TOPIC: Handling Characteristics?

The only 2 boats I've owned are a 1977 28' Welded Aluminum Tri Hull with a Chevy 350 inboard and now a 65 MFG Niagara with a 1971 50hp Evinrude.

When I look at some of the extreme styling of the "boats that look like cars" I keep wondering how they handle and if they were actually designed for normal boating or if they were originally just for slow, freshwater pleasure cruising and turning heads. Also, some of the designs had headlights and tail lights... did this cause any issues with coastguard requirements for Bow/Stern light setups?

Most of the Tail Fin boats that are prized by collectors are horribly performing boats by any standard. Many vintage powerboats are downright dangerous at speeds above 25MPH. Nearly all of them pound in chop, and in rough water, are impossible to use. There were a few good performers among them, but even those would be considered poorly performing boats by today's standards. The majority of boats sold were essentially a blank slate - no motor, no steering, no lights, no horn, etc, etc... so the boat companies did not have to produce a product in compliance with the U.S. G.C.

Mots boats weren't even rated for maximum horsepower, or maximum number of persons allowed in the hull. Essentially, it was a free-for-all deal until regulators and insurance companies demanded that it changed.

It was the wild west until the Outboard Boating Club of America started certifying boats and motors.

www.fiberglassics.com/library/Outboard_Boating_Club_of_America

he majority of boats sold were essentially a blank slate - no motor, no steering, no lights, no horn, etc, etc... so the boat companies did not have to produce a product in compliance with the U.S. G.C.

Actually most of these boats were produced in the 50's and 60's and the USCG regulations didn't exist until 1972 and later. So there weren't any requirements to meet except the old BIA (Boating Industry Association now call NMMA) standards. Only members of BIA followed them.

As for the headlights and tail lights, yes they violated the navigation rules, but these boats were relatively rare compared to the total number of boats so it wasn't pursued unless it became an issue such as in an accident or the boat was boarded in a safety check. If they didn't use them at night they were OK. (Ironic isn't it, lights for night use that can't be used at night.)

Bruce is right most of these were lousy boats just cute collectibles for boat parades and other events.

Ok, so out of all the Fin Boats out there which were considered awesome performers vs. poor performers. In looking at a lot of these pictures I am seeing a lot of extremely shallow, flat hull profiles with bows that are practically on the waterline.

Nowadays do the owners of some of the more extreme examples have a hard time registering / insuring these boats?

If they have a hard time registering them it has nothing to do with the boats performance. It has everything to do with the ownership trail. These boats were built long before states started requiring A title and often they sat for years in someones yard without a current registration and very little in a paper trail. Then they sell it to get rid of it but provide no old registrations or bill of sale. Plus they do not have Hull Identification Numbers (none were required) so it is often difficult to get the necessary documents to register the boat.

As far as insurance goes, there are companies that will insure antique and vintage boats. I insured my 1972 Sea Ray with BoatUS by performing what they call a self survey. Of course I had an advantage because my job was very close to surveying of boats so I knew what they wanted and how to provide it. But you may have to have a professional survey to get insurance. It depends on the company. Or,,, you can insure it as property under homeowners, but that doesn't cover your liability. Maybe someone else here has more experience than I with insuring these types of boats.

I'm starting to grow fond of these "fin" boats even though I do not think I will ever own one.... I've always been a "Function over Form" kind of guy but I very much appreciate the style and the craftsmanship that goes into restoring them.

Anyone have any stories of great performers vs lousy?

Most of the tail fin boats were simply the same performers as their non-tail fin counterparts. The small boats that have low freeboard can be a fairly wet ride. In rough conditions water will easily splash over the bow and up to the cockpit. Some boats will do what is known as "chine trip" where the forward side of the boat can unintentionally "dig" into the water. This usually happens when an inexperienced vintage boat operator parallels a large wake from another boat. It can be compared to riding a bicycle too close to a cement curb, then having the front wheel scrape the curb. The bike will lurch, possibly throwing the rider off the bike. A boat that chine trips can be violent enough to throw occupants out of their seats, or the boat. Almost all vintage boats had this handling characteristic - not just tail fin models. Also, most little tail fin boats were built by completely inexperienced builders. Most vintage boats don't like to turn at higher speeds, they tend to slide rather than carve through turns. This handling characteristic changed with the advent of the "deep-V" hull designs in the early-mid 1960s. Many vintage boats were built very narrow with round chines, meaning that they were very prone to tipping from side to side like a canoe. The wider and heavier the boats don't seem to suffer from "rolling" like the little boats. Most importantly most small companies that built these early fiberglass "novelty" boats had little to none of marine design experience. I've never ridden in a Larson Falls Flyer, but the other Larson models I've been in were pretty good performers. Paul Larson had lots of boat building experience by the time tail fins came along. I've ridden in a Glass Craft that actually scared me it performed so poorly. Thankfully, it only had a 35HP motor on it. My American Marc "Stardust" rode more like a sheet of plywood on the water than a boat - but it sure looked cool! The best performing tail fin boat I have ever owned, or ridden in is a 1960 Reinell Jetflite. I'm completely biased of course because I own one. But it really does have outperform most vintage boats of that era. The bow is over 8 feet long, and it has a surprisingly stable ride. The most interesting thing about the boat is that the harder you push it, the flatter it rides. Most boats of this era will tend to porpoise at speeds near 40 mph, but the Reinell will lay flat and run effortlessly at these speeds. Interestingly, it will porpoise at about 35mph under partial throttle. None of them are perfect.

Here is an old video of me driving the boat for the final time, before taking it off the water for restoration. The top speed in the video is about 40 MPH - the speedometer on the boat was accurate up to about 25mph, but at speeds above that - it was off (slow) by as much as 8 mph.