Classic boat By Lee Wangstad (This article appeared in the Feb. 2003, issue of Boating World <boatingworldonline.com>)

Light Weight

With a 10-hp restriction on his lake, Ray Stockwell realized a 1954 Feather Craft was the only boat he could get up on plane.

When looking for a new boat, most boaters have a pretty good idea of just what their criteria for the purchase must be - comfort, style or perhaps dependability.  Other boaters look for speed and performance.  Ray Stockwell, who lives on the shores of 300-acre Weatherby Lake in Missouri, has a great deal of interest in performance.  But he has another restriction that makes this choice just a little more difficult: a lake-wide 10-hp maximum allowable limit.

  Trying to get the most from a stock 10 doesn't come easy with any boat, and the list of suitable boats comes from an extremely narrow field.  New boats are pretty much out of the question, so to find boats that will actually get up on plane with 10 hp, you have to go back to the days when 10 hp carried a little more weight - all the way back to the '50s.

   Ray Stockwell has been the key to finding boats for those Weatherby Lakers who want something different.  Present at two classic boat shows held on the lake each year are three Larson Falls Flyers and as many Redfish Sharks, powered, of course by 10-hp engines.  These classic boats provide their owners some degree of individuality along with all the exhilarating performance of a slow moving pontoon boat.  Then there is the fleet of 15 Feather Craft boats that Ray Stockwell has found and personally restored.  He than sells them to owners around the lake who are interested in pushing that restriction as far as they can take it., and do it in a style that belongs to that era of half a century ago.

   For his personal use Ray Stockwell was able to locate an original 1954 14-foot Feather Craft.  "This one belongs to my wife Marge," says Stockwell.  "She says this is the one I can't sell.  It's a Ranger III model with the walk-through center deck.  We found it in Springdale, Arkansas, with all the original gold anodizing intact and in good condition.  It has faded a little bit, but it is nice to keep it original."

   "I had to repair the transom and also replace the dash," adds Stockwell.  "I took the old dash in as a pattern and found that building one out of stainless steel was only slightly more expensive than aluminum.  Structurally, it's more sound and looks great."

   Stockwell added a 9.9 Tohatsu to his Feather Craft.  "It's a hot little engine," says Stockwell.  'You know, with a little carb work you can boost it up to 15 hp very easily.  Of course, we can't do that, but it isn't very hard to do."

   As the name implies, Feather Craft boats were built as a lightweight alternative to the wood boats of the post-World War II market.  "The company was founded in 1947 by my uncle, W. Douglas Knight," remembers Frank Kibler, who would later become president of Feather Craft.  "He was associated with J.T. Knight, a metal dealer involved in scrap metals and aluminum before he went out on his own.  After the war years, the aircraft  companies were all shifting their production to other goods.  The aluminum companies were looking for new markets and gave us a lot of assistance in gearing up for boat production.

   Feather Craft's unique barrelback design set it apart from other products in the aluminum boat market.  Once the dominion of the large mahogany runabouts, the unique tumblehome styling looked just right on the small outboard runabouts.

   "The main reason I like the Feather Craft boats is that they are just so pretty," exclaims Stockwell.  "The lines are fabulous.  Of the 15 Feather Craft boats that I've redone, four or five are the 12-foot Rocket model.  They can actually get up on plane easily with a 9.9 engine."

   Originally intending to ward off the evils of speed demons on their waters, the forefathers of Weatherby Lake would be shocked at what the 10-hp regulation has brought about.  "If we get our boats over 20 mph we walk around like we're King Tut," muses Stockwell.  "The horse power limit poses a real challenge, but it really makes life interesting."

   The restrictions has other perks as well - it's good for his diet.  "Weight has become so sensitive with only 10 hp that you really have to watch what you eat," says Stockwell.  "You may be able to get the boat up on plane on your way to dinner, but if you eat too much, you might not be able to plane on the way home!"

BOATING WORLD

Additional boats by Ray Stockwell (Click on picture for larger image):

'57 Rocket      '56 Rocket     '57 Vagabond  '57 Vagabond

                     (Rare 1 yr only)                         (Rear controls)

'57 Ranger

 NANCIE RIDEOUT

 LADY BOAT TESTER -

 In the late 1950's Feather Craft employed a female as one of their test pilots.

  "At first glance, she looks exactly like what she is, a pert, pretty, freckle-nosed teen-ager who likes hi-fi and water skiing. But there is more than that to the story. She is also the feminine world's champion water ski jumper and is probably the world's top lady test driver of outboard boats.

  As if this weren't enough to keep any young women busy, Nancie Rideout also models, helps train new skiers for the water ski shows at Florida's Cypress Gardens and takes flying lessons. It was 19-year-old Nancie's tremendous vitality which helped her nail down her job as test pilot for Feather Craft boats".

(The above is an extract from a picture story that appeared in a late 1950's issue of "OUTBOARD, Cruising...Skiing...Fishing...Racing". If anyone has this issue or knows anything about Nancie Rideout, please contact me at <feathercraftboats@charter.net>. Thanks).