TOPIC: 1957 Herters Duofoil Flying Fish

Hello, I have a 1957 Duofoil Flyingfish. I have had it for about 10 years and now that I am retired ... It's time to redo it. A friend gave me a trailer recently,so it got me motivated. It is just a shell with only the back aluminum fin covers and the front nose piece. I plan on putting all original parts back on it and park it on a 1957 Tee Nee Trailer. ( the tee nee plant was up the street from me!) I will learn to navigate around this site and look forward to any knowledge you guys can share with me. I was a carpenter for my working life, so I have some mechanical skills .. but not a lot. Thanks, Mark ....... P.S. Parts I am looking for: Windshield and brackets, 4 cleats, 2 step pads, all around light and pole, steering wheel and assmby, skid cleat on back bottom. So you see, I have a long way to go! Would not be opposed to buying a whole boat for parts.

my guess is ? step pads, cleats, chocks stern pole and bracket, steering were generic and what the dealer had in stock, whether Atwood, Kainer... etc. Those pieces can be found pretty easily.
It's the flying pieces you have to look out for the most.

Be careful buying a donor boat. Because then you'll have two boats you'll want to restore. That's how it all started with me. Ha-Ha-Ha ! I once bought a 1966 donor Econoline Van for pieces for my 1965 Econoline pick-up. So first thing I did when I got it home, was invite a friend over, that needed sheet metal for his Nova project, and he cut a big side panel out with a sawzall. This insured I would not get any restore ideas !

duofoil57,

Welcome. I'm glad to see another 57 Herters will be able to hit the water again.
If all you have is the rear fin and nose piece castings you will have a real challenge taking it back to original. There is a number of aluminum tubes and casting that provide the support for the deck and floor.
They could be fabricated, but it would be difficult. There is also an aluminum transom casting that, if missing, will require a wood transom or more aluminum fabrication.
Hopefully you could find a donor boat.
The cleats, windshield posts and bowlight are Herters castings also.
Herters sold their boats directly to the public through their Hunting, Fishing, and Marine catalogs. You picked the model, and picked the accessories from a list and then they built the boat. You could pick it up or have it rail or truck shipped to you. There were no dealers involved.
You can search ebay for one of the 57 Herters catalogs and that will show you what was available for the Flying Fish.
If you don't have strong feelings about keeping it original, as Chuck says, you can pretty much get everything you need on ebay or from other sources.
Post some pics so we can get a better idea of what you really need.
I have posted a scan of a 57 catalog page and a some photos of my 57 that I am just finishing up.

Don

Wow, those are some serious fins. Very nice!!!

I must be having a stroke or something, I keep hearing the "Batman" theme song when I look at it !

But that was a Volvo ! LOL.

Hi Don, I took plenty of pics to share ... but the site said "too big" and wouldn't load. I will try to figure that out. I bought a '57 catalog, some ads and other Herters odds and ends in the past few years. I have been trolling eBay for awhile for actual boat parts with no luck. I do have a title for this baby! Also have the braces for the front, back seats and nose, and short aluminum transom that is straight with no cracks ...so I'm ahead there. Also my steering wheel assembly is on the left, so I'm wondering what the advantages are to each side. Looking forward to feedback when I get photo's up, Thanks, Mark

Firstglassproject, "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Batman "

Chuck...I hear you.. I have been restoring old Speedex Tractors that were made here in Ohio. (Ravenna) I bought a parts donor and now want to redo that ! It's hard to "Just Say NO"!

Mark,
Sounds like you have the most of the critical parts.
To resize you can use the FG Search feature to search for resize photos posts and many methods will come up.
This happens to be the way I do it

Download and install IrfanView. It's a photo manipulation program that's fairly easy to use.

Open your pic in IrfanView.

Go to Image

Then go to Resize/Resample

That brings a pop up window.

Check the 1024x768 pixel box.

At upper left, click File and click on one of the Save options offered. I usually assign a new name and save in a folder called Resized for posting.
Your pics are now sized to post correctly.
IrFanView also has a batch resize process, but that one I haven't
mastered yet.
This a list of 57 Flying Fish castings that are crucial.
Bow piece
Tailfins (2)
Transom (could replaced with wood)
Transverse floor members (2)
Longitudinal floor members (2)
Transverse floor member clamp
Extruded keel strip
Bottom transom pads (2) They really aren't needed. Could just fill holes

These parts could be replaced by fabrication fairly easily.
Tube support pads (4)
Dash supports (2)
Seat bottom supports

There is some exterior trim. Hopefully you have it. It's basically impossible to replicate and the boat would't look right without it.
I attached a pic of my floor frame and front deck support as I was mocking it up for size.

Don

That's the one ! LOL.

Mark,

You are in pretty good shape. It looks like you even have the EPO foam next to the seats. There should be more stuffed in the fins and a big block bolted to the bottom of the front deck.

The missing skid pad may be hard to find, but the right side can be used as a pattern for the missing if you have to recast it.
Your transom does look good from the pic.
If you want to have a Herters windshield you will need to find posts and braces. The original cleats were aluminum, but there are many currently produced chrome cleats that look similar. The windshield is just a 1/4 inch piece of plexiglass that has one simple bend.
When your ready to begin the project, start a new thread in Member's Projects and I will post some of my pics that might be helpful to you.
I've attached a pic of my windshield posts and brackets I had cast off off a friends parts. It's a lot of work to polish them.

Don

Wow .. Nice, I will stay tuned.