top keel

andre lafrance · Post by **andre lafrance** » Fri May 25, 2012 6:58 am

on my '57 15' sea coaster, i have the width at the transom and the width where the top keel(?) meets the forefoot (inner keel) at the stem, BUT because the middle was rotten, i don't have the exact length or where the top keel begins to narrow toward the stem. if you have a similar model, would you mind sending those measurements and at what frame the transition takes place? i'd really appreciate them. one more thing: on this deluxe model (477 i believe), the rear deck which surrounds the engine has mahogany planks. does anyone know if the middle and fore decks also used planks? all i have of the fore deck is a partial king plank and the middle deck was missing entirely. thanks for any help...

LancerBoy · Post by **LancerBoy** » Fri May 25, 2012 9:47 am

KEEL is on the outside of the boat and KEELSON is on the inside of the boat.

I can't answer your question about the taper.

All the decks should be plywood, not planks, yes? Bow, mid and rear.

I have 15 Sea Coaster 1957 model year boats in my database. Two are the model 477. One of our frequent forum posters from Oshkosh, WI has a '57 Sea Coaster.

Andreas

Bill E · Post by **Bill E** » Wed May 30, 2012 9:10 am

I've been away from the forum for a while (and sort of shelved the boat project for the past year). Finally digging back into it.

Anyway, isn't that backwards... the KEELSON is on the inside (on top) and the KEEL is outside, below, in the water?

LancerBoy · Post by **LancerBoy** » Wed May 30, 2012 11:15 am

Oh good grief, you are correct. KEEL on outside and KEELSON on inside.

SORRY!

Andreas

Bill E · Post by **Bill E** » Wed May 30, 2012 11:18 am

Hey, it happens. No worries!

andre lafrance · Post by **andre lafrance** » Wed May 30, 2012 4:27 pm

thanks for the input. previous owner must have put the mahogany planks on at some time. i have found a gentleman near me that has a '57 sea coaster. i'm going to visit him for those measurements. ALSO, since i don't know what kind of windshield my boat had, he's going to let me take pictures and measurements of his. i've been told that some of these sea coasters had plastic windshields, but i definitely want wood. my '55 wagemaker (it was recently given to me by a friend moving to tennessee, and he didn't want to take it with him) has a plastic windshield. it's a good thing i had already started the thompson, because i would have easily jumped into restoring the wagemaker - NO FRAMES

thanks again. this site is so helpful to a newbie like me...

LancerBoy · Post by **LancerBoy** » Thu May 31, 2012 4:09 pm

The 1957 Sea Coaster did NOT come with a windshield as a standard item from the factory. It was an added accessory. Many dealers ordered the boats without windshields and then installed their own. That is why you can see the exact same year and model boat side by side and they have very different windshields. Same goes for steering and hardware.

Andreas

andre lafrance · Post by **andre lafrance** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:17 pm

andreas, thanks for the information - very interesting. also, i just found my boats serial number on the back of the back seat back rest. i was making a new one and discovered the number under all the dirt - 71068.

LancerBoy · Post by **LancerBoy** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 3:49 am

serial number OR hull ID?

They are different.

Andreas

andre lafrance · Post by **andre lafrance** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 4:02 pm

this number, 71068, is also stamped on the transom with "CC" following it and just under that a "P". today, after sanding the transom brace another "P" showed itself near the center hole. you've told me the cc was probably the builder and the p stood for peshtigo built. thanks for all that you do to help us find our way through these wonderful boats...