TOPIC: What is this boat?

I just brought home this boat today and cannot find any markings on it to indicate who made it. It is 13ft long and appears to be from the 50's. There is a seagull embossed in the metal steering wheel center cover. The bow handle looks Larson. The 12ft Corson looks very similar but the Corson fins look longer. The transom board has been removed as well as most of the accessories and the windshield. The bow light is rather unique as it is bullet shaped. The boat is in great shape for its age and should clean up nicely. The elderly gentleman that sold it to me had no history on the boat and used it last as a swim float for his grand kids....Any help identifying would be great.
Thank you,
Bob

R: CONGRATS , seems clean sturdy unit. My 1st guess would be Speed Queen, on your sturdy comment. Had another member wanting a 50's style, but no rotten floor design , etc & mfg of Speed Queen was mentioned.

. Deck hardware can always be dealer installed per region of county sold, so not always a clue. Also owner change over time. As were steering wheels left or right per owner being left or right handed, to use the shift / control box for outboards.

Split....That was a great guess as to the manufacturer. The files on this site have some good pictures of the Speed Queen. The Speed Queen is indeed a very close example of the boat that I just got. It doesn't appear that the Speed Queen wasn't built in a 13 footer and it also lacked the small fins that mine has. The floor reinforcement is very similar as are the moulded in seats. On the Antique Boat Center site there is a 12ft '58 Corson in the for sale section that is the closest that I can find to my boat. Possibly he measured the length wrong or I measured wrong. The fins however appear to extend up to the front cockpit on the Corson where mine don't. I agree with the dealer installed accessories but sometimes there are unique castings and accessories that are brand exclusive ie. the bow and stern handles on the mid-50's Feather Crafts. The bow light on this boat is not a common design accessory and may be unique to this manufacturer. Unfortunately the screw-on lens is missing. I will post a picture of the light at some time that might help identify the boat or turn up the missing screw-on front lens at the very least. Hopefully I will be able to identify the "new" boat but at the very least it will get restored and back on the water.

Close, close match to the "Corson". Could be a later model or a copy by another manufacturer. I would suggest also taking a look at P14, but I don't think they ever had molded-in seats: www.fiberglassics.com/library/P-14

Without a close-up photo, I would guess your bowlight is an Attwood: the following is from a 1957 Attwood brochure:

Handyandy...Great job tracking down the deck light from my sketchy description. It is indeed an Attwood light. Now all I need to do is find a front for it. At least now I know what I am looking for.I have attached a picture of what I have on the boat. Thank you for your help.
Bob

Continuing our discussion from the Feathercraft site.
Here are pics of mine. Unknown maker, but I'm sure our hulls are from the same maker. Yes the decks and seats are different, but all 3 boats I have seen are strikingly similar. Mine is registered as "misc", which is as vague as you can get!
The other I have seen was in CT, and was said to be an Aquafleet boat, but had no markings that I remember to prove it. . Mine is in NH and was reportedly from MA. Yours was in MA. I think we can say they were probably made in New England, and there was relatively few early makers of glass runabouts around here. Corson was one.
Mine is registered as a 13ft. Back in the day, many makers did their measurement along the gunnel, not straight line. Mine is 13 along the gunnel. Give a little leeway when people tell you the lenght of their boat.

Just looked at the "Corson". Doesn't look like it has any obvious external markings. I wonder if it is also a boat with no actual badges/decals/data plates or stamped numbers. They could be guessing, or simply going by the registration, which is a crapshoot.

Matt...Glad you moved our discussion over to this site. I was reluctant to even post over on the Feather Craft site as it is not a Feather Craft though I am a multi Feather Craft owner.
Your boat is amazingly similar to mine. I have a white rubber/vinyl strip that finishes the edges of the hull/deck. Possibly mine was slightly earlier than yours when fins were in vogue. My curiosity is really up now as to who made these boats. I cannot find any reference to your maker in the Peter Hunn book Tail fins... etc.
The fiberglas layup is interesting in that it is fine cloth for the final layer on the inside. I think that dates it as an early boat as later boats used woven roving, mat or chopper gun. It was a quality boat from the finish and use of the mold plug to form the interior, seats and deck combination. You saw the earlier post that the bow light was identified as Attwood 1957 catalog. That is where I was placing the boat before that equipment revelation. Your boat appears to be in great shape also. Have you had it long?
I will try and find out what the significance of the seagull on the steering wheel is. Hopefully it is not just an aftermarket wheel like the Attwood light but I haven't seen one like that before. I'm sure that someone on this site can shed some light on that design. I am posting a picture of the embossed steering wheel cover.
This is some good fun detective work here. It will be great to find the answers. Nice boats.
Bob

I went ahead and searched the 2008 to 2010 forum archive and came up with this post about an Aquafleet with photos:

www.fiberglassics.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1430&p=6887&hilit=aquafleet#p6887


I also have photos of an Aquafleet that was listed on the Hartford craigslist earlier this year:

HandyAndy...You are the best detective out there!! That blue boat is exactly the boat that I have in red. Now I will start the research on Aquafleet. I am truly amazed at the knowledge that can be brought to identifying obscure boats with no markings. This inquiry has brought out some really neat unmarked similar mystery boats that were never on my radar. Now to narrow the search further to year, brochures, manufacturing location This will be fun.
Bob

Can anyone tell me what this is? The Berleley jet drive might not be original. If you can please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

My attachment did not go through. Help!

Bob - Doncha just love this place!? Good luck with the AquaFleet.

Welcome to FG pontiacnut. Two things I think you will find helpful:
1 Here's a link to help with posting pics
www.fiberglassics.com/glassic-forums/main-forum/pic-sizing-problems-look-here
2 Please start a new thread with your inquiry. (You click the "new thread" or "new topic" buttons, and you're all set.) We're all trying to use better manners around here, and it's considered improper etiquette to jump in on someone else's post with a different subject. I hope you don't think I'm being brash or rude, just trying to help.

Here is a similar boat listed for sale in North Bay Ontario This seller thinks it's an Elgin made for Sears. Neat little boat at a good price, wish I had some spare funds!
northbay.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-boats-watercraft-powerboats-motorboats-Vintage-12-Fibreglass-Runabout-boat-W0QQAdIdZ213557296
Al

Its been a while since i've been on here. I originally posted pictures wondering if anyone had an aquafleet. I'm still trying to finish mine. I decided to redo the flooring and wooded sections of my 14' fishing boat this summer instead. I'm hoping by the end of next summer I can get the aquafleet painted. I have seen the blue one before, the owner had emailed pictures of it to me when he was selling because I'd found him before on a bass website; he used it to fish out of. It took over a year before he finally sent me pictures of it; even then I think it was just because he was hoping i'd buy it. Its great to see more of them popping up though.

That is a Fire Fly, by Aqua Fleet ... 1956/57. My dad bought one new with a Johnson 18 hp from Eddy Marine, Poultney, Vt. on Lake St. Catherine ... I remember it well.

Stew