TOPIC: Help with recognition.

I need some help. I was given a boat, it has no title or registraion. No HID number either. In the process of getting registered. It says "Admiral" out of Tampa, Fl on the stern. It has a Johnson 75 horse motor. According to the model number they used it in 1963. It is a 20 foot fiberglass ans it is pretty light. I can move the trailer by hand by myself. I will upload some pics tomorrow when the lighting is better. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Here are the pics i took of it this morning.

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There is also a small hatch the opens in the bow. I guess to throw anchor?

There is also a canvas topper that snaps onto the windshield and goes to just a little behind the front seat.

Welcome Lhex, glad to have you join us here. I don't have any info about your find, just wanted to let you know we weren't all sleeping here. The Library doesn't seem to have any info on Admiral that I could find, hopefully someone will turn up something for you. Don't get discouraged, this sometimes takes a while.

Lhex234 wrote:

There is also a small hatch the opens in the bow. I guess to throw anchor?

Welcome Lhex,If it's like my old boat,I'd say the hatch is mainly for ventilation.Good looking boat and engine.

Thanks guys. Just wondering if any here had any info. All I can find about Admiral is about their 30+ foot sailboats. Nothing about smaller fiberglass.

I did a google news archive search and newspaperarchive.com search. There was an "Admiral Boat Co." in the Los Angeles, CA area in the 1960-1961 time period that was offering stock to the public. Probably not the same as "Admiral" of Tampa.

I could find some classified ads in Florida in that same time period for Admiral boats for sale.

I looked at the Florida Secretary of State website Corporations Divison. I found an "Admiral Boat Co." filed incorporation papers with the SOS on 10/08/1960 and they were "Dissolved by Proclamation" on 06/28/1965. No other informaiton provided.

Sorry, that's all I can uncover.

A local Tampa historical society might be able to help. City directories are a good place to start research.

Andreas

Hey thanks for that. It would makes sense that I cant find anything about them if they were dissolved in '65. Plus only being in production for 5 years i doubt they ever put out any brochures. In 5 years they were still getting the company established. Thanks again everyone for the help.

The plot thickens... check out the hull of these two boats. Andreas wrote:

I did a google news archive search and newspaperarchive.com search. There was an "Admiral Boat Co." in the Los Angeles, CA area in the 1960-1961 time period that was offering stock to the public. Probably not the same as "Admiral" of Tampa

Could it be that Performer boats and this company are the same ? Or at least shared molds ?




Interesting !

robeye,you have a good eye,they look identical ,except for 1 being a cruiser,the bottom of the windsheild is even the same,good catch,john

One good eye anyway...

Andreas sent me info on the Performer boats .. basically saying the same .. that they sold public stock 59-61. In California ! If Lhex234's boat is 17 ft then it fits.. the hatch is the same too !
I'd like to see more photos of his boat.. One of the members here sabot from Idaho has an Admiral cabin cruiser that looks the same as well.. I'd like to compare photos.. We may have something to add to the history of these boats in the library for others to find.

Admiral may have splashed a mold of the Performer hull. That was (and still is) fairly common in the boat industry. Or Performer could have liscensed the use of their hull to Admiral. Or????

Andreas

Wow. They do appear to be one in the same. How interesting indeed. It would be nice if I had the original title for it. Would probably help a lot. But seeing as the original owners are horders and refuse to look for it, I fear I may have to take the long and arduous route to get it. But now that I now it may have sister boats out there I have more places to look. Thanks again everyone for your help and time.

Hey Lhex234 could you post a photo of your transom please. I'm sooo curious indeed. I find it very interesting that there was an Admiral boat co. in CA, but yet the badge on your boat says Florida? We are in the same BOAT here ...no pun intended.. I too would like to know more... and I too do not have the title.. However the manufactures tag is still on my transom, and I've seen ads from 1959 of my boat..

Another monkey wrench!

In September 1961 "Admiral Fiberglass Corp." of Gloucester, VA was seeking a site to locate a new fiberglass boat manufacturing factory in the Gettysburg, PA area. Congressman George A. Goodling of the 19th District in Pennsylvania was assisting the company in locating a suitable factory site.

This is according to an article in the "Gettysburg (PA) Times", 30 September 1961, page 2.

That's all I know about this particular "Admiral" boat firm. Is it the same as the Florida company? Who knows!

In a listing of fiberglass boat manufacturers which was created by the United States Engineer Research and Development Laboratires at Fort Belvoir, VA dated 29 October 1962, there is NO listing for any company with "Admiral" in it.

Andreas

I looked thru the November 1964 issue of "The Boating Industry" magazine which was a special annual issue "Marine Buyers' Guide". Not a single listing for any marine type firm with the name Admiral. No listing either for U.S. Figer Glass Products, Inc. or Performer Boat Corp in California.

So...these firms were probably no longer operating at that time.

Andreas

We all know how they stole boat hull design and molded hulls but that hull looks identical. I think thats a nice boat to restore. WELCOME ABOARD.

Good work.. thanks.
chances are good that you are correct... I'm thinking my Seven Seas is a 1959. Because it looks so much like the one in the ad from 1959. No white panel behind the side window..and no evidence that it was ever there. Later years had the panel. Also my hull number starts with a 9. This is a good hull design ..therefore if they were made for many years there would be more boats out there still. Admiral could have been a flash in the pan.. adventure to seek out more markets in the east. So Lhex234 could have a rare boat.

It is a Preformer `17' I have a 17 Admiral manuf.in Tampa Flordia.
Same exact boat Does someone know when Preformer took over const. as
Admiral was still around in 1961 (American fiberglass Inc.) mine is a 1961.

That is without question, a performer "viking" 19 if I recall the name of the large runabout. They are a very heavy boat & handle fairly large waves and surf quite well. I've ridden in a Viking 19 many times & have always been impressed.

I will post a pic when i got off work on thursday. I dont recall seeing a manufactures tag anywhere on the transom though. It does look a lot like that viking you mentioned, almost identical. However my boat is a 20 ft. Unless I measured it wrong.Lol. Interesting to see all this info about it.

Hi,
For curiousity, I found a 1962 "Blue Book" and checked to see if Admiral or Performer were listed (boat companies must often submit their information, or they are not shown). Admiral was not, but Performer was, shown for 1959, 1960, and 1961 (this is the newest year model shown for any brands in this 1962 volume). Surprisingly, the 1959 and 1961 models list mostly matching lengths, but the 1960 models are shown somewhat longer. As I think that a boat company would likely not tool new molds, and then return to the old ones, I think that either the information is flawed, or one is centerline length, and the other gunwale length (measurement as in what length of wood is needed for constructing the gunwales when building a wooden boat). Here are some specifications for the larger Performer models:
Viking (sport runabout) or Seven Seas (cruiser):
18' (1959 & 1961), 18' 8" (1960) Length
86" Beam (1959, 1960, & 1961)
825 lbs. (Viking) & 950 lbs. (Seven Seas) Weight (1959, 1960, & 1961)
71" 1959, 72" 1960 & 1961 Transom Width
90 hp 1959, 100 hp 1960 & 1961 Horsepower Rating (this is likely just because of larger outboards arriving on the marketplace)

Interestingly, in 1959, Performer did have a Tropicana cruiser model:
19' Length
92" Beam
1200 lbs. Weight
78" Transom Width
150 Horsepower Rating

As boat companies often take an existing mold, and lengthen, widen, or both to make a new larger model, this may explain the 20' Admiral model from enlarging a Viking, or a Tropicana (with a deck modification from cruiser to runabout). It is a guess, but I literally grew-up in my family's marine business (now 60 years old), and I have seen this a great many times over the years.

Regards,
Joe
www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
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P.S. (Lhex 234) We have a new old stock ignition switch plate just like yours on our "Controls, Steering, & Instruments" website page.

Pretty good info keeps popping up. Maybe Ill be able to tell what it is after all. Also here are two pics of the transom.

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Good info Joe, thank you for researching and sharing it. (Looks like you got the computer "gremlins" worked out, glad to see you back online!)

I mistakenly typed "17" regarding the Viking out here in CA that I made mention of. It is indeed a Viking 19, and I have edited my earlier post. I'm glad you made mention of the length, or I wouldn't have picked up on my typo. Here are a couple more pictures of the Viking 19 from one of our GSG members in So Cal. Notice how it dwarfs the Dorsett Eldorado to the right, and the Wizard Bolero cabin boat to the left

BG

Thanks everyone for all this good info... And thanks Lhex234 for the transom photos. Now compare it to my Seven seas transom.. Are those aluminum castings off-the-shelf ?

Yes they are aluminum. Same transom and end caps as well. The boat in the other pics looks exactly like it.

Fiberglassics at its best! Guy has a question about his boat and gets all kinds of great info from the collective! Yay!

Looks like a great boat you can use while you restore! Have fun.

I also have an ADMIRAL 17'cabin crusier made in Tampa Flordia,
mine was manufactured in 1961, in Tampa flordia.
I have compared it to 2 other Preformer's 1 in Colorado and 1 in Canada
Same boats ever the casting's on the rear transom are ibentical
My Admiral has no hin #'s or any other form of identification
According to the US Coast Guard they werent required to stamp info on the hull STRANGE? If you wish you may email me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

You have an Admiral made in Tampa Flordia around 1961 The exact same boat was also made by Preformer in Compton Calif. all of the finishing casting's are Identical on both boat's.
Will swap pictures with you I have 2 other friend's with Preformers 1 in Canada 1 in Colorado.Glad to see an Admiral
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This looks like my 1959 Viking Performer.

I have one that looks the same. It is a 1959 Performer Viking