TOPIC: resto of the Fleetcraft

This is a mahogany decked over a pressed fiberglass,it is smooth inside and out,,we took all the wood completely off and is in 45 pieces ,I think,the boat was is now all gel ,coated,off white with a pinch of yellow,,with a orangish red bottom, the 3 bottom boards we left on and did them there,,it is webbed inside with the red,then cleared,this boat has neat fins and a wrapped windshield, instead of white in the top of hull on the mahogany the stripes are going to be the same yellowish as the hull,It has floor boards that are now red with the yellow In the stripes,, we sanded but we are not good with wood for a finish so I have an old cabinet man doing that,,we will up date later,this is the boat that Brian Slager had in his collection for years Bill

Nice find Bill, where did this one come from? Definitely another unique design, looking forward to seeing the end result sir!

I think it was built in palmyra New Jersey,,Brian Slager in Fla had it before me,,Bill

Very cool Bill thanks for posting and keep it up!

Bob

Here are some pictures of the 1957 Fleetcraft Imperial I have, though these were after I did some work on it a quite a while ago. It needs all that done again. It has been in my family since new, and in the 60's I learned to ski behind it when my uncle owned it. I spoke to the guy that owned Fleetcraft in NJ a long time ago. he said it was designed for smallish 25HP motors, and the Evinrude 50 I have is a bit much for the low transom.

Ron

another of the upholstery, redone but as original

and of the bow

and underway

finally, a profile

Really great looking boat there,oldhaven. The side profile kinda reminds me of the old mercury car emblems from the '60s with the head of the greek god Mercury with his wings on his helmet.

Thanks, I can see what you mean. I always thought it looks a bit like Flash Gordon's spaceship, especially on trailer.

Ron

looks real good,we have everything done on mine but still waiting on striping and last 3 coats,,trailer,motor,interior,all hardware, is ready,, I kind of agree that motor is heavy for that boat,,but looks good,, see ya Bill

Found another photo of her underway

Ron

And one of me learning to ski behind it in 1957 when it was new. It had a Merc Mark 30 at the time, upgraded later to the Golden Jubilee Fat Fifty she now has. That is my dad and on the right, my uncle, who bought it and the motor for $2200. I still have the bill of sale.

I do have some early sales literature for Fleetcraft, and it shows they were built at the Woodbine Airport, Woodbine NJ, by the Flotilla Corporation. Other sales sheets also mention Palmyra NJ.

Ron