TOPIC: 1959 Herters FlyingFish/1958 Johnson Sea Horse 35h

Just got a 1959 Herters Flying Fish with a 1958 Johnson 35hp ( given to me ). Want to refurbish the boat and need the lenses for the front lights so far. Am working with dial-up, new to any type of forum and not quite up to speed with my camera yet! Hoping to lean on the rest of you for advice as I proceed - but think I am in the right place to find the help and encouragement needed. www.fiberglassics.com/components/com_kunena/template/200907_the_lips/images/english/emoticons/unsure.png

Welcome aboard 71D, glad to have you join us. The gang here is great about sharing advise, helping source parts, and keeping you on the right track. Looking forward to seeing some pics of your Herters. There's a thread in the support section that helps on posting pics. www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/7-support/22256-how-to-post-pictures.html
They're essential to identify parts and problems, provide advise for solutions, etc.. Let us know if you need any help.

71,heres pics of my 59 flying fish deluxe,im told the bowlight lens were the same as the ones you see on ebay that were battery operated.
as for the taillights i have found that you can buy regular cone shaped trailer/cab light lens at franks auto super market for 99 cents a piece.john

Welcome to the club! Whoo hooo, finally someone to share emotions with on the Herters flying fish, a '59 ta boot!
The fish I am working on didn't have any lights/lenses in the front just a broken out vent with the cable still attached. The bow light was a separate add on about the center of the bow. With the dial up can you receive any of the pictures that are posted? There is a thread here that I am posting on, 59 herters rebuild or something like that. I hope yours is in better condition than what I started out with. Keep us posted or shoot me an email.
Cal

Hey John, I still think you fish looks better than mine even just sitting on the trailer. On your bow setup is the insert solid, mine was broken, it had a cable attached to it to open like a wind scoop, no indication of lights. The lenses in my back fins are in good condition but the light fixtures themselves are rusted toast. I somehow have to come up with a solution to that problem.
More on the Herters rebuild thread.

yep its a solid ,hindged piece that opens with a cable,so you can vent the bow area.the holes on each side had bow light lenses in them as far as i know,the bowlight with the flag staff pole was an option.
as for the light fixtures in the fins,i was going to put led bulbs in under the lenses.
you could also try buying the cone shaped lights with the lenses i talked about and maybe retrofit them,ill take a closer look tomorrow,john

Kinda partial to '59 caddys, bring back high school memories, would look good there. The led lights would work. There is a truckers supermart in the area with a selection of lights that go beyond imagination, that is also a good place to start. Once I get the inside of the hull painted and the top back in place I'll start getting more serious on the cosmetics. That's the fun part to look forward to. To take a break from the boat I can start poking fun at the Merc Mark 58.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread.

That 35 seahorse is a solid motor. Parts are still available, water impellers are cheap. If it still has the pressure tank I would convert to a fuel pump that came on the later omc's. They are bolt on and eliminate the leaky lines.

thanks John for the pics. I should have some up on site by this weekend. Everything still functional bowlight wise but the lenses are toast. Haven't done much but haul it home on a homemade trailer that flexed too much and that sported two tires with bubbles! Hope to start to strip what I can before winter and bring that indoors with motor to work on this year and then go at the glass next summer ( short season here in Northern NH ). Will know in the next two weeks more about needs cosmetically. Wife already noticing my early addiction to this project.

Thanks 63 Sabre. Yea I'm not sure how much i will be able to view with dial-up but so far I been able to see what john_gibson has posted for pictures. I will have some up this weekend I'm hoping.

I got your private message and mailed you a reply. When it comes to stripping the boat I can tell you the problems I ran into and how I solved them. Depends on how far you want to go with it. The hardest was separating the top and bottom halves. Just about everything I did is posted on the thread. I want to get the top and bottom put together before the weekend. With the cold weather coming fast I would like to get the top painted before I move ops indoors completely. Wife gets pretty sarcastic about the smell of polys saturating the house, smells like perfume to me!
If you need some pictures I can zip file some to you, should make it easier for you to load up.
Cal

71,your right about the addiction,i was only allowed 1 boat,but there are 6 out there now,but im only keeping 3 to fix up.1 is for my nephew the other 2 are going to the dump.
i wish i was woking on one now but things need done around the house 1st,good luck with the flying fish i will be following around,if you need anything let me know,john

I'm interested , I tried to call the number but got a full mailbox recording My name is Skip Radel my cell # is 513 236 4158

skip do you mean me?if so i will give you a call,john,let me know