TOPIC: Thoughts on a Herters boat

Hello everyone,

I’m a new member and I am thinking of purchasing this boat.
What are your thoughts on it?
Value, things to watch out for, upgrades, and general info.
I appreciate your time and knowledge ahead of time.

Andrey.

Welcome to Fiberglassics !
Nice looking boat. I love the fins and tail lights ! It looks complete. I don't know much about them, But I did tow one from Kentucky to Buffalo once for another fiberglassics member who lives in Rochester NY. The only difference I see, from the one I towed, is on the bow plate with the handle. There were two light sockets for red and green on port & starboard of the center vent on the bow plate/handle.
This is the one I towed to Buffalo www.fiberglassics.com/forum/main-forum/49742-1959-herters.html#119078
I think he paid 300 bucks for it ?
Also, when you read this: Near the top of the page, there will be some black tabs. Pick the "search" tab then type "herters" for the keywords, then slide down to where it says a year ago "And Newer" change that to "And Older". There are a lot of threads about Herters Enjoy your search

Andrey, welcome aboard and thanks for joing us! You a very nice find and like Chuck I don't know a lot abpout the Herters but there are a few folks on here who do. I'm not sure on the price to give you, it seems to be in very good shape, $1k maybe????. I believe that it was restored at least once from the looks of the Yellow. It looks like paint vice jelcoaabout hull gelcoat colors. I don't recall if those came in a jelcoat that color or not, the other Hertsers experts can chime in as they'll know . The big thing will be the transom integrerty.

Bob

First a caveat. These are just my opinions of Herters boats, and other members may have different views than mine. I have owned about five of them, and am currently showing a 1957 Deluxe tall fin.
Second, a question. What do you plan to primarily use the boat for? Would you be showing it? Pull skiers and tubers? Fishing?
Once we know what you are planning on doing with it, it’s a little easier to determine if the one you have found is a good boat to pursue, so I’ll go over a few things about Herters boats in general, and this one in particular.
Pros:
All aluminum and fiberglass construction except for a small amount of wood behind the dash for support eliminating bad wood as a concern.

Boat is stable handling in steep turns.

All of the Herters boats are attention getters with their fins and aluminum trim.

They are relatively inexpensive and a good boat if you want to show a Fiberglassic without dropping in a ton of money.

They are light weight and are usually competitive with other boats with larger outboards.

Cons:
Their flat bottom makes them rough riding in choppy water. Their light weight and limited bottom stiffening doesn’t help the problem.

They have an all aluminum transom that is prone to cracking.

The aluminum floor structure and the trim, beach scuff pads, and the transom are all bolted to the hull by aluminum and stainless hardware. (mostly aluminum) and they leak no matter what you , or Herters originally, did or do to stop it. The shaking and banging, and eventually the corrosion, win out. One way to avoid it to run a Scott Atwater outboard with a Bail-A-Matic system. It can’t stop the water from coming in, but it can pump it out as quick as it gets in.

About the boat you are looking at. It looks like it’s in pretty decent shape considering how most of them look at that age.
There are number of Herters models built between 1956 an 1960. They can be divided up between Deluxe, Standard, Mark III and a low production, 13 ft. two seater called the Eldorado Rocket. That is probably the most sought after model, but is not a practical user boat.
The Deluxe and Standard models are 15’6’’ in length. The Mark III is a little over 14’’.
The next most important characteristic is fin height. ’57 and ’58 Deluxe and Eldorado had tall fins. Standards and Mark III had shorter fins.
Yours is either a 58 or 59 Standard or Mark III. Looking at the slope of the prow it looks like a Mark III, but I can’t see the ID Cast on to the prow piece. Measuring the length will ID what it is.
I can’t see the condition of the aluminum floor structure or if there are cracks in the transom, but externally it’s pretty good. The only obvious things missing are the bow lights in the prow piece, the windshield, windshield mounts, and the glove box cover. If showing is not in the boat’s future those won’t make any difference. Parts can be subbed.
All in all, assuming no transom cracks it’s in pretty good shape, and yes the yellow and black are Herters colors. By 1958 they must have had 20 colors that could be applied in single tone, two ton, and three tone.

Price? That’s always hard to figure from pics. If the trailer and motor are part of the deal they are probably worth more than the boat. I’m thinking 300-500 for the trailer, and depending on the condition of the motor, I go along with Bob’s estimate of a grand + for the whole rig.
One more thing. If you do want to get more info on Herters boats go on ebay and search for Herters Marine catalog. There are lots of Herters “boat” catalogs, but the MARINE is the one you want. 57-58-59 will cover all you need to know and they sell for about $15.
Good Luck with your quest.

Don