TOPIC: Boat Factory Fire

Hey guys, its been a while since ive been on here, but i still lurk occasionaly.

Last night I visisted my grandpa and we started talking boats. He mentioned that sometime in the mid 1950's (he didnt remember the exact year), there was a boat factory fire and alot of the inventory was destroyed in the fire. He then we on to say that he purchased 2 of the destroyed aluminum boats from the company for really cheap. On one, the back half was junk from the fire and on the other the front half was junk. So he cut them apart and torch welded the two together. He is 86 years old and is still the best torch welder i have ever seen, so i believe this to be 100% true.

He also told me he powered the boat with a merc KG9. He said that there was no neutral or reverse. Once started, you were going. seems dangerous to me... He said that he used the boat every year until 1969 when he bought a brand new sea-ray.

Does anyone know what boat company burned in the 1950's? He has lived in michigan his entire life, so im guessing it was somewhere in the mid-west.

I find it so intereseting listening to stories of the old days, and how people did things then. I doubt anyone now-adays would weld 2 boats together to make one. LOL

A certain county HISTORICAL SOCIETY can help you with local search.
Again not the Chamber of Commerce..... Could always been a bigger
local DEALER sales & not the mfg builder. ?
. Can always read our LIBRARY section here under Aluminum &
see which co had a 50's fire.. many Fiberglass co did ,with all the chemicals,...

RE-Join Al surplus. Here is a recent story , Soooooo almost anything is possible with labor.. One of our classic Camper members went to look at a 18 foot round top AL Argosy, & put the story on the club website.. One of the senior members questioned the length & said "go back with a tape measure" as co only made a 22 foot as the smallest?? Buyers replies next day & confirms LENGTH as 18 ft.. Took a few detailed photos & asked seller if special build.?? "NOT REALLY", but two years ago this BIG PINE Tree fell over & crushed a Mid section on the camper.. Both round end caps were fine so I CUT OUT a four foot section in the middle & RIVOT back together as that is my Day Job. !!!!!!

The only factory that I know that burned was Powercat but that was in the 1960`s?? Plus it was in Texas.

Seems to me I read about a fire at the Mckenzie boat factory in TN around 1960.

Bet you wished you had that KG9 now...they start at $1200 and go up from there

Moat all motors in the early years were straight drive. The small motors reverse was spin the motor 180°. neutral was shut the motor off

The Cadillac/Wagemaker/Wolverine Boat Company had a fire in Grand Rapids, MI back in 57. It destroyed quite a few Aluminum and Wood Boats from those Manufacturers. This is probably the boat comapnies(s) that this boat came from originally, and more than likely a "Cadillac."

Regards,
StevieB

Boat factories burnt down all over the place. Especially fiberglass manufacturing operations with all the chemicals.

Where did grandpa live in the 1950s? That may narrow down the search. Did he drive ten miles or 100 miles to get the boats?

Harwill, Inc. ,makers of AeroCraft boats, at St. Charles, MI had several fires. Glass Craft boats in Iowa had major fires that completely destroyed their operations twice.

Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. at Peshtigo, WI had major fires in 1949, 1953, and 1955. Their branch factory at Cortland, NY had major fires in 1932 and 1942. They never made aluminum boats however. Larson Boat Works in Little Falls, MN had a fire that completely destroyed their operations in 1949 and killed one man. That fire did not destroy the Larson Watercraft, Inc. factory next door, the makers of aluminum boats which eventually became "Crestliner" brand.

US Molded Shapes at Grand Rapids, MI had a major fire on 23 April 1960. They were a branch of Wagemaker which made Wolverine boats and Cadillac boats. So there certainly may have been wood, fiberglass, and aluminum boats destroyed in that fire. Wagemaker Wolverine at Grand Rapids suffered a major fire on 19 February 1957.

If you can narrow down the area it will be helpful.

Andreas

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. my Grandpa has lived in West Michigan his entire life. Smack dab between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven, about 20 minutes each way.

The wolverine company does make sense as he dosent live too far from it. I asked and he couldnt remember the exact brand of the boat.

Im going to see him again in the next couple of weeks and ill see if i can get anymore details. he thought that he might have a picture of the boat but said he would have to look around for it.

I also talked to my dad about it and he remembers it well. he said he wasnt any older than 10 or 12 when he did it, which would age it between 1957 to 1959. My dad remembers helping grandpa align the two halfs to be wleded together.

On a side note my dad also said that after grandpa retired the boat he took the KG9 and put it on his GW invader for a couple of years. My dad seems to think the motor is still hanging around in one of grandpas mystery barns. Im going to have to peek around when the deep freeze finally ends.

Scott