TOPIC: Viper history lesson

After driving over an hour to pick up a boat (I say dinghy), from an out of town coworker, we got our new antique baby boat home (Danville Illinois).

We then realized realized the boat says it was manufactured right here in Danville at the VIPer Boat Company.

I have lived Here my entire life and had no clue there was ever a boat manufacturer. As it turns out there were two. Traveler Boat Company and Viper Boat Company.
I can find online information on Traveler, but no more than an address for Viper.
Does anyone have a history on this company or it's boat's?

What I know.
The boat was manufactured in the 60's.
The model number is warn off.
The address is listed as 1535 Greenwood cemetery rd. Danville.
Different than the 1901 Voorhees listed for Traveler.
There is one place on the boat that says Vipper instead of Viper.

We've all gotten very curious. And I just can't find any information.

Viper Boat Co. existed between 1982 and 1991. That's all I know.

Traveler was a subsidiary of Stanray. Stanray decided to consolidate all their boat operations. So in 1964 they built a brand new 370,000 square foot boat factory at Danville, Their boat operations in Arkansas, Wisconsin and New York were closed and all production moved to Danville. Less than two years later Stanray decided to get out of the boat business. The Danville plant was shut down. Apparently Mark Twain Industries bought some of the boat molds and tooling. But the "Traveler" name died.

There also was another boat builder in Danville called Greenwood Plastics at 501 Brickyard Road. They were out of business in May 1978.

Andreas

Welcome Kerri, glad to have you join us. Please share some pics of your Viper with us when you get a chance, we love pics around here!

PS - When I hear Viper, boat I think Hydrostream? Probably due to my limited exposure / rookie status with the Glassics.

Here it is.. Our yacht..
Hey, it was only 50 bucks and we're only using it on a small local pond.
It does need some TLC though..

@Thompsonboat, I think Greenwood Plastics was a separate business all together.. I am also attaching a screen shot of a side by side comparison of Greenwood and Viper..

The comparison shot doesn't want to post.

PS..
The building that was built for Traveler, is now Genpact Accounting..
Strange to see an accounting office with truck bays on the side of the building.

1535 Greenwood Cemetery Rd. (where Viper is listed), is an empty lot.

Yes, I know that Greenwood Plastics was a separate firm.

If your Viper was made between 1982 and 1991, there should be a Manufacturer's Identification Code (MIC) stamped into the fiberglass of the transom, outside, starboard side. 12 characters long. That can be decoded to determine the year.

Andreas

Andreas,

We can see that it was manufactured in the 1960's..
I don't recall the exact year, just the 60's.

The guy we bought it from is looking for the title..
Hopefully he can find it and some of the questions will be answered.
We can see where there was a model number, but it's worn off.

Since the address given for Viper Boat Co. is now just an empty lot, I have no idea how big the building even was..

I'm starting to wonder if the address on Greenwood Cemetery Rd., was maybe a satellite, or a just a dealer.

Andreas,

We can see that it was manufactured in the 1960's..
I don't recall the exact year, just the 60's.

The guy we bought it from is looking for the title..
Hopefully he can find it and some of the questions will be answered.
We can see where there was a model number, but it's worn off.

Since the address given for Viper Boat Co. is now just an empty lot, I have no idea how big the building even was..

I'm starting to wonder if the address on Greenwood Cemetery Rd., was maybe a satellite, or a just a dealer.

K, WELCOME, Your best bet for info is to contact your county / city
HISTORICAL SOCIETY.. Not the Chamber of Commerce.. They have access
to lots of directories & old newspapers... I got info here in Tenn
on Paddle co's ,for ex, & the date of bldg. Fire ,that is usually
main reason a company folds up.