How About Another Round Of Whatizit?
Fellow Woody Boater Bob Dettling came across this nice 25 footer and for the life of him, or us, he can not figure out whatizit? So he turned to all of us to gather whats left of our varnish killed brain cells and come up with something. It does have some Chris Craft step pads..
And a Lincoln flat head according to one of Bobs pals.
The windshield is gone so what you see here is an attempt to replicate that shape. So sadly we don’t have that to go from. Its clear the transom is a clear give away. Bob is from Michigan if that helps. And if that doesnt help. Just move on and go to the big Toledo Show this weekend. Find out more HERE.
LaSalle steering wheel. CQ
At least that is a LaSalle center cap… CQ
So many things about this boat should be dead giveaways to anyone who knows the builder. The transom, the bow hardware, and even the construction of the gunwale.
I suspect it is a custom boat from a small builder who was relatively unknown.
Looks well constructed.
I agree with this small volume regional craftsman comment.. Sort of the song from Johnny Cash about “ONE PIECE AT A TIME” wont cost me a dime…. I believe hard cover book writer Tony Molini had a Boats of the St Lawrence where he showed a few custom fishing skiffs that were done each winter from the factory craftsmen ,during the off -season in their garages. Slight profile changes so not to copy the company design.
Do you know what it is?
Interesting lines. The way the aft deck curves over the transom kinda looks like Donald Trump’s comb-over. Just saying.
Too bad Trumpy is already taken.
“Trumpy”…Love it
Looks to me like a re-decked Chris Craft. Check the usual places for signs of a hull number.
I’ve looked for hull numbers many times and haven’t located anything yet, I’m stumped!
I believe i misspoke about the Lincoln flathead i believe it’s a Mercury flathead wirh Osco Phila manifolds and transmission
Hahahaha! There’ll be hell toupee for that comment, BR! And for the guy who did the hell toupee poster.
I’m going to say this started out life as a U-22. I don’t think it could be a 25 sportsman .
Or a 20 Custom seat back is close.
Obviously there are some unique hardware castings. I love the bow casting. Squint your eyes and see the frog’s head! It has some classic Greavette roll down deck lines along with a dropped stern from out’a nowhere. I’m guessing it’s a one-off built by somebody who liked Greavettes. The reversed radius in the center of the dash indicated that whomever didn’t understand beam loading, or was a lightweight, or maybe both.
That batten style construction is more typical of a Century than a Chris. But those knees aren’t typical offbeither nor is the hardware. The curved over Deck has the look of a Stancraft but nothing else resembles a Stan. That line where the deck joins the sides makes it look as if the deck was built separate and then attached to the sides almost like some early fiberglass boats. I think it’s from some small, probably Michigan based manufacturer or perhaps even home built.
thats a double bottom, not a century batten bottom.
It has a stick but no clutch pedal, so it can’t be a HAL. 🙂
I would think that the hull was not home built but the deck was. There appears to be a lot more knowledge in the construction of the hull but the deck looks a bit crude. I am guessing the frames were built by one person/company and the top sides and deck were by someone else. IMO. Interesting boat though.
Looks like the engine was added at another time, based on the wiring, the cut out stringer for the exhaust and they left the shift lever on the transmission.
Is that a name plate or bracket above the dash panel?
I don’t know what it is, but it’s very cool and looks well built. Nice find!!!!!
The trailer is a Moody! There I got one right. The way the aft deck rolls down reminds me of some of the bigger Gar Woods. I disagree with the idea that the deck was done by an amateur. Take away 60 or 70 years of weather and movement of the wood and I bet it was pretty cool
I don’t know but I want it!
I like the name of the boat…”Nice Glow”.
The bottom and side construction is very, very Hacker-esque when viewed from the inside. Thin, widely spaced frames, no gussets across forward bottom frames, and lots of concavity in the bottom all says Hacker to me. The decking with the exception of the covering boards is also like Hacker made ’em, same with the ceiling-to frame extention pieces and wiring location.
I can’t explain the strip-built covering boards, other than someone didn’t want the expense of replacing large lumber with large lumber. Not a clue on that transom either. I think someone was being creative with an old Hacker. Original hardware may have been looted decades ago and replaced with what looked cool. Hull numbers are difficult to find on Hackers, mostly written with pencil on removable parts. Not many stampings. Check deck framing and engine stringers first. Good luck with the quest! Great find!
i agree
Did u ever see engine stringers go down to the intermediate frames and maybe the main frames let into the bottom of the stringer?
If it was homebuilt it wasn’t the first boat they built, everything is very symmetrical down to all screw hole locations etc. My guess is it was built in a small boat shop and i don’t feel it was modified or altered from another boat. It seems that nothing has been altered much from it’s original construction but not certain.
I agree that it has a strong Hacker design element and as I stare at this I can see a 23 or 24 hacker runabout. I think the inner planking is going in the wrong direction to be factory built. To me it seems that portions of the boat were re-used in the (presumed) reconfiguration. The forward decks and bridge deck especially. The bridge deck with the seams support post 1929 hacker but not exclusively. The platforms inside at the stern suggest this may have started life as a runabout. These mysteries are fascinating. If no numbers can be found inside then look at the chine forward near the cutwater on the stbd side. Hacker put hull numbers in this location.
Greg , i have searched for hull numbers again to find nothing , looking at decking construction from inside sure seems completely original having exact colors of primer an grey paint along with same fasteners, this boat seems all original to me. Is it a small boat shop build one off ? I think so? Any help very appreciated.
construction looks very much like my one off Argentine runabout….posted on this site before…
John in Va.
Looks like the bilge was originally red and then painted gray by looking at some photos
The paint showing thru under the gray is most likely red lead primer, used for its toxicity to prevent rot. Don’t forget Hacker did a lot of custom, one-of-a-kind builds.
Thanks for the Toledo show plug! We had a great show, 100 boats, informal races, a 1911 lake freighter, and the 1812 Brig Niagara at the National Museum of the Great Lakes. Check out our Facebook page for more info (shameless plug). Hope to see you there next year!