TOPIC: 1957 Larson All-American

Hey there! So I have 16ft 1957 Larson All-American, has the mahogany trim. seats, and front deck with fiberglass lapstrake hull. I'm going to be doing a restoration on it slowly over the next year since I'm in school still. I have been trying to do some research on it but the problem is I can't really find anything. I have damn near everything for it but would like to know more about it like the original motor, if it had bumper rails at any point, and what accessories could come with it. Like I said I have a good head start just by the fact it was pretty much all there, EVEN HAVE THE ORIGINAL CANVAS TOP! If anyone knows where I can find some information on these, maybe even parts if possible it would be greatly appreciated. I'll put up pictures soon. Thanks!

Welcome aboard Fairchildz, glad to have you join us. Have you checked out the Larson section in the FG Library, lots of good history, factory brochures, etc... Here's a link;
www.fiberglassics.com/library/Larson

Motors were installed by dealer,so any 1957 would be correct. I would guess that it had a JohnnyRude on it as they seemed to be more popular in that era vs the Merc.

fairchildz,

WELCOME ABOARD.

My choice for that boat would be a 1957 JOHNSON or EVINRUDE 35HP. = EASY TO FIND, CHEAP, TOUGH, SIMPLE to work on and ALL the parts are readily available through NAPA auto parts stores.
(Ask to see their SIERRA PARTS catalogue.)

yours, satx

Welcome, fairchidz

Feel free to post some pictures. To do more than one, post them one at a time and edit your post to add more.

Ken

There are a few Larson Boat brochures in the Glassic Library here on this site. The Larson Boat company website used to have many of their old, old brochure posted. For some reason they pulled them off. There also was a classic Larson site a few years back that had many of the old brochures posted. It too disappeared.

As stated above, the motor would have been dealer installed, not at the factory. So any motor that was commercially available in 1957 could have been put on the transom. Johnson, Evinrude, Gale, Mercury, Wizard, Scott Attwater, and many others.

Andreas

You can also seek out John Monahan, in Little Falls, MN. He used to work at the Larson plant which is right down the road from his house, and he used to operate a huge, predominantly Larson museum. If you google him, he has a lot of pictures posted, but he really doesn't use the computer much, so you pretty much have to call or write him for anything specific. I think his operation was called The Boatworks. He may have a '57 brochure he would sell you. In the past several years, he's been selling off his entire, remarkable collection of meticulously restored boats. At one time, he had around 80--not sure what he's down to right now. In my opinion, he's one of the most knowledgable experts in the world when it comes to Larsons.

Shannon in Crystal River

Here's my photobucket. Every thing in pictures. any questions drop me a note, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
s256.photobucket.com/user/50sflash/library/57%20All%20American?sort=3&page=1

It can be seen in the Cohen Brothers movie "A Serious Man"

sorry it said it didn't post

50s Flash,

Thanks for your link to your bucket. You did a fantastic job on that great old original boat. And a great name ‘Half-Glassed’

I sufferered all the way through that movie just to see that boat a few months ago.

Now this is the way to see it, good close up pictures and with all your restoration work and efforts. Looks like the kids really like it too.

Terry

I went with a "Jewish Princess" in High School, and a lot of that movie had some "inside" humor, but I really enjoyed it, and they paid me well for letting the thing set in the driveway for a week. I have never seen a bad Cohen Bros. movie (Fargo's my favorite). I sold the boat this spring.

50s Flash,

I saw that you had sold the Larson over on Big Fin before it went under. It was mentioned there the boat was shown in the movie. And a real nice boat she is.

I too am a fan of the Cohen Bros. ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’ was one of my favorites. I thought “A Serious Man’ was an interesting and well crafted film. My comment of suffering was not so much my own and more Larry Gopnik’s.

Terry

Thanks for all the info!!! I haven't been on for a while cause of college taking up all my time, this is a huge help! I have been trying to figure out what to do with the windshield since it is cracked and would like to replace it somehow as well, or even reproduce it? Here is a quick picture of what I'm working with! Yes that's me with the tongue out

This is a huge help just for the pictures alone, will definitely stay in touch