another boat crosses my path and its not tin

[oldboat]

Hello to all.. well yesterday while going to look at a Lone Star Starliner, I passed a house that had this old All Steel Beast sitting in the yard.. it caught my eye and I had to turn around and have a look !! I went to the door and was greeted by a elderly gentlemen who was eager to tell me stories of his old boat.. he told me it's a late 40s to 1950 Hoffman boat built In Canada for running on the Great Lakes.. its 22' with a Marine Chrysler Slant Six and Borg Warner Velvet Drive that was in it when he bought it.. it seems to me the Slant six would be a later engine if the boat is indeed from the late 40s.. I remember slant six's being in cars in the 60s but I'm not sure when the first ones appeared the boat has been sitting in his yard for 25 years without moving.. I can't confirm any of this as I can't find a thing on any Hoffman built boats anywhere on the internet.. I think it has a little resemblance to Steelcraft boats but can't find another one that has the same looks as this one.. does anyone here recognize the make of this old boat ??? thanks, John

 

[KMixson]

Kind of has the looks of a Chris-Craft Cabin Cruiser. I believe they made steel hulled boats but I am not sure if that is what you are looking at.

 

[DaleH]

Love the ‘PT Boat’ lines to the sheer at the bow!

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

Reminds me of a Roamer, which I think was made by Chris.

 

[GTS225]

While I'm not a boat authority, I do know quite a bit about the slant six. It was first cast in 1959, for the 1960 production year, so if the hull is 40's-50's, it's a transplant. I also know that Chris Craft did use the slant as a powerplant, but am unsure of the year(s) spread. That leaves open the possibility that the owner is wrong about the hull build date, and the boat is close to original configuration.

Roger

 

[oldboat]

Thanks KMixon and CedarRiverScooter !!
I'll have to look at some of Chris Craft photos and see what they look like..

DaleH
I like the sorta "PT Boat" lines to this boat also !!

GTS225
thanks for your input about the slant six.. after thinking about the years of the six... looking at the boat I guess it could have a early 60s look to it.. but that steering wheel looks to be of a earlier origin.. Hmmm.. without a positive ID it leads to more questions ?? the owner seemed to be still quite sharp and knowledgeable about the boat and when he ran it and was adamite that it was a Hoffman Boat.. but.. did wander a bit on the year.. so maybe his memory is off some.. he had some new plating welded on the bottom of the hull from rust through many years ago and there are a few holes rusted through again.. some of the bottom plating would have to be replaced again.... I'm not sure just how hard or expensive this would be.. seems like all the ribbing could possibly stay.. if good.. and reweld in some bottom plating with good metal to make it float again … then of coarse everything else to bring it back to its original looks.. it looks to have been a sorta basic boat on the inside without a lot of frills.. probably just some flooring and a couple seats..

 

[CedarRiverScooter]

Iconic as it may be, after all it would take to get it operational, you would be financially upside down even if you got the boat for free.

 

[oldboat]

Iconic as it may be, after all it would take to get it operational, you would be financially upside down even if you got the boat for free.

Thanks CedarRiverScooter !! sometimes I need a reality check !! lol John

 

[LDUBS]

I've had slant six's in two vehicles -- a plymouth fury and a dodge pick-up. Always thought they were good reliable engines and easy to work on.

The boat is very cool but like CRS says there is a lot of work to bring her back to life. Kind of one of these things where the journey is worth as much if not more than the destination. I wonder what something like that weighs?

 

[oldboat]

I've had slant six's in two vehicles -- a plymouth fury and a dodge pick-up. Always thought they were good reliable engines and easy to work on.

The boat is very cool but like CRS says there is a lot of work to bring her back to life. Kind of one of these things where the journey is worth as much if not more than the destination. I wonder what something like that weighs?

Hi LDUBS !! yes it is a very cool looking boat. I never had a slant six but remember them and I never heard any bad things about them.. but you are both probably correct.. and finding a trailer probably wouldn't easy either.. I was wondering about the weight also.. it must be heavy although he clamed it was delivered to were it now sits on a tandem axle trailer and pulled quite well.. as for the cutting, grinding, and welding I could do most if not all of that myself and would save I lot of expense.. but there is still a lot of work involved in saving it..

 

[thedude]

Cool find. A bit much rust for my flavor! You would need a monster engine to push that thing very fast or far. I bet the windows are worth something - they all appear to be intact.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

 

[zuren]

Definitely a cool boat! I love the lines of it.

I have to imagine a 22' steel hull weighs a lot, so I would be curious to know how well a slant-6 would push it. Seems that a V8 or small diesel would be more appropriate.

I agree with others - unless you got it for free or at least made the old man whole on the scrap value of the steel, this would be quite the project. Plus, how tall is the roof under that hardtop? Having to bend over to walk under would be a deal breaker for me, and not easily changed.

 

[jethro]

That boat will be a lot of work to get up and running. You better absolutely love it because there is NO WAY you will recoup the money you spend on it. It's pretty cool and all but man, that would be a labor of love right there.

 

[oldboat]

Definitely a cool boat! I love the lines of it.

I have to imagine a 22' steel hull weighs a lot, so I would be curious to know how well a slant-6 would push it. Seems that a V8 or small diesel would be more appropriate.

I agree with others - unless you got it for free or at least made the old man whole on the scrap value of the steel, this would be quite the project. Plus, how tall is the roof under that hardtop? Having to bend over to walk under would be a deal breaker for me, and not easily changed.

Thanks "zuren" I agree with everyone that its just to much to take on even though its a cool boat to bad it was left to rot away.. I'm 5'6" and can stand up straight under the roof, but.. just !! lol I will pass on this one and concentrate on my Aero Craft JCC project.. hope to get that one home in the next few weeks !! I'll keep posting my progress on my other thread about it..

 

[oldboat]

That boat will be a lot of work to get up and running. You better absolutely love it because there is NO WAY you will recoup the money you spend on it. It's pretty cool and all but man, that would be a labor of love right there.

Thanks Jethro !! I agree with you and the others on this boat.. very cool looking but a money pit.. lol