Am I crazy for considering this hull?

T

Tony S

Member
I might as well introduce myself. My name is Tony and I love duck boats and duck hunting. I have been lurking on here a while now gathering information and enjoying your pictures and prose. I have owned many boats and love buying, using, and selling airboats, jon boats, layouts, skiffs, kayaks etc. You get the idea right? Living in S FL we dont have the long rich history of waterfowling that is so well known in other parts. The type of duck boats that seem to dominate the Eastern shore and Northeastern states rarely makes its way down here. On opening day you dont see much more than aluminum jon boats with 10-50hp at the ramp. You do see some airboats but sadly they are not allowed in many places. There are some mud motors and i have owned several of those too but again where I want to go it has to be an outboard. I may be buying this boat this weekend unless you guys talk me out of it. It needs some work (optimist). I have never done much boat building and dont consider myself particularly handy but I have taken a Lycoming aircraft motor apart and put it back together with some help. I have done some stuff with wood and furniture but not built anything like the works of art you do. I tried to carve a duck once the result was so hideous it left me blind for two days. I have recovered but have to wear contacts or glasses to see the ducks.

Back to the boat. I can get this boat (with trailer that needs some work also) for less than I have spent on shipping my Four Rivers and Momarsh's Fatbiys. The bottom looks warped from years of being on a trailer stored nose down. Water has gotten under the lid and the forward part of the floor from being stored bow down. It seem to me, part of the floor and hull near the bow need to be preplaced. Transom and gunnels seem sturdy and fine. The trim/seam that seperate hull, floor, and deck is on and in good shape. Boat has some crappy patches on top of transom maybe where a stern light used to go. Also on the bottom of the hull looks like some fiberglass mesh is evident. Did not notice till I took pictures under the hull with the flash. My buddy will help me restore it and sure he will use it also.lol. He has built many boats but mostly out of metal. A couple out of glass and wood.
I know the now defunct boat co that made this boat mostly made some fiberglass boats in the 80's and early 90's. They made mostly bowriders with tri hulls. What you see here was their "duck boat". Dont know how many they made but have heard at least a couple dozen maybe lots more but I have never seen one. Dont know if its glass and wood. Probably made in 1990-1991. The boat has been sitting in a field for about 5 years. Who knows maybe 10. For less than it costs to ship a Four Rivers or a Fatboy to FL. I can have this boat and trailer. I dont have a lot of money but the price seems pretty cheap to me. What am I in for? What do you guys think? What historical hull is it most like? Heres a few pics for reference.
Cool lines and easy to hide
IMG_5109bJPG-1.jpg

Transom with lid on and my buddy saying "your crazy lets go"
IMG_5107.jpg

deck gunnels and floor look good but under the shadows its not so pretty
IMG_5099.jpg

hull looks pretty bad huh?
IMG_5091.jpg

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Get it, fix it up put a 20/25hp on it and a happily hunt in a little piece of history

Save yourself the hassle and get one that is in better shape even if you have to travel to NC VA NY

Buy a cheap jon boat and hunt out of that like everyone else around here.

Thanks guys,
Tony
 
Looks like an Arthur Armstrong Blackjack to me. I have the Widgeon model powered by a 9.9 and love it. It is fast, shallow drafting, stable, low profile, easily como'd, and light. Don't really know what to tell you on the repairs - I'm sure that several others will be here in no time that can give you the guidance you need. You can check the prices/specs on the new models at the TDB website -- http://tdbco.com/blackjack.htm
 
Check the last 3 numbers on the hull. Looks like a KY boat, if so not made as well as the NC boats. With it having water inside, the floor is probably shot under the glass. If it has foam under the floor it is probably soaked as well... (open cell foam).

I bought a Broad Bill and had similar issues, lots of time, work and $.
 
It was built in FL for sure.


Well, I was hoping for some more encouragement but I think I will do the usual and jump out of the plane and build my parachute on the way down. lol



Tony
 
Tony,

I would bet on it being an Arthur Armstrong Blackjack, unless someone cast a mold off of one and built there own copy. It should have been made in KY. Someone may have registered the boat as a home made in Florida and that how it would show up on your title.
I know someone who has one and loves the boat. As your well aware there are plenty of boats out there and a different boat for every aspect of hunting. I have 4 boats and each has it's place. If you like it, buy it and just consider it a labor of love. If your buying it to roll over then you may want to consider how much your time is worth completing the needed repairs and what you may be able to sell it for.

Welcome and Good luck
 
I mentioned in another thread the old McCall Waterfowler boat, and that sure looks like what I remeber them looking like. I don't know for sure and have nothing but the memory of what that old boat looked like but I have a gut feeling that it became the Armstrong Blackjack. The Blackjack bears no resemblance at all in my opinion to the Wigeon or the Broadbill, which is a big reason I feel the Blackjack is decended from the old McCall Waterfowler...
 
Guys it is differentl a "Rivera Fowler" ( someone knocked off Armstrong's blackjack with their own mold) HID number show it as a 91 model
 
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Tony, I hunt the south end of Okeechobee from a fiberglass sneak boat I picked up in NJ. It works great. I can lay out in the middle of the grass flats (Halifax Banks area) and shoot ducks. Good luck on the adventure.....John
 
Welcome to the addiction. I looked at pictures of the boat several times. Top looks good. The bottom needs work but should be solvable. The trailer really needs work. Most of the problems of the boat wouldn't have happened if properly placed on a trailer. Just rollers supporting a fiber glass boat is a no no. One thing from the pictures is the boat entirely fiber glass or fiber glass over wood ? in the hull.
 
I was told the hull and floor is all glass and foam. The deck supposedly has some wood.

The rest of the story. There was a Craigslist ad with two of these boats available. They are Riviera Fowler's and on the paperwork I got I saw an old invoice that had the Mccall Fowler listed on it as well. I dont know if its one in the same one or just made by the same builders. These guys made boats under many differnt names for other people and I know they made a popular bowrider/tri-hull boat called the Tuppen's Torino but thats another story. I was told they sold their mold to a boat builder in Jersey.

Well, during my hard ball negotiations, someone bought one of the boats. I was bummed because I thought for sure they bought the one that was in better shape. One had a lot of floor and hull damage. It appeared it had held water in the bow for quite some time and eventually made its way through the floor and into the hull. I can only guess that it was stored with the nose pointing down and every time it rained it would collect water on the floor. I guess over time there was nowhere for the water to go. The trailer was a decent galvanized trailer at one time but definitely was past its prime and not made for this hull. The extra water and weight was only making matters worse. The other hull was in much better shape but the trailer had two tires that literally rotted off the wheels. Mind you none of this was in the ad or mentioned by the seller.

I was floored to find out the guy bought the hull that needed all the work and the trailer it was sitting on. I figured I better just get it and fast. I bought two trailer tires/wheels, again drove up 170 miles each way, purchased her, and brought her home today. I did loose one of the guide on bunks on the way home but besides that is was an uneventful trip. The trailer needs a little work but the two runners support most of her weight and only have to be extended a little more. The floor seems real solid and survived my two kids jumping up and down on it. The hull has some resin along the center of it from some iffy repair job and another from what looks to be an old stern light that was removed the hard way but my fiberglass guy says its an easy fix and she can be good as new in a couple days. The cover does need a little repair as well but even this cover was in better shape as well. I think a little elbow grease will bring that o.d. green gelcoat back. If not my glass guy is just itching to redo the gelcoat anyway. When I get her flipped over I will post some before and after pics.

I am very happy. Now if I can just find a 20-25 short shaft outboard for a super cheap price I will be all set for early Teal.


Tony
 
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keep the kids from jumping in a boat on the trailer! do the glass work yourself. not too hard since it sounds like minor repairs. paint the boat, don't re-gelcoat it. never used it, but Lou's FME is reported to be THE STUFF. lots of help here with all those tasks - except the kids. that's your job.
 
Tony

Glad you got one of the hulls. It will make a fine restoration project.

When I bought my AA Braodbill in 1988 I looked into the McCall. It was considered a good boat in a bad market according to Tom Lindheimer who owned Arthur Armstrong at the time. If I recall he said the folks that were making the McCall did some of his fiberglass work. The McCall and AA BlackJack look a lot alike but I don't know whose was out first. Looks like you have the chance to keep this boat alive for posterity.

The images below I scanned this morning. Funny timing because I gave my son all my old magazines last weekend and saw this one moving the stacks.



McCallFowlerAd.jpg


WaterfowlersWorld.jpg

 
Do a search on this forum for FME. It is made by Lou Tisch at Lock Stock & Barrel. He is on this site and will probably chime in. It is available in all the camo colors you need, etc. LS&B is at www.lockstockbarrell.com.
 
Thanks for posting that ad. Looks like its from 1987. My boat was made in 1991. I saw a few pics of another Riviera Fowler with that exact camo paint job thats in that Mccall ad. The "Fowler" part of the graphics are identical as well.

Tony
 
Tony

Glad you got one of the hulls. It will make a fine restoration project.

When I bought my AA Braodbill in 1988 I looked into the McCall. It was considered a good boat in a bad market according to Tom Lindheimer who owned Arthur Armstrong at the time. If I recall he said the folks that were making the McCall did some of his fiberglass work. The McCall and AA BlackJack look a lot alike but I don't know whose was out first. Looks like you have the chance to keep this boat alive for posterity.

The images below I scanned this morning. Funny timing because I gave my son all my old magazines last weekend and saw this one moving the stacks.



McCallFowlerAd.jpg


WaterfowlersWorld.jpg
THANK YOU ERIC!!! I have that same issue floating around somewhere...just not sure where. But, it has been driving me CRAZY trying figure out how to document what I remembered...you did it!
Click to expand...
 
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I don't know if you should buy the boat or not...however I do know that you are crazy. You should buy the boat, fix it up, scout hard till you find where the ringers are laying up in that "outboard only" area then call me and I will help you with your Boataholic problem. We could meet in Parkland at 7-11 for coffee before sunrise then drive out to the end of Lox road to begin your therapy.
 
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