![]() The carburetor was rebuilt, the motor has new magnetos, wires, spark plugs, impeller, and gear oil replaced. The original engine has been rebuilt by an outboard motor specialist (You can search YouTube "Vintage outboard1955 Johnson 25hp"). The throttle linkage controls and dash placards are in outstanding condition as well. The "Kainer" steering wheel is the best I've seen (except for maybe a museum). 1955 morphew wood runabout boat windows#The front glass windows are flawless, as is the interior windshield rubber seals. I also made sure the original holes were used when installing the new top. I recently replaced the removable top utilizing high quality sunbrella material. Alan still has the sterling silver trophy for finishing fifth in BU.1955 Norseman Classic Wooden BoatI am the second owner, the boat has been garaged its entire life. In 1957 my brother Alan raced that boat in the Around Manhattan Marathon, that was the year the race was shortened to one lap due to the rough water conditions in the Hudson River, nearly half the field flipped as they entered the Hudson the wavers were 4-5 feet high. These boats had the double non trip chine so they were a true roll up. The first Speedliner we purchased in 1955 which was a twin cockpit 510. It only has 6 heats of racing having never finished lower then third running a 20H we built from new parts in Amod. The last one we built was in 2008 and is currently for sale. We purchased the plans and patterns for the 510 at the time and have built them as Aeroliner's since we did not purchase the name Speedliner. The boats in 1962 changed from two cockpits to a single on, a large number of them were painted red but you could get one in varnish. Speaking with the owner over lunch he said he was saving the last 510 for his son. You can see the boat as load on my Dad's Nash Rambler on our web site. I drove non stop from Long Island to Saint Joseph, MO. While on leave from the service in August 1965 I purchased one of the last two Model 510 Corsairs they had. Ron you are correct in that the last wood Speedliner race boats built by General Marine we sold in 1965. Many will know Doug as one of the best vintage 4 & 6 cylinder Merc rebuilders around. I had him paint it Sunset Orange to match the decals on the boat. Supposedly ran low to mid 80's on a good day. I bought it from him in 2005 - boat and hardware were still like new - and I had him build me an 'as new' 55H for it, which is what he ran on it. He restored it in the late 80's, ran it a couple of additional times and put it away. He was and I assume still is in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan. To answer another question, the hydro in the back is a 1973 D Class Bezoat that was owned and raced by Doug Kay for many years in the 70's and 80's. I totally agree the pipes make it unusable given noise restrictions on lakes these days, but the setup looks very cool as a static display. It has also spent a year and a half in the Gravenhurst Grace & Speed boat museum. It did win 1st in its class at Clayton - I think that was in 2011. I believe the rig was only run a couple of times after it was re-done. The boat and hardware is like new - thanks to an awesome restoration in 2010. I was told it was a '65 model, and that was the last year they were made, but I've never seen any date stamps on the boat, unless they are under the deck. ![]()
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