The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

[64osby]

I was digging around looking for info on old Arkansas Traveler boats and found this today.

Popular Science - Google Books

Love the prices and the new technology.

 

[RollTide_ATX]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

I wish they were still that cheap. Love the "Goliath" 75hp outboard that could one day compete with inboards

 

[JimS123]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Thanks for the link. Brings back good memories of better times for sure. 1955 was the year Grandpa bought a brand spanking new outboard. The 10HP Merc would blow my hat off and I couldn't imagine ever needing the 30 HP motor that was advertised in this magazine. HP race.....for sure....LOL.

The second thing that caught my attention was the article showing how to build a 2-car garage so you could keep a boat. That's why we couldn't buy a new one - cause our backyard wasn't big enough and Dad wouldn't even consider keeping a boat unless we had a garage for it. "Those new fangled plastic boats are no good - they rot apart from the inside and you can't even see it. You HAVE to lkeep them dry in a garage". (Funny how they knew that in 1955!)

Lastly, the magic tilt trailer. Boy I wish they stilll made them...and with rollers too.

How far we have come, and how little we have learned.

Those were to good old days....

 

[JimS123]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

I wish they were still that cheap. Love the "Goliath" 75hp outboard that could one day compete with inboards

But they weren't!!!

In 1955 a 10 HP outboard cost a month's pay. And a 16' OB runabout cost more than a std. size Chevy car.

 

[IllesheimVet]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Imagine the envy of your friends when you told them you had a new "Gay Paree" boat!!!!!

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

I remember in 59 when grand pa pulled a brand new criss craft cabin cruzer into the yard

 

[JoLin]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Gotta love it- look at page 160, the 'overload test' of Thompson's 18' Camper Boat. 13 people on board, 1 riding on the bow (illegal now) and NONE of them wearing PFD's. LOL!

I thought I knew all the ouboard makes, but never heard of a Riley (the 75 hp Goliath). So, who has one? And West Bend's 'variable horsepower' OB? I guess it never made it to market...

Thanks for sharing- loved it.

 

[smclear]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Wow, great link. Darn sure wish I could get a Cobra for the $3450 - $5330 today. They go for $100K+ today.

21' 1955 Chris Craft Cobra -- $105,000.00

 

[tazrig]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Wow... If we could only get that level of quality back today.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Wow... If we could only get that level of quality back today.

I don't know about that. A lot of those '50s and '60s little runabouts were put together with chewing gum and string. The tinnies were pretty sweet though. Overall, I think I'd rather have a new one.

 

[southkogs]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Interesting - cool exploration in design (too much of what we have today is "predictable") for it's day.

What caught me was how much less HP was used. Part of that is technology I realize, but still - the "Gay Paree" was a pretty big boat to be shoved around by a 35HP.

Neat read.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

I thought I knew all the ouboard makes, but never heard of a Riley (the 75 hp Goliath). So, who has one? And West Bend's 'variable horsepower' OB? I guess it never made it to market...

Thanks for sharing- loved it.

The West Bend variable horsepower motors did, in fact, get made. They had a key on the front plate of the motor, near the choke knob, that acted as a governor. If Junior was taking the family boat out, Pop could set the HP lower to prevent the boat from taking off too quickly.

As for the Riley, there are a few around, but by no means common.
Riley Radial Outboard Photos by mattmalloy66 | Photobucket

 

[JoLin]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

What caught me was how much less HP was used. Part of that is technology I realize, but still - the "Gay Paree" was a pretty big boat to be shoved around by a 35HP.

Weight and hull design. A plywood boat is much, much lighter than a comparable fiberglass hull. They had hardly any upholstery, no built in fuel tanks and zero electronics. Also, outboard pleasure boats of the time typically were what we called then a 'semi-v'. The stern had zero deadrise. It was a flat planing surface.

My Dad ran an early 1960's 18' lapstrake runabout with a 40 hp Johnson. Him, Mom and 4 or 5 of us kids aboard. It wasn't very fast but it'd plane out and hit something like 25 mph.

 

[JoLin]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

The West Bend variable horsepower motors did, in fact, get made. They had a key on the front plate of the motor, near the choke knob, that acted as a governor. If Junior was taking the family boat out, Pop could set the HP lower to prevent the boat from taking off too quickly.

As for the Riley, there are a few around, but by no means common.
Riley Radial Outboard Photos by mattmalloy66 | Photobucket

Dang, now I want one of each. Have no use for either of them, but I love the creative thinking behind them. Good info- thanks!

 

[tazrig]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

I don't know about that. A lot of those '50s and '60s little runabouts were put together with chewing gum and string. The tinnies were pretty sweet though. Overall, I think I'd rather have a new one.

I can't speak to the chewing gum 50's because I didn't come along until the early 60's but most of the boats I saw and inspected at the New England Boat show I just found depressing quality wise. Fortier still makes their boats as well as ever and there were a few other brands too but by in large I just found them getting cheaper and cheaper. True detail work (lining up the screws, making sure all joinery work is smooth etc.) is going away and being replaced with the cheapest cookie cutter junk they can get away with slapping together. Boats only 10 years old with rotting floors, de-laminating fiberglass. Sad. The real solid feeling "beefy" boats are becoming fewer and fewer. Tom Fexas would be rolling over in his grave if he knew to the extent. :blue:

 

[JimS123]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

What caught me was how much less HP was used. Part of that is technology I realize, but still - the "Gay Paree" was a pretty big boat to be shoved around by a 35HP.

Neat read.

Part of it was because you had to buy what was available. As a kid the biggest OB I ever saw was a 75. And "we" (Mom & Dad and Grandpa) couldn't imagine why you needed that much HP and why you wanted to burn that much gas!

Part of it was because Americans had different philosophies back then. Most of us had 10 HP and were satisfied. If Dad had a professional job they had a 35. The 75's were relegated to the "rich people". The middle class had a house to pay for and one car. Mom stayed at home. You had to save for a rainy day and retirement. Not much left for luxuries.

The biggest part was we all were satisfied with a lot less. OMG, who needs to go 60 mph in a boat? Well, I guess all the "kids" today with big incomes do! Otherwise they wouldn't sell that many Donzis and Formulas.

 

[JimS123]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Wow... If we could only get that level of quality back today.

"Quality" meqans different things to different people. There were cheap boats back then, just like there are cheap boats today. Most old boats were constructed well, they just didn't last due to materials of construction and care over the years. Sure, today's technology is better, but it still takes care.

One thing for sure though (IMHO), the basic nautical designing was better back then. A 1950's runabout performed very well with low HP, right out of the box. You didn't need to "fix' them with whaletails - they all ran right rithout them. Today, the criteria is simply speed. "Performace" has taken a different meaning.

 

[JimS123]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Wow, great link. Darn sure wish I could get a Cobra for the $3450 - $5330 today. They go for $100K+ today.

21' 1955 Chris Craft Cobra -- $105,000.00

They didn't make many of them. A few years ago I read that there were only something like 7 of them still in existance. We have TWO on my local river. Awesome sight seeing the 2 racing (and I didn't have my camera aboard...). One is entered in the local antique boat show every year.

 

[smclear]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

They didn't make many of them. A few years ago I read that there were only something like 7 of them still in existance. We have TWO on my local river. Awesome sight seeing the 2 racing (and I didn't have my camera aboard...). One is entered in the local antique boat show every year.

It's true there weren't that many made but there's more than 7 left. 10 of them showed up at a Mt. Dora show in Florida in 2005.

Chris Craft Cobra 50th

I know of 2 that aren't listed in that show.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: The 1955 Boat Show in Popular Mechanics

Gotta love it- look at page 160, the 'overload test' of Thompson's 18' Camper Boat. 13 people on board, 1 riding on the bow (illegal now)

i was allways on the bow when i was a kid, best spot on the boat:facepalm: i know its dangerous, sure had fun glad i was a kid then, standing on the back seat of the car, riding my bike with no helmet or brakes gave me my 1st gun at age 4.:facepalm: starting to wonder about their parenting skills things sure have changed