Harold’s Yellow Jacket
Restoration Discoveries:
·
The original
Plexiglas windshield was beyond salvage, but I still have it in storage.
·
There were two
auto-style fog lamps mounted on the front deck.
One of them at some point had been torn loose, leaving a hole in the
plywood deck. Someone had placed a
decorative patch on the front deck and re-mounted auto headlights. When I restored the boat, I chose not to
re-attach the lights, but did save them.
·
It appeared that
the boat’s original power source was not electric start as I found no evidence
of the necessary dash controls.
·
The steering,
throttle, shifter, and speedometer were at one time installed in the rear
cockpit. There was evidence that the
front cockpit was cut in later, and the controls moved to the front. The original boat appears to have been set up
for speed racing, and later converted into a four-person runabout.
·
At some point,
an automotive clock was installed in the rear dash, where the speedometer had
previously been located, and the holes in the rear dash, where steering wheel
was previously located, had been filled.
·
There was
evidence inside the hull of a set of keelsons having been installed on each
side at the rear below the water line, which would have given extra stability
in tight turns and extra lift at higher speeds.
These old performance components were not a stock feature, and were
removed when the boat was re-configured, possibly around 1955, when the new
electric start motor was mated to the hull.
·
The front
cockpit had been cut into the deck in a professional manner, most likely at a
factory or a dealership, using original yellow jacket parts and materials. The backrest of the front seat and the rolled
edging around the cockpit were installed under the decking, which looked
to have been replaced at some point. The
front seat itself had been cut down from a 14ft version of the yellow
jacket. The risers had been moved in and
the ends cut down. The seats were
stained and varnished under the rolled and pleated upholstery. The old upholstery was tattered and ripped
beyond salvage, but had been quite nice.
·
In the sanding
and repainting of the hull, no evidence could be found of the boat ever having
any manufacturer’s registration numbers or decals.
·
.
Harold thinks
this may be a Roy Rogers boat!