TOPIC: 1958 Mohawk 14?

Anybody know anything about the Mohawk Boat Company that used to be in Amsterdam, NY? I found a nearly completely restored 1958 14' runabout that looks like it would be a PERFECT river runner but know nothing of the brand.

I have the following Mohawk brochure cover image, borrowed off Ebay a long while ago. No idea of the year of the brochure except that it appears to be from the 1950's:

S.C..: Welcome from Chattanooga, Tn.. I grew up in Troy NY, but not famailar with the boat brand.. Looks clean , survivor.. The Mohawk river enteres the Hudson in that region... Also there is a fairly new MOHAWK chapter of the AOMCI, Antique OutBoard Club with a chapter PAGE on Face Book if interested. www.facebook.com/#!/groups/101448223231173/
. There were some other brands from that region. Trojan being one of that name, associated with Troy nick , name I believe.

Again CONGRATS.

Maybe there were a couple of "Mohawk Boat Co." firms in Amsterdam, NY???

"Mohawk Boat Co., Inc." was established at Amsterdam, NY in October or November 1965 by A. C. Fortner. Production of fiberglass boats was slated to start by 01 December 1965.

Fortner was the former general manager of the Travler Boat plant at Amsterdam. In February 1965 Stanray, the parent firm to Traveler, announced closure of their branch factory at Amsterdam.

A void was left with the closure of Traveler, so Fortner started a new boat firm. The former Vollmer Bus Co. factory was secured as the Mohawk plant. Shares were being offered to the public.

The first boat was completed in January 1966 and it was shipped to the Cleveland Boat Show for display.

By March 1969 Fortner was gone and Raymond Sinda was president of Mohawk. John F. Valachovic was executive vice president and plant manager. Valachovic was also president of Schenedtady Marine Supply, Inc. which was the prime distributor/dealer for Mohawk boats.

Mohawk reorganized in October 1969 and Paul Brozyna became prime stockholder and general manager.

Somehow Mohawk became affiliated with Linell Thermo-Plastics Corp. of Amsterdam, NY, a builder of fiberglass sailboats, and assets of both firms were auctioned off on 11 May 1970. The auction was by order of the Small Business Administration, holder of a $100,000 note.

A firm called Bart Boat Company, Inc. emerged with the molds of the former Mohawk. Schenctady medical doctor A. Albert Versaci was president. They lost a $28,463.03 suit brought against them by National Commercial Bank and Trust in March 1973. That was the end of Bart Boat.

That's all I know. I do not have any literature nor have I seen any.

Andreas

It's either a different boat company, the info above is wrong, or the title for the boat is wrong. When I sea-trial it, I'll snag the Hull ID and see if we can unravel this mystery.

Mohawk Boats in Amsterdam at one time were a division of Wagemaker Boats who also sold Wagemaker, Cadillac, Wolverine, and Mohawks. I had a 1958 Mohawk 14' aluminum runabout that had a similar logo on the side as 2 fiberglass Mohawks that I've seen. the Aluminum Mohawks looked similar to the Cadillac boats of the same time period. Later, in 1960, I believe the company name changed to Empire Boats.

I can confirm with 100% certainty that there was more than one Mohawk boat company. I grew up in Hialeah, Florida which was a suburb of Miami way back then. My father bought a Mohawk 18 ft. boat in 1955 from Mohawk boats of Hialeah, Florida. We had twin 35 hp Evinrude motors on that boat. I used to see other Mohawk boats at the launching ramps around south Florida in the mid fifties to the mid 60's. I have never seen any mention of them on the internet but I can assure you they existed. The boat was not glass but fiberglass over plywood and we used that boat for about 10 years and went boating all over south Florida in it. Because they were made of wood I suspect that there are no surviving examples which might explain why they are not remembered and so many all glass boats are. I have lots of wonderful memories boating in that boat. It was a Mohawk but not related to the ones made in New York.

stormchaser,

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

NICE rig, too.

yours, satx

According to my research Wagemaker of Grand Rapids, MI started a branch factory in 1955 at Frankfort, NY. They probably were a wholly owned subsidiary of Wagemaker like Cadillac Marine and Boat and U.S. Molded Shapes. The plant at Frankfort initially made wooden and aluminum boats. Fiberglass was later added as the "Empire Boat" line.

Wagemaker closed the Frankfort plant in September 1960. The plant at Frankfort was then leased to Stanray for manufacture of aluminum structural beams for use in bridge construction. And yes, Stanray also owned Traveler Boats which had a branch factory at Amsterdam, NY.

No indication that Wagemaker ever had a plant at Amsterdam, NY.

The Mohawk Boats that started up in 1965 at Amsterdam, NY can be considered a spin-off of Traveler Boats. Traveler, a division of Stanray, had a branch boat factory at Amsterdam which they closed in 1965. The former manager started Mohawk after the plant closed down.

I have never heard of the Mohawk that was located in Miami, FL but I certainly have no doubt it existed.

Andreas