Help with info on 1970 FD

[RAGGED]

Hello, last fall I purchased a 14" Alumacraft, it had been in the sellers family since new but he didn't know much about it. Using the great posts/pics on here as well as measurements I've come up with it as a model FD. I have two questions, first is where to find the HIN number. The owner had said there was a tag on the wood transom and that it had fell off 20 years ago, I can kind of see where it was, inside right hand side. I'm wondering if the number is imprinted on the boat elsewhere. I looked for a stamping on the transom but didn't see anything, but maybe someone with more knowledge can direct me to exactly where is should be on this year and model. Unfortunately my state did not require the HIN to be given for registration and boats of this type did not require a title (I have since paid to have it titled) so while I have all the paperwork from the state on registration none of it has the HIN on it.

My second question is about a cover on the bow. I'm just wondering what it was called (bow cover?) and if anybody had any more info on it, like if its rare or did they all come with it, also anyone know what the cost was in 1970?

Thanks for any help!

 

[Vintin]

Re: Help with info on 1970 FD

The FD is a great boat! I've got a 1956. There should be a number stamped into the cast aluminum transom support brace in the bottom of the boat. With that number you can call Alumacraft @ 877-314-7756 and they will tell you what year it was made. Some came with a bow cover and some without, mine doesn't have it. Finding one today would be quite difficult but they are still around. The most interesting version of the FD is the FDR, in my opinion. I want one.

Read up in the Alumacraft forum here: Alumacraft Boats

 

[vspeedster]

Re: Help with info on 1970 FD

The FD is a great boat. Front decks or bow covers are not too rare, but are worth a bit and nice to have. Not sure about the original price. Vintagealumacraft dot com has the 1969 catalog if you'd like to see it, nothing for 1970 yet though.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Help with info on 1970 FD

There should be a number stamped into the cast aluminum transom support brace in the bottom of the boat. With that number you can call Alumacraft @ 877-314-7756 and they will tell you what year it was made. Some came with a bow cover and some without, mine doesn't have it. Finding one today would be quite difficult but they are still around. The most interesting version of the FD is the FDR, in my opinion.

And includes the model as well as the serial # ^^^

 

[RAGGED]

Re: Help with info on 1970 FD

Thanks for the help, I had found posts that said to look at the transom bracket, but I was looking at the wrong one, doh! Found it on the upper part of the lower bracket, FD 16207, couldn't see it without getting my head way down there.


I'm hoping to start this boats journey back from the land of ugly soon, the prev owner had used it mostly for duck hunting so it has a not so pretty home-brew camo paint job, no plans to try and get it back to perfect bare aluminum as the owner used a pretty high quality primer and his ugly paint is stuck on there pretty good, so I'll lightly sand and repaint it with something a little more appealing.

I'm thinking of making the bow cover quick detach, so I can use it when I want or toss in a little casting deck when I don't. Does anyone know if its simply held on with the rivets at the rear of the cover? I haven't dug into it yet but it looks like it pretty much wraps around the gunwales and is just anchored into the gunwales with a couple of beefy rivets. I'm hoping to take those out and fill the holes and design and fabricate some other locking mechanism that is inboard of the gunwales.