1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

[Bill P]

My buddy and I just picked up what we believe to be a 1960?or maybe a ?59 MFG Oxford. We got this far in the identification process by studying the literature on fiberglassics.com and checking photographs and dimensions in those documents against the actual boat.

The boat has no make or model markings on it but has a HIN stamped into a stiffening beam below the floor boards. The # is F9-2454. I?m thinking the 9 may indicate 1959.

It appears to be a ?Deluxe? model as the steering wheel appears to be a Curtiss-Wright and the windshield is a Taylor. Kind of wondering why the logo on the steering wheel appears to be ?WC??shouldn?t it be Wright-Curtiss??or why aren?t the initials ?CW??

Overall, it is in very decent shape and was reportedly stored in a garage for many years and not used. The paint has been re-done but everything else appears close to original. Almost all the hardware is present. The boat was apparently red and white originally as there is indication the red paint was sanded off the deck at one point.

Our intent is to put it in the water and use it but we would also like to restore it to as close to original as possible. Hence the reason for this post.

We?re hoping there are others out there with the same boat who can help us confirm our identification is accurate. We would also appreciate assistance to put it back together properly by providing pictures and/or help locating parts to fill in the gaps where we?re missing stuff.

Presently?we?re missing one open cleat, there is a hole in the dash where a gauge of some sort is missing, there are two knobs on the dash?at least one looks aftermarket, the post part of the stern light is missing but the base plate is not original as indicated by extra holes in the fiberglass, there are no step pads?not sure there ever were any on this boat but the literature indicates they were standard, there are no emblems on the exterior?bet these are hard to find!

Wondering if there is supposed to be another rubber bumper in the aluminum extrusion mounted low on the boat about at the water line.

Although not shown in the pictures, we do have the seats which appear to be original with the exception of the upholstery. Based on the brochure, we?re probably missing some ?tortion seat suspension? parts also. I bet those are a dime a dozen -

That?s it for now?thanks in advance for what we hope will be a plethora of info coming our way on this boat so we can get her back into shape as authentically as possible.

Regards ? Bill (& Chris) ? South Berwick, Maine

 

[pduquette]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Bill P ( and Chris )
Welcome Aboard ! I'm gonna agree , Definitely an Oxford and most likely a "59....Happy Golden Anniversary !!!!! If you hold a tapemeasurefrom the bow to the transom (parralel to the deck , above the windshield ) I't should measure 14'10" . She looks good I'd love to see more Guessing by the hardware mostly . Mine is a '61 . I have a worn set of steppads - couldn't find where they go on my boat . What year / HP is your motor , looks close to my '80 50hp . Keep us updated !! peter

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Peter...Thanks for your post and nice welcome.

It does measure 14'10"...what is it that leads you to believe it's a 59 over a 60?

Power is a '71 Evinrude 50...haven't tried to start it yet...hope it runs! Came with the original tank which is cool I think. It also came with the owners manual so I know it's a '71 for sure. Hope there's nothing wrong with it - Was flipping through the manual the other night and couldn't believe the complexity of that motor. I've worked on cars my whole life but never on an outboard...maybe it's easier than it looks at first glance...seems lik an awful lot of moving parts in there...at least the manual is thorough and well-written.

I looked again at the pictures in the brochure for step pads and I think your right...there doesn't seem to be enough space for them.

Can you help me with the emblems? I asked another member who makes his own and he can still make them for me but after looking at his again, and comparing his to the blurry pics in the brochures on fiberglassics.com, I don't think the ones he has are right for our boat. You say yours is a '61...do you have emblems on it? (I'll be looking at your pics again after submitting this post)

Thanks for your help! - Bill

 

[pduquette]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Hi Bill P . Ok , I revisited the 'ol MFG site and have to change my mind . No mention of Oxford in '59 . So 1960 . But it brings up another question ...Oxford or Waterford . They seem to be the same except the Oxford has a splashwell and second row of seats and the Westfield is a more stripped down version.
you most likely have the oval MFG logo used in the 50's . Look at the bottom of the 2nd page / 1960 for the design . I think if you squint hard at the last page / 1960 you can see the step pads , even with the front seatbacks - check about there for holes on yours .
See , you thought you were coming here for help , and you get more confusion !! LOL ! peter

 

[pduquette]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

P.S. Check out "Old Style Logo T-Shirt" pg 3 -this forum . bhammat has a 1960 Oxford too . Give him a shout ! peter

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

There is mention of an Oxford in a brochure ID'd as being from 1959 on fiberglassics.com...there's just not too much info on the brochure to verify things. The picture on that brochure is pretty good and looks to be our boat but so does the picture on the brochure labelled 1960!

The photos on the '60 brochure aren't as detailed as on the '59 but I did notice the bow light in BOTH pictures appears to be a different type than ours, and is mounted closer to the tip of the bow than ours. Ours is mounted behind a heavy duty chrome handle.....hmmm, maybe they moved the light rear-ward, and changed it to a different type when you got the deluxe model which includes "hardware"...a bow handle would fit that category. Our bow light has a flagpole hole and the one in the brochures doesn't appear to be sporting a flag.

I can't make out any step pads in the picture of the Oxford on the '59 or '60 brochure but they are listed in the description of the Oxford on the '60...and our boat does have the "self-baling" motor well. Although I didn't mention it, or show it in my pictures yet, we do have the rear "bench type" seat with no back...this points to Oxford as well. The description indicates "hardware" on the Deluxe model and wonder what the hardware was they're talking about. Probably all the cleats and handles.

I took some more pics and posted them of our hardware to see if anyone knows what's up with the discrepancy between our bow light and the brochure pictures. I also blew up the picture of the Oxford from the '59 brochure to see the detail better. Notice the difference between our bow hardware and the brochure...

Regarding HIN's...has anyone ever come forward with access to the company records or a method for interpreting the digits?

Emblem...unfortunately, I think we need the oval ones to be authentic.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Bow light looks very similar to the '64 Niagara I have, but the vane on mine is straight up and down, not tapered as yours shows. As far as earlier years... I have not seen anything more definitive than the fiberglassics brochures.

Is that a clock in your steering wheel hub? Or does it just look like a clock? Cool, anyway.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Just thought I'd chime in here,

From my literature, I tend to believe you got a '59. The hardware looks correct. The portside stern light location seems correct. The '60 catalog has it on the starboard side. Also, the bow light is different in 1960. Hope that helps.

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Just thought I'd chime in here,

From my literature, I tend to believe you got a '59. The hardware looks correct. The port-side stern light location seems correct. The '60 catalog has it on the starboard side. Also, the bow light is different in 1960. Hope that helps.

I gotta re-think this..... I wish I could tell you what you have there... But cannot! My best guess is....it's not, a 1960 Oxford. I'm sure you have looked everywhere for other numbers...... Usually MFG had them on the on the inner transom, port-side, up in the right corner.....Sorry Bill, wish I could help you more. :redface:

 

[pduquette]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

The hardware looks same as the ones in 1959 Brochure -- But I'm not seeing where the picture you got came from ??? Maybe my browser is not displaying all of them ?? I'll Put my chips on 1959 .
The bow light looks the same as mine too - altho I have an extra set of mounting holes so It could be a replacement (Perko makes it / or a copy )
peter

 

[*EdC*]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

The hardware looks same as the ones in 1959 Brochure -- But I'm not seeing where the picture you got came from ??? Maybe my browser is not displaying all of them ?? I'll Put my chips on 1959 .
The bow light looks the same as mine too - altho I have an extra set of mounting holes so It could be a replacement (Perko makes it / or a copy )
peter

I agree with Peter. The bow light is most likely a Perko. But, that's not to say it's not original. It probably is..... It was, and still is, a common practice to outsource many of the components that go into boat construction.
Here's a link to check out.
http://www.theclassicboathouse.com/ads.html
Here's another link. do a search for "MFG Boat"

http://for-sale.yakaz.com/results.php?univ=miscellaneous&v=txt&from=form&f=&what="mfg+boat"

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Bow light looks very similar to the '64 Niagara I have, but the vane on mine is straight up and down, not tapered as yours shows. As far as earlier years... I have not seen anything more definitive than the fiberglassics brochures.

Is that a clock in your steering wheel hub? Or does it just look like a clock? Cool, anyway.

Mark...nope, it's not a clock...it just looks like one.

Just a design that must have been created by the steering wheel guys..."Curtiss-Wright"...kind of an odd one I think but guess they were trying to be creative.

I do like the idea that the optional wheel makes our boat a "deluxe". I don't know about you, but I like deluxebecause...it's better than standard -

Regards - Bill

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

The hardware looks same as the ones in 1959 Brochure -- But I'm not seeing where the picture you got came from ??? Maybe my browser is not displaying all of them ?? I'll Put my chips on 1959 .
The bow light looks the same as mine too - altho I have an extra set of mounting holes so It could be a replacement (Perko makes it / or a copy )
peter

Peter - The picture with the orange background is one I cut out and enlarged from the 1959 section of classicboathouse.com. That boat looks EXACTLY like ours EXCEPT for the bow light which looks to be mounted in a different location and looks to be a different type also.

The picture I attached to this post is a blowup of the inset picture of the Oxford on the "15-Footer" page from the 1960 brochure. This boat also looks EXACTLY like ours EXCEPT for the bow light type, and mounting location. (I can't make out a stern light...too blurry)

I'm wondering if there is any difference between a '59 & '60 Oxford...except the price...$625 in '59 and $695 in '60...for the standard model.

Does it really matter whether it's one or the other? Not really...I just like to know things like that about stuff that's dated. If nothing else comes to light on the subject, I'll be following your bet and it'll be a 59.

Thanks for your help...hope you're enjoying the brain-teaser.

Bill

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

I agree with Peter. The bow light is most likely a Perko. But, that's not to say it's not original. It probably is..... It was, and still is, a common practice to outsource many of the components that go into boat construction.
Here's a link to check out.
http://www.theclassicboathouse.com/ads.html
Here's another link. do a search for "MFG Boat"

http://for-sale.yakaz.com/results.php?univ=miscellaneous&v=txt&from=form&f=&what="mfg+boat"

Ed (& Peter)

I think they had 2 brochures in 1959.

One titled,

"Two New, All-Fiberglass...pluse these six famous mahogany-decked MFG Beauties" which is posted on classicboathouse.com (could this be mis-dated?)

and one titled...

"MFG, The All-Around Fun Boat - '59 --- Six MFG Beaties for '59"" which is posted on fiberglassics.com.

I had to squint because of poor quality but the spec for the decks on all the boats on the fiberglassics.com brochure is "mahogany."

Who knows the first year of fiberglass decks for MFG?

I bet it was 1959 and they came out with a second brochure (maybe after they'd already printed the first one) for their FG deck line of boats. (That'd be the classicboathouse one.)

That's be OK with me if we had one from the first year of FG decks.

Anyone know exactly where the transom width measurement should be taken at?

Ours measures 61-inches from outside of rubber to outside of rubber...which points to '59 I think as the '60 brochure on FGlassics.com says 62-inches. (I can only find measurements for the '59's on the mahogany deck brochure on FGlassics.com and that says 61-inches)

This would be really easy if could use the HIN I found to ID the boat. Anyone know if MFG saved the records?

My heads spinning but it's still a '59...I think...and it's still an Oxford too...I think.

Agree?

 

[bhammatt]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Let me chime in with my opinion based on research I've done that has concluded that my boat is a 1960 Oxford.
The 1960 brochure clearly shows a different splash well. My boat has a separate from the deck splash well that is attached to the transom and side of the deck as it rolls into the cockpit. Your photo and the "59" brochure distinctly show a splash well that is molded as a part of the deck.
I have been searching for some information on hull numbers from that era and perhaps your number gives some more clues. The sticker on the transom of my boat had been painted over and aggressive moves to remove the paint also removed the model number and serial number. But crawling around up under the deck, written on a piece of masking tape attached the wood that backs up the dash was "E0-60-1833". Your F9- xxxx isn't far off. Could E0 stand for May 1960 and F9 stand for June 1959 and be the month of manufacture?
What do you all think?

 

[Bill P]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Good call bhammat...

I see what you mean about the splash wells.

I just got back from crawling under the bow deck in the dark of night and locating the paper sticker with the serial # on it. There it was...plain as day, just starboard of the steering wheel...with a 1/2" hole drilled right through the business part of it!

It looks like someone who didn't know it was there...or didn't care...decided to add a switch along the way and drilled straight through the sticker. I had to remove the knob unit to see all of it. Check out the picture.

The first character is clearly an F. The second character could be a lot of things but based on what's showing, it can't be a 9. There is either a comma, or a third character. The last 4 digits are 1358. F?-1358.

So our boat apparently has 2 numbers. F9-2454 on the I-Beam under the floorboards and F?-1358 on the sticker behind the dash.

Why would a boat have 2 #'s???...I have a couple theories.

Maybe MFG stamped out hulls of varying lengths and gave them a number. Then, as orders dictated, they'd take a blank hull out of stock and add a deck to it. They'd then add a new number to the boat to keep track of what it was. If I'm not mistaking, they offered other 15-footer models in '59 including the Celereon which had a Mahogany deck.

or,

They made the hulls in one place and the decks in another and then joined them down the line, but both had a number.

Anyone know the real story?

PS...I like your theory about the letters equating to months of the year. If it's the case, maybe my hull and deck were made in June.

Has anyone else found a number under the floor like I did????

 

[MykeC]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Now I'm confused. I think I have a 1960 Oxford, but after reading through all of this I'm not sure. I bought this from my father in law, who picked it up at an auction in North Central Ohio.

Any suggestions on what it actually is or where to look?

It's the only picture I have right now, but I'll post some more when I find them.


Edit:
I'm going to start a new thread with more info. I hate to hijack this thread

 

[pduquette]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

Looks nice!! please add a picture of the transom and dash to aid us ! Thanks peter

 

[bhammatt]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

MykeC
The distinctive bow chocks and cleat and the lines on the deck are the same as on my 1960 Oxford. Your boat looks in great shape. Do you have photos of the interior?

 

[MykeC]

Re: 1960 MFG Oxford 15-Footer ? We Think ? Help Please?

I'll post some more. Got caught up the last 2 days putting air springs on my truck (and braking a brake line in the process)