1937 Swedish Flathead-Powered Runabout Finally Launched After 35 Years!

Off to a day on the lake
Fellow Woody Boater Håkan Pettersson from Sweden sent us all in these beautiful shots from photographer Kenneth Sandelin and videos of his long time project finally running. The part that is even more moving is how regardless of oceans, thousands of miles and from different cultures, we all speak the same language. That ford flat head is a universal vocabulary of “Oh ya that’s cool” Its a small blue ball we all live on, ya might as well, go boating in style on it. Thanks again to Håkan letting us all share in your excitement.

Stunning
Hello Fellow Woody Boaters, Here are some pics and YouTube videos from the day it got in the water, last week, after more than 35 years on dry land! The engine runs very smooth and without any vibrations though it’s mounted direct to the motor bed with no rubber dampers! We do have some issues with the carb and ignition…. it runs perfect on low idle but when you hit the throttle it wants to die…..hopefully well sort this out during the summer!

Beautiful Lake as well. Wow!
Here is a little on the boat.
The Swedish designer is Gideon Forslund and this particular boat, named “KURRE”, was built at Gideon own ship yard in Stockholm 1937.
He started this series of boats, called Essbåt, in 1929 and ended it in 1959 in a slightly different design.

Beautiful lines
Gideon was had great contacts with the Swedish reseller of Ford and therefore his boats often had Ford engine. Our boat “KURRE” was originally equipped with a 85 hp Ford V8.

We love the texture in the wood. She is proud of her age! Perfect
In Sweden we have a tradition of putting the name of the boat with chromed brass letters, often in the front. Regarding “KURRE” the case is however slightly different and the letters has always been mounted mid ship below the side windows, as you se in some of the pics. That’s rather unique in Sweden and at the same time very easy to recognize “KURRE” throughout the years!

Smiles are also a universal language
The boat runs extremely smooth in the water, amazing what the designer new about boating 1937….!
Here are some cool short videos!
CRANK IT UP!
Under way!

Stunning.
Oh Ya that motor sounds cool. CongratulatioNs
Great Looking Boat!
Nice sound! I would love to see some pics of the engine.
I wonder if the Swedes make good condensers?
I would have bet the farm the “condenser” comment would of been the very first comment today –
What a beautiful boat!! Would love to hear about the 37 yr. restoration effort!!
Beautiful boat. In honor of my Swedish heritage I have a Swedish ensign on my deck boat/pontoon boat thingy. Whoops, I just admitted I owned one of those.
Good Morning, funny thing, my 1957 Higgins with the Chrysler flat head still has timing and carburetor issues that I need to ‘sort’ out this summer!
Secondly, I love getting the newsletter almost daily and notice your’e on Facebook. Is there a possibility you could ‘friend’ me for my company, Mahogany Runabout Rentals, LLC. under Mike Stevens on Facebook?
Thanks
Tak sa mcyket. Ja tycka om bat.
Beautiful. Nice work, Håkan!
Thanx, guys! I really appreciate your comments and I’m honored to be on the front page of this popular and beatiful site! 🙂
You do have seen the engine before….remember?
I had the same problem with a Chrysler engine cutting out upon acceleration — carb accelerator pump bad.