What am I ?? do you know ???

[Pappy]

Fine minds think alike. I was going to reference your RDS-20 Johnson and forgot to. Gorgeous, great running, and quiet operation.

Mine the day I got it running. On the back of my Alumacraft model K.

 

[oldboat]

Thank You Rags2Fishes !! I'm looking forward to getting started on this project .. I almost let this one slip by.. but with the encouragement from the fine folks here on Tin Boats I stepped up to the plate and went a head and bought it.. I'm very happy now that I did.. the windows were a concern but I have already located 3 out of the 4 so far !!

Pappy.. thanks for the great info !! I ended up buying that Mercury Mark 75 60hp. but I'll have to check into those Johnson/Evinrude motors.. I may just pick one up and see if its a better fit to the boat... I will check into that antique outboard meet .. I attended a small antique outboard swap meet a few weeks ago here in Michigan, but it rained and there wasn't much there.. although I did get some very good and helpful information from some of the attendees which made the trip well worth it !!

Shaugh thank you for the photo and you too Pappy.. now I know what they look like … do you know about how much those motors weigh ??

 

[Pappy]

Super Quiet series is 138lb. Fuel tank is 13lb.
Standard series is 129lb.
Neither should phase your boat at all. Good luck with the Merc!

 

[Shaugh]

Oldboat,
Looks are important, but the most critical thing Pappy mentioned is parts and reliability. Those big twin engines are absolutely bulletproof. With tons of parts and donor motors available. That I believe far outweighs the looks. They're a total pleasure to work on and keep running.

I've got that one and 2 others, that I got for a song, hanging in my garage just waiting to donate parts ...(or I might get another going some day...) You'll not likely find that with those Mercury motors.. Evinrude or Johnson...57 ,58, 59.... almost all the parts are completely interchangeable...

As far as looks go I think 58 Johnsons were the most iconic styling... Although Evinrude was doing fine in the mid 50's;


Imagine how good this motor would have looked with a white lower....


But then drove it over a cliff in 59 with a motor that looks like a hillbilly pickup truck made from several other pickup trucks.... (Opinion may vary....)

 

[oldboat]

Oldboat,
Looks are important, but the most critical thing Pappy mentioned is parts and reliability. Those big twin engines are absolutely bulletproof. With tons of parts and donor motors available. That I believe far outweighs the looks. They're a total pleasure to work on and keep running.

I've got that one and 2 others, that I got for a song, hanging in my garage just waiting to donate parts ...(or I might get another going some day...) You'll not likely find that with those Mercury motors.. Evinrude or Johnson...57 ,58, 59.... almost all the parts are completely interchangeable...

As far as looks go I think 58 Johnsons were the most iconic styling... Although Evinrude was doing fine in the mid 50's;
View attachment 2

Imagine how good this motor would have looked with a white lower....
View attachment 1

But then drove it over a cliff in 59 with a motor that looks like a hillbilly pickup truck made from several other pickup trucks.... (Opinion may vary....)

Thanks Shaugh and Pappy for the input.. I have a 1958 Evinrude that looks like the blue one in your photo but its the 18hp fastwin.. I really like that black and white Evinrude Lark motor and yes it would look better with a white lower unit !! I totally agree with you on that 59 Evinrude.. yuck .. I don't get some of the ugly designing on some of these motors... its just a hood why not give it a good look !!

 

[Pappy]

I only know where one Lark in that amazing condition is....and it is in original unrestored condition at that.
We took this up to Tomahawk, Wi. to display it at the National Meet I told you about a few posts ago. This boat and owner are just a little ways away from where Shaugh lives.

Boat is an Arkansas Traveller.



Lesa has a 1957 Evinrude on the back of her 1953 Lyman. Love the look of that engine as well.

 

[Shaugh]

Nice.... sometimes the old ways are the right way.... No MFGs have the courage to make something like that anymore... aluminum shells.....Quality....made to last 3 lifetimes....

 

[oldboat]

Pappy those do look great !! and that Arkansas Traveler it sweet !! Hope to get my Arkansas Traveler twin cockpit polished up and looking nice like that one does !!

And Shaugh, I agree with you totally !! all the nice styling is completely gone..

 

[Pappy]

The same guy with the Ark. T. has a double cockpit as well to be done sometime in the future. Should be a nice one when finished.

 

[oldboat]

here is my 14ft. twin cockpit Arkansas Traveler that started me back off into boats just before my Aero-Craft JCC popped up.. here is what it looked like when I bought it and after I stripped off what I didn't want on it.. its destined for a full restore... wood transom, gunwales, seat wood , all paint stripped, cockpits upholstered, a complete polish and a 1956 Mercury Mark 30 outboard ..

 

[oldboat]

Update on my Aero-Craft JCC .... Yesterday I went up to where my boat is stored to switch out my trailers... but the Marina had buried my boat with rows of Pontoon boats.. :roll: soooo.. no getting at it until spring now I switched out most of the rollers to bunks, I left the front two rollers to cradle the bow.. I ended up just taking off the rollers and adding bunks to the wobblers so they will still adjust and cradle the hull … hope this works out !!

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

I much prefer bunks to rollers. Looks good so far.


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[oldboat]

Thanks Weldorthemagnificent !! it took a couple trips and several measurements... then cutting a couple inches off the Wobblers to get them in a good position (I could probably shorten them a bit more ) the 2X6s should go between the runners on the hull and the 2X4s a few inches from the edge of the hull. those runners are 8 ft. long and that's how long the bunks are.. the front rollers that I left on are 11ft. from the transom, which is where the front roller is on the old trailer .. I may still shorten the wobblers and use 2X6s on the outsides, I'll have to see how this set up works first.. or.. if it works !!

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

The main thing is to let the bunks protrude beyond the transom so it doesn’t bend or hook.


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[oldboat]

Thanks.. I have been reading about that also. it makes me wonder about this boat... as its spent its entire life on this old trailer which appears to be the original factory built trailer for the boat as far as I can tell.. I've also seen a few more of these boats on this exact same trailer and the factory price list states the trailer for the Aero-Craft JCC is 15ft. long.. as you can see it over hangs the back about 3ft. ?? maybe those heavy duty runners along the bottom add the extra support needed ?? the bunks will probably be about 5 inches short of the transom if my "overall length" measurements are correct ... I may have to alter the bunks again or move the winch stand forward a bit to get the complete support..

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

Probably hasn’t been trailered that much. It’s the beating and banging down the road that hurts them. My boats get towed a lot so I’ve seen how easy they can be damaged. I’ve extended the tongue on a couple trailers to get the length needed for proper support.
I wonder if the guys who made these old tin boats knew how long they’d last.

I found a tinny shipwreck last week while fishing a backwater. If you look close through the glare you can just make it out. My guess is it got loose and the ice killed it.


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[oldboat]

That makes a lot of sense … I want to give it as much care and support as possible . I thought of starting with 10ft boards but went with the 8ft.. that front winch stand has more holes for adjustment maybe that will work... if not I will go with longer bunks.. its hard to say about how long the manufactures thought their boats would last.. probably not this long !! lol... but at least Aero-Craft advertised that they were the only manufacturer that they knew of that used the strongest tinsel strength Aluminum available on their hulls and sides... so they must have been thinking about ruggedness or longevity or both..
that was a awesome find you found !! nice photo !! was it wrecked badly ??

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

Yeah it was split at the bow and pretty much flattened. No telling how long it has been down there.


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[surfman]

Thanks.. I have been reading about that also. it makes me wonder about this boat... as its spent its entire life on this old trailer which appears to be the original factory built trailer for the boat as far as I can tell.. I've also seen a few more of these boats on this exact same trailer and the factory price list states the trailer for the Aero-Craft JCC is 15ft. long.. as you can see it over hangs the back about 3ft. ?? maybe those heavy duty runners along the bottom add the extra support needed ?? the bunks will probably be about 5 inches short of the transom if my "overall length" measurements are correct ... I may have to alter the bunks again or move the winch stand forward a bit to get the complete support..

That trailer is way too small for that boat. Better to have too much trailer tan not enough!

 

[oldboat]

Thanks.. I have been reading about that also. it makes me wonder about this boat... as its spent its entire life on this old trailer which appears to be the original factory built trailer for the boat as far as I can tell.. I've also seen a few more of these boats on this exact same trailer and the factory price list states the trailer for the Aero-Craft JCC is 15ft. long.. as you can see it over hangs the back about 3ft. ?? maybe those heavy duty runners along the bottom add the extra support needed ?? the bunks will probably be about 5 inches short of the transom if my "overall length" measurements are correct ... I may have to alter the bunks again or move the winch stand forward a bit to get the complete support..

That trailer is way too small for that boat. Better to have too much trailer tan not enough!

Hello surfman !! that's what I thought as soon as I saw it too... but since.. I have seen a few others that were on the exact same trailer... then I came across a original factory price list and at the bottom it clearly states... Cruiser Trailer $265.00 15' this boat was the only cruiser model they made at that time and its shows it as 18 1/2 ft.... also kinda odd is it only sits on 4 rollers... 2 near the bow and 2 towards the stern... its still seems to small to me...