Gifted this boat that's been in Great Uncle Dick's machine shed for 40 years. Boat registration card lists it as Appleby, but year is blank. HIN#: 650818C-14 which I suspect is an Appleby serial number stamped on a plate on transom. Standard HIN number not required until '72 which is probably why there is no capacity plate either. The earliest sticker is '69-'72 and it looks like '66-'69 was once present. I intend to preserve them under plexi-glass. In my conversations with Dick(age 91), he said stickers were not require in the early days. He said his Dad bought that boat for him when he got out of the service, which would have been '54 or '55. Other than finding a HUGE mouse hotel under one of the seats that ate a few small holes in the aluminum floor(I suspect from mouse urine), the boat is pristine. All I have to replace is the rotted tires, trailer lights, and bearings and patch the small holes and it will be back on the water. Sadly, a previous renter of the farm house stole the original Martin 75 outboard off the back years ago. I've tried just about everything I can think of to pin point the year, including contacting Lowe Boats, which after a long history, Appleby has become. Appleby boats has an amazing history that you can read on the net, all the way down to Lowe boats still being headquartered in Lebanon, Missouri.
Any new ideas would be appreciated.
Any new ideas would be appreciated.
