TOPIC: New Member - Larson Falls Flyer

Hey guys, new to the forum here. My Larson Falls Flyer has been in our family for quite a few years, and is in need of some love and attention. I'm not certain the year, but believe it's a '58 - '60 model.

My dad and my uncle bought this boat back in '88 or '89 out of a ditch. They patched up the fiberglass, painted it, and dubbed it "The Bat Boat". Many years of use and abuse has taken it's toll, and this spring I asked if I could take ownership.

I'm not entirely sure what my plan is, I don't have the money or time to do a complete restoration. It's missing some hardware and I'm not too sure where to look.



I also wated to add a quick "thank you" to members lee wangstad, bhamrick, & jepstr67, your posts have been very helpful!

welcome turkeylord,you came to the right place,alot of great folks here,and the fg members you mentioned are some of the best,john

Welcome aboard . In case you didn't know Mr. John Gibson just welcomed you from his hospital bed. Just goes to show you he always has the time for others. Now that's a class act.

Good to see more Larson's! That is a 58 or 59. Older ones did not have fins.

Your paint job is not even close to original, but on a trailer, with a motor, used often, is far better than left in the ditch any day!

Have fun first. Restore/repair as funds allow. They are great boats with lots of history.

First of all - John - get well soon. I just read the other thread & hope you're back on your feet ASAP.

Thanks guys for the warm welcome.

Researching today, I'm sad to see that the Mikkelson collection was auctioned off this spring. I had always planned to visit, but it just never worked out.

One of the issues with the boat is that the transom was cut down about an inch and a half. Not sure if there is a way to repair this or 'glass over it to make it look like it came that way. It currently has a Chrysler 55 horse short shaft motor on it now, but I'd like to do something period-correct at some point. From what I've read so far I should be looking for a Merc Mark 58, but I'm open to suggestions.

The windshield is also in tough shape, can it be replaced? Or would it respond well to something like a headlight polishing kit?

As far as the year goes, my dad's always called it a '59, but it's liscensed as a '60. I also seem to remember seeing a tag that said '58. So I'm more than a little confused there, lol...

jepstr67, you mentioned a news letter called Flyer Feaver in an old post, did you ever get them scanned? I'd love to see that.

One more pic, this one shows the worst of the dock rash:

welcome to the site ; I'm two years into my restoration of my 1959 Flyer . Check out" Northwest Classic boat club" and I have a complete thread under the Restoration section It's near the top and has over 11,000 hits. Shows from beginning to where it is now. I attached a couple pictures of the rear end and deck of mine. Looks like you have the right Bow light and cletes. You have the tail light lens but not the grill check out that site and if you have questions you can contact me . I have some sources for hardware you may be of some help to you . That Burgee came from the Mikelson Museum auction

turkeylord,

WELCOME to the forum. - GREAT folks here.

yours, satx

i see you have a dorseet in the back ground,that is my next project can you post some pic of her thanks.

WoW. I think they are all great looking boats.

Dang it! I think of these things and then I forget. No. I haven't scanned those yet. Remind me when leaves start to fall and water starts to freeze. I spend more time in the house and on the computer then.

Truth be known, just between us now....Shhhhhhh, some people don't like the finned Flyers! They are self proclaimed Flyer purists, and feel that the finned Flyer did not keep n step with the original designs. Personally, I'd like to see an old flyer paint job on a finned flyer. I think that would look cool. I'll bet they would have done one up like that at the factory for a buyer if it would have made the sale. It was common for Larson to make custom changes, within reason, for customers. So when a snooty collector type says "they never made them that way" about a Larson.....don't be too sure.

There was a nice original, unrestored finned Flyer at the Mikkelson auction. I thought that was my chance but it went a little higher then I wanted to pay.

I'd like to complete the outboard set. I have my dad's 1941 wood Flyer that does not slope to the water in the back. I have a 1957 glass Flyer that I've had since I was 14 years old. So some day I'd like to get a finned Flyer to complete the set.

Some close up pictures of the transom would help us make better suggestions. (but yes, you could just glass over it)

If it were purchased in Little Falls, it would have come with a 35HP Johnson from the factory.

Here's the 41. Wouldn't that paint scheme look cool on a 59?

I do have a 1962 Dorsett San Juan with a Factory inboard 120H.P. merc cruiser 1962 Iron Duke motor . Don't want to Poach this thread . If you check out " Northwest Classic Boat Club " and go into the restoration section - I have a thread going with - 1962 Dorsett San Juan restoration . This boat is all original with original Gel coat and even have the original seat cushions in the cabin.Thats a picture of it on my I.D. Picture - If you want some pictures send me a private E-mail and I can forward some to you.

Back to the Larson- I like the old Flyers also and would like to have one of each - but no room . They are hard to find on the west coast - I have never seen another one out here. Hope to float it next spring had a few set backs that slowed the restoration down so I decided that I would use the Dorsett and enjoy the summer and put the Larson on hold till winter. Got some Crab pots out soaking as we speak going out this afternoon and give them a check- should have a Crab feed tonight - finally got some hot weather in the Pacific Northwest and up here we have to take advantage of it when it's here ! Buddy of mine from North Dakota bought one from the Mikelson auction and Thats who picked up the burgee for me - here's a picture of him sealing the deal with Paul- think he has 3 of them now ?

bhamrick - I read your thread here, but haven't made it over to NWCBC to see the full monte. Thanks for the extra pictures! The work you've done on your Flyer is incredible. I like the keel guard, I'm definitely going to have to do that. I'm in ND as well, Fargo actually, but I don't recognize your friend. I'm a bit younger at 31.

jepstr67 - I was thinking about the "old school" paint scheme as well. While I can appreciate a 100% factory resto, I find the scheme a little dull (sorry purists ). I'll try to get a picture of the transom next time I'm up at the shop. The 41 looks killer!

As far as parts go, I think a lot of what I have can be salvaged, but I'm going to need at least:
1 eye
2 "vents"
2 step pads
1 thumb screw for light pole base
entire aluminum rub strip

One of the problems we always had was tying up to a dock, as evidenced by the dock rash in the pics. The rubber bumpers just don't work well. Anybody have any tips?

Color scheme on my Larson is Factory except I changed it to Red instead of Black. They changed the colors in 58 - 59 You know it's just like when Henry Ford made a car another color than black - some people went nuts ? Each to his own. I changed the dash board in mine - like it better than the original thought the original looked to plain . It's what you like in my book -

I redid the dash - filled the holes and cut new one's - these pieces are just dry fit - they are not installed for good . Just wanted to get all the cuts done before the paint job. Last picture is of an original dash - picture may be too small to come out good ? Mine is a Port side steering and I'm going to leave that because it was rare

IN the 1958 or9 sales brochure, there is a Flyer in all black with red trim. I've never seen one in the flesh.

Turkeylord, That is a nice find! I was at the Michellson auction as a close friend of mine bought one of his Falls Flyers and another close friend of mine has an inboard. I would be happy to photograph and document the boat for you if you wish. It is such a neat boat,, that I would highly recommend doing it original! They are a very striking boat...I love the size as they are easy to manage in your work space...

bhamrick - looks great, and thanks for the pics! I did finally get registered on NWCBC and read through your whole thread. Awesome work, you really went the whole 9!

72hornet, thanks for the offer, but thanks to some links I found searching here I already have 126 detailed pics in my "Other" Flyer folder to reference.

I don't think I'll go stock on the paint - IF I ever do sell it, the next owner can put it back easy enough, and it's not like I've got an all original survivor here...


So anyway, I made it up to the shop over the weekend.

Serial number 13017 I believe, will that tell us what year it is?




Close-ups of the cut-down transom:






The motor that's on it now:



And the broken fuel guage, can this be repaired/replaced?



Thanks guys.


*EDIT* Oh yeah, forgot to mention that hooked up the charger/starter to the 'ol battery, primed the fuel, turned the key and it fired right up!

bhamrick wrote:

Color scheme on my Larson is Factory except I changed it to Red instead of Black. They changed the colors in 58 - 59 You know it's just like when Henry Ford made a car another color than black - some people went nuts ? Each to his own. I changed the dash board in mine - like it better than the original thought the original looked to plain . It's what you like in my book -

I redid the dash - filled the holes and cut new one's - these pieces are just dry fit - they are not installed for good . Just wanted to get all the cuts done before the paint job. Last picture is of an original dash - picture may be too small to come out good ? Mine is a Port side steering and I'm going to leave that because it was rare

One thing most people away from Little Falls don't know, is Larson commonly made factory customizations. "They never did that" is not an acceptable statement for Larson. Larson had books from all the different marine hardware manufacturer's in the showroom. Customers could sit down with a salesman and pick out hardware and colors for a custom boat. SO....if you wanted Airguide instruments and left had drive, let no one ever say "They never did that" because that statement could be entirely false.

A couple of items. Larson was always open to custom colors. At the first Falls Flyer Homecoming in Little Falls back in 1991 there was an all original Flyer that was gelcoated bright yellow with black accents, still in the possession of the original owner. It was ordered to go with their yellow cabin. On your serial number, if you look really really close, I think that there is a "J" printed before the numbers start. This was printed, not stamped like the numbers, so shows wear, like the Little Falls part of the tag. Larson went to an alpha/numeric code after the fire of December, 1949. The 1950 models began with an "A", the 1951 models began with a "B", and so on. That would make a "J" a 1959 model. In boats with known histories (original bill of sale, still in the possession of the original owner, etc.) this system seems to hold true. Of course, like anything else with the boats from this era, anything is possible. Whatever you do with your boat is your business, no one elses. Please yourself and be happy with it. If the Chrysler runs and isn't too much of a problem, why not run with it? There are very few motors that don't look good on the back of a Flyer.

Lee Wangstad

Thanks guys. I'll have to take a closer look at the serial number, or snap a pic with something other than my crappy cell phone camera.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Lee. Maybe I'll stick with the Chrysler for now, since it seems to run well. And it isn't as new as I thought, it's a '67, only 8 years newer than the flyer.


So, the wife and I went on vacation Thursday - Saturday last week, and it just so happened that Little Falls (and the Boat Works) was on the route. I called the week prior and left a message on the machine, but hadn't got a response. So I took the chance and dropped by, and by sheer luck John was in! He was very busy working on boats, but I did get to snap a few pictures for reference and got a lead on a replacement windshield. I'm sure I'll be calling him soon for parts!

Did you get any pictures of the inside ?

So that is where that bow light with the flag pole is used! I have one around somewhere, but I know the Sea Lion I have just has a flat cover plate, not a flag pole. I think I salvaged the bow light off of an All American.