There are not many of these old Chetek'saround anymore. The Chetek Boat Company built wood boats in Chetek, WI untill the early 1960's. This boat is adesirable boat for collectors of these 1950's cedar-strip styled runabouts. The late Bob Speltz, author of thepopular 7 volume booksseries entitled "The Real Run Abouts", owned this very same model which is onexhibit at the Iowa Great lakes Maritime Museum inArnold'sPark Iowa.
This boat was brought to me (I'm aprofessionalboatwright) by a customer as a restoration project. It is a cedar strip runabout that had beensheathed in polyester fiberglass late in its life as a last ditcheffort to keep it afloat. Idisassembled the boat and removed the fiberglass sheathing. With that, the full extent of the project became clear and the owner decided that there was too much work and expense to have the boatprofessionally restored. He has asked me to sell it for him.I hate to see this boat getscrapped, asthere are not many left. This boatought to find a new home with either an amateur boat builder, or somebody willing to paythe cost to have itprofessionally restored.Theboat has most of its original hardware and fittings, most of which are reusable.A quick assessment of the boat:
- Topsides thedeck and deck beams are in fine shape.
- Seats are in good shape
- It is framed in a half-rib configuration and many ribs are in need of replacement
- the transom has and rot needs to be replaced
- the stem is rotted where it joins the keel and needs replacement
- the keel is hogged and needs replacement
- the bottom strips have been sanded down too far over the years to half of their original thickness. They wereoriginally" and now they are". They need replacement.
- the spray rails are good
- the gunwales are good
- It is a desirable 1956 Johnson Lark - electric start 30hp outboard... Johnson's top-of-the-line outboard featuring a highlydecorativecover.
- powerhead is good... bothcylinders show 80 psi ofcompression when pulling manually with a rope
- both coilsappeared to have been replaced, however there is no spark to onecylinder... could be a point issue
- lower unit spins the prop when shifted into both forward in reverse, but when shifting into neutral the prop does not disengage
- thestartermotor does not spin
- a shaft extension kit has been installed converting itfrom a short shaft to a long shaft... it ought to beremoved for this boat
- theoriginalcontroller appears to be in working condition
- there is an electric start solenoid and cover
- it is a 6-volt ignition system
- there is an unusual Murray "Battery Pack" with a built in battery charger. Its in poor shape, but aninteresting piece
More details and resources of this project can be read at my website ( timelessboatworks.com ).I've included a couple of pictures of Bob Spletz's fully restored Aqua-Flyer toillustrate the potential of this boat.
This boat was brought to me (I'm aprofessionalboatwright) by a customer as a restoration project. It is a cedar strip runabout that had beensheathed in polyester fiberglass late in its life as a last ditcheffort to keep it afloat. Idisassembled the boat and removed the fiberglass sheathing. With that, the full extent of the project became clear and the owner decided that there was too much work and expense to have the boatprofessionally restored. He has asked me to sell it for him.I hate to see this boat getscrapped, asthere are not many left. This boatought to find a new home with either an amateur boat builder, or somebody willing to paythe cost to have itprofessionally restored.Theboat has most of its original hardware and fittings, most of which are reusable.A quick assessment of the boat:
- Topsides thedeck and deck beams are in fine shape.
- Seats are in good shape
- It is framed in a half-rib configuration and many ribs are in need of replacement
- the transom has and rot needs to be replaced
- the stem is rotted where it joins the keel and needs replacement
- the keel is hogged and needs replacement
- the bottom strips have been sanded down too far over the years to half of their original thickness. They wereoriginally" and now they are". They need replacement.
- the spray rails are good
- the gunwales are good
A quickassessment of the motor:
- It is a desirable 1956 Johnson Lark - electric start 30hp outboard... Johnson's top-of-the-line outboard featuring a highlydecorativecover.
- powerhead is good... bothcylinders show 80 psi ofcompression when pulling manually with a rope
- both coilsappeared to have been replaced, however there is no spark to onecylinder... could be a point issue
- lower unit spins the prop when shifted into both forward in reverse, but when shifting into neutral the prop does not disengage
- thestartermotor does not spin
- a shaft extension kit has been installed converting itfrom a short shaft to a long shaft... it ought to beremoved for this boat
- theoriginalcontroller appears to be in working condition
- there is an electric start solenoid and cover
- it is a 6-volt ignition system
- there is an unusual Murray "Battery Pack" with a built in battery charger. Its in poor shape, but aninteresting piece
I'm guessing the trailer was manufactured in the 80's. There is noidentifying information on it that I could find. I replaced the tires, rims, hubs, and bearings when I towed the boat from my customer's cabin to my boat shop. The trailer is in fine shape, and has atilting feature. It could use a paint job. The bunks and rollers need to be readjusted so the boat properly sits on the trailer... this isprobably the cause of the hogged keel.More details and resources of this project can be read at my website ( timelessboatworks.com ).I've included a couple of pictures of Bob Spletz's fully restored Aqua-Flyer toillustrate the potential of this boat.
Questions
Is it still for sale? found it online and see the add is old. please reply
Is it still for sale?
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