1950s/1960s Model A 16 foot...

[alumanaut]

Vintage Aluminist, or anyone else with catalogues from late40s or early 1950s,

Saw a Model A on Craigslist, probably from the 1950s. Seller said this Model A's transom plaque indicates it is rated for 12 hp and 646 pound load. It has no splash tray. He could not make out the hull number on the knee brace, so cannot say exactly what year it is. Double oar locks on each side, but does not appear as Deep as a D, or a C.

Where in their range of quality did the Model A 16 footer rank?

Was it a longer version of the low end Model B?

Or was it a longer version of the high end Model F 14?

Or something else?

 

[Vintage Aluminum]

Re: 1950s/1960s Model A 16 foot...

Here are some thoughts...

I once bought an advertised 10' Alumacraft that was actually an 11'7" Model R! Best to get out the old tape measure and find out exactly what length it is.

Their Model K was the 16 footer in the lineup (15'10") but its capacity was quite a bit more than what you noted.

I am not sure when the OBC plates listed weight capacity...I know the catalogs didn't list the OBC load capacity till pretty late in the 1960s.

From the picture and HP recommendation (which was on the OBC plates) it looks like a Model A. Four seats, 12 hp max, weight limit is about right though a little more than what my catalog says.

The Model A seems to have always been around. Early materials say 14' exactly...later they were 13'7". One of their first models...Nice because it weighed around 130 lbs. so it didn't take a lot to move it around.

It would have been their entry level 14' boat, but the real light gauge efforts from AlumaCraft were the "AlumaLine" boats...EZL, etc. Those looked to me to be pretty light gauge...fine for most uses, just not as likely to last the next 50 years! F's were wider by 5" or so but only 1" deeper. The FD was wider again by a bit and much deeper. I don't know for sure but my strong belief is that this had the same gauge metal and corner castings, etc. So, it was no bargain basement model or anything. The Deep C's took things up a notch to really make them beefy, but this is a nice, trim boat...narrow enough to sneak in some spots where a bigger boat might make that tight. A fishing boat...not a tubing or speed boat.

Good luck...keep the history alive.

VA