15ft 1958 AeroCraft TSD
There are two built in bench seats. There are backs on both the front and rear. The rear has a piano hinge and folds forward, when you take out two bolts. The front seat backs are riveted in and appear to be factory.
The windshield is a "taylor made".
The steering is attwood and is a drum with cables and pulleys.
The transom runs across almost the entire back. The transom is 3/8" plywood on the outside and appears to be an oak 2x6 on the inside. The transom is riveted and I think its orignal. There is a small splashwell or shelf under the inside of the transom. There is no knee brace.
I cant find a serial number anywere, but the title says "feathercraft, 1957, hull id=tds22601, Length 14'1"
There is a brass plate under the dash from the Outboard club of america that says "925 pounds max load", "35hp max".
The boat has been painted, but they did a really bad job of it. Under the front deck and under the paint on the seats, appears to be blue anodized aluminum!!!
The trailer is a 1957 balko with tilt. Does anyone have a part number for shocks???
So, what model is the boat????? I am guessing a runabout.... but I cant find any thing online that shows a picture of this boat!!
Thanks in advance!!!!!
bob in phx...
survey say..........Aerocraft "special td-15" runabout, circa 1957.
so mystery solved!!!!!!!! Serial number bears this out..
still peeling paint trying to find the hin...
thanks everyone!!!!!!!!
June 20th, 2011 11:52 PM
1959 Aerocraft aluminum runabout restoration.
Well, about 1 year ago the boat bug bit me. My brother has a 1972 Starcraft tri hull and he took my wife and kids for a day on the lake. It was late summer and there was no one on the lake the whole day! We had a entire cove to ourselves. The kids were able to water ski and, well, we just had a ball!!! A couple of months later we went camping with our trailer and my brothers boat. Again, a good time was had by all.
So the search began. I looked at every site I could find and every style of boat that there ever was. After a bunch of research, I decided on an aluminum boat. I really like the close bow style and I really liked the older aluminum boats. I found Starcrafts and Feathercrafts to be my favorite. Then I stumbled upon a mis-advertised Feathercraft. Well long story short, a long drive later, and a 1959 Aerocraft was mine. It came with a 40hp Merc 402 and a second 402 for parts. The owner says the motor runs, but the boat leaks a little. As I was sizing up the boat, I counted 40 or so rivets with no heads on the bottom of the hull. No wonder it leaked!!! but the hull was in great shape, no dings, no dents, no really bad gouges. The electrical system was a nightmare. I didn't realize that you could use romex to wire a boat!!!!! Lots of electrical tape knots with various wires running in and out. But the boat had what my dad used to say, Good bones. I took the boat home.
The boat sits on a 1959 Balko Bosan "T" type tilt trailer. It didn't have any lights on it or any sign of lights ever being installed.
so my plan is as follows. Take the boat off the trailer, go through the trailer and then put the boat back on, fix all the leaks, replace the transom, replace the dash, replace the wiring and then make the old girl look good again. Once the boat is sea worthy, I want to be able to use the boat on our Phoenix Urban lakes (electric only) as well as the big lakes with the 40hp.
Here are some pics of my starting point!!
June 23rd, 2011 08:43 PM
original transom was a 2x4 and 1/4 inch plywood. Transom was remade with 3/4 aruco plywood, soaked with resin and acetone mix (x3) and then two coats of rustoleum. Stainless steel fasteners replaced the original rivets.
also added wood to the transom shelf and to the inside. all bolts sealed with 5200.
dash now replaced.
renamed and renumbered
vintage 1959 feathercraft / aerocraft ski and fish aluminum classic - $1500 (mesa)
1959 aerocraft or feathercraft ski and fishing boat. Hull is in great shape and does not leak any water. trailer is rebuild and is also in great shape. Comes with two 1970's mercury 40hp outboards (model 402), which are currently not running. We used this boat for the urban lakes in our neighbor hood and have had a blast!!! We get lots of comments on the "lines" of the boat and how she looks in the water.
The boat has been sitting a bit and is dirty.
Price is negotiable.
1500.00
Vintage 1957 aluminum Aerocraft 16 foot closed bow w trailer - $1000 (dobson and baseline)
Well, here it is, the perfect lightweight boat for towing behind your small or classic car. This boat is the 1957 AeroCraft 16 foot ski and fish version. It features built in walk through seats with a folding rear seat. The design is a closed bow, semi-planing hull, as the front is semi displacement and the rear is semi planing with a rear tumblehome section for greater stability when stopped. The boat is on a vintage trailer with a tilting tongue that allows the boat to be launched from almost anywhere. The trailer has all the proper lights, new shock absorbers (why the shocks, I have no idea, as the boat is light and the springs are strong),as well as new wheel bearings. The boat has a fairly new transom, which is really very simple as its only a couple of pieces of marine plywood. The boat has absolutely no leaks and no hull damage. The boat also has a bimini top. The boat is pretty in or out of the water.
So all of that was the good parts of the boat. There are some issues. First off is the paint. This boat was originally not painted, the interior was anodized blue aluminum on the sides and seat bottoms and clear aluminum everywhere else. At some point in it life, the interior was painted with garage floor epoxy. Well, that didn't work too well as the paint is flaking off. The outside of the boat was also painted. It was painted with a silver, which is also pealing off. It appears that no sanding of either the inside or outside was done. This is a good thing if the boat is to be restored and polished, but right now, its a mess. There was some corosion of the aluminum in the bow of the boat that I suspect was from the battery. Some of the rivets were loose and have been replaced with with stainless nuts and bolts. Again, this boat does not leak. The tires on the boat are shot, but the good news is that they rims are new and in good shape. The windshield is old, it has a million little defects in it the plastic, but no though cracks and its all there. The trailer rollers are new, but the bunks (2 foot long 2x4's) need to be recovered. The steering system is the of the cable and pulley type, its all there, but the steering wheel needs restoration. Finally, there is no motor.
We used this boat for pleasure rides and fishing in the urban lakes in our neighborhood with an electric trolling motor hooked to the steering system. The boat always got the thumbs up and lots of comments on how pretty it was. I have ridden in it on a real lake and I can tell you that with a 40 hp motor, it really got up and moved, and was well mannered at speed. We hate to see it go, but the kids are grown and we are getting older, so its time for the boat to go to a new home. I do have two mercury outboard motors that came with the boat that I will throw in if you would like. They are parts motors and are not the correct vintage for the boat.
My final statement is that yes, this boat is showing its age. Its not perfect by any means, but its got good "bones" and would be a great family project. You can use the boat as is right now or restore it.
We have the title for the boat and the trailer. Our price is firm.
Vintage 1957 aluminum Aerocraft 16 foot closed bow w trailer - $1000 (dobson and baseline)
Well, here it is, the perfect lightweight boat for towing behind your small or classic car. This boat is the 1957 AeroCraft 16 foot ski and fish version. It features built in walk through seats with a folding rear seat. The design is a closed bow, semi-planing hull, as the front is semi displacement and the rear is semi planing with a rear tumblehome section for greater stability when stopped. The boat is on a vintage trailer with a tilting tongue that allows the boat to be launched from almost anywhere. The trailer has all the proper lights, new shock absorbers (why the shocks, I have no idea, as the boat is light and the springs are strong),as well as new wheel bearings. The boat has a fairly new transom, which is really very simple as its only a couple of pieces of marine plywood. The boat has absolutely no leaks and no hull damage. The boat also has a bimini top. The boat is pretty in or out of the water.
So all of that was the good parts of the boat. There are some issues. First off is the paint. This boat was originally not painted, the interior was anodized blue aluminum on the sides and seat bottoms and clear aluminum everywhere else. At some point in it life, the interior was painted with garage floor epoxy. Well, that didn't work too well as the paint is flaking off. The outside of the boat was also painted. It was painted with a silver, which is also pealing off. It appears that no sanding of either the inside or outside was done. This is a good thing if the boat is to be restored and polished, but right now, its a mess. There was some corosion of the aluminum in the bow of the boat that I suspect was from the battery. Some of the rivets were loose and have been replaced with with stainless nuts and bolts. Again, this boat does not leak. The tires on the boat are shot, but the good news is that they rims are new and in good shape. The windshield is old, it has a million little defects in it the plastic, but no though cracks and its all there. The trailer rollers are new, but the bunks (2 foot long 2x4's) need to be recovered. The steering system is the of the cable and pulley type, its all there, but the steering wheel needs restoration. Finally, there is no motor.
We used this boat for pleasure rides and fishing in the urban lakes in our neighborhood with an electric trolling motor hooked to the steering system. The boat always got the thumbs up and lots of comments on how pretty it was. I have ridden in it on a real lake and I can tell you that with a 40 hp motor, it really got up and moved, and was well mannered at speed. We hate to see it go, but the kids are grown and we are getting older, so its time for the boat to go to a new home. I do have two mercury outboard motors that came with the boat that I will throw in if you would like. They are parts motors and are not the correct vintage for the boat.
My final statement is that yes, this boat is showing its age. Its not perfect by any means, but its got good "bones" and would be a great family project. You can use the boat as is right now or restore it.
We have the title for the boat and the trailer. Our price is firm.
Owners' copyrights apply to all images.
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