TOPIC: Stahr-Line Boat Mfg. Co.

I just bought a boat titled as a 1969 Starline 14' metal hull. It is fitted with a 1966 Merc. 350 outboard. The boat and engine are in good cosmetic and running condition.

The manufacturer's plate is on the inside port side transom, saying it is a Stahr-Line made in Yankton, South Dakota.(see my profile). Google searches for information have been futile.

Any help with information on the boat or the manufacture will be appreciated!

Aluminum hull? Really?

George H. Stahr was affiliated with Seacrest Boat Manufacturing Co. at Costa Mesa, CA in the late 1940s. They were an early maker of reinforced fiber plastic boats. I think his son Gerald may have been involved as well.

In August 1960 George established Canistota Boat Manufacturing Co. at Canistota, South Dakota. They were making fiberglass pleasure boats under the "Seacrest" and Aquastar" brand names. The tooling came from Costa Mesa.

In October 1961 the boat maker moved to nearby Mitchell, SD and became Mitchell Boat Co. with George Stahr as owner. On 21 May 1962 a tornado ripped thru Mitchell and one victim was the boat firm. Their factory and tooling was completely destroyed. I interviewed a local man who at that time was a deputy sherriff. He recalls the tornado and the area where the boat shop was lcoated. He had a very vague recollection of the boat firm. They were very small. Also chatted with a guy who worked at the feed mill next door to the boat company at the time of the tornado. He said the boat shop was tiny.

Sometime later Mr. Stahr appeared in nearby Yankton, SD as Stahr Boat Manufacturing Co. "Seacrest" brand fiberglass boats are built. Stahr Boat received SBA loans on 29 Oct. 1964 and 01 Nov. 1967. In 1969 they were located in the "Riverside" area of Yankton.

Mr. Stahr died at age 86 on 04 Aug. 1986. His obituary indicated he retired from boat building in 1969.

That's all I know and I have never seen one of theese boats nor heard of anyone that has one. I have never seen any literature.

Andreas

The registration (not title) says "metal" hull. Ixpect it is fiberglass.

Thank you so much for the information on George Stahr and his company. This will help me learn more about the boat. I have a few electrical accessories that need rewired and linkages need adjusted. But everything else is in great shape. Either this boat was kept inside for most of it's life, or was previously restored. I'll add pictures of her on the trailer after I clean up from the run in the lake!

Greetings Kilroy,

I wrote a little article about STAHR boats for the Boathouse magazine. This is the quarterly magazine of the Bob Speltz Land-O-Lakes chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Socitey www.acbs-bslol.com

May I have your permisison to use the photo of your boat and the builder's metal tag picture? If yes, is it possbile to get versions with bigger dpi so that reporucing them in the magazine will be better?

Mr. Andreas Jordahl Rhude
thompsonboat at msn.com