Old Ski Boats

Out again on the weekend, up Slashas way, heap of boats on the water too!

On the subject of hangers on, I saw a bumper (stern?) sticker in the servo at bonnie doon "This boat doesnt run on THANKS MATE!"


Not a problem with this trip though, good mob this lot, kids had a ball!

Scatcha
Take it thats old Flightcraft Phantom mid mount 308
Had one of those would run all day and never let us down great boat should still be around up that way rego was GF 100 if you happen to see it
Geoffb

Those old Flightcrafts had a good name, can't recall seeing one though.
We were up at Maroon on Friday, very busy, 2 other ski boats on the dam. I took a couple of pics on Saturday morning before I got cracking home. First one was a nice Skicraft, the white one old mate didn't know what it was, my guess was an Everingham or maybe Stevens with the long deck and set backthough drivers position like a race boat, it's a guess, Geoff might have a clue.

Mairjimmy,I found a photo of my EH you asked to see back in the late 1960s.

Back in reply 78 I posted a photo of my old boat, that Sarge and I had and sold about 30 years ago. Well a young bloke got in touch this week to say he has just bought it! It's now living down in Tassie with a 150hp Mercury on the back, still on the same trailer. It amazes me the things we find out through this forum.

BTW love the Eh/ Ronny

this is great thread and my brother owned a bond wood which think it had a holden 6 .

Anyhow we were out in port phillp bay in her and she caught fire anyhow we were towed back to shore by a egg beater and it sure made hard work of it anyhow he has now a fuel injectored V8 ski boat . Dave

I have run out of any wooden speedboats in my collection, and of modern ones too.
I spent Christmas - New Year with Jessie II on Lake Hume. There were some speedboats/skiers out and about, but not nearly as many as I would have expected in a holiday week. In that large lake, not many were at close range, and those that did come near weren't photographed.
Here is the best shot, cropped from one taken by my deckie to show Bethanga bridge.
On the other side, and nearly as remote, was a 1950s Cessna floatplane landing, and taking off again.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Did you get a photo of the float plane Roderick?What was she a cessna 180 possibly.Reminds me of our honeymoon in New Zealand way back in 1969,we went for a ride in one off a lake at Rotorua,the pilot an old bloke Captain Allan Ladd.Me having a new Private Pilot licence sat in the front seat and after takeoff and scanning the instrument pannel ,asked the old feller,this is not a fuel injected motor,where is the carby heat control? he looked at me and said only you could ask that question,the cable broke this morning.Any way we had a very spectacular flight amongst the small clouds looking over the craters, and landed back on the lake again without experiencing any carby icing problems.

By popular demand.
The first is
VH-XVN / 0-15081 Cessna O-1A Bird Dog (305A/L-19A)
Cessna O-1A Bird Dog (305A/L-19A) VH-XVN c/n 21986. Year of manufacture: 1951. Aircraft first registered in Australia: 1 October 1993. Formerly 51-5081 with the USAF. Late 2006, the aircraft was converted to carry floats. Location Albury Airport, NSW. File: VH-XVN_YMAY_20110304_7746
(see www.flickr.com/photos/robertfrola/6822316141 )
Photo Tues.1.1.13 by Geoff Warburton (my deckie).
The other is a crop: background to a nice yacht from the club which was providing me a base for this cruise. Tallangatta, Sun.30.12.12, by me.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

imagine having a ski behind one of them