Friends of Yellow Jacket Boats
I remember Yellow Jackets being sold at the local marina, Coast Marine, Winthrop, Mass. in the late 50's. As a matter of fact, when my wife was a teen she dated a fellow who had a 14' or 15' inboard Yellow Jacket. I remembered it ... she didn't. Anyway, last month I saw an inboard or maybe an outboard Yellow Jacket at the Maine Boatbuilders Show in Portland. It was beautiful. I didn't pay much attention other than knowing it was a Yellow Jacket. Best of luck. Jerry
Thanks for sharing the restoration and finished project pictures with us. The boat is a beauty, and I am sure you have a blast with it. I saw my first and only Yellow Jacket in about 62'. My grandfather owned a cottage on a small lake in MI, and one of the neighbors was a lawyer who had lots of his buddies out on Sundays. They were mostly a sailboat crowd, but one of the buds had a Yellow Jacket with the same 40 h.p. Merc package as yours. (He brought the boat to the lake so the gang could water ski if they wanted to.) The owner was no mechanic, and had a pretty short temper, so when the Merc acted up and wouldn't start, he flipped out and let loose with a long tirade of four letter words. After he calmed down, my dad (who had raced Mercs on hydroplanes) went over and got the motor running. I remember as a kid being impressed with the Yellow Jacket emblem on the side of the boat, and the fact that Roy Rogers had been involved in the company. Thanks again for the story and pics. Brings back good memories about warm summer weekends at the lake and the faint smell of 2-cycle oil. Gregg
In the late 50's Roy Rogers came down the Red River. I was a Boy Scout and had the good luck to camp out with him at Fulton, Ark. Would you have any picturestaken at Fulton, Ark. I did get a picture signed by him in a Yellow Jacket Boat. It's not the picture you have.Thanks Nicholas
As I was looking at your website, it brought back many childhood memories. I grew up in Denison and remember when Roy Rogers came to town in 1957, he boarded his Yellow Jacket at Denison Dam on Lake Texoma and was taking a trip down the Red River. I was just a cub scout then, but will always remember getting to shake his hand. Later, in 1962 or 63', one of my friends' father bought a Yellow Jacket "Trigger". This was a special boat made for Roy Rogers and named after his favorite ride. I understand only two were made, but may be incorrect. Good luck, and thanks for the memories.By the way, the boats were named after the Denison High School mascot. "The Yellow Jackets". ..........Larry
My brother in law is looking for plans to build a yellow jacket boat.Do you know if such a critter exists? He has been raving about this forquite some time, and wants to build a replica for his young son. Anyinformation would be greatly appreciated.Terri
Thank you so much for your enormous effort in preserving your boat and for creating a web site for these now rare boats. I am 40 years old and have fond memories of my dad' s Yellow Jacket which he sold in 1971. I have not seen one since today on your site. My dad's was (as best I remember 15 1/2 feet long and must have been a late model 1958 or 1959. The trailer in your picture is like the one dad had yellow with coil springs. What make of trailer is this? Is it a Husky? Any way my dad's boat had a 1962 Merc 1000 on it and I remember the transom had extra steel braces in it. All of this said the most amazing thing I remember is the performance not just the speed but how well it turned, you could turn so sharp the top of the side would be level with the water. I live in Houston and I recently found a 1962 Merc 1000 that I am restoring. I hope to someday find a Yellow Jacket to restore. I would love to hear from you on any advice you can give me. Thanks, Donnie
Great site. My Grandfather had a Yellow Jacket, originally purchased in the 50's sometime I think in the Ithaca New York area. He moved to Danbury Connecticut around 1960 and used it on Candlewood Lake until the late 60's, when he became terminally ill with cancer and sold it. I was too small to remember which model it was, but I'm trying to locate some pictures of it. If I do, I'll send one along. I know it was powered by an Evinrude 30hp "Big Twin" which was Blue/Black/White in Color. I would GUESS it was new with the boat and I THINK this outboard was a 58, but I'm not sure. Hopefully, I can link the boats age by researching the outboard. I'm going to explore your web page and links. More Later. Linn
Thanks for your reply a few weeks ago about your site. Being Labor Day weekend, this is an important holiday for me. When I was a kid, we spent this weekend at my Grandfather's house every year. It was the last weekend of the summer that he kept his Yellow Jacket in the water. So we got to go on a lot of boat rides before he drove the boat across the lake to the boat ramp to pull it out. I can still remember my Dad leaving in My Grandfather's 1959 Ford Galaxie to go over and meet him at the other side of the lake. A while later, they'd return, and the boat would go back in the Garage for the winter. This was on Candlewood Lake in Danbury CT. Anyway, this is a real long shot and probably a crazy idea, but I'd love to try and find the boat, if it still exists. I am attaching a Microsoft Word 97 document describing the details. I need your help in trying to locate this boat. Feel free to forward this to anyone you might think might have some information. Also, let me know where else I might send it. Who knows, it may still be sitting around somewhere - I'd love find it. regards, Linn Murdoch Merritt Island, FL.
2 September 2000 SUBJECT: Yellow Jacket Boat Search
To whom it may concern,I am trying to locate a Yellow Jacket boat that was owned
by my grandfather, Merton Abbott. He became terminally ill in the late sixties
and sold the boat sometime between 1967-1969.He lived on Reynolds Rd. Extension in
Danbury, CT. This was located on Candlewood Lake. I am not sure of the exact year
of the boat, but I would guess it was between 1954-1956.The boat had a 30HP Evinrude
"Big Twin" outboard - again, I am unsure of the year, but I think it was between
'54 & '56, and came originally installed on the boat. It was the 3-color (Blue/Black/White)
scheme. I believe that the boat was originally purchased in upper New York state. If you
have any information on the possible whereabouts of this boat, please contact me at email
LINNCINDY@AOL.com; or by phone at 321-459-0880. I have just completed the restoration
of a 1965 Boston Whaler, and am ready for another project. I know this is a long shot,
but this boat holds a lot of memories for me and it would be absolutely terrific to find
it and get it back. Please forward this note to anyone who might possibly know of the
whereabouts of the boat. Sincerely, Linn A. Murdoch, Merritt Island, FL.
Hi; I viewed your page and saw your boat, looks good and brought back a lot of memories. In the 50's I worked for Gil Schaefer Inc. in Detroit Mi. He was the distributor for yellow jacket boats among others. Mercury outboards too. I was a salesman for them in their retail store. YES they were wholesale and retail for a few years until the dealer organization finally got organized against the situation. I then went to work for Gregory Boat Co. in Detroit. at that time the largest Chris Craft dealer. Back to Yellow Jackets! I had owned a couple of them powered with Mercs. I also remember rigging a 15' with two 40 HP. mercs. Robart mechanical steering that I believe was the first mechanical steering. adding a brace from the center of the transom to well forward on the inner keel. It was used in the Tommy Bartlet water ski show to pull an elephant on large foam water skis made of a rigid foam material. they actually would float the elephant. this was done on a lake north of Pontiac Mi. thought this might be of interest to you. I also remember seeing a picture of my boss with the owner of Yellow Jacket boat co. Regards Bruce.
My dad had a yellow jacket I remember many a summer day in it I will see if I can dig up some old pictures. You have a very nice site. Your pictures brought back some old and dear memories. Thank you Dave
Enjoyed your site-just happened upon it while searching for a copy of Real Runabouts. What a great boat! I had recently got the bug for a Higgins boat and was reading a book called Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats that Won World War II. It had a lot in it about Mr. McDerby (founder of Yellow Jacket Boats) who trained thousands of soldiers during the War in the handling of all of the boats that Higgins built. He seemed to be Mr Higgins right hand man-they both had a lot of respect for each other. It said he quit and went to Texas and now I know what for. I could easily start to loose interest in the Higgins and consider a Yellow Jacket one of these times. Jeremy
I
bought a 1957 Yellow Jacket Capri in 1957 from Sewell Auto supply in Pittsburg,
Texas. I equipped it with a 25 HP Wizard from Western Auto I
already owned. Of all the boats that I owned, it was by far the most fun. Used
it almost daily for about five years then acted a fool and sold it. Big
Mistake !!! missed it ever since. Was the best preformer on the water
both turning and straight away and no one with equal power could beat me out of
the hole. I thought that the world had forgotten this craft until I
happened on to this web site!! What a suprise I got that some of them still
exist.
Used to make 120 mile round trips from Jefferson Texas to Mooringsport
Louisiana on those long summer days will never forget taking those tight
turns and the smell of burning Gulfpride Outboard oil lingering around not to
mention all the fun. My boat was not equiped with the fancy curved
windshield the factory had, I bought a generic type fit all from some marine
jobber it it was also good and looked sharp. This was a common practice
in
East Texas at the time because of the price. Thanks for a great
memory
Papadee
I was a little kid in the first part
of the 60s (born in '54) and we moved from OK. to CA. in '58. When I was
about 6 or 7 my dad bought a Jellow Jacket and it was THE THING. We used
to go camping with another family and I always felt like the cat's meow because
WE had a Yellow Jacket with an Evinrude 65 h.p. motor and THEY had a dumb ol'
Dunphy with only a 45 horse motor. Neener, neener, neener. LOL
The funniest part of it all now is that I LOVED Roy Rogers and we didn't live
very far from him in CA. I never got over my childhood crush on him and
was I ever surprised when I found out just recently that he and Denison and my
favorite boat were all connected!!!! (I have only been living in N. TX
for the last 18 years now!!!!)
My dad is gone now and he and mom sold the Yellow Jacket when they got a
divorce when I was about 9 or 10. Wish I still had her! I love the
site, the pictures and the good memories they bring back.
Thank you so much,
Deb
Hi love your site; about 1 year ago I emailed you a short
letter about our yellow jacket days, and racing with Roy Rodgers. My
brother and I played with their kids on the ski beaches in 1956. At this
Time Roy raced a 14 ft Riv. with two mark 55E engines, complete with jack
plates and, Litton or, OJ top water props. The word was, Roy’s boat would top
55 mph. But I think a good bit more as my dad raced a 14 ft jacket with a 55E
and would it average 36.8 mph in race trim on a closed course, on this day they
race around an island in Lake Millerton, in no Calif. Roy did not leave
the beach until all the boats rounded the island, then he took off like a
rocket, and was back to the start Finnish well a head of my dad. I have raced
boats all my life, and this baffles me to this day, would that jacket run 70 +
mph, or did on that day, my dads boat only ran 25 to 30 mph I don’t think so,
nor did the other jackets drivers my dad beat on that day, they did not feel
they we slower than usual All I can say is WOW, he also smoked John Derek who
also had a dual 55E set up jacket. Looking back I think this was the best
time of my life. I raced jackets to Tunnels and still love the jacket. Bill Gude