Evening star., 1947-01-12
New Craft Trim, Fast,
Roomy; Accessories
Display Amazing
By Malcolm Lomborne, Jr.
Sfor Stuf Correspondent

Sfor orcu correspondent
NEW YORK, Jan. 1.-THE
cruiser of 1947 is smaller in length,
roomier In deckhouse and cabins,
faster in speeds and pleasing tot
the eye. !
Postwar sailing craft are lighter
In weight of hull and spars and will
be sporting new suits Of all-nylon
sails. /
And as for marine accessories
better known as nautical gadgets-I
there Is no limit to what the in
dustry is offering to make boating
easier for skipper and crew alike.
This Just about sums up the boat
ing picture for the new season as
drawn by 222 exhibitors who have |
their wares on display in the
packed Grand Central Palace here.
/ They make up the 37th annual
National Motor Boat Show, s ma
rine extravaganza that is being
held for the first time since 1941.
And because it's been six years since
boating people have gotten to-
gether, they virtually are mobbing |
the Palace and probably will con-
tinue to jam it's four floors through
all of this week. i
Prices Are Advanced.
Among thousand and one ques-
tions fired at patient exhibitors, two
stand out. They are: What's the
price? and when can I get delivery
on boat?
Prices of virtually all models as
well as marine accessories are up
from prewar. That's to be ex-
pected, what with increased labor
and materials costs and the fact
that many of the mass product tion
builders are not yet in high gear.
An official of one big outfit turning
out smart line of cruisers after
producing many PIT boats during the
war commented that boat prices
were not up any more than auto
mobiles, clothing and most other
items used in every day life.
Charles Chuck" Owens, sales
manager of the Owens Yacht Co. in
Baltimore, estimates the price OF
his one-cabin cruiser has jumped
40 to so per cent from 1941, while
the two-cabin job is up 60 per cent.
But, says Owens, labor costs are up
100 per cent and material costs up
$50 per cent.
A very few builders have at
tempted to hold the line on prewar
prices, but have had to leave out
certain features offered before the
war.
Deliveries are Delayed.
And as for delivery, the answer
to that question ranges all the way
from Immediately to six months or
q year.
Builders who promise immediate
delivery are very much in the mi
nority. The average seems to be
six months. One of the reasons for
the delay in delivery is the
tremendous backlog Of untitled
orders-orders that have been build
ing UP all through the war.
The Elco Yacht Division OF Elec-
tric Coat Co. has a 1947 production
program that will be four times
194l, but if you were to leave an
order for one of their cruisers at
the show tomorrow, you probably
would not receive the boat until
early summer.
Consolidated Shipbuilding Corp,
which unlike Elco is a builder OF
custom boats, will not be able to I'LL
this year all the orders it now has
on its books.
Nearly all the big concerns sell
their boats through dealers. The
latter are on an ALLEGATION basis and
are receiving we'll under what they
would like. H.
Builders say maybe this time next
year we can talk about mmedlate
delivery.
Comfort Marks New Craft.
In the outboard engine field, two
of the industry's biggest manu1ac-
turers have enough orders on hand
to keep them going full tilt for two
years.
Because everybody's pocketbook
has shrunk, the industry is concen-
trating on boats under so feet. In
this connection, the biggest yacht
in the show is Wheeler Shipyards
46-foot cruiser.
Builders must have given lot OF
thought during the wartime hiatus
to design and comfort Of the boats
they would turn out, because there
are improvements in both over pre-
war. You will note the war lnfiu-
ence in stream1ining of hulls and
superstructure. But there the COM
parison ends.
Because, unlike World War IFS
crowded transports and compact
little fighting ships, the yacht OF
today and tomorrow has lots OF
room. Many show big open COCK
pits for fishing purposes or a SWIM
ming party. And for quiet "game"
when the weather turns bad or the
night air has chill, all hands can
turn to in the deckhouse and still
not get in each others hair.
Many New Materials.
On the materials side, the writer
can only skim over the surface, so
many developments having cropped
up during the war years. |
You will find steel-hulled cruisers
from a. stock builder for the first
time; aluminium, magnesium ana
plastic runabouts and canoes; yes,
and even a runabout made out OF
glass fiber and plastic. The last is
the product OF Gar Wood, Jr., son
of the famed racer.
Smythe Aqoin Will Head