 pm.

Hello, everybody;

Finally water ready, some pics as well. Hope to get her on the water this week or next.

Policed the area under the dash, streamlined with conduit to tidy up. Moved some gauges and added a SeaRay speedometer cluster that covered the holes shown in the before pics, which I'll post later.

Scraped, power steel brush on the floor, primed, then Cabela's Non-skid paint. The carpet on the sides is glued, but the floor pieces are removable for cleaning.

Purists, will hopefully please excuse the (temporary) racing-style steering wheel. The original broke up on removal. We'd eventually like to spring for a classic wheel to fit a 3/4 taper for a more vintage look when $. Also please excuse the non-vintage motor, but we're looking for solid dependability.

Shout out to Pat and the guys at Kovash Marine in Moorhead, MN. Awesome guys all around. Fitted us with a remanufactured 50HP '94 Mercury Jet 45. They also updated to single cable steering for safety. Great business!

My wife and I are excited for our first cruise!

Here's a before.

Here's another after.

Sorry, one more.

rj8ball, you got your rocket looking great, can not wait to see a picture of it in the water and making waves. good work. frog

Thanks very much, frog. We LOVE our project! How is your health? Are you able to work on your Rocket?
RJ

rj8, iam doing better now. I have a 1901 pirate ship that I have set up for my grandson, as a club house. you can see it in the awesome boat pic section. and have to get my duo tri hull in the water. I sure would like too find a good home for my rocket. yours is looking good. frog

She looks great RJ, very nice work! Now get out there and ENJOY, (and be sure to send pics!)

Thanks, Mark. Enjoying it is our intention! I'll definitely post some water pics.