1954 12' Lifetime Aluminum Boat build

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Glad to help.

I love old tin boats!

Here's another ad from 1948 that I found online. One is the whole ad and the other is a clearer version of the text.

https://books.google.com/books?id=o_I1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA75&lpg=RA1-PA75&dq=reynolds+aluminum+boat+history&source=bl&ots=L_XQIH9uu9&sig=6kPJV6qsmaTg2TDDe_5jaq1BSFs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf98nbrKDJAhXSoogKHbPqDTs4ChDoAQgnMAM#v=onepage&q=reynolds%20aluminum%20boat%20history&f=false

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jpfieber said:
ScouterJames said:
Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....


Glad it worked out for you! Just got lucky with some googling - VERY cool all the info!!!!

James
 
VinTin said:
Here's another ad from 1948 that I found online. One is the whole ad and the other is a clearer version of the text.

Nice find, thanks!
 
What a neat boat, neat find, and great thread with the history. Say "Hi" to the orignal boat company owner for us.

:mrgreen: =D> :mrgreen: This is a treasure.
 
bonz_d said:
jp, where about are you located? I'm down near Lake Geneva, border of Walworth and Kenosha Co. .

I'm in Mequon, just north of Milwaukee, south of Port Washington and Grafton (where the boat was made).
 
I'm digging that bullet nose bow. Sweet looking boat and an awesome story.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hello,
I just found this forum and I might be able to help you folks with this particular craft.

My dad worked for Reynolds Metals for about 25 years, retiring from the company in the mid-'70s. He began with the company in Louisville KY and moved to Richmond VA in '58 when the company moved its corporate HQ at that time. We had one of those boats for as far back as I could remember and he sold it to an acquaintance of mine many years ago when he had to give up his beloved outdoor pursuits. Marty may still have the boat. I'll ask. I know I have some photos so will try to dig them out.

Dad's was the same hull as the ones already posted but his did not have the front deck (nacelle? cover? forecastle?) and he had installed a third seat so there would be more usable space for serious fishin'. That's what he liked to do. He alternately used a 5- or a 25-horse Johnson outboard on his during the time he owned it from the early '50s to the mid-'80s.

He worked in Product Development for the company and was pretty handy. I don't think he did the actual stamping but was probably involved with the preliminary testing and setup of the stamping process. His department did a lot of prototyping and he was always bringing home stuff they did. He did build a trailer for his boat, using an inverted (for lift) and widened (for stability) Crosley front axle. He also made the frame-mounted hitches to fit the '50 Hudson, the '52 Studebaker, the '57 Ford and the '65 Mustang he used for towing.

Back in the Louisville days the company had for its employees a private recreation area known as Reynolds Meadows, east of Louisville as I recall. There was a pavilion and a lake and there was a small fleet of the boats, all with the front decks that I thought were really cool. Maybe a dozen boats or so?

I hope this will be of interest to you all. I'll work on finding the photos but it might take me a while to dig them out of storage. Good to see the OP's boat and I'm glad to know they've acquired a little collector following. Dad would be pleased. I've never seen another since moving to Virginia but once thought I spotted one being trailered in the opposite direction on I-40 in North Carolina.

Thanks for the memories.
 
New member - first post!!
Thanks for more pieces to fill the puzzle. I have a 1950 'Reynolds' boat I bought last December. It had the wood strakes on the bottom. I took it completely apart because it had been "redone" a few times in the past and EVERY nut, bolt, washer, and screw were just standard steel!! The transom had been reinforced with beautifully engineered pieces of standard steel. Worse corrosion occurred on the bottom bolts for the strakes. I fill brazed the bottom holes and used 1x2 PVC trim set in 3M 5200 to replace the wood strakes.
Can't wait to see your pictures!! I'll post pics of my boat when I figure out how to do it. :LOL2:
 
jpfieber said:
ScouterJames said:
Try contacting the company? Looks like they're still around - maybe have some info or brochures in their old archives.... Looks like the same company - says they made boats briefly.....

Thanks to the lead that James gave me, I contacted the company and was initially told that they didn't have any info on the boat, and that the original owner had retired 5 years ago. Then this morning, my inbox lit up with 10 emails of pictures that the previous owner sent them for me. You have to read the newspaper article in the first photo, just awesome stuff. Even a picture of them making the boat in the factory. I'm hoping I can talk more with the previous owner, it's really intriguing learning about this 60+ year old boat!

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Love the old pics!! Which of the original owners, Neuenfeldt or Dickmann, send you the emails?
I bought a 'Reynolds" boat last December. Mine was camoed and had the wood strakes on the bottom. Had to take it completely apart because every nut, bolt, washer, and screw was standard steel. I replaced all with stainless steel. Bottom holes were pretty corroded. I aluminum fill-brazed them. A few pics attached including the worse bottom hole. 1.JPG2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg
 
I contacted my friend Marty and he told me he sold the boat, the motor and trailer in separate transactions a couple of years ago and lost track of the buyers. I'd hoped to get more photos of it but that won't be possible unless he finds some of his to send me.
 
Dug out a box of pix today and this one was on top of the messy pile. Very first photo! I'll look for more.

Pic of our Reynolds boat in service with my sister and her friend in front, Dad at the helm. This was probably taken at Gwynn's Island VA.

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*a little later, after going through the box of pix*

This is the photo I best remember of our boat, with my dad at the helm, his work and fishin' buddy Walt at center, and yours truly at the bow. Snazzy headgear was a thing in our fishing photos.

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This past Saturday I picked up another Lifetime/Reynolds boat. Got it in a small town north of Kalamazoo, MI. Boat was built by Miller Boat Co. in Charlevoix, MI. Relatively decent shape but some of the rivets along the 3 hull strakes are loose and leaking. Another project. Just a few pictures of the boat. All the details seem to match the Neuenfeldt & Dickmann of Grafton, WI boat. Kind of confirms for me that Reynolds made the pieces and sold them to small boat builders to assemble and market.
 

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thumpism said:
My dad worked for Reynolds Metals for about 25 years, retiring from the company in the mid-'70s.
...
Thanks for the memories.

Awesome story, thanks for sharing! And the pics too.

Cheers,

- Brian
 
Thank you for the nice comments.
Six months later this is how the boat looks.
 

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I'm looking forward to use some of this info in working on my newly acquired gem.
 

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Hi, saw your boat on the fb group site.
It looks like there are aluminum strakes on the bottom. My '50 boat had wood strakes and my '54 boat has the aluminum strakes. Is there a manufacturer's plate anywhere?
 

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