TOPIC: What is this?

First of all, thanks for adding me to your forum - I've been lurking around for awhile and have found all sorts of useful information. I've always had an interest in the old fiberglass boats that I can honestly say goes back to when my Dad hauled home a brand new '64 Larsen that was hit on the trailer and lost the rear 4 foot of the starboard side. He repaired it, the family used it for a couple of years, and he sold it and moved on to another boat project. He was buying and selling boats until the day he died, so I have been exposed to a lot of the 50's/60'6 fiberglass craft.

On to my find. I purchased this off of Craiglist on 9/11 just because it was there. I'm trying to determine exactly what it is. It's 12'6" long and has a 6'6" beam. It's titled as a 1995 homemade, but I believe it's factory built in the 60's/70's time frame. The seller was of no help- he received it as payment from a tenant in his rental property. I did get a folder full of receipts from 2003 that included one for the motor and for installing and rigging it. The three year registration expired in 06, so it has been sitting for awhile.
[img/] [img/] It's a solid made boat with the hull and deck bonded together in one piece. There are no numbers or names anywhere. It kind of reminds me of a G-W Invader. but it's wider and longer. It has dual raised humps in the front deck that extend to the dash. It looks familiar, but I can't place it and I can't find anything on good old google. If anyone has an idea of who made it and what model it is, I would sure like to know.
The first picture was in a folder with the title - the others are from the day I hauled it home. Thanks,

Mark

For some reason, the forum will not let me upload the pictures. Can I link to them>

I'll try this

i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/mdinz/12ftboat_zps7c7511fd.jpg

i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/mdinz/20140911_144233_zps59de5552.jpg

i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j475/mdinz/20140911_144220_zps708e0831.jpg

Mdinz,
Welcome aboard. Check the size of your pictures. If they're too big they won't post. Here is the link to posting pics here.

www.fiberglassics.com/fiberglassics-forums/home/support/how-to-post-pictures

Bob

Sorry I can't help with the ID on your boat Mark, but welcome aboard! Looks like a fun little craft, what size motor is that?

It is a fun little boat. The motor is a Mercury 40 that pushes the boat to 39 mph on a gps. I think it will clean up really well with minimal time and money.

Mark

Looks like a fun boat on calm water. If it was home made that guy should be in business for himself. As long as it's titled you got yourself a new toy. Enjoy it.

It's titled and yes, it's fun. It beats the heck out of a pwc. It attracts attention and everyone wants to know what it is and then they want a ride! With the 6'6" beam, it is a lot more stable than it appears and you get a surprisingly dry ride even in a moderate chop.
I pulled and cleaned the tank, replaced the fuel line, and put a new battery in it and have been having a blast with it since.

Mark

mdinz,

WELCOME ABOARD.

Fwiw, I saw a VERY similar 12 foot boat about 10 years ago, so I don't think that it's a homebuilt. = There were HUNDREDS, if not thousands, of "small & independent" boatbuilders that built a FEW boats & then were "dissolved".

Some of those small builders built BEAUTIFUL hulls, some were "clones" of other larger company's work, some were "just OK" & some were "just awful". - In most of the cases, there are few/no extant records, regardless of their quality.

GOOD LUCK on your hunt for information.

yours, satx

This looks very much like someone copied an 8' GW Invader and made it into a 12' model. The nose is the giveaway; very few early boats had that sharp of a point. I bet it's a blast to use.

Rand,

WELCOME ABOARD.

I suspect that it's "factory", though WHICH factory we will likely NEVER know.

For example, I have a boarding school chum, who lives in Lubbock TX, who bought an "unidentified speedboat" in 1965 or 66, with a 1955 Johnson 25HP and despite a LOT of "library research" has found out ZILCH about the maker, which according to a paper label imbedded in the gelcoat, was LOGAN BOATBUILDING of Miami, OK.
(There is NO extant records at the City Tax Office in Miami for any such maker's name.)

yours, satx

She looks like a GW Invader to me............

I'm fairly certain it's not a GW Invader - I had one back in the late 70's and this boat is defiantly not the same. I'm also fairly certain it's not homemade - if it is , whoever made it should be building boats full time. I guess it really doesn't matter what it is. It's a fun little boat that I have very little money tied up in, so I'm just going to continue using it and having fun with it.

This boat is the exact definition of "Impulse Purchase" - I saw it, the price was right, and the next thing I knew it was hitched to my truck and on the way to my driveway. I tried to explain to my wife that it just followed me home, but she was not buying into that one!!

Thanks guys,

Mark

mdinz,

I believe that most of the long-time members of FG have made at least one "impulse purchase" that "didn't turn out so well". = At worst you have a decent little "play pretty"/toy.

yours, satx

Oh, this by know means is my only "Impulse Purchase". I have a four car garage full of useless junk, I mean treasures, that I've hauled home along the way. It sure seems a lot easier to "get" something than it is to "get rid" of something. My kids are gonna hate me when I take the big dirt nap someday........

Mark

Mark,
Too funny, I think I resemble that remark! lol My dad was far worse than I am. Unfortunately our kids don't get it!

Bob

Totally relate. I call myself a packrat/borderline hoarder - girfriend says "what do you mean borderline?!"...lol

Hi,
I believe that it is a Ski-Bird. Here is a brochure from my archives. When I first caught your post I knew that I had seen that boat somewhere before, I think that this is it.

Lee

Way to go Lee that does look like it but without the windshields. What do you think Mark?

Bob

It sure looks like it. Do you have any idea about what year that would be from? I really did not believe it is homemade - this pretty much confirms that.

Thanks,

Mark