Retro Crestliner Discussion Forum

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

plastic medallion on this thread.

I'll get mine here shortly.

12 foot jetstreak without plastic dash emblum :serial number 18367. If

I would guess that 18 is the code and it is the 367th boat built. There is no way that they made 18,367 12 footers or they would be all over.
Now if the plastic dash models are lower numbers than 367, I would guess we have a way of telling whether or not it is a 58 or 59.
Lets have you guys with 14 footers and 15 footers check this out and if it follows suit then we should have a fairly reliable way to determine if your jetstreak is a 58 or 59

OutBdNut · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 593 Location: Minnesota

At sometime in the mid to late 1950s, Crestliner started stamping the serial number in the aluminum on the starboard side. A 1958 Voyager Dad used to have had it stamped above the splash rail just outside of where the driver sits. My 1957 12' Commander Custom Deluxe which is similar to a Jetstreak in a some ways but no fins has the serial number stamped on the outside of the starboard side about 1/2 way between the bow and the driver's end of the deck, about 1 or 2 inches down from the top. The stampings aren't very deep, so an additional coat or two of paint and/or primer will level off the numbers, effectively hiding them.

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

Is it along way aways from the model number. I found the model number easy right under the windsheild but looked about a foot ahead of that and nothing. I am going to look again all the way up to the front and see. I think we could find out with the use of the boats with and without the plastic emblum as to what year they are.
My guess is the plastic item would be the older boat as the emblum changed in 1958 and it was an extra cost item for crestliner to make and add in labor.
I think it has been well established that the chocks back by the windsheild did not occur on any production boat that has bee seen that was just for the first model for the photo and then they were moved up to the bow.

Day_Cruiser · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 198 Location: Alexandria, VA

My hull number for my 14' Jetstreak is 850-1515H.

Found it when we sandblasted the old paint off. But, the new paint covered it up again. It did have have the plastic Cresliner emblem on the dash, held in by tiny rivet-like studs.
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1958/9 14' Crestliner Jetstreak

scotty1957 · Joined: 07 Jul 2004 Posts: 195 Location: Ames, IA

I can't speak for Jetstreak's, but on both my '55 Commander and Admiral, in addition to where OutBdNut said to look, the number is also stamped into the inside stern just below where the transom wood is. It is upside down and halfway between center and starboard side. In the image below I have the transom wood removed.

Scotty
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'55 Commander 12'
'55 Admiral 16'
'57 35HP Evinrude Big Twin
'57 18HP Evinrude Fastwin

Jetstreak Salley · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 39 Location: NC

Hi Dave,

My 14 footer has no dash emblem nor any holes for it.

The hull number is 85017030.

Model: 850

Serial: 17030

Does this mean mine is a 58' and the 30th one built?
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Lee

1959 14' Jetstreak, 58' Johnson 35HP Super SeaHorse, 1960 Tee Nee trailer
http://www.retrocrestliner.com/viewer_photos_page%2019.htm

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

Good question. You have a fairly large serial number just like I do and neither of us had a plastic emblum, so it appears we have 59 models, but lets wait until more people send in their numbers. I have no 12 foot numbers to compare to yet.
Pamela checked their 12 footer but it had so much paint on it she couldn; find the number but has the plastic emblum on the dash.
Hopefully more people will respond to this search.
Dave.

OutBdNut · Joined: 27 Mar 2005 Posts: 593 Location: Minnesota

Does anybody know if the Serial number (the digits after the model number) started over for each Crestliner model? or were these numbers sequential production numbers regardless of which model was being built that day?

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

That is another possibility to consider. I do think we are on to something on dating jetstreaks as to the plastic emblum or not. Jus need to find two boats of like length and if the one with plastic has a lower serial number than the one without then we could consider the ones with plastic as 58's and without 59s.
It at least would give us something to compare them with.

Jetstreak Salley · Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 39 Location: NC

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-Crestliner-Jetstreak_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ31270QQihZ017QQitemZ270011133515QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

This 14 footer that sold on ebay does not have the emblem, photos are not good enough to see if there are holes.

Serial: 1210H

That's the second one I've seen with the "H" in the number. I wonder what that means.

Lee
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Lee

1959 14' Jetstreak, 58' Johnson 35HP Super SeaHorse, 1960 Tee Nee trailer
http://www.retrocrestliner.com/viewer_photos_page%2019.htm

Day_Cruiser · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 198 Location: Alexandria, VA

Lee,

There is a difference of about 2000 between mine and yours, and another 2000 between yours and the Ebay Jetstreak.

That doesn't seem right to me. How much production of a specific model could they have had in two years? More than a few hundred would surprise me.

After all, if they had sold any significant number of them , they would not have stopped production so soon.

The more information we get, the more questions come up.
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1958/9 14' Crestliner Jetstreak

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

they must have numbered them as they came down the assembly line no mater what model the boat was.
But we still can guess that the lower serial number boat with or without the plastic badge would be a 58 or 59.
Dave.

Day_Cruiser · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 198 Location: Alexandria, VA

Dave,

That makes sense. But, the lowest serial number so far reported is for the eBay boat, which was advertised as a '59.

Gets curiouser and curiouser.
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1958/9 14' Crestliner Jetstreak

roxin · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Posts: 126 Location: Balaton, MN

What standards did the ebay boat use to determine model year?
Either that seller knows something no one else does or he guessed.
I do not know of anyone who has dated their jetstreak model year by any method other than guess or go by the year on the title and what was that based on. Dave.

Day_Cruiser · Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 198 Location: Alexandria, VA

Well, the year on the title probably isn't a reliable criterion, either.

When researching my boat, I found the earliest record was a 1975 Maryland registration stating that it was a 1960 model.

Since I've never heard anyone mention a 1960 Jetstreak production, I assume that was incorrect. Or was it? Like you said, its all guesswork.
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1958/9 14' Crestliner Jetstreak