1955 sea king 14 ft cartop boat

[nabitdeep]

Hi guys and gals, Im brand new and looking for wisdom. I am restoring an old aluminum sea king. Ill first list the facts and then the grey area. The boat is listed with the VA Dept of Game and Inland Fisheries as a 1955 Sea King 14 ft boat. It is a Starcraft built boat and would be of their Sea Scamp 14 series. The Montgomerey Wards emblems on the sides of the boat include the neptune staff in the center of a small boat and waves. The seat bases are cut in a 90 degree format v/s the diagonal cut . The boat does not have a forward pull eye and the nose cone and rear handles are small and not textured. grey area next.

 

[nabitdeep]

Here is the grey area, according to the emblems the model 9090 should be a 60-61. The reason this is important is because I want to put the correct engine behind the boat. The only feedback ive received that made some sense is that, Starcraft built the boat in 55 and Sea King moved it to the public much later. Then labeling it as modern as possible but had to maintain serial records for yr build . If anyone can enlighten me ,please feel free. No comment is stupid to me, TY Ed.

 

[jbcurt00]

Your pix arent showing up

Pix help
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/forum-rules-and-guidelines/9938375-photo-upload-tutorial
How wide is your boat?

Seats at 90deg instead of diagonal? No idea what that means...

 

[nabitdeep]

Ty jbcurt00, I havent figured the whole pic thing out yet. It is a 48 inch beam i believe. The seats have a fully enclosed styro base. they r built in a rectangle and the later models have a diagonal cut along the inside line, and the galvanized box was not fully enclosed.

 

[jbcurt00]

Probably rated up to 12hp +/- maybe a 15hp.

Its narrow for a 14ftr, which is typical of 50s fishing utility boats.

Find a similar dimensioned 50s 14ftr and yours will have a similar rating.

And this is the USCG formula for figuring max hp

For tiller-steer boats with a flat bottom, like a jon boat: (W x L x 0.5) ? 15 = max. horsepower

 

[nabitdeep]

jb, you r on the money, the boat is rated for a 15 hp. My dilemma is knowing which year is appropriate for the boat. I know this sounds anal, but Ive worked so hard I hate to not follow through.

 

[GA_Boater]

Throw a 1955 or 56 15 HP on her. The title says 1955 and back then the motor and boat years weren't always an exact match. MW sold Gale motors with MW markings, so Gale might be a good make to look for if you can find one.

Are you thinking Monkey Wards was selling 5 year old boats as brand new?

 

[nabitdeep]

Ty GA, What i was told and quite reasonable I might add, The wards company had some dealer networks set up, and reserved some product for mail order. According to this person anything in warehouse that was not contracted for return after ,no sale, was either moved to brick and mortar or yeared over. But due to actual transfer of title to ward co. actual date of boat was registered due to serial and their for permanent. The emblems scream 1960 and the Title states 1955. If u know anything contrary or for I am all ears. If I hand this boat down I want to be right

 

[SeaDooSam]

Personally I would go by the title. Emblems could have been changed ( I have no idea why though !). If you put a Ferrari logo on a civic is it now a Ferrari?
Just my .02

 

[southkogs]

Dunno' if you've dug around in HERE or not, but maybe there's some clues to help out.

 

[nabitdeep]

ty sea doo, and south kogs. Im fairly sure that the yr change with dept of game will b extremely involved . Ive decided to let lying dogs lay. However im gonna continue to research the subject, just in case it would bring some enlightenment.

 

[nabitdeep]

For all you guys and gals thinking about an old cartop boat, please be advised. I can personally pick the weight but the size is very difficult. I will be trailering mine without a doubt. The men of the late 50's and early 60's must have been huge. Your either tearing up the car or the boat or both. It has become obvious why the 12 was a hotter seller than the 14. Happy boating.