Old Boat, any ideas

[larry merlau]

my brother acquired and old boat that has us both puzzeld, its made out of stainless steel with wood seats and transom plate and the top rails were wood as well, it has alum castings on the bow point and both back corners as handles. with a star on the casting. the boat also has stainless ribbing as well its a semi v style boat. not a tag anywhere or no. or name plate can be found. its 12 ft. long and approx. 4ft wide. any help in where to go for its origin what be greatly appreciated. email or pm or post. thanks

[Tyler Howell]

Sounds kinda like a Lund, or Aluminacraft??

[larry merlau]

Sounds kinda like a Lund, or Aluminacraft??

hey tyler, it could be a very early proto type i quess, but its stainless not alum. dont have clue where to see some ealry boats from those brands you mentioned.

[Tyler Howell]

Wow Larry,
Missed the SS part.
Any markings on the chain plate:confused:
Under the seats.

[Jim King]

The star may or may not be the key to "Starcraft" out of Goshen , Indiana. Send them a photo.
http://www.starcraftmarine.com/

[Brad Schmid]

Larry,

All boats manufactured or imported on or after November 1, 1972 are required by federal law to have a hull identification number.

Between 11-1-72 and 8-1-84
Boat manufacturer's were required to display 2 identical HIN's. Primary HIN on the starboard side of the transom. No rule on the secondary HIN other than it needed to be somewhere on the hull.

After August 1, 1984
Primary - same as above. Secondary HIN affixed somewhere on an unexposed location inside the boat, under a seat, beneath a fitting or item of hardware.

Individuals building boats for their own use and not for the purposes of sale are required to obtain a 12 character HIN from their State boating agency.

So I think you have 3 possibilities:
1) Boat was built before Nov 1971
2) Built after Nov 1971, and transom was replaced, but you haven't yet found the "secret hiding place" of the secondary HIN
3) Boat was homebuilt after 1971 and the builder didn't follow the rules and obtain a HIN from his home state.

Hope this gives you some clues. If there is any removeable hardware, removing those would be a good place to start. Good luck!

[larry merlau]

for the info thus far will do some mor elookin i think it was pre 1971, there are differnt kinds of stainless i am told and this particular kind is magnetic to some degree. will look under the seat brackets and the alum castings like has been suggested.. i really think this was manufactured by a company rather home built.