TOPIC: LAMAR BOATS of TEXAS????

Friends,

Do any of you know anything about LAMAR BOATS of La Marque, TX.
(An Internet query of several search engines and of several "boating specific sites" reveals NOTHING, beyond the few facts below about the company.)

At this juncture, ALL that I know for sure about the company & their products is:

1. Lamar was in business as least as early as 1967 as an "independent builder" of molded plywood boats.
2. By 1970 they were building boats in FG.
3. I know of one FG runabout that is titled as a 1976 model, with TP&WD.
4. The company was once based in La Marque, TX, between Houston & Galveston.
and
5. A man named RONALD HOOVER was once an officer with the company.

ANY facts that you may know would be helpful.

yours, satx

Lamar was the second President of Texas

SATX try writing the Texas City Chamber of Commerce

Them and La Marque CoC are one in the same

www.texascitychamber.com/

Tall Texan,

THANKS. - No wonder I couldn't find a phone listing for La Marque CofC.

Note: As M.B. Lamar was a notorious "Indian-HATER", he's not very popular with us NA.

yours, satx

We grew up with tells of this...my grand father on my father side was sent there by Humble Oil to help

Tall Texan,

My late Uncle Jimmy helped with the recovery after the HORROR STORY at Texas City. - He was an ace pipeline/off-shore welder & afraid of nothing.
Nonetheless, even after being a paratrooper with the 101st ABN, jumping into Normandy & in the Opn Market Garden MESS, he said that Texas City was the worst thing that he'd ever seen.

BTW, have you ever even SEEN a Lamar molded-plywood boat?
(I have NOT, at least in person, even being as interested as I am in the "small & independent" TX boatbuilders. - just 6-8 snapshots.)

I've seen 2 Lamar boats made of FG. - a 1970 about 20 foot "cruiserette" & a 16 foot runabout "titled as" a 1976.
(As you know, the records of the TP&WD are a MESS.)

My presumption therefore, is that Lamar made FEW boats, at least of plywood.

yours, satx

Theakston Boat Company the maker of the hull for Yellow Jacket sold molded hulls to anyone that would buy them. There were Co.s in OH, FL, NY and many other places that bought the hulls and tried their hand in boat making.

The Helton that I have (sitting on the very back burner) was built with a Theakston made hull. Helton was here in Houston (as was Holmes another customer of Theakston) not too far from Texas City.

The way I understand it the hulls were stacked inside of each other and they could deliver up to 50 at a time on the trailer.....so if Lamar wanted some hulls and Helton and Holmes did also then they could drive here and be back at the factory the next day ...one trip...all down Hwy 3 back then.

BTW I still have the Holmes. It is a 17 or 18' frame and ply hull for the bays and offshore...it is yours if you want it, however that car you have will not pull the trailer much less the boat motor and trailer

Tall Texan; All,

TT: WOW. You just taught me something. (This is NOT difficult. - CHUCKLE.) - For a half-century (and have twice owned YJ boats), I have believed that YellowJacket was making their own molded ply hulls.

NOTE to All: We FG members are VERY lucky that we have numerous REAL EXPERTS on antique/classic boats, motors, trailers & accessories on this site.
(Tall Texan is just ONE of those experts.)

just my opinion, satx

Hey SATX. Just saw your question on MicroSkiff. Came here for info and here you are. Sorry I could not help. I have a Texas made boat but not a Lamar.

My name on the other site is Nano-Skiff.

68venable,

WHICH TX-made boat do you have? Wood? FG? Aluminum? "A mixture of materials"?
(As you've likely figured out, I'm collecting/archiving information on our "locally-made" TX boats, especially the BEST of the boat-builder's artistry.)

yours, satx

In my database of Texas boat manufacturers, I have a listing for:

Central Boat Works (Lamar brand) of LaMarque, TX
1953? - ??

maker of wood and fiberglass boats

That is all.

Andreas

thompsonboat,

That's TWO facts that I didn't know. = THANKS.

IF everyone shared ONE fact, we would SOON know LOTS of facts, as there's a large number of knowledgeable people on FG.

yours, satx

Here is a 1977 Lamar boat that is for sale. It is less than 18 miles from where it was made if it was made in La Marque, TX

houston.craigslist.org/boa/4338393363.html

Tall Texan,

THANKS.

NOT something that I'm interested in BUT someone here may well be.
(IF it was built in 1957 rather than 20 years later, I'd be "all over it", as I suspect you would be.)


yours, satx

Yep, pretty thin, but here ya go:

From the library. Why do some library pages show up in google, but not on the library list page?
At some point, past or current, Ruth was the registered agent for Lamar boats:
Registered Agent:
Ruth E Quinlan
205 Hwy 248
Lamarque, TX

And they had a PO Box:
Po Box 748
La Marque, TX 77568-0748

Might try both ^^^ via snail mail.....

And from Dec 25, 1957:

From the La Marque Times @ www.newspapers.com/

Tall Texan,

Fwiw, the photos that were evidently posted to this forum of the Holmes boat/trailer (I never saw them.) are GONE.

yours, satx

satx78247 wrote:

Tall Texan,

Fwiw, the photos that were evidently posted to this forum of the Holmes boat/trailer (I never saw them.) are GONE.

yours, satx

it is a project

Tall Texan,

WOW! that deck is TRASHED.
(Otoh, I don't know that it would be much more trouble to replace than to try to repair. - I wonder what a combination of HOLLY & MAHOGHANY strips over some marine ply would look like, like some of the old CrisCrafts had?)

Is the hull more or less solid, less the hole on the forward port side?

Do you know what year that it was built or anything else about it?

TITLED?

Length, centerline? - I'd guess a 17-18 footer.

LOOKS like it would make a nice Big-water fishing rig, as it looks deep & beamy, with plenty of room for a PAIR of Johnnyrudes.

Also, you are of course 100% correct. = WAY to heavy to pull with the 300SDL.

yours, satx

Mine is a 1957 Glass Magic. NOTHING fancy about it but the company made much nicer boats than what I have. Basically a fiberglass johnboat. Kind of a Skeeter knock off.

bump
jbcurt00 wrote:

Yep, pretty thin, but here ya go:

From the library. Why do some library pages show up in google, but not on the library list page?
At some point, past or current, Ruth was the registered agent for Lamar boats:
Registered Agent:
Ruth E Quinlan
205 Hwy 248
Lamarque, TX

And they had a PO Box:
Po Box 748
La Marque, TX 77568-0748

Might try both ^^^ via snail mail.....

And from Dec 25, 1957:

From the La Marque Times @ www.newspapers.com/

Lamar is linked to from the Library Main Page; its just alphabetically listed in the Fiberglass column which has 403 brands listed!

www.fiberglassics.com/library/Lamar

HandyAndy,

I don't know why but when I searched for "Lamar", nothing "came up". = My fault, I'd guess.

yours, satx