TOPIC: El-Rae?

Got this boat for free about 10 years ago. 13' runabout. Not sure of year. Made in Rice Lake, WI. I've never seen any others. Does anyone else have any information? I've only got a photo of the brand decal right now.

"El Rae" boats were made by Rice Lake Boat Company of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. This was successor to Wilson Boat Corporation. Rice Lake Boat Co. took over Wilson Boat circa 1961 and was purchased by the newly created Span Boats, Inc. in November 1964. The El Rae line was integrated into the Span line at that time.

Rice Lake Boat Co. was making, under contract, the Span boat line as early as 1963.

"El Rae" was a combination of names Ellis Huntsinger and Ray Jones. Huntsinger was owner and Jones was the general manager.

I have never found a picture or news article or brochure for El Rae boats.

Andreas

I ran across this old post while searching for Wilson Boats. I am starting my restoration of my 1958 13.5' Wilson. I think you may have e-mailed me years ago regarding information I was seeking on this boat. By what I read, the actual Wilson branded boats that were fiberglass were only made a few years before evolution of company ownership and name changes. I saw a Del-Ray on Craig's list that had some changes from mine (front nose hooked over a bit and mine is old fashioned blunt round...assume the newer one would take a bigger wave).

Hi Dr. Go!,
I picked up a El=Rae fishing boat for my grandson awhile back. It is registered as a 1961 (that may be wrong) it has a 61-Evinrude 9 1/2 or 10hp and sits on a 1961 Balco trailer that was made in Lady Smith Wis.

There is a retired man who lives just north of me that used to work for the Wilson boat Co.

I live in Price Co. and travel 1 1/2 hrs to Rice Lake every month or 2. If there is something you are looking for (info) I might be able to find it at the historical society.

Where are you in Wis?

Nice looking boat, Gene

I spent considerable time in Rice Lake, WI area doing research on the various boat firms: Wilson; Rice Lake Boat Co. the maker of "El-Rae"; and Span Boats, Inc. The local library and historical society have nothing pertaining to any of them. Researching newspapers is the only way to find anything about them in the area other than finding former workers. I did that and I spent several hours with some former boat builders. Also met with off-spring of Mr. Wilson.

there is an article on the history of Wilson with mention of El-Rae in the "Glassic Library" here

Andreas

Gene Gene,

That sounds like a nice boat you have. Would love to see a picture of it. Mine would have had a windshield, but that was missing. The top had been re-painted on mine, but surface was hit with a grinding wheel and is rough. All needs sanded and re-done. I likely will not use a windshield.

Andreas,
Thanks for the info and I did find that article. I am hoping the picture comes through as you can see "Rice Lake, Wi" right in the emblem. I am quite happy they both survived since they are plastic. I will try to attach a picture of the transom tag. For some reason, I just feel it would be respectful to save and finish this boat and then take it to Rice Lake for someone to see...not sure who at all would be interested, but it is part of the areas history. (it would be great if I could make it parade worthy...but I am thinking of adding a splash-well and padded interior over the fiberglass bench seats...not sure if it would have had that originally or just using boat cushions back then? I worry purists may not recognize it with these modifications...I just want to make it safer and more functional by adding splash-well and padded seats...

Any thoughts?
Dr.Go!

Gene,

Thanks for the offer to look for information for me...much appreciated. However, you likely have plenty of other more important things to tend to... also Andreas mentioned their may not be much after he did his searching.

I live in Weston which is 5 minutes east of Highway 51/39, and just north of Highway 29 (so North Central Wisconsin close to Wausau).

Still wonder everyone's opinion about the modifications I mentioned above. I just figured adding a splash-well will make it safer backing up into rough waves by avoiding taking in a few big gulps of water over the old open back.

I drive thru Wausau area very often.

My opinion is that you should try to keep the El-Rae as original as possible. There are so few of them in existence. But of course it is your boat and you may do to it what you desire.

Andreas

Thanks for that advice! My boat is not the El-Ray version...it is the older 1958 Wilson...so maybe even more rare in the boat builder company history.

Perhaps I could just see how safe it feels without the splash-well...after all, I do fine with a 14 foot open back fishing boat with me sitting in back...just don't blindly back-up fast into huge waves so you don't get gushing splash-overs. This boat will only be on reasonable protected in-land waters and not huge lakes or Great Lakes. Perhaps a bilge pump and maybe a snap cover for the back could serve as a semi-splash-well type water splash prevention?

Maybe I could make a back seat support that is removable so it keeps boat original as possible with removable seats. Wish I could find a picture of original interior. Here is what it looks like now.

Dr.Go! wrote:

Perhaps I could just see how safe it feels without the splash-well

Good idea.

I would like opinions on Color. Original was Red top cap and white under the rub rail. Would it be bad or wrong to make the boat all white? The top could always be changed to red in the future if I wanted or if a future owner wanted an original look. I likely will not go looking for a windshield and also just not put one on since it will be a fairly slow boat (one less thing for me to buy, fix, or break).

Opinions welcome and helpful - thanks!
Dr.Go!
p.s. I have the black rubber rub rail that seems pliable and in decent shaper (no cracks)...however, the channel was plastic and had several broken/chipped spots. Since I was removing it, the channel fell apart. Should I buy everything new, or should I try to get a metal channel from Wefco or ?? to match it and re-use the rubber to keep it mostly original?