1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

J

jcoppah24

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Hello from New Hampshire

Quick little story... 1958 my great grandfather driving home from work,
bought this Arkansas Traveler on the original Holsclaw trailer for my grandfather.
The boat was used for a few years, and then abandoned behind my grandfathers
house in the woods.

I dug it out with my father on fathers day, and have decided it needs to be
restored, and kept in the family in a better manner then holding leaves and trash.

A few shots of the condition of the boat as I found it...
boat4.jpgboat3.jpgboat2 002.jpgboat2 001.jpgboat2 003.jpg
 
kfa4303

kfa4303

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

HI jc. Welcome to iboats. Great to have another AT owner here in the forums! I have ('59?) DUT-14, aluminum runabout (I think) that I've since converted to a skiff style set up running a '66 20 hp Johnson. She's still very much a work in progress, but looks very similar to your boat only with less pronounced "fins" on the back. Great old boat with nice thick aluminum. This link may help you figure out exactly what she is. Good luck. Keep us posted.

http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/Arkansas_traveler

Before:
Boat2.jpg

After: (again, nothing special, but she brings me home every time......so far;) )

side shot-long.jpgfront floor 1-after-with cooler.jpgrear interor with floor-after.jpgfront view-angled.jpg
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

kfa4303 said:
HI jc. Welcome to iboats. Great to have another AT owner here in the forums! I have ('59?) DUT-14, aluminum runabout (I think) that I've since converted to a skiff style set up running a '66 20 hp Johnson. She's still very much a work in progress, but looks very similar to your boat only with less pronounced "fins" on the back. Great old boat with nice thick aluminum. This link may help you figure out exactly what she is. Good luck. Keep us posted. QUOTE]

That boat you built looks quite useful... my goal will be to maintain as original as possible 1950's.

I have a 1958 Johnson motor I have found for the back, need to build some seats, wire the trailer
paint and done.
Click to expand...
 
S

Sport240

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Any chance on some pics? Would love to sneak a look at the old girl!

JD
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

JD of course...

I forgot I did not post any photos on this forum... just in another thread...

I will show you if you tell me how to fix some of the stuff :)

boat 003.jpgboat4.jpgboat 001.jpg
 
S

Sport240

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Great pics, thanx! She looks pretty good! Well worth restoring. With some paint, some effort and alot of time, she could be a thing of beauty again!

Thanx for sharing! Love the old AT's. And they are getting pretty rare too!

JD
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Thanks for the comments...

Paint on the outsides today... and sanding the oak bench seats as well...

Trying to figure out if the Bosun controls are going to be universal with the controls that will come
on a motor when I purchase... IE are control insides standard or is each control different?
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Also... I have the original 50's gas tank... should I use this or get a new one?
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Lets see if we can get another question answered...

Recommended Gas tank / Battery placement? And on the Gas tank as like posted before, should I not use the original gas tank?
 
S

Sport240

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

If I had an original Evinrude tank for my AT/Evinrude combo, I would probably spiffy it up, paint it and put some new decals on and use it once in a while for kicks. The truth however is that the plastic tanks are so much better. For one, they won't scratch that newly painted interior/floor, I also find that they don't leak (as opposed to 50 year old cans) which allows me to put it in the back of the SUV for travel or quick run out for a fill. I also find that they carry and store better in the boat.

Where to put them is up to you. My 2 cents is that on a 14 ft boat, space is a premium, so try to tuck them out of the way. In my Comet, gas is rear left, while rear right gets 3 battery boxes (1000CCA start battery, 950CCA marine battery, anchor/chain/rope/storage). Kinda creates a battery bank look, but it looks clean and tidy.

Will post pics soon (the old girl is at the Evinrude dealer for a manicure & sorts).

JD
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

JD - Thanks for the input... I was trying to find out if they made plastic bladders you could put inside the original gas tank...
its just really cool looking...

Should I expect to be using two batterys?

So... guess I am going to be a two boat guy now... I am not sure the Karma or the odds of this happening... however I am going
through craigslist.com and less than 30 mins from my house, there is a 1958 Arkansas Travler Speedboat version not the utility
version like my current one... I am going to pick it tommorow, trading my BMX bike and a trampoline for it...
ark.jpg
 
kfa4303

kfa4303

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Boat fever strikes again. SWEET! That thing has fins and everything, and you can't beat the price :) Can never have too many AT's either. Happy hunting. Keep us posted.
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Go figure the guy backed out after I got a truck to pull it home with!

painting more of the boat today, left side aluminum primer, right side final gloss coat
 
kfa4303

kfa4303

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

AWESOME!!!! It's raining AT's up there! You gotta get that little beauty by hook, or by crook. We gotta show the Starmada that the old AT's can compete in the beauty department. Do you know what they're asking for it? I used to have a '66 33 hp Johnson and it was great motor. Wish I still had it as a matter of fact. A little thirsty, but surprisingly light weight and could pull a stump out of the ground. Very torquey. Keep us posted.......
 
J

jcoppah24

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Re: 1958 Arkansas Travler 14 Foot...

Painted controls... well I will do the knobs next

controls.jpg
 
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