1968-71 Naden N-16 Big Fisherman Restoration

[pckeen]

Very nice.

Now if only the motor would run on two cylinders.:facepalm:

At the rate that is coming, I'll have it working in another three years.

 

[64osby]

LOL

High trim knows what he is doing, follow his advice and you will be running in no time. Should be less then 3 years.

 

[Watermann]

The ole Naden looks great! :thumb:

Looking forward to seeing her on the water.

 

[pckeen]

Well, successful splash......but by the new owner, not me.

I listed this for sale locally when the snow melted, along with the 18hp Evinrude, with a condition that the new owner send me photos once it was splashed. The new owner advises the motor runs well, and that the boat doesn't leak a drop. And now on with the next project, restoring the 1955 Johnson QD-16....it's running on two cylinders now.

I set out to learn a little about boat restoration and managed to do that.

Here are some pics of the completed Naden & 18hp Evinrude.

 

[bonz_d]

Looks like it turned out very nice. New owner should be happy with it.

 

[Watermann]

Nice work on the Naden Peter, she looks super.

 

[25xs]

No Title

I'm kidding, but do you think the decals installed backwards will slow down the Naden boat!?? :>)

I really enjoyed reading this restoration thread. thanks! I am a NW Iowa born boater living on Lake Lanier in N. Georgia now. I currently own 12ft & 14ft Naden rowboats and 15ft & 18ft Naden runabout boats. While visiting family in Iowa I stopped by and met Russ Naden, grandson of the company founder. Their primary business is commercial electrical work, and for a long time "Naden Industries" manufactured scoreboards for High School & Collegiate Sports (football/basketball/baseball). The vintage football scoreboards have rounded top corners with the distinctive blind rivet seams found on the bottom of boats at the transoms!

For anyone doing restorations, a very nice decal is available on the internet shopping website spelled a. o. l. and found by searching the words, naden decals

Boats were built in Webster City, Iowa from 1955 to 1971. They were VERY popular on Midwestern State lakes as commercial rental boats. The durable reputation is well known. The Naden Boats Company and mfg equipment was sold to a fish camp in Vermillion Bay, ON in the early 1970's. Then sold again, but unfortunately the second Canadian buyer died tragically in an auto accident. I am not aware of anyone picking up the pieces and to continue producing this fine, rugged brand of boats.

Pictures below show the Webster City, Iowa factory, the Scoreboard building, the last, "brand new leftover" boat sold, and a factory tool bench that didn't go to Canada.

Tom

 

[pckeen]

Here's a lesson for anyone getting decals made from scratch - make sure you get two decaIs that are mirror images of each other. I didn't notice this until you pointed it out.

When I photographed the decal and had the replacement made, I only photographed one side. If I recall correctly, the other decals was not copyable. I'm guessing the decal maker did the same thing - rather than make mirror image decals, two were the same. The result....one was backwards when mounted.

 

[Watermann]

For future reference they sell them on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Naden-Vinta...-2-PK-FREE-SHIP-FREE-Fish-Decal-/311538049461

 

[boatmaninc]

I found a 16' Naden Runabout for $100 if anyone is interested? Console parts assumed to be missing.

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

What a beautiful job you did on this boat. After buying a Naden 16 this summer, I came across this thread and have read it twice. Mine was an old rental boat from a resort near Pointe Au Baril. I intended to tear right into it but decided to put her in the water first. It didn't leak a drop and is a fantastic riding boat. So I fished out of it for the rest of the summer. I am inspired by your restoration however and plan to make her pretty again. Thanks for documenting all your hard work!

 

[pckeen]

What a beautiful job you did on this boat. After buying a Naden 16 this summer, I came across this thread and have read it twice. Mine was an old rental boat from a resort near Pointe Au Baril. I intended to tear right into it but decided to put her in the water first. It didn't leak a drop and is a fantastic riding boat. So I fished out of it for the rest of the summer. I am inspired by your restoration however and plan to make her pretty again. Thanks for documenting all your hard work!

Thanks, and start a thread with pics of your boat. Good luck with it!

 

[I.Yogi]

Hey Peter, if you or any of the other members on this post are still active, I picked up a Naden a week and a bit ago, and in trying to find more information on Naden boats, I've stumbled upon this thread. Nice work!
I was told mine was a 1984, but having the Webster City caps, and the only numbers I can find in it are 7160, I'm going with the same year range as yours. Seeing how yours turned out, I'm considering doing some work to mine in this upcoming winter to get it better. May as well enjoy it for this summer, since it replaces my Lund!