Fin Mystery Handle
Looks normal until.
Thanks to fellow Woody Boater Syd Marsden for sending in this head scratcher. And trust us, Syd knows everything. EVERYTHING, and this sucker has even him stumped. So. Any of you peanut gallery intellectuals have an idea? You get to one up Syd? I will bet, even Jim Staib is stumped. Unless he has an entire box full of them?
That cool feather or fin. This has an American Indian feel. Would be cool on a small boat called Tomahawk or something.
It was used by Century in the 30’s and early 40’s. Mostly on the outboards. The inboards in the early 3o’s had one or two wings on a fairlead.
I have the same one on my early 40’s Century Imperial Sportsman.
Well that was quick. Now what do we do for the rest of the day?
We could discuss great stocking stuffers for our beloved woodyboaters.
And Troy I think I know how you would stuff your stockings! ( insert wink here)
Okay, hold on! THis may be a way to keep this going. Was this an aftermarket handle put on Century’s and other boats. I cant find a reference. Anyone have proof! Phew, there. Perry Mason wants to know
Ugh.. Now what
Proof! Poof, story over
Thanks I figured an outboard but do not remember seeing one like it before. That went easier than I thought
Ok here is a discussion idea (because I just know that I am the only one that has ever done such a thing)….
When we first got our boat….being a complete rookie, I left the stern pole on the boat and well, somewhere between Portland and Seattle, rests the original, small, kinda crappy stern flag pole.
It was replaced by a nice, wood one later, so all is well and good.
Anyone else ever “lost” something on the highway????…..
Well, I hate to admit to this story, but YES, would you believe an engine hatch? Heading down to spend the winter in Florida in the late 1990’s, and didn’t get 2 hours south, and at a rest stop I walked around our Jet squirt boat. I was a couple of steps away, and thought, “why was I just looking at my engine”?
The hatch was just ripped off of the Sugar Sands, which had a forward facing type hatch, hinged at the rear. Seems the latch worked loose and the wind just took it away.
Being a white hull, and a foot of snow along the 150 miles of highway, my chances of retracing my route to find it was a waste of time. Sure hope no one was behind me when that sucker came off!!!
When I got to Ft Myers, I traded it in for a newer, faster Sugar Sands model pictured below.
Actually Matt did a great story once about a cushion that was lost/found along a highway and ended up reconnecting it with the owner that lost it. Unfortunately I could not find the story to re-post here, but I remember putting this picture in the comment section.
Green cushion??
From what I can see in my collection, this wing handle was used for 12 seasons in slightly different configurations. (base changes) Boats such as Century models Cyclone, Hurricane, Whirlwind , Sportsman. Traveler, Rascal, Black Demon, and other models not listed here. Century used these between 1930 and 1942. It was used in both yellow Brass/bronze (white brass /German silver) And aluminum… As far as I know these were only used on outboard models . I believe that it was a Century only item… I don’t have the casting number but I assume that it is in the low 100’s for century casting #s like C16 for example.
The boat in above post is a 1930 Century Cyclone this boat is a 1931 Century Black Demon
Here is a 1939 Sportsman series with the handle.
And a 1941 Whirlwind with an aluminum version with a slightly different base…
Correction from my comment above. 1932 shows various inboard models using this bow handle.
Note this boat has the Johnson stern drive. One of if not the earliest stern drive unit. 1932…
Also my brother Bob noted about a similar double wing fair lead. It was used on the Sea King maybe other of the larger inboards in 1932. Here is a close up of the drawing from the 1932 catalog.
The 1932 full rendering of the Sea King 22′
The 1932 full rendering of the Sea King 22′
I love a good horse beating! Syd started it! I wonder who made them? Wonder at this point if we can find the person that cast it!
Mine would be the white brass one. That explains how it looks. I was thinking it looked like nickle but did not look plated
Someone might ask, Just what was that handle used for?
(1941 Century Sportsman)
photo?
My 1940 century has that. It was part of their streamline design according to the ad for 1940. I would post the picture where it talks about how centuries had the Streamline design but it won’t let me attach anything.
What a very cool day! To take some small detail and blow it out like this.
I wonder if the designer envisioned a use for the fin beyond just appearance. Could use it as a hook, maybe?
Either way, it could not have been used to tow or do anything with much stress, as just three wood screws would rip out fairly easily.
Wow! This turned out to be a lot more interest then just a piece of hardware. Century, Sea King, early stern drive, Great Stuff!