Summer 2003 w/ 1947 Evinrude Speeditwin and myself

1/04

The following is a description of my Crestliners. i became interested in operating and restoring Crestliners when i was a freshman in high school. By the time I graduated i had three of them complete ( with a little help from dad). Even though my time is more limited now I still find time to operate them during the summer when I am home.

The 12' Crestliner is roughly a 1952. it is the smallest 12' version that they offered in most of the catalogs. The boat was given to me as it had been hit while sitting at dock and he did not want to take the time to replace the splash rails, and restore the rest of the boat. I hauled the boat home in complete shambles and worked on it the following spring. Although built of smaller guage aluminum than its big brother the Commander, i figured if I beefed up the transom I could run bigger motors on the boat. The boat is a little skittish at high speeds (25-27 at 5,000 ft altitude), and depending on what motor I run, I have to put a ten pound weight in the front. The largest motors i run are my Evinrude Speeditwin, which are 110 lbs. and 22.5 horse power. The boat is definitely a handfull, and i have to sit on my knnees in the center of the boat. I used Mahogany seats which is not the original type of wood but I cut it all in the correct fashion and finished it with the proper pinstripes as done originally. The floor is painted green to the factory lines on the inside and i decide not to paint the bottom as it is by "user boat" that I run by outboard collection of under tweny horse power on.

The second boat is the larger 12 foot, which is a 1957 Commander. The boat is outfitted with a 1957 Mercury Mark 30. This boat I had painted with Emron paint inside and out. I have added a few finishing touches to the boat since this picture was taken. I have put new decals on the back and added the pin striping to the dash and seats. This was my first Crestliner which I received at the ripe old age of nine. it has a lot of hours and has been restored twice since I have owned it.

The thrid boat is a 1956 Viking 14 foot which is painted correctly on the outside using Emron paint. However, I decided to use Beach wood for the dash and seats, which gives it a very nice appearance. I upgraded the motor from a 1956 Johnson 30 to a 1959 Mercury Mark58A which is much more suitable for a boat this size. The motor is an early model which explains the factory Mercury green instead of the more common white found on most 1959 Mercurys.

Richard Holm, Jr.
McCall, ID 83638

 Email Richard Holm, Jr. at :[email protected] if you have any questions or comments about  his Crestliners.

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3/24/08

I wanted to send a few pictures of my Crestliners since I have added
another one to my fleet. These were taken two summers ago now.

You can see a a 1956 14' Viking w/1959 Mercury Mark 58A, 1955 14' Commodore w/ 1940 Evinrude Speedifour, 1957 12' Commander w/ 1957 Mercury Mark30, and a 1952 12' Sportsman w/ a 1955 Mercury Mark25E.

Hope you enjoy,
Richard Holm Jr.