ID this boat please

[Shuie]

I'm not a boat person. I think I want to be. Possibly.

So, I see this on a recent trip out west and never could get close enough to it to read any of the badges, get a good picture of it or ask anyone who was working near it what it was. I can't tell if it's old or if it's some kind of retro/restomod hotrod build (assuming boat people do stuff like that). Anyway, this thing looked pretty rad to me. I wanted to know more about it.



I poked around on boat trader and the rest of the internet looking for info and the closest thing I can find was made by Lionel (the toy company) as a boat hauler for a train set. This seems like a fairly common addition to a Lionel train set, but I can't find any info on what boat these were actually modeled after.




Does anyone who knows boats or even Lionel train sets have any more info on what kind of boat this could be or what kind of boat the models would have been based on?

TIA

[unclebilly]

Thats probably a custom build by a small builder. Gotta be over 100 such bulders in AK, BC, and WA.Looks Aluminum to me.

[id10t]

Google image search for "cabin cruiser" turns up lots of what you want

[Tobra]

That looks like an old rum runner boat a friend of mine had, it was a wooden boat.

[Dixie]

I don't know about the boat, but I believe the first mate is named Gilligan

[Zeke]

Appears to be British:
https://www.rightboat.com/boats-for-sale/isla-rose/former-police-launch/rb216085
Not the same but real close. Look at the rear cabin detail.

[TimT]

Look sort of like a Steiger...

https://www.steigercraft.com/31-fisherman/


Its a custom though...

[VINMAN]

It definitely looks like one of the typical PNW builder designs.

.

[Tishabet]

Where exactly did you spot it? This looks like an older boat which has been renovated, here is my reasoning:

-The windshield angle. Most new boats made in this neck of the woods will either have a raked forward or vertical windshield, there are some with the raked back windshield but they will usually have some roof overhanging the windshield itself. This boat has a raked back windshield and no overhanging roof, pretty unusual.

-The bow angle. This boat is rocking a straight raked bow, not unheard of in new builds but I cannot think of any new powerboats made with this design.

-The outboard position. This outboard is set up on a "bracket" which sticks out pretty far behind the transom, this is a common design when converting a boat with inboard or inboard/outboard engine setup to instead run outboards because the transom was not set up to hang outboards originally (was not built with those forces in mind). Not unheard of to see this in new boats but most of those would be aluminum if they have a bracket from the factory, this one generally says "outboard conversion" to me.

-The outboard cowling. This angular style outboard cowling says to me this is an Evinrude or a Mercury from the last 2-3 years

I don't recognize this particular boat/maker, but think Zeke is on to something... if you look at the police river boats used in the UK you will see similar designs, you will also see similar contemporary designs (though cabin generally not as far forward) if you look for "downeaster" style boats.

[Shuie]

Thank you, everyone. I figured it would take you all maybe 2hrs and less than 10 posts to sort this out for me. The collective knowledge of this place always amazes me. Thank you.

Yes, the one Zeke posted looks really similar.

This is on a lake in northern ID (CDA) so the PNW builder suggestion is probably on the right track. I saw several other retro looking wood boats on the lake that were from modern builders in the area.

I saw this one on the water from another boat and I thought it was just an old wood boat until it blew past us and I saw the outboards. It looks old to me, or like a conversion, but there are (2) of those newish Mercury's and I don't think they are the smaller ones it seems like A LOT of motor for an old boat.

[Tishabet]

Spotting it on a lake adds up, the windshield design stuff I was referencing is mostly about preference by folks who (like me) are out on the Sound or ocean and expect some spray over the bow from swells.

2 outboards is not crazy, eyeballing it I would say this is a 27-30 foot boat not including the bracket, plenty big for twins. Reference points there: One boat I fish on is a Grady 232 (23 foot boat) with twin 150s, and my own boat is 32 feet and has twin 350s. Added benefit of twin outboards is you can maneuver the boat way more easily e.g. kick one into reverse and one into forward and the entire boat will pivot like a tank.

[LWJ]

It is a good looker. As mentioned, lots and lots of boat builders around here. There is a bit of a cult thing going on with the practical motor boat. I had a sailboat a while back and as people aged, they moved onto motorboats. My neighbor commissioned a 45' wood trawler. Its a thing.

[Bill Douglas]

That's not a boat. It's a VERY good example of a hole in the ocean that you pour money into.

Fine if you want your whole life to revolve around keeping the boat in going order. If you don't want to look for something newer cleaner, made of fibreglass or aluminium and resellable when you realise it's all a big mistake.

Sorry to be such a downer, but boats like this can make your life a misery.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Plenty of nice old wooden boats on the large lakes in N Idaho. One pic from the wooden boat festival every labor day weekend on Priest Lake.



I also know some folks who have had custom boats made in the PNW. One of them.

[herr_oberst]

(Hey, Tishabet; great to know you still lurk on this board!)

My first thought when I saw the OP was that it was a decommissioned law-enforcement type boat, converted for civilian use, but I'm a total landlubber.